You can count the number of houses on one hand, but the Downland hamlet did claim spurious fame as having the smallest church in England, being only about 16ft square. In reality, the church of today is no more than the chancel of a much larger building. A diminutive clergyman with a sense of humour…

Little is the operative word for this village (which in earlier times also went by the name of Horsted Parva). But despite its humble size it can claim some highly distinguished connections. Our Royal Family were friends of Lord and Lady Rupert Nevill who lived at Horsted Place and the congregation at the village church…

Taking tea, that most British of traditions, was given a new twist at the turn of the century by Mr Russell who added outdoor charm to the affair by introducing the county’s first tea gardens. They are an increasing rarity these days, but Litlington’s trail-blazer is still going strong. The clientele can stop off there…

For years, until the arrival of mains drainage, residents had to endure the unkind newspaper catchphrase and headline the smelliest village in Sussex’. An unfortunate and unfitting label for a place that was the seat of one of the county’s most noble families, the Pelhams. They lived at Laughton Place, a lonely mansion built by…