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Apuldram or Appledram is a small parish on the northeastern upper reach of
Chichester Harbour Chichester Harbour is a large natural harbour in West Sussex and Hampshire. It is situated to the south-west of the city of Chichester and to the north of the Solent. The harbour and surrounding land has been designated as an Area of Outstandin ...
about two miles (3 km) south-west of the centre 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 ...
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. Access to the harbour is at Dell Quay. The nearest railway station is 1.2 miles (1.9 km) northeast of the village, at
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 ...
. Most of the parish is farmland, roughly bounded to the north by the River Lavant, to the west by the harbour and to the south by Chichester Marina and the Chichester Canal. The parish is crossed by several public footpaths, offering views of the harbour, cathedral and South Downs. There is now no village centre, and of the original medieval village only the church, the manor and Rymans now remain. The area of the parish is and at the 2011 census the population was 169, a reduction of 9% from the 2001 census.


Toponymy

Old records show many different spellingsMawer and Stanton (CUP 1929) "The Place Names of Sussex" Part I, p. 65 – Apulderham, Apeldreham (1121), Appeltrieham (1198), Appuldram (1440) – but for several centuries the spelling used by the church and the parishioners has been Apuldram. Civic authorities use both 'Appledram' and 'Apuldram' in their records. W D Peckham is quoted as writing 'the deep loam with a clay or
brick-earth Brickearth is a term originally used to describe superficial windblown deposits found in southern England. The term has been employed in English-speaking regions to describe similar deposits. Brickearths are periglacial loess, a wind-blow ...
subsoil is admirable apple growing land to this day'; a feature common to the parishes of the Manwood peninsula. Inventories commonly list cider and not beer. Place names within the parish reflect the industries and activities that once flourished. ''Salterns Copse'', near the Marina, takes its name from the salt pans that were located nearby. Built by the Ayles family of Havant in the 18th century they survived until the middle of the 19th century, when the railways brought in the cheaper Cheshire salt. ''Copperas Point'' records the production of copperas from iron pyrite.


Early history

In Saxon times, and for a while after the Norman Conquest, the area now forming the Parish of Apuldram was part of the Manor of
Bosham Bosham is a coastal village and civil parish in the Chichester District of West Sussex, England, centred about west of Chichester with its clustered developed part west of this. Its land forms a broad peninsula projecting into natural Chiche ...
,'Appledram', in A History of the County of Sussex: Volume 4, the Rape of Chichester, ed. L F Salzman (London, 1953), pp. 138–140.
/ref> which in the 11th century, during the reign of Edward the Confessor, belonged to Godwin, the powerful Earl of Wessex, whose son
Harold Harold may refer to: People * Harold (given name), including a list of persons and fictional characters with the name * Harold (surname), surname in the English language * András Arató, known in meme culture as "Hide the Pain Harold" Arts a ...
was defeated at
Hastings Hastings () is a large seaside town and borough in East Sussex on the south coast of England, east to the county town of Lewes and south east of London. The town gives its name to the Battle of Hastings, which took place to the north-west ...
. After the Conquest William I took possession of the Manor. In 1125 Henry I gave the parish to the Abbot and Brethren of Battle Abbey. However, the College of Bosham remained responsible for ecclesiastical matters and one of the six canons of the College held the Prebend and paid a deputy to live in and care for the parish. At one time the Prebend of Apuldram was held by William of Wykeham, Bishop of Winchester. In 1197 Battle granted possession to Sir Michael de Appeltrieham, Sheriff of Sussex. The demesne reverted to the Crown following the Dissolution of the Monasteries between 1538 and 1542, and in 1580 Elizabeth I granted it to William, Baron Howard of Effingham. On his death, it passed to his son Charles, who was Lord High Admiral from 1585 to 1618 and commanded the fleet that defeated the Spanish Armada.


Church of St Mary the Virgin

The original church is believed to have been built soon after 1100, but the main building was constructed in its present form in about 1250. The south aisle was added about 100 years later. The
chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may terminate in an apse. Ove ...
has beautifully proportioned triple
lancet window A lancet window is a tall, narrow window with a pointed arch at its top. It acquired the "lancet" name from its resemblance to a lance. Instances of this architectural element are typical of Gothic church edifices of the earliest period. Lancet wi ...
s with
Purbeck marble Purbeck Marble is a fossiliferous limestone found in the Isle of Purbeck, a peninsula in south-east Dorset, England. It is a variety of Purbeck stone that has been quarried since at least Roman times as a decorative building stone. Geology Strat ...
shafts and stone mouldings. The altar stands on Victorian tiles, but those in the first pavement by the rails are medieval. A crusaders floor slab lies on the south side of the sanctuary. Behind the pulpit is the start of a stone staircase that once led up to a
rood loft The rood screen (also choir screen, chancel screen, or jubé) is a common feature in late medieval church architecture. It is typically an ornate partition between the chancel and nave, of more or less open tracery constructed of wood, stone, o ...
, but this has long since been removed, together with the rest of the staircase. The Purbeck marble font is 12th century. The circular basin is lined and set in a square slab standing on five shafts. The central shaft is original, but the others are later replacements. The font shows signs of ill treatment, probably during the Cromwellian era.Father Richard Ratcliffe (1986) "A History of Apuldram"


Landmarks

Rymans is a grade 1 listed building. At the end of the 12th century Sir Michael de Appeltrieham owned several hundred acres of the parish, including the site of this property. The earliest recorded house on the site was built for Chauns in the 13th century, and at the beginning of the 15th century William Ryman added the three-storey tower and the south wing shown in the picture. Despite many later alterations, including some by the architect
Walter Godfrey Walter Hindes Godfrey, CBE, FSA, FRIBA (1881–1961), was an English architect, antiquary, and architectural and topographical historian. He was also a landscape architect and designer, and an accomplished draftsman and illustrator. He was ...
in the 1930s, William Ryman's house was probably much the same size as it is today. Ryman was a prominent lawyer and his son, Sir William Ryman, was Sheriff of Sussex. The Ryman family held the estate for nearly two centuries until it was bought in 1619 by William Smyth of
Binderton West Dean is a village, Anglican parish and civil parish in the District of Chichester in West Sussex, England north of Chichester on the A286 road just west of Singleton. The parishes include the hamlets of Binderton and Chilgrove. The civ ...
. After a suit in Chancery it was divided in 1730 between the two daughters of George Smyth. Rymans and some went to Barbara, wife of the Rev William Barttelot. Apuldram Manor and the same amount of land went to Mary, see below. The Manor House is grade 2 listed. The north face of this early 17th-century house has a Dutch gable, rare in this part of the county. Soon after its construction it was bought by William Smyth. It passed via his great-granddaughter Mary to her husband William Hamilton and stayed in that family for a century and a half.


Dell Quay

In Roman times the harbour was navigable all the way to Fishbourne, and Roman galleys may have sailed right up to the Fishbourne Palace. Sea levels in the harbour were lower in the Middle Ages than they are now, and there are records of losses of land to the sea by erosion. The Great Flood of Apuldram occurred in 1274, causing enormous damage in the harbour, following which additional sea walls and sluices were installed. The former existence of a tide mill on the River Lavant near Apuldram Common is an indication of the level of the sea at that time at the northern boundary of the parish. The landing place was moved down channel owing to silting of the upper reaches, and for a time there was access to the harbour a little to the south of the mouth of the Lavant. Here there was a sunken channel, now dry, which led to the centre of the medieval Apuldram village. There is also evidence of a landing place at ''La Delle''. A rent list, dated 1432, records a villein whose duties included "to cart from La Delle to Chichester". Exports in the 14th and 15th centuries were mainly wool and cloth. The wharf at Dell Quay was built in the 16th century on the orders of Lord Fitzwilliam of Cowdray, Lord High Admiral from 1536 to 1540 and in 1580 it was written that the wharf had been "longe sythens buylded by the Lord Fitzwilliam". The quay was at that time was one of the official landing place for the Port of Chichester (including also Sidelesham and the Witterings), which in the 14th century was rated the 7th in importance in all England. At that time there were no warehouses at Dell Quay and no inn. The citizens of Chichester gave this as a reason for asking permission to dig a canal from the quay to the town. Permission was granted but with a condition that the canal must not cut through lands belonging to 'the Baron' (Howard of Effingham), and this made the scheme impractical. Instead, the picturesque ''Crown & Anchor Inn'' was built at the end of the 16th century and seems to have been called initially 'Dell Key House' (not to be confused with the present Dell Quay House, which incorporates William Tipper's post mill built in the eighteenth century, the subject of paintings by Richard Nibbs and George Lambert). During the 17th century the channel needed constant attention. Ships offloading ballast as they approached the quay added to the problem. However, after an intensive programme of dredging, ships of 40 tons could in 1685 once again dock at the quay. In the 18th century coal from Newcastle became the major import and the outlook was graced by three large coal pounds – on the quay, by the inn and on the site of what is now Quay Cottage. There was a crane, which in 1789 was said to be "much out of repair, useless and obstructive". The amount of goods delivered varied over the years. 2128 tons in 1786, 4085 in 1793, 2771 in 1800, 3043 in 1807 and 3602 in 1813. By 1908 there was a steam-driven crane, running on rails, which was later replaced by a diesel-powered crane. A gale in August 1925 wreaked havoc with moored boats. Owners struggling to refloat their craft realised that co-operation would ease the task, which led to the formation of the Dell Quay Boat Club. The name was changed to the Dell Quay Sailing Club in 1934. Also located on the quay are the Apuldram Fishing and Boat Club and a classroom for the Chichester Harbour Education Centre. The water at Dell Quay is now normally only navigable for dinghies and small cabin cruisers for a few hours either side of high tide. However, the tall ship ''Phoenix'' visited twice during the second half of the 20th century and tied up on the end of the quay.


Music

A music festival called ''Blues on the Farm'' has been held in the village at Pump Bottom Farm since 1991.


References


External links


Chichester Harbour Conservancy -VillagesParish Church of St Mary the Virgin, Apuldram
{{Authority control Villages in West Sussex Civil parishes in West Sussex Chichester District