Lodsworth

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Lodsworth
St Peter's Lodsworth.JPG
St Peter's church
West Sussex UK location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Lodsworth
Location within West Sussex
Area12.46 km2 (4.81 sq mi)  [1]
Population672.  2011 Census [2]
•  Density 55/km2 (140/sq mi)
OS grid reference SU927232
•  London 42 miles (68 km) NE
Civil parish
  • Lodsworth
District
Shire county
Region
Country England
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town PETWORTH
Postcode district GU28
Dialling code 01798
Police Sussex
Fire West Sussex
Ambulance South East Coast
UK Parliament
Website http://www.lodsworth.org.uk/
List of places
UK
England
West Sussex
51°00′06″N0°40′47″W / 51.00159°N 0.67983°W / 51.00159; -0.67983

Lodsworth is a small village, ecclesiastical parish and civil parish in the Chichester district of West Sussex, England. It is situated between Midhurst and Petworth, half a mile north of the A272 road. It lies within the South Downs National Park, just to the north of the valley of the River Rother; a tributary stream the River Lod runs close to the east end of the village.

Contents

The north end of the village is known as Smithbrook. The parish includes the settlements of Bexleyhill and Lickfold.

Geography

In the 2001 census the parish covered 12.46 square kilometres (4.81 sq mi) and had 282 households with a total population of 690. 298 residents were economically active. The population at the 2011 Census (including Selham) was 672. [2] The parish is a long thin strip running north to south, from the slopes of Blackdown in the north to Gallows Hill on the border with Graffham south of the River Rother. It includes the hamlet of Lickfold, with a pub beside the River Lod and a triangular green where the road to the top of Bexley Hill meets the Lodsworth to Haslemere road. South of the village there are more houses, a pub and a small factory at Halfway Bridge on the A272.

It has a small Church of England parish church, Saint Peter's, a pub, the Hollist Arms, and a village hall. After nearly 20 years without a grocery shop, a group of villagers launched in 2007 a community-run shop, the Lodsworth Larder, built with ecological material to provide local products to local people. [3] [4] [5]

The Manor House

Lodsworth Manor House Lodsworth Manor.JPG
Lodsworth Manor House

Built by the Bishop of London, who owned the manor during the Middle Ages, when first built the Manor House would have been the finest building in Lodsworth. The present house is likely to have been the home of the Bishop's steward, who would have administered the manor. Manorial courts would have been held there and there was a basement dungeon to hold prisoners. The Manor was held as a liberty by the Bishop, making it independent of the county justice system, so even the most serious crimes would have been tried there, and executions would have been carried out at Gallows Hill on the border with Graffham. Archaeological work during the autumn of 2002 [6] revealed the foundations of a 7-metre extension to the east of the building, with 1 metre foundations resting on solid rock which may have supported a tower. It is likely that there was a great hall to the south of the building.

St. Peter's Well

St Peter's Well in 2007 St Peter's well.JPG
St Peter's Well in 2007

The spring near St Peter's church was a place of pilgrimage in the Middle Ages, especially for people with eye problems, and a source of revenue for the village. The well is located a few yards along a footpath that joins the lower junction of Church Lane and Vicarage Lane.

History

The name Lodsworth is Anglo-Saxon meaning Lod or Loda's enclosure, but little is known for certain of the village until after the Norman conquest of England, when the area was given to Robert de Montgomerie, Earl of Shrewsbury. There is no certain reference to Lodsworth in the Domesday Book, although it may have been regarded as part of Grittenham, now part of Tillington but then a much larger settlement. Lodsworth was part of the hundred of Easebourne, a Saxon administrative area.

In 1119 Richard de Belmas, the Bishop of London, was given the manor by the Montgomerie family; and Lodsworth was made a Liberty by Royal Charter of King Henry I. This unusual status made the manor independent from the county and hundred legal system so that even the most serious crimes were tried at the manorial court held at the manor house. The manor was run by the Bishop of London's representative the Sheriff who lived at the manor house. Villagers were exempt from tolls at markets and fairs in other parishes, and all income from the manor went straight to the bishop. The manor must have been a valuable source of income to the bishop with revenue from pilgrims to St. Peter's well and probably from stone quarrying, and the status of Liberty was vigorously defended and was reaffirmed by several kings, the last being Henry VI.

Transport and industry

Agriculture and Forestry use most of the land area. There is arable cropping, dairying and other grazing livestock. There are large areas of chestnut coppice on Bexley Hill, cut in rotation to produce fence materials, and areas of oak and conifers.

There is a large timberyard and sawmill at Lodsbridge, south of Halfway Bridge and a small factory at the old watermill site at Halfway Bridge. [7]

The first transport other than pack horses or horse carts was in 1795 when the Rother Navigation was built from Pulborough to Midhurst, allowing canal barges to reach the wharf at Lodsbridge. This was used mainly to bring chalk and coal in and to export timber. The railway line from Pulborough to Petworth was extended to Midhurst in the 1860s with stations at Selham and Midhurst.

Notable residents

Hamlets

Other villages and hamlets within the civil parish include:

Further reading

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Petworth</span> Human settlement in England

Petworth is a town and civil parish in the Chichester District of West Sussex, England. It is located at the junction of the A272 east–west road from Heathfield to Winchester and the A283 Milford to Shoreham-by-Sea road. Some twelve miles (21 km) to the south west of Petworth along the A285 road lies Chichester and the south-coast. The parish includes the settlements of Byworth and Hampers Green and covers an area of 2,690 hectares. In 2001 the population of the parish was 2,775 persons living in 1,200 households of whom 1,326 were economically active. At the 2011 Census the population was 3,027.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">River Rother, West Sussex</span> River in Hampshire and West Sussex, England

The River Rother flows from Empshott in Hampshire, England, to Stopham in West Sussex, where it joins the River Arun. At 52 kilometres (32 mi) long, most of the river lies within West Sussex except for the first 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) which lie in Hampshire. The upper river, from its source to Midhurst, has been used to power watermills, with the earliest recorded use being in 1086, when the Domesday survey was conducted. Although none are still operational, many of the buildings which housed the mills still exist, and in some cases, still retain their milling machinery. This upper section is also noted for a number of early bridges, which have survived since their construction in the fifteenth, sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Midhurst</span> Human settlement in England

Midhurst is a market town, parish and civil parish in West Sussex, England. It lies on the River Rother 20 miles (32 km) inland from the English Channel, and 12 miles (19 km) north of the county town of Chichester.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">A272 road</span> Road in southern England

The A272 is a road in southeast England. It follows an approximate east–west route from near Heathfield, East Sussex to the city of Winchester, Hampshire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fernhurst</span> Village in England

Fernhurst is a village and civil parish in the Chichester District of West Sussex, England, on the A286 Milford, Surrey, to Chichester road, 3 miles (4.8 km) south of Haslemere. The parish includes the settlements of Henley Common, Kingsley Green and Bell Vale, lies within the boundaries of the South Downs National Park and is surrounded by hills.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Easebourne</span> Human settlement in England

Easebourne is a village, Anglican parish and civil parish in the Chichester District of West Sussex, England. It is half a mile (0.8 km) north of Midhurst, across the River Rother on the A272 and A286 roads. The parish includes the hamlet of Henley to the north. In the 2001 census there were 708 households with a total population of 1,717 of whom 785 were economically active.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Selham</span> Human settlement in England

Selham is a small village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Graffham, in the Chichester district of West Sussex, England. It lies south of the A272 road 3 miles (4.8 km) east of Midhurst. It is mainly in the parish of Graffham, but partly in that of Lodsworth to the north. In 1931 the parish had a population of 65.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Iping</span> Human settlement in England

Iping is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Stedham with Iping, in the Chichester district of West Sussex, England. It lies just off the A272 road 2 miles (3.2 km) west of Midhurst, on the River Rother. In 1931 the parish had a population of 400.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stedham</span> Human settlement in England

Stedham is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Stedham with Iping, in the Chichester district of West Sussex, England, on the A272 road 1.5 miles (2.4 km) west of Midhurst. In 1961 the parish had a population of 649. On 1 April 1974 the parish was abolished and merged with Iping to form "Stedham with Iping".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trotton with Chithurst</span> Human settlement in England

Trotton with Chithurst is a civil parish in the Chichester district of West Sussex, England. Trotton is on the A272 road 7 miles (11 km) west of Midhurst. Chithurst is about 1 mile (1.6 km) north west of Trotton. The parish also contains the hamlet of Dumpford.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rogate</span> Human settlement in England

Rogate is a village and civil parish in the Chichester district of West Sussex, England, in the Western Rother valley. The village is on the A272 road 5.6 miles (9.0 km) west of Midhurst and 5 miles (8.0 km) east of Petersfield, Hampshire. The civil parish includes the villages of Rogate and Rake and the hamlets of Haben, Fyning, Hill Brow, Langley, Durford, Wenham, Durleighmarsh and Terwick Common.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">A286 road</span> Road in the south east of England

The A286 is an A class road in the south of England, from its northernmost point in Milford, Surrey, to Birdham, West Sussex. It passes through the market towns of Haslemere and Midhurst, and the cathedral city of Chichester. The road is mostly single carriageway, with a small dual carriageway section as part of the Chichester ring road.

The Midhurst Railways were three branch lines which were built to serve the market town of Midhurst in the English county of West Sussex. The three lines were the Petersfield Railway, from Petersfield; the Mid-Sussex Railway extended by the Mid-Sussex and Midhurst Junction Railway, from Hardham Junction (Pulborough); and from Chichester. The Petersfield Railway opened in 1864, the promoting company having been absorbed by the London and South Western Railway (LSWR) in 1863. The Mid-Sussex lines reached Midhurst in 1866, after being absorbed by the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway (LBSCR) in 1862. The two lines did not connect, and there were two separate stations close by one another. The Chichester line took much longer to complete, and was opened in 1881, and a new LBSCR station was opened, replacing the first station. In 1925 the former LSWR line was connected to that station.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">River Lod, West Sussex</span> River in north west Sussex, England

The River Lod is a short river draining about 52 km2 (20 sq mi) of north west Sussex. The main source is on the Greensand Ridge at Marley Heights near Haslemere, about 140 metres (460 ft) above sea level. From here it flows west past Lynchmere, then south to Furnace Pond, where iron cannon were cast during the English Civil War. It then turns south east, flowing south of Fernhurst to Lickfold and Lurgashall where it formerly powered Lurgashall Mill, now moved to the Weald and Downland Open Air Museum. From Mill Farm it heads south between high banks, which it only overflows after the heaviest of rainfalls, passing between the hills of Lodsworth and River to Halfway Bridge on the A272 road then joining the River Rother at Lods Bridge.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fittleworth</span> Human settlement in England

Fittleworth is a village and civil parish in the District of Chichester in West Sussex, England located seven kilometres (3 miles) west from Pulborough on the A283 road and three miles (5 km) south east from Petworth. The village has an Anglican church, a primary school and one pub, The Swan. It is within the ancient divisions of the Bury Hundred and the Rape of Arundel. The village is bounded south by the Rother Navigation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stopham</span> Human settlement in England

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Serpent Trail</span>

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rotherbridge</span> Human settlement in England

Rotherbridge is a small, rural community situated approximately 1 mile (1.6 km) south-west of Petworth in West Sussex, England. Until 1800, the road from Chichester to Petworth crossed the River Rother by a bridge here; the river acquired its present name from the bridge. Rotherbridge also gave its name to the Hundred of Rotherbridge which comprised several of the surrounding villages, as well as the town of Petworth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coultershaw Wharf and Beam Pump</span> Rural community in England

Coultershaw Bridge is a rural community situated 1.5 mi (2.4 km) south of the town Petworth in West Sussex, England where the A285 road from Petworth to Chichester crosses the River Rother.

References

  1. ↑ "2001 Census: West Sussex – Population by Parish" (PDF). West Sussex County Council. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 September 2012. Retrieved 9 May 2009.
  2. 1 2 "Civil Parish population 2011". Neighbourhood Statistics. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 15 October 2015.
  3. ↑ Bénédicte Manier (2012). Un million de révolutions tranquilles (in French). Les Liens qui Libèrent (LLL). pp. 72–73. ISBN   979-10-209-0009-8.
  4. ↑ "lodsworthlarder.com" . Retrieved 16 March 2017.
  5. ↑ "The Lodsworth Larder". ben-law.co.uk. Archived from the original on 8 April 2017. Retrieved 16 March 2017.
  6. ↑ Chichester District Council, Heritage Annual Report 1998-2003 ISSN 1742-2663 p26.
  7. ↑ "BBC - Domesday Reloaded: HALFWAY BRIDGE, LODSWORTH". Archived from the original on 25 September 2015. Retrieved 23 December 2019.
  8. ↑ Rickman, John (1998). The Land of Lod. Midhurst, West Sussex: Peggy Rickman. pp. 157–166.
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