to . The parish of Portslade is to the west; West Blatchington is to the east; the parishes of Hove and Aldrington lie to the south and southeast; and Brighton is further to the southeast beyond Hove. The English Channel is to the south, and Lewes (the county town of East Sussex) lies to the east. St Helen's Church was first documented in 1093 as a possession of Lewes Priory, to which it was granted by William de Warenne, 2nd Earl of Surrey. In the 16th century its parish was united with that of St Nicolas Church, Portslade and later (in 1585) with that of St Peter's Church, West Blatchington before becoming a separate parish again. Hangleton and Portslade were united again between 1757 and 1951. The nave was built in the 12th century, the west tower was added a century later and the chancel dates from 1300. The last significant alteration to the structure was the removal of the chancel arch in the 14th century. The village was small and largely agricultural: the inhabitants raised sheep and grew crops, especially grains and legumes. Some of the community were free peasants while others were villeins who provided the Lord of the manor with labour in exchange for the right to work the land. By 1300 it was "a thriving community of approximately 200 people", but during the 14th century decline set in: the population was unsustainably large, and a series of poor harvests around 1320 followed by the effects of the Black Death meant the village was almost wiped out. Only two householders were recorded in 1428, and even by the mid-19th century only about 80 people lived in the parish. The Ministry of Public Buildings and Works undertook an archaeological dig in summer 1954 and uncovered eight 13th- and 14th-century buildings and the remains of the parsonage north of the church, which had been destroyed by fire in 1666. The original manor house near the church also vanished and was replaced by a new building to the southwest in the 1540s. Richard Bellingham, Lord of the manor at the time, incorporated stones from Lewes Priory (partly demolished in 1537) in the front of the house. 20th century In 1928 the Hangleton was absorbed into the Borough of Hove for administrative purposes (the ecclesiastical parish was still linked to Portslade). At the time of the census in 1931 the population