Beddingham

Beddingham is a village in the Lewes district of East Sussex.LocationBeddingham is located at the junction between the London to Newhaven and south coast roads south-east of Lewes. The parish of Beddingham was joined with that of Glynde shortly after the Second World War, to make the combined parish of Glynde and Beddingham.OccupationThe area was settled in pre-Roman times with many tumuli in the surrounding hills originating in the Iron Age.The Roman villa at Beddingham was excavated by David Rudling between 1987 and 1992. Construction began in the late first century AD, and the villa was occupied until the mid fourth-century. There was a wooden roundhouse built originally (around 50 AD) before Roman construction began towards the end of the century.When the Saxons came, one of the buildings on the site was hollowed out, presumably to be used as a Sunken Feature Building (Grubenhaus). It is interesting that the fill of the cut contains a mix of Late Roman and Early Saxon pottery, suggesting some degree of continuity of settlement.Beddingham was a Saxon royal minster. It was probably seized by Offa of Mercia following his annexation of Sussex early in the 770s. One of his coins was found there. Once back in Saxon possession, the land was bequeathed by King Alfred to his nephew Aethelm, and the manor was later held by Earl Godwin.