Balsdean facts for kids
Balsdean is a quiet, deserted village in a remote valley near Brighton, East Sussex, England. Records show it has existed since around the year 1100. Even though it feels far away from everything, it's actually part of the city of Brighton and Hove.
This valley is a special spot for a rare bird called the dotterel. These birds usually live in cold, high mountains, but they stop here during their long journeys. People think the stony fields of Balsdean remind them of their mountain homes.
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History of Balsdean
Ancient Times
Bronze Age Discoveries
Near Balsdean, there's a hill called The Bostle. This hill is home to a Bronze Age cemetery. It has a group of three large burial mounds, called barrows, and other smaller barrows nearby. These mounds are ancient graves from a very long time ago.
Roman Finds
People have found signs that Romans lived in this area too. In 1757, a Roman dagger was discovered in a burial mound at Balsdean. Later, in 1798, a clay jar was dug up. It contained over a thousand Roman copper coins! Some of these coins were even coated with a thin layer of silver. They looked very new, as if they hadn't been used much. These coins were from the time of Roman emperors like Valerian and Gallienus, around AD 225.
Saxon Burials
An Anglo-Saxon cemetery has also been found close to the Bronze Age burial site on The Bostle. This cemetery has 27 early Anglo-Saxon burial mounds.
Later History
Balsdean was once a small hamlet with two farms, known as Norton and Balsdean.
Why Balsdean Became Deserted
The buildings at Balsdean, including the old manor house and two cottages where workers lived, were inhabited until the Second World War. During the war, the people living there had to leave. The buildings were then used for target practice by Allied artillery.
Sadly, these buildings, including a medieval chapel that was being used as a barn, were never rebuilt. The people who lived there never returned. Today, the only building left is a rundown barn complex that was built after the war.
Balsdean Today
There is a modern farm named after the original Balsdean Farm, located near Rottingdean. This farm still works much of the ancient farmland that once belonged to Balsdean. Part of the old sheep grazing land is now protected as the Castle Hill Site of Special Scientific Interest. However, a large part of the former sheep grazing area is now the site of Woodingdean, a suburb of Brighton, which started being built around 1918.
