Tourist Guide for Alciston East Sussex - History

History

The village name is derived from a Saxon farming village called Aelfsige ton (the enclosed land of Aelfsige) the entry in the Domesday Book states the village as being a valuable estate under the ownership of the Abbey at Battle.
The Alciston church was originally constructed of chalk and founded before the invasion by the Normans.
In Alciston there are the remains of a 14th century monastery that was originally owned by Battle Abbey. Within the remains there is a dovecote which has been restored.
You will also find in Alciston the longest tithe barns in the country 170ft long and constructed mainly of flint, it has a steeply pitched roof containing 50,000 tiles.