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Telscombe is a town and civil parish in the Lewes District of East Sussex, England. It consists of three distinct settlements, separated from each other by an open area of downland called Telscombe Tye.
Telscombe village is a small village on the South Downs, six miles (10 km) south of Lewes. It includes the parish church, with origins dating back to the 10th century. The village has a population of fewer than 50 people.
The parish retains its ancient boundaries, which reach from the village to the coast, and the major part of the population is in the two coastal settlements. At the eastern end of the parish, about 4500 people live at Telscombe Cliffs, developed in the 20th century effectively as an extension of the town of Peacehaven over the town boundary. At the western end, the remaining 2500 population forms part of the community of Saltdean, the remainder of Saltdean being within the city of Brighton and Hove.
In 1929, thanks to the growth in population, Telscombe gained a parish council: in 1974 it became a town, with a mayor. The new Civic center in Telscombe Cliffs came into use in 2000.
The Prime Meridian crosses the northeast corner of Telscombe parish. The town has a school, Telscombe Cliffs Primary.
The parish includes part of the Brighton to Newhaven Cliffs Site of Special Scientific Interest. The cliffs are mainly of geological interest, containing many Santonian and Campanian fossils. The SSSI listing includes flora and fauna biological interest too.
Telscombe is a small cluster of buildings around a church dedicated to St Laurence. It is a 10th-century foundation with a 13th-century font, largely rebuilt and decorated in the 20th century.
The manor house was for many years used as Judge's Lodgings, occupied when High Court judges were sitting at Lewes Crown Court. This practice was controversial because of the costs of providing and maintaining this accommodation, including the employment of butlers and other staff, and was phased out by the Labour government from 2001. The cost of the Telscombe lodgings was put at £147,893.
As designated common, the land was unenclosed and on a map dated 1811 is shown as "Sheep Down" on which local stockholders had grazing rights. One such landowner in the early 20th century was Ambrose Gorham. He managed a stud farm and trained racehorses, including the 1902 winner of the Grand National. On his death in 1933 he bequeathed his property in the village in trust to be administered by the Brighton Corporation, stating in the trust deed:
At this time Neville, the developer of Peacehaven owned the Tye itself, while the trustees of Gorham's Gift owned the rights of common: a situation which led to frequent disputes. In January 1979 the land was registered as common under the Commons Registration Act, and in 1989 the Tye was put up for auction by the Neville family (Charles Neville had died in 1960) and purchased by Telscombe Town Council.
Telscombe and Peacehaven jointly form the Peacehaven & Telscombe Towns electoral division which elects two councillors to the East Sussex county council.
Telscombe is in the Brighton Kemptown constituency for the UK Parliament.
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