Houghton () is a low-population,

linear settlement A linear settlement is a (normally small to medium-sized) settlement or group of buildings that is formed in a long line. Many of these settlements are formed along a transport route, such as a road, river, or canal. Others form due to physical r ...

with a large elevated tract of land which is mostly wooded and two main farms forming its

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. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

in the Arun District of

West Sussex West Sussex is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Surrey to the north, East Sussex to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Hampshire to the west. The largest settlement is Cr ...

, England. It is on the

River Arun The River Arun () is a river in the English county of West Sussex. At long, it is the longest river entirely in Sussex and one of the longest starting in Sussex after the River Medway, River Wey and River Mole. From the series of small stre ...

, where it has a bridge to a rural part of Amberley, 3 miles (5 km) 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 la ...

. The area is, equally, part of the

South Downs National Park The South Downs National Park is England's newest national parks of England and Wales, national park, designated on 31 March 2010. The park, covering an area of in southern England, stretches for from Winchester in the west to Eastbourne in t ...

. The census 2011 included the population of South Stoke.

Geography

The Downs rise steeply from the riverside plain to the west and north-west of the developed street. A straight side-road leads just to the nearest village with a convenience shop, Bury, still on the relatively flat eastern plain, at the foot of the hills. Homes are modest but many are

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

Amenities and recreation

In the village is a simple two-cell church dedicated to St Nicholas, originally built in the 13th century but largely rebuilt in 1857. It is mid ranked in the national grading system of

s (at Grade II*). Houghton is home to the George and Dragon pub, pre-dating the

English Civil War The English Civil War or Great Rebellion was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Cavaliers, Royalists and Roundhead, Parliamentarians in the Kingdom of England from 1642 to 1651. Part of the wider 1639 to 1653 Wars of th ...

. A large minority of Arundel Park where it is well-wooded is in the parish, as is Houghton Forest which is free public access and covers the west of the parish. The

Monarch's Way The Monarch's Way is a long-distance footpath in England that approximates the escape route taken by King Charles II in 1651 after being defeated in the Battle of Worcester. It runs from Worcester via Bristol and Yeovil to Shoreham, West S ...

long-distance footpath (which follows Charles's supposed route from

Worcester Worcester may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England ** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament * Worcester Park, London, Engl ...

Shoreham-by-Sea Shoreham-by-Sea (often shortened to Shoreham) is a coastal town and port in the Adur District, Adur district, in the county of West Sussex, England. In 2011 it had a population of 20,547. The town is bordered to its north by the South Downs, to ...

) descends from the Downs to the west into the village, before heading south along the river towards Arundel.

References

External links

St Nicholas Church
{{authority control Arun District Villages in West Sussex