Our community

Although it is an Ancient Town, Winchelsea is home to a modern community with a busy Town Diary and a full calendar of special events.

Community facilities

There are various community facilities in the village:

  • Winchelsea has a village hall, called the New Hall, which is available for public hire (£11 ph Apr-Sep; £13.20 ph Oct-Mar).
  • The parish church is St Thomas the Martyr (C of E). The nearest Roman Catholic church is in Rye (St Anthony of Padua). The Methodist Chapel in Winchelsea is no longer in regular use.
  • Winchelsea has a primary school, St Thomas’s, which is Church of England-aided.
  • There are numerous clubs and societies in Winchelsea.

Civic affairs

With a unique heritage and special quality of life to preserve against the destructive pressures of the 21st century, the residents of Winchelsea are drawing up a Town Plan. This is a type of Parish Plan, also known as a Local Action Plan, setting out the community’s vision for the future and an action plan to implement that vision.

Winchelsea is part of Icklesham Civil Parish, along with the villages of Icklesham, Winchelsea Beach and Rye Harbour, but there is a campaign for a separate Winchelsea Civil Parish to allow greater local democracy and more focus on local issues.

In the absence of an effective and representative parish council, many issues of local concern are tackled by residents' groups. There are numerous grassroots campaigns running in Winchelsea.

The latest community initiative is to establish a Conservation Society.

Neighbourhood Watch

Winchelsea is blessed with a generally low crime rate, but we still need to be vigilant. There is a Neighbourhood Watch scheme in operation which has had several successes against burglars and other criminals.

Top | Visitor Pages | Website Policy | Contact Us

 

Winchelsea in numbers
Winchelsea is a village of 278 houses with a population of about 580 people, of whom, some 410 are registered electors. About 10% are aged 16 years or under, over 50% are retired or semi-retired, and just over 20% are not full-time residents.

Winchelsea is very fortunate to still have a village shop, sub-post office and butcher, as well as two pubs.

The village shop was rescued from closure in 2002 by the community and run as a community-owned business until it was bought by the new owner of the shop building in May 2007. The community sold the shop at a profit and have the right to repurchase the shop should the new owners lose interest in the business. The net proceeds of the sale will be retained as a contingency fund to finance the repurchase of the business should the new owners lose interest.

The post office was re-opened in 2005 by the Winchelsea Community Office (having been closed in 2000) and was also run as a community-owned business, but has also been purchased by the new owner of the shop building. The net proceeds of the sale will be retained as a contingency fund to finance the repurchase of the business should the new owners lose interest. 

Jamie Wickens sells local meat, poultry and game, and has a delicatessen that stocks a wide range of domestic and foreign cheeses, pies and cakes.