Polegate is a town and civil parish in the Wealden District of East Sussex, England, United Kingdom.

[2] It is located five miles (8 km) north of the seaside resort of Eastbourne and is part of the greater area of that town.

It became a significant junction, with a freight terminal serving both the nearby market town of Hailsham and the local brick making industry.

The site of the church and the parsonage was donated by Mr Fuller-Meyrick, owner of the Brightling Park Estate.

The Anglo-Norman family were early Sussex landowners, and held manors and lands across the county, including Firle, Bodiam, Hollington and elsewhere.

To the east lie the Pevensey Levels, the onetime bay now converted into farmland with the buildup of the coastal shingle bank during the early Middle Ages.

[5] Due to its location situated on the corner of the A27 and A22, it allows easy access to larger cities like Brighton and Hastings in less than an hour.

The 2007 election returned twelve councillors representing the Polegate residents association, two Liberal Democrats and an Independent.

[7] The next tier of government is the East Sussex County Council with responsibility for education, libraries, social services, civil registration, trading standards and transport.

The current serving MP is the Liberal Democrat James MacCleary who won the seat in the 2024 general election.

Prior to Brexit in 2020, the village was part of the South East England constituency in the European Parliament.

[11] A number of small-town shops and businesses occupy the High Street, including a supermarket, hair dressers and convenience store, as well a Premier Inn hotel to the north of the town.

The local football team, Polegate Town FC, plays each Saturday at the War Memorial Recreational Ground.

The present Polegate railway station is served by Southern, with regular train services to London, Brighton, Eastbourne and Hastings.