Falmer village is divided by the A27 road. North of the dual carriageway are a few houses and a pub, with a footbridge linking to the southern part of the village, where a large pond is encircled by cottages and the parish church, dedicated to St. Lawrence. The two halves of the village are also linked by a road bridge just outside this circle of houses. The village pond, home to a population of ducks and geese, accounts for the name of the village: Old English for 'fallow (pale-coloured) pond' (though the reason for this precise choice of colour-term is unclear nowadays).