Notable for its small size, St Ann's Without is a wholly
downland parish with only one notable small settlement at Newmarket and a Grade II listed building,
Ashcombe House which dates to the 18th century. It is now divided by the A27, but has some special downland areas and has well trod paths for the people of
Lewes, which sits to its east, wishing to enjoy the
Sussex Downs. To its west is the
Falmer parish, to its north
Hamsey and to its south
Kingston.
South of the A27 The area to the south of the A27 is quite a small area, but it has the Newmarket petrol garage and a number of cottages. The Lewes to Brighton train line runs alongside the road. To the south is Scabby Brow.
Newmarket The Newmarket area has the Newmarket Inn, a petrol garage and a number of cottages.
Scabby Brow Looking up from Newmarket or north from Kingston Hill, below the scarp, there is a great arable field with two steep slopes. The western slope () still retains its old Down pasture, though in poor condition in recent years (2021). There are still
cowslips,
fragrant orchids,
milkwort and
dropwort, which support a rich array of insects, butterflies and moths. The slope to the east, known as Scabby Brow (), was also relict Down pasture and dense scrub, supporting
pyramidal orchis,
scabious,
knapweed, and breeding
whitethroat, but, despite complaints by locals and DEFRA's intervention, the farmer bulldozed the site and converted it to arable in the early years of the 21st century.
Ashcombe Toll House Ashcombe Toll House stands on the corner of
Ashcombe Hollow that runs up to
Kingston from the A27. It is a relic from the age of the
turnpike. Originally there were a pair but the northern one has been lost to road widening. The tollgate opened in 1820 and is likely to have closed when the turnpike was wound up in 1871. Some have speculated that what remains may have been the domestic part of the tollgate due to the existence of fireplaces. The roof was originally bricked in a circular fashion but was stolen in the 1940s before
East Sussex County Council restored it in the 1950s. After that ownership became a little blurred until it was finally claimed by Sussex Heritage Trust in 1996.
North of the A27 People of Lewes come to St Ann Without on their walks on to the
South Downs. Despite being heavily agricultural there are a number of areas of interest,
Ashcombe House Ashcombe Farm () is beautifully folded in the shelter of 18th century Ashcombe plantation. It has a handsome Georgian manor house and old flint barns and cottages. It was owned by the
University of Sussex until 1985.
The Racecourse The old racecourse () was preserved as a training gallops after its closure in 1964. It runs in a giant loop from
Lewes Prison up the Spital ridge from Spital Road,
Lewes, almost to the scarp, then runs south along the next ridge, above Ashcombe. It embraced giant Down pastures covering Cuckoo Bottom and Offham Down, and most of Houndean and Landport Bottom.
The Gallop The Spital Gallop () is part of the old Lewes Racecourse. It has views of the
Lewes Brooks (the Vale of the Brooks) and of
Malling Down. One can follow the course of the
Ouse from there. It was once mostly ancient chalk grassland and chalk heath, but all that has now been lost to scrub and arable tillage. There are a number of ancient
barrows in the area but most of them hard to find. One along the worn tracksides was still visible even after the turn of the century, and a rich fragment of old Down pasture flora survived on top and around it with rare
bastard toadflax,
horseshoe vetch,
autumn gentian,
thyme and the lichen,
Cladonia rangiformis, but all that has now been lost to scrub encroachment.
Long Hill Long Hill () is just to the north of the A27 above Newmarket. An ancient terrace way (), now a public footpath, rises from the A27 opposite Newmarket to the top of Long Hill above Ashcombe Farm. It forms a fine corridor of ancient turf and the two little white ghosts,
mullein wave moth and
white plume moth, can be found there on a summer's evening amongst the
pyramidal orchid,
crested hairgrass,
hairy rock-cress,
milkwort and
Sussex Rampion. The south face of Long Hill () is not rich in old Down pasture herbs, but is still flowery in parts. The north face, however, is a very flowery and protected from the noise of the A27. There are
fragrant,
pyramidal and
spotted orchids,
cowslips,
chalk and
common milkworts,
heath speedwell,
betony,
devil’s-bit,
lesser scabious,
rockrose,
ox-eye daisy and the
round-headed rampion.
Cuckoo Bottom To the west of the old racecourse buildings lies Cuckoo Bottom (). It is a mile by half a mile long. It is a shallow, dry valley with dense thorn scrub, young woodland and open, long views. No ancient chalk grassland survives there. The farmed land is all arable. ==Governance==