Earnley is a civil and ecclesiastical

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or ...

in the

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 ...

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 a ...

, England. It is located four miles (6.4 km) south-west of

, and lies on the south coast of

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

. The parish includes the settlements of Almodington and Batchmere.

History

An Anglo-Saxon charter of AD 780 names a piece of land as 'Earnaleach and Tielesora' that was given to the church of St Paul.'Earnley', in A History of the County of Sussex: Volume 4, the Rape of Chichester, ed. L F Salzman (London, 1953), pp. 201-203
British History Online. accessed 19 March 2016
/ref> Then in a charter, dated AD930, King

Æthelstan Æthelstan or Athelstan (; ang, Æðelstān ; on, Aðalsteinn; ; – 27 October 939) was List of monarchs of Wessex, King of the Anglo-Saxons from 924 to 927 and List of English monarchs, King of the English from 927 to his death in 939. ...

granted to Bishop Beornheah of

Selsey Selsey is a seaside town and civil parish, about eight miles (12 km) south of Chichester in West Sussex, England. Selsey lies at the southernmost point of the Manhood Peninsula, almost cut off from mainland Sussex by the sea. It is boun ...

, land at Medmerry in

'with the woodland and fields lying therewith called Erneleia'. Historically Earnley was situated in the hundred of ''La Manwode'' or ''Manwood'', now known under the form

Manhood A man is an adult male human. Prior to adulthood, a male human is referred to as a boy (a male child or adolescent). Like most other male mammals, a man's genome usually inherits an X chromosome from the mother and a Y chrom ...

. The name ''La Manwode'' means 'the common wood' and extended round Hundredsteddle Farm, where the boundaries of the Witterings, Birdham, and Earnley coincide. ''Hundredsteddle'' was the meeting place for the hundred moot and other hundred business. The name ''Hundredsteddle'' refers to the floor on which the ''Hundred court'' would have sat. It lay in the ancient pre-Conquest division of Sussex known as the

Rape (county subdivision) A rape is a traditional territorial sub-division of the county of Sussex in England, formerly used for various administrative purposes. Their origin is unknown, but they appear to predate the Norman Conquest. Historically the rapes formed the ...

of Chichester. The

Domesday survey 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 Wil ...

does not include Earnley, however it is possible that at that time it was included in Wittering. The mediæval

lords of the manor Lord of the Manor is a title that, in Anglo-Saxon England, referred to the landholder of a rural estate. The lord enjoyed manorial rights (the rights to establish and occupy a residence, known as the manor house and demesne) as well as seignor ...

here belonged to the

Ernle Ernle was the surname of an English gentry or landed family descended from the lords of the manor of Earnley in Sussex who derived their surname from the name of the place where their estates lay. Origins Onomastic Onomasticians say that ...

, Ernley, or Erneley family, and derived their surname from a manor they held in this parish. The land being given to Luke de Ernele by his nephew, William de Lancing as part of a

Knight's fee In feudal Anglo-Norman England and Ireland, a knight's fee was a unit measure of land deemed sufficient to support a knight. Of necessity, it would not only provide sustenance for himself, his family, and servants, but also the means to furnish h ...

, in 1166. Earnley Church is a grade II* listed church and together with its small graveyard is contained within retaining stone walls of an interesting boat shaped island of land. The nave is of 13th-century origin. A century later the chancel was added; an aumbry fitted with a carved door dates back to the 14th century. The first recorded rector was in office in 1365; parish registers survive from 1562, but there is no record of a dedication. It has always simply been "Earnley Church". EarnleyChurch

Placename

The O.E. form of Earnley was ''Earnlēah''. 'Earn' meaning Eagle (or possibly a persons name) and 'lēah' wood, glade or clearing.

Culture and community

* In June every year since 2016 the Parish Council holds an annual fete.

Landmarks

Part of the Site of Special Scientific Interest

Bracklesham Bay Bracklesham Bay is a biological and geological Site of Special Scientific Interest in West Sussex. It is a Geological Conservation Review site. It is a coastal bay on the west side of the Manhood Peninsula in West Sussex, England. The bay l ...

runs along the coastline of the parish.

Notes

References

Sources: Victoria History of the County of Sussex, volumes 2 and 7

External links

Earnly Parish Council Website
{{authority control Villages in West Sussex Chichester District Ernle family