Bignor is a village and civil parish in the Chichester district of the English county of West Sussex, about north of

Arundel Arundel ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the Arun District of the South Downs, West Sussex, England. The much-conserved town has a medieval castle and Roman Catholic cathedral. Arundel has a museum and comes second behind much large ...

. It is in the civil parish of

Pulborough Pulborough is a large village and civil parish in the Horsham district of West Sussex, England, with some 5,000 inhabitants. It is located almost centrally within West Sussex and is south west of London. It is at the junction of the north–south ...

. The nearest railway station is south east of the village, at

Amberley Amberley may refer to: Places Australia *Amberley, Queensland, near Ipswich, Australia *RAAF Base Amberley, a Royal Australian Air Force military airbase United Kingdom * Amberley, Gloucestershire, England * Amberley, Herefordshire, England ...

. The area of the parish is . According to the 2001 census Bignor had a population of 103 people living in 43 households. The village is next to the line of Stane Street, an important

Roman road Roman roads ( la, viae Romanae ; singular: ; meaning "Roman way") were physical infrastructure vital to the maintenance and development of the Roman state, and were built from about 300 BC through the expansion and consolidation of the Roman Re ...

, where it ascends the escarpment of the South Downs. The modern track from the village to the hill top climbs steeply up to and then roughly follows the Roman route, but before the car park at the top Stane Street can be seen as a wide flat terraceway below the modern track.

Landmarks

The

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...

parish church of the Holy Cross is a largely 13th century structure, but it is mentioned in the domesday book with the chancel arch and font surviving from the 11th century. It is one of a benefice of five downland churches (Barlavington, Bignor, Burton, Coates and Sutton). Historic houses in the village include the Yeoman's House, a ''ca.'' 15th century oak-framed

hall house The hall house is a type of vernacular house traditional in many parts of England, Wales, Ireland and lowland Scotland, as well as northern Europe, during the Middle Ages, centring on a hall. Usually timber-framed, some high status examples wer ...

of the " wealden" type. Formerly known as the Old Shop the house has a recessed centre section with curved brackets supporting the eaves, while the first floor of the wings projects. There is some brick infill in the centre section with the rest of the walls having a mix of plaster and flint infill.

Roman villa

Within the parish are the excavations of a large Roman villa which has been open to the public since 1814. The villa contains some of the finest and best preserved Roman mosaics in England.

Bignor Manor House

During World War II, Bignor Manor House was the rented family home of Major Anthony Bertram who was working for military intelligence with French resistance agents. He volunteered to use the manor house as a secret forward base for members of the resistance who were waiting to be flown by light aircraft to France on moonlit nights from RAF Tangmere air base. His wife Barbara looked after the agents and carried out final checks on clothing and equipment to ensure that everything they had was consistent with being French. Agents returning from France would also be taken there for food, rest and initial debriefing.Barbara Bertram, ''French Resistance in Sussex'' 1988, Barnworks Publishing

References

External links

Official Website for Bignor Roman Villa (Under construction - 15/03/07)Holy Cross ChurchManor house Bertram oral history
{{authority control Villages in West Sussex Chichester District