Catsfield

CATSFIELD is a parish 6 miles north-west from St. Leonard's and 2 and a half miles south-west from Battle, in the Eastern division of the county, Ninfield hundred, Hastings rape and county court district, Battle union, rural diocese of Chichester, archdeaconry of Lewes, and rural deanery of Dallington. The church of St. Lawrence is an ancient structure consisting of nave, chancel, tower and spire. Near the church is an old oak, in circumference about 47 feet. The parish register dates from 1611. The living is a rectory, valued at £311 per annum, with glebe house, in the gift of the Earl of Ashburnham, and held by the Rev. Burrell Hayley, M.A. of Worcester College, Oxford. Here is a National school for boys and girls. Catsfield Place is the seat of Lady Pilkington, who is lady of the manor, and, with the Earl of Ashburnham, the Duke of Cleveland, Thomas Papillon, Esq., and Thomas Brassey, Esq., the largest landowners. The parish comprises 2,944 acres, assessed at £2,400 per annum, and a population of 584 in 1861. [Kelly's Post Office Directory of Essex, Herts, Middlesex, Kent, Surrey and Sussex, 1867.]