Barnham is a semi-rural village and former

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 authorit ...

, now in the parish of Barnham and Eastergate, in the Arun 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 ...

, England, centred about five miles (8 km) north of

Bognor Regis Bognor Regis (), sometimes simply known as Bognor (), is a town and seaside resort in West Sussex on the south coast of England, south-west of London, west of Brighton, south-east of Chichester and east of Portsmouth. Other nearby towns i ...

. On 1 April 2019 the parish was merged with Eastergate to form "Barnham and Eastergate".

History

Barnham is listed in the

Domesday Book Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manus ...

of 1086 as having a mill, a church and 24 households, and woodland, plough land and meadows. It retains some of its rich agricultural history, having had very little woodland for many centuries, and gently rolling cereal fields and pasture instead.

Geography

West Barnham forms a semi-rural conurbation with Barnham (the main settlement in the former civil parish of Eastergate - see below) which had 3,107 people living in it 2001. As with many other such villages in the south-east of England just outside the

Metropolitan Green Belt The Metropolitan Green Belt is a statutory green belt around London, England. It comprises parts of Greater London, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Kent and Surrey, parts of two of the three districts of Bedfordshire and a s ...

with accessible to centres of employment and resorts for the retired, accepted construction in the early part of the 21st century has included retirement apartments and other residential expansion. The cattle market (founded in 1890 but now long gone) was, in its heyday, considered to be one of the most important in Sussex for both cattle and cereals. In the 20th century this area, on alluvial soils, was important for

market gardening A market garden is the relatively small-scale production of fruits, vegetables and flowers as cash crops, frequently sold directly to consumers and restaurants. The diversity of crops grown on a small area of land, typically from under to som ...

; There are many large, industrial-sized greenhouses in the area, although very few were within the parish boundary.

Governance

An electoral ward in the same name exists. This ward includes Aldingbourne and surrounding area with a total population at the 2011 census of 8,627.

Amenities

The parish church, dedicated to St Mary, was given to the Abbey of Lessay in Normandy in 1105 and later passed to

Boxgrove Priory Boxgrove Priory is a ruined priory in the village of Boxgrove in Sussex, England. It was founded in the 12th century. History Origins The Priory was founded in the reign of Henry I, about 1123 by Robert de Haia (or de la Haye), Lord of Halnacr ...

. There is an elaborate carved rectangular font of

Sussex marble Sussex Marble is a fossiliferous freshwater limestone material which is prevalent in the Weald Clay of parts of Kent, East Sussex and West Sussex in southeast England. It is also called Petworth Marble, Bethersden Marble or Laughton Stone in relat ...

. The white wooden tower was once regarded as an important aid to shipping in the

English Channel The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" (Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), (Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kana ...

pub A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...

remains in Barnham, the Murrell Arms - originally a farmhouse, built in 1750, and licensed since 1866. Another

public house A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and wa ...

served the village from the early 20th century until 2010: The Barnham Bridge Inn which closed when the brewery was taken into administration. In July 2014, work commenced to turn the premises into a supermarket. Barnham Windmill is on the South-Eastern boundary of the village on the road to

Yapton Yapton is a village and civil parish in the Arun District of West Sussex, England. It is centred three miles (4.8 km) north east of Bognor Regis at the intersection of the B2132 and B2233 roads. The parish of Yapton lies on the coastal plai ...

. The present windmill was built in 1829 and has undergone start-and-stop restoration for over a decade, although there seems to have been little work done since 2007. The windmill used to be accessible through the adjacent tea rooms, but when the tea rooms closed in 2005, so did access to the mill. In August 2009, work began to turn the tea rooms and adjacent property into five dwellings, with the provisional development plans stating that the windmill would be turned into a '4/5 bedroom house'.Advert for development round Barnham Windmill
/ref> Part of the Portsmouth-Arundel Canal (opened in 1823 but now disused and filled in) is visible to the SE of the village, including remains of the locks and pivots used for the locking mechanisms.

History

St Mary's Church represents the heart of 'Old Barnham', but when the

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a prep ...

and junction for

were built approximately one mile north of the church, the focus of the village shifted as businesses built premises adjacent to the station and this was followed by housing developments centred on this location.

References

External links

Barnham Parish Council

Barnham through the Ages (Arun District Council)
* {{authority control Villages in West Sussex Former civil parishes in West Sussex Arun District