The Poor Cottage in Chidham Lane is a Grade II listed building and lies just south of the Catchpond. Dating from around 1600, although some parts may be earlier, the building has an interesting history as it was the parish poor house until 1838. The problem of poverty raised public concern throughout the early 19th …
Tag archives: History
Chidmere House
Chidmere House in Chidham Lane is a Grade II listed building and is the most southerly historic building in the parish. The house also features a large garden and Chidmere Pond to the South. The core of the main house is undoubtedly of 16th century origin with alterations in the 1930s. It was the home …
Middleton House
Middleton House in Steels Lane Chidham is a handsome, 5-bay Georgian farmhouse faced in grey headers with red brick around the windows. Middleton House is listed Grade II* with Historic England and was built in 1759 as a farmhouse to Middleton Farm, the yard and barns of which were located to its north. Did you know? …
The River Ems
The much-sluiced river Ems runs for six miles (9.7 km) along the border of West Sussex before flowing into the large, coastal Chichester Harbour. According to research by David J Rudkin the River Ems has its source about one and a half miles (2.4 km) east of Stoughton. The Ems is not just a river …
St Mary’s Church
St Mary’s Church on Chidham peninsula is in the Chichester Harbour Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and visitors are always welcome. St Mary’s Church is a place of peace, simplicity, beauty and history. A Grade II* listed building it was built in 1210 during the reign of King John (1199 – 1215), with the Lady …
Nutbourne Watercress
Watercress is popular in salads and grown on a wide scale. In the wild it grows in shallow, fast-flowing streams and is an indicator of clean water. Watercress is a hardy, perennial, European herb (Nasturtium officinale) which grows naturally in wet soil along and in spring brooks, ditches and pond margins and is cultivated for …
Drift Lane
Drovers’ roads or droveways date back to medieval times. They are routes used for ‘driving’ livestock on foot from one place to another, so the animals can graze. Drift Lane on the Eastern side of Chidham and Hambrook Parish was such a droveway. It was used to drive cattle and sheep from the Chidham peninsula …
The Catchpond
Created in the early 19th century when the lane was constructed, the catchpond stores surface water runoff from the fields, discharging the water under Chidham Lane, through the tide bank at low tide. Before the construction of the road and tide bank, this area was a marshy inlet from Bosham Creek. As well as providing …
Christmas Cottage
On the corner of Chidham Lane and Main Road and almost hidden is Christmas Cottage, a Grade II listed building dating from the early 1700s. Grid Ref: SU7923705334 Up until 1950 this architectural gem was known as Arched Cottage rather than Christmas Cottage, but no-one knows why it was renamed. Constructed in red brick it …
Chidham Village Hall
The building known as Chidham Village Hall was built as a ‘floor-malting’ malthouse and was part of a larger complex which included a well, pump house, granary and cottage. Did you know? Malt is grain that has been artificially germinated, with the germination process stopped at a critical point by kiln drying. The most common …