West Dean is a village,

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 and civil parish in the District of Chichester in West Sussex, England north of Chichester on the

A286 road 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 mo ...

just west of Singleton. The parishes include the hamlets of Binderton and Chilgrove. The civil parish has a land area of . The 2001 Census recorded 425 people living in 177 households, of whom 248 were economically active. The village is on the Monarch's Way long-distance footpath. West Dean is in the Lavant Valley in the South Downs and has a

Church of England parish church A parish church in the Church of England is the church which acts as the religious centre for the people within each Church of England parish (the smallest and most basic Church of England administrative unit; since the 19th century sometimes ca ...

and one public house, ''The Selsey Arms''. The church and most of the houses are built of flint, in most cases with brick quoins and window dressings.

History

West Dean

The Manor of West Dean was in the ancient hundred of Singleton, but was not mentioned by name in the Domesday Book of 1086. West Dean is a large

parish and in 1861 extended to of arable, pasture, and woodland with a population of 681. The parish included Chilgrove.

Binderton

The Domesday Book records Binderton (''Bertredtone'') in the Hundred of Singleton in the lands belonging to Earl Roger. It says: There is evidence of there having been both a chapel and church at Binderton, but not since the 17th century. Kelly's Directory of 1867 says: The remains of the former chapel stand opposite Binderton House.

Preston

Preston, now a farm between West Dean and Binderton, was considered significant enough to be included in the Domesday survey, where it was listed as having seven households: three villagers and four smallholders. It had ploughing lands and of meadows.

Parish church

The Church of England parish church of

Saint Andrew Andrew the Apostle ( grc-koi, Ἀνδρέᾱς, Andréās ; la, Andrēās ; , syc, ܐܰܢܕ݁ܪܶܐܘܳܣ, ʾAnd’reʾwās), also called Saint Andrew, was an apostle of Jesus according to the New Testament. He is the brother of Simon Peter ...

is a

Saxon The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic * * * * peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country (Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the Nor ...

building from before the

Norman conquest of England The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Normans, Norman, Duchy of Brittany, Breton, County of Flanders, Flemish, and Kingdom of France, French troops, ...

. It was badly damaged by a fire in 1934 but then sensitively restored under the direction of

Frederick Etchells Frederick Etchells (14 September 1886 – 16 August 1973) was an English artist and architect. Biography Etchells was born in Newcastle upon Tyne. His early education was at the London School of Kensington, now known as The Royal College ...

West Dean House

West Dean House is a

Georgian Georgian may refer to: Common meanings * Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country) ** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group ** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians **Georgian scripts, three scrip ...

" Gothick"

country house An English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a town house. This allowed them to spend time in the country and in the city—hence, for these peopl ...

that now houses

West Dean College West Dean College of Arts and Conservation is situated in the West Dean Estate, of West Dean near Chichester. The Estate was formerly the home of the poet and patron of the arts Edward James. He was an avid admirer of the Surrealist movement, ...

, a specialist college with a worldwide reputation for the study of conservation, making and visual arts. James Wyatt designed the house and it was built in 1804 for

Baron Selsey Baron Selsey, of Selsey in the County of Sussex, was a title in the Peerage of Great Britain. It was created on 13 August 1794 for Sir James Peachey, 4th Baronet, Master of the Robes to King George III. He was succeeded by his son, the second ...

of the Peachey family. After the death of the last Peachey heir it became the home of William James in 1891 and in 1893 much of the house was remodelled to designs by Ernest George and Harold Peto. His son

Edward James Edward Frank Willis James (16 August 1907 – 2 December 1984) was a British poet known for his patronage of the surrealist art movement. Early life and marriage James was born on 16 August 1907, the only son of William James (who had inherite ...

, donated it to a charitable trust (the Edward James Foundation) in 1964 and it became a college in 1971. Peto also designed the walled gardens, which with the glasshouses and other gardens around the house are open to the public. There is also a park and

arboretum An arboretum (plural: arboreta) in a general sense is a botanical collection composed exclusively of trees of a variety of species. Originally mostly created as a section in a larger garden or park for specimens of mostly non-local species, man ...

Landmarks

Kingley Vale Kingley Vale is a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest north of Chichester in West Sussex. It is also a Special Area of Conservation and a Nature Conservation Review site, Grade I. An area of is a national nature reserve. The site ...

is on the border of the parish and is a

Site of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle of ...

and a national nature reserve. It is noted for its yew woodlands. The site is also of archaeological interest including Bronze Age and Roman earthworks, cross dykes, Goosehill Camp on Bow Hill and an ancient field system. Binderton House is a 17th-century Grade II listed house, formerly the home of

Anthony Eden Robert Anthony Eden, 1st Earl of Avon, (12 June 1897 – 14 January 1977) was a British Conservative Party politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1955 until his resignation in 1957. Achieving rapid promo ...

References

Sources

External links

{{authority control Villages in West Sussex