The two villages making up the principal part of the parish lie on the A267 road between Royal Tunbridge Wells and Eastbourne: Mayfield, the larger of the two villages is ten miles (16 km) south of Royal Tunbridge Wells; with Five Ashes being 2.5 miles (4 km) further south.

This is to commemorate the four Protestants who were executed here on 24 September 1556, and being burnt at the stake in the village on ground that is opposite what is now Colkins Mill Church in Station Road.

The festivals are part of the Sussex bonfire tradition of marking the execution of Protestants by Queen (Bloody) Mary, and later, the discovery of the Catholic Gunpowder Plot.

The procession marches through the village by torchlight on the third Saturday in September, climaxing with a bonfire and firework display in the recreation ground.

The meshing of Norman French and Anglo-Saxon into Middle English meant that one person was often referred to by several spellings in a lifetime.

[8] A number of 17th-century emigrants to the New World had the surname May rather than Maid, which indicates the Middle English "mayde" in signage began as a rebus.

Mayfield used to be a part of the manor of Malling, to the north west of Lewes, which belonged to the Kings of Wessex.

The multi-award winning retreat venue, Fair Oak Farm,[18] often frequented by celebrities and hired by internationally recognised brands, is located on Witherenden Road, a country lane just outside of the village.

St Leonards-Mayfield[19] Roman Catholic girls' boarding school, which has existed since 1872,[20] is situated on the High Street.

The school is on the site of the Mayfield Old Palace which, after being founded by St Dunstan, used to be a lodging place for archbishops before being given to Henry VIII.

[21][22][23] It was rebuilt in the fourteenth century by Archbishop Simon Islip, and was owned by Thomas Cranmer before being given to Henry VIII in 1545.

[8] Mayfield College, a now-defunct boys' boarding school run by the Xaverian Brothers, was located in nearby Little Trodgers Lane.

The small village church was dedicated to The Good Shepherd until its demolition and replacement by an end of life hospice in 2019.

In Stonehurst Lane, there is a park with wooded areas and ponds called Foxes Copse where dogs can be walked.

[30] Rising about 7 miles (11 km) south of Royal Tunbridge Wells, Argos Hill is between the villages of Rotherfield and Mayfield.