Windows and doors in Barcombe, north of Lewes

Barcombe parish lies north of Lewes, beyond the National Park, so for windows here the planning authority is Lewes District Council. The parish is really several places: Barcombe Cross, the old church at Barcombe, Barcombe Mills on the Ouse, and Spithurst to the north-east on the Wealden clay.

Barcombe Cross

Barcombe Cross is the main village, and locally simply Barcombe. It was one of several scattered hamlets until the railway came, and grew around the station. The 2011 census counted 320 homes there. Lewes District Council designated the Barcombe Cross conservation area on 16 June 1976, the same day as a separate Barcombe conservation area. Historic England lists four entries inside the Barcombe Cross area, all Grade II, including Ballards Cottages, The Olde Forge House, and Old Thatch with 3 and 4 Tudor Cottages. A parish council housing paper mentions the bungalows at Weald View and Sidehills among the later housing.

Barcombe Mills and the old church

Barcombe Mills sits on the Ouse below the hill. The old mill complex burnt down before the Second World War, and the area is a conservation area popular for walking and river swimming. St Mary's, the medieval parish church at old Barcombe, has a shingled broach spire and was rebuilt in 1878 and 1879. Spithurst lies mainly along Spithurst Lane; its church of St Bartholomew, built in 1879 and 1880, closed in 1994.

What planning means here

Lewes District Council's Article 4 register lists no direction in Barcombe. For an unlisted house, even one inside a conservation area, window replacement of similar appearance is normally permitted development. For a listed building, listed building consent from the district council comes first. The council's conservation team takes enquiries for properties outside the Park by email.

What usually suits

For the older cottages at the Cross, flush casements with slim bars or, where the house was built with them, sashes. Bungalows and post-war houses suit chamfered or flush uPVC casements. Listed cottages such as those at the Cross need timber made to the existing pattern. Wikipedia has more on Barcombe.