History
The area was already settled by the 11th century, when St Margaret's Church was founded. Names recorded at that time include Hadlega and Hodlega—later standardised to Hodlegh and Hothelegh, then (West) Hoathly. This Anglo-Saxon word signifies a heath-covered clearing. The parish lay on the edge of the dense woodland of the Ashdown Forest.
At the time of the Domesday survey in 1086, the land covered by the present parish was held by the manors of Ditchling and Plumpton to the southeast. The rectory of the church was associated with Lewes Priory. By the 16th century, the manor of Gravetye was in existence. Gravetye Manor house, built in 1598, still stands in extensive grounds 1 mile (1.6 km) north of the village.
In 1556, West Hoathly resident Ann Tree was burnt at the stake in East Grinstead for refusing to renounce Protestantism; she was one of 17 "Sussex Martyrs" who suffered this fate. A brass memorial in the church commemorates her.
West Hoathly was connected to the British railway network when the Lewes and East Grinstead Railway was built in 1882. A station was provided east of the village, between it and Sharpthorne. The line passed under a sandstone ridge by means of a tunnel. The line and station closed on 16 March 1958, and the station stood derelict for many years. The Bluebell Railway, a preserved railway, now runs along part of the route, but West Hoathly station has not been reinstated.
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