Staplecross

Staplecross is a village in the civil parish of Ewhurst and the Rother district of East Sussex, England. Staplecross is the largest settlement in Ewhurst parish, and is on a southern ridge of the valley of the River Rother which flows through Bodiam at the north of Staplecross. The village is in the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. In 2011 it had a population of 760.Staplecross is 24 miles (40 km) east-northeast from the county town of Lewes, and 3 miles (5 km) east from the A21 road, which in East Sussex runs north to south from Flimwell to Hastings. It is on the B2165 road which runs from the Ewhurst parish village of Cripps cross, 1,500 yards (1,400 m) to the south, to Beckley, 4 miles (6 km) to the east. While in Staplecross the B2165 locally becomes Northiam Road. The village is centred on the junction of Northiam Road, and Bodiam Road which runs to Bodiam Castle, 2 miles (3 km) to the north.Community amenities and facilities include a village hall with the adjacent Staplecross Club, The Cross Inn public house, a Londis convenience store & post office (the only post office in the parish), a bowls club, and a playing field with a children's play area. On Bodiam Road is Staplecross Methodist Primary School, north from which is a park with tennis courts. At the east of the village is the small red brick Parish Church of St Mark's which includes a preschool playgroup. A war memorial is at the junction of Northiam Road and Bodiam road.To the south, outside the village on the B1265 is a garden centre and a plant nursery, and at the east, a cattery. At 3 miles to the north-east, in Northiam, is the Lutyens house and gardens of Great Dixter. On the B2244, less than 1 mile north-west from the village, is the 5.5 acres (2.2 hectares) Stainsmoor Wood, managed by a charitable trust.Staplecross is connected by bus to Hastings, Bodiam and Hawkhurst (349), and Westfield, Northiam and Robertsbridge (381). The closest railway station is at Bodiam, part of the heritage Kent and East Sussex Railway, 1.5 miles (2.4 km) to the north, linking to the town of Tenterden at the north-east. The closest National Rail station is at Robertsbridge on the Hastings line, 3 miles to the west, linking to Tunbridge Wells and Hastings.