Copthorne is a

village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to ...

in the Mid Sussex district of

West Sussex West Sussex is a county in South East England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the shire districts of Adur, Arun, Chichester, Horsham, and Mid Sussex, and the boroughs of Crawley and Worthing. Covering an ar ...

, England. It lies close to Gatwick Airport, south of

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, north of

Brighton Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...

, and northeast of the county town of

Chichester Chichester () is a cathedral city and civil parish in West Sussex, England.OS Explorer map 120: Chichester, South Harting and Selsey Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – Southampton B2 edition. Publishing Date:2009. It is the only ci ...

. Nearby towns include

Crawley Crawley () is a large town and borough in West Sussex, England. It is south of London, north of Brighton and Hove, and north-east of the county town of Chichester. Crawley covers an area of and had a population of 106,597 at the time of th ...

to the southwest and

East Grinstead East Grinstead is a town in West Sussex, England, near the East Sussex, Surrey, and Kent borders, south of London, northeast of Brighton, and northeast of the county town of Chichester. Situated in the extreme northeast of the county, the civ ...

to the east. It is the most northerly ecclesiastical parish in the

Diocese of Chichester The Diocese of Chichester is a Church of England diocese based in Chichester, covering Sussex. It was founded in 681 as the ancient Diocese of Selsey, which was based at Selsey Abbey, until the see was translated to Chichester in 1075. The cathe ...

in the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

, and together with

Crawley Down Crawley Down is a small village in the Mid Sussex district of West Sussex, England. There is one church, one school, and a number of social groups. It lies seven miles from Gatwick Airport. The next nearest railway stations are Three Bridges an ...

makes up the

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority ...

of Worth.

Etymology

The place-name Copthorne is derived from the

Old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, Anglo ...

''coppede'' + ''þorn'', meaning capped or pollarded thorn tree. (A pollarded tree is one which has had its topmost branches pruned back in order to produce a close head of young shoots.) The name was first recorded as ''Coppethorne'' in 1437.

History

Lying on the borders between the counties

and

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

, has contributed to Copthorne's history. There are stories of

smugglers Smuggling is the illegal transportation of objects, substances, information or people, such as out of a house or buildings, into a prison, or across an international border, in violation of applicable laws or other regulations. There are various ...

from the south coast stashing their goods in the woods around the village, conscious that it was easy to step across the county boundary, and escape any pursuing

constabulary Constabulary may have several definitions: *A civil, non-paramilitary (police) force consisting of police officers called constables. This is the usual definition in the United Kingdom, in which all county police forces once bore the title (and som ...

. Evidence of smugglers tunnels and stash holes have also been found under properties near the church and the now closed Hunters Moon Inn on Copthorne Bank.

Boxing Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermined ...

prize fights took place on Copthorne Common in the early 19th century. The English championship was held in 1810, between

Tom Cribb Tom Cribb (8 July 1781 – 11 May 1848) was a world champion English bare-knuckle boxer of the 19th century. Cribb was born near Bristol but moved to London before starting professional fighting. He undertook a series of fights between 1805 and ...

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

and

Tom Molineaux Thomas Molineaux (23 March 1784 – 4 August 1818), sometimes spelled Molyneaux or Molyneux, was an American bare-knuckle boxer and possibly a former slave. He spent much of his career in Great Britain and Ireland, where he had some notable ...

from

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

, United States. A Copthorner is traditionally known as a Yellowbelly, and there are a number of stories told as to why this might be. Some talk of villagers wearing their gold strapped around their bellies, but the most likely reason is probably tied to the traditional local trade of charcoal burning, where some of those working stripped to the waist found their skin turned yellow with the smoke. Another possibility has it that the smugglers had to crawl through the mud to avoid detection and thus acquiring muddy yellow bellies. As part of a village

Millennium A millennium (plural millennia or millenniums) is a period of one thousand years, sometimes called a kiloannum (ka), or kiloyear (ky). Normally, the word is used specifically for periods of a thousand years that begin at the starting point (ini ...

project, a history of the village ''Copthorne – The Story So Far'' was published by the community in 1999/2000.

St. John the Evangelist Church

A local parish church at the heart of Copthorne with a vision to grow in love for God and each other. It is part of the Diocese of Chichester and the Church of England with several congregations on a Sunday each different in style but all welcome people to join in worship, practical bible teaching, prayer and generosity. The church is a key landmark at the centre of Copthorne village and is surrounded by a historic and well-maintained church yard. The Lych Gate at the entrance of the church serves also as an official War Memorial listing the local names of those that were enrolled during the First World War. It was erected in 1897 and originally given to the parish as a well-cover for the village well, located on the green opposite the Junior School. It was moved to the Eastern entrance of the church yard to prevent it from falling into disrepair. The Church is a mid-Victorian church which was built in the 1870s as a gift of Lady Jane Lampson and her husband, Sir Curtis Lampson, Baronet, of Rowfant. Prior to that Copthorne had largely been part of the ancient Anglo-Saxon parish of Worth. Sir Curtis was an American living in this country while laying the first trans-Atlantic communication cable. The Kelly's Directory of Kent, Sussex & Surrey of 1881 records that in those days the church cost £3,500 to build. The interior brickwork consists of the Early English style of red and white bricks, some distinctive decorative black bricks and a number of stained-glass windows presented by several members of the Lampson family. Inside the church there are numerous items that are of great heritage value such as the main altar, which is carved out of solid oak, war memorial tablets and the little carillon with two chromatic octaves to name a few.

References

External links

{{authority control Villages in West Sussex Mid Sussex District