Remains of Northeye village

Northeye was a medieval village on the Pevensey Levels west of Bexhill-on-Sea. The site is now known as Hooe Level and lies within the marshes. A charter from 1229 lists Northeye as a dependent part of the Cinque Port of Hastings. The village stood on an island formed by an inlet that once reached as far as Hailsham. Before the marshes were drained, the inlet carried boats inland. Houses and a flint chapel, the Chapel of St James, once stood there. The village is thought to have been abandoned around 1400. Its remains lie hidden beneath the grass and water of the levels. Archaeologists have found traces of the houses and the chapel’s foundations. The site shows how people once lived on land that is now wet and flat. The lost village tells a quiet story of change across centuries. Visitors walk across the levels and see only grass and ditches. The ground shows little sign of the old settlement. The Chapel of St James once stood near the centre, its flint walls long gone. The wind moves across the open marsh, and the sky feels wide. The remains of Northeye lie undisturbed, waiting to be recognised by those who know where to look.