Arlington is recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 when it comprised five households and ploughing lands,[4] but the area has been settled since Anglo-Saxon times.

It is suggested that the wooden church in Arlington built by them, having been destroyed by invaders, was later rebuilt with bricks from the nearby Roman road.

Arlington Reservoir, on the opposite side of the river, was opened in 1971, and supplies water to the local area, including Eastbourne.

Another SSSI within the parish is Lower Dicker, a disused quarry and an important site for the study of the palaeogeography of the Weald.

The post office at Upper Dicker (first mentioned in 1852, when a type of postmark known as an undated circle was issued), was closed in 2008.

Stock Car racing normally takes place on Wednesday evenings and Bank Holidays during the summer months.