The small village of Pyecombe is situated in a long, deep valley (or coombe) formed by the river Wellesbourne as it flows towards the English Channel at Brighton. (The river is now a winterbourne and runs underground for most of its length.) The South Downs rise to about to the east and west. The village is in two parts about apart. The original medieval settlement formed around the church and an ancient trackway across the South Downs; when this declined, new development took place to the west. A 16th-century cottage which may have been part of the manor house is in this newer area. Pyecombe manor was probably split from the larger manor of Pangdean (mentioned in the Domesday Book) by the 13th century, although they were later reunited.