ARTICLE INDEX

Part 1 - Maps and Terriers

During the 17th century the Westbrook family was of some substance in the locality, as the principal tenants of the Bishop of Chichester at the manor house in Ferring. It seems certain there were two generations of William Westbrooke, occupying the farm round about the Civil War and afterwards through to the new century.

But the younger William was more than that for he also had the post of Steward to several other manors in the vicinity, in particular Kingston and East Preston owned by the Palmer family of Somerset, and Angmering owned by Cecil Bishopp Bart. of Parham House. Coincidentally Parham had been the property of the Palmer family of Angmering until they sold it to Bishopp.

The Palmer family of Somerset should not be confused with the related Palmer family that owned Angmering, and built New Place. They sold Angmering to Bishopp in 1615, and descendants remained in the village as freeholders and tenants of Bishopp, as mentioned later in this article.

The steward kept manor rolls and rentals for his lord, in which the holdings of tenants were recorded, with rents and other dues, and the traditional extent of the farms. But this gave very little idea of what the farms, and manor itself, represented as a whole. Today, Ordnance Survey maps are the automatic resource employed for showing the extent of land attached to anything from a house to a National Park. Three centuries ago cartography was still in its infancy.

Reasonably accurate estate maps began to appear in the 1570s. Such map-makers as Christopher Saxton producing some of the earliest. Locally the earliest map of which I am aware is that by George Randall, in 1621, with the manor farm at Ferring drawn to recognisable accuracy. Another early map should be that of Littlehampton by William Cootham, in 1633, but it has been lost and only the schedule of farms survives. It was a another century before the art fully flowered with such as Yeakell and Gardner working on the Goodwood Estate. While, coming home, there are the excellent maps of Wick, East Preston and Kingston, by Samuel Wilkinson 1759. Sadly there appears to be nothing for Angmering until the New and Old Place maps circa 1773, by an unknown map-maker, and the Bishopp estate map of 1814, with most of Angmering south of the downs covered.

It will be realized therefore that any estate, or manor survey, made in the 17th century had to be in a different form. This was the written terrier, from the Latin meaning a book of land. A perfectly logical process in which the names of tenants, conditions of occupancy, rents, estimated area of farms, together with a more or less detailed description of the plots and crofts involved, was set out in writing. A method that would be quite feasible today with modern farms, being more or less compact areas of largish fields.

In 1671 William Westbrooke was called upon to compile a terrier, "courtbook of survey" for Peregrine Palmer and his manors of East Preston and Kingston. To assist him, he had juries of villagers from each manor who should have known their lands intimately. Fortunately both manors are very small, and with most of the lands in East Preston inclosed as crofts of land, the terrier for this place was relatively short and easy to compile. However, Kingston was very different, and set him the problems he would soon be facing at Angmering on a larger scale. Most of Kingston, apart from the manor farm, was still in large common arable fields, divided into small medieval style selions or strips, each of which had to be listed and located.

Had maps been common, the Steward may have been able to visualise his survey in this overall form but, as it is, each plot was presumably visualised separately. Had he known the Cootham survey he might have had the inspiration to number the common field plots sequentially, so fixing them clearly in their location. As it is, each plot was described in the traditional way, merely by reference to the name of the common field and furlong, and in relation to neighbouring plots, but the number of selions was so great that error and omission was almost inevitable. It has been possible to create a map for the East Preston and Kingston for 1671, but only because the 1759 estate map survives providing a layout of farms not too far removed from that in 1671.

Article Index

Part 2 - The 1679 Survey of East and West Angmering

"East Angmering - The Presentments of the Homage there sworn at a Court of Survey holden for the Mannor of East Angmering part of the possessions of the Right Worshippful Cecill Bishopp Barronett on the Tenth day of October 1679 from thence and kept by adjournment on several days after by Will Westbrook Steward there".

The Steward took on the Angmering survey in virtually the same way as in 1671, the primary difference being that the modern parish of Angmering not only incorporated the old East and West manors, but also Ham, Barpham, and numerous small outliers of other manors such as Poling. There is also the problem that a fair quantity of land and houses were owned by other freeholders, such as Thomas Palmer of Angmering, with nothing in the way of quit rents payable to Bishopp, and therefore these lands were not directly listed. Nor were East and West manors compact areas in separate parts of the parish, but very intermingled in the common fields south of the village, and in the houses of Angmering Street.

For the present day local historian there is one other insurmountable difficulty, in the decayed condition of the East Angmering terrier, with several pages fragmentary. Several major farms are therefore largely lost, or can only be reconstructed by inference where plots are mentioned contiguous to other farms.

West Angmering alias Ecclesden, is ostensibly complete, comprising 35 tenancies of all sorts and sizes, from copyhold to freehold, and cottage to extensive farms. Its alias of Ecclesden is confusing in that it did not any longer include the vast farm belonging to what is now called Ecclesden Manor, but did include all land east of that. It also included New and Old Place farms in the west of the village, and Angmering Park.

East Angmering therefore included most other land, south of Barpham but excluding Ham. Its principal leasehold was naturally that part of the demesne held by Avenals, in the east of the village. Some 45 tenants shared this section of the parish, with a greater part of the population.

Article Index

2.1 Customs

One of the most important supplementary items in the Westbrooke survey of 1671, for Kingston and East Preston, was the summary of Customs claimed by the manor tenants. These were long held rules under which they held lands and rights limiting the lord's rule. Such matters as fines and heriots paid when a tenant died and property changed hands, the widow's "bench" or right to her husband's property while she lived, and forfeiture of property if neglected. In Kingston these rules prescribed how many cattle could be turned on the common arable after harvest, to pasture.

Customs for East Angmering in 1665, have been found, but as yet none for West Angmering. Only the right to put cattle out on the common at Swills, north of Ecclesden Common, and to use growing timber on their lands are mentioned. Although, the exception made that they could not use oak or elm, meant the principal trees of the district were reserved to the lord's use, but it may be suspected he gave permission to use them for repairs, when petitioned in the manor court. This leaves a lot unsaid in other matters.

"Eastangmering Customes and Comons Item wee present
That all the tennants of Eastangmering ought to have Comon for all manner of Cattell whatsoever if they tend the same upon the Harrow way from Coldharbor Gate to Harmorpot Gate And alsoe from Dopoles Lane Gate to Swills Barne Gate And alsoe Free Libertie with Carts Horses and Carriages and all other Cattell to drive and Carry to Parke Lane And alsoe free liberty to Cutt Furzes upon the aforesaid Harrowway and Comons And that there is noe woods upon the wasts Item wee present that the Tennants of East and Westangmering ought to have all woods and underwoods whatsoever growing upon theire Coppyhold Lands (Except Oake and Elme)"

What then of a right to put cattle out on the other arable commons after harvest?

One thing this does imply is that Ecclesden Common was probably only usable by the tenants of Ecclesden and West Angmering - few enough of the inhabitants of Angmering, even then.

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Part 3 - West Angmering alias Ecclesden Reconstructed

Such a large and dispersed manor as West Angmering, cannot be described in total, and so its various geographical parts are dealt with individually. As may be seen this could have some historical significance in the evolution of the 1679 manor.

Article Index

3.1 Ecclesden

For convenience, this reconstruction relates only to those lands, stretching from Ecclesden Common in the north through Ecclesden Manor and east of Cow Lane, down to the boundaries of Kingston well south of the Littlehampton Road. For the uninitiated, Cow Lane is the present day path west of the Angmering bypass. The topography of this large tract has changed since 1679 but not so as to lose its main features.

This part of the manor falls into four fairly distinct areas, if we ignore the dreadful intrusion of recent motorways into the landscape. There is Ecclesden Common on land that falls from the old Arundel road south to Ecclesden brook. Then Ecclesden Green on rising ground, with its one remaining farmhouse on the western ridge of Highdown, and south to the former mill and chalk pit. From there the hillside slopes down to the Littlehampton Road in a tract of what is still largely farmland. Finally, south of the road, is that wedge of arable between East Preston and Kingston once known as the Lakes of Ecclesden.

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3.1.1 Ecclesden Common and Ecclesden Green

Ecclesden Common abuts the east side of the present day motor racing circuit, and even in 1679 appears to have been much the same area. The survey does not list it specifically, no doubt because it was common waste land, used by the manor tenants to gather furze for fires, and as rough grazing. It should be realized that Water Lane did not exist east of Dappers Lane until early in the 19th century, before which time Ecclesden stream ran through secluded and quiet water meadows. Between these meadows and the Common there is still a band of arable fields, with the Common Field Lane midway. These crofts, in various tenants hands, had intriguing names like, Breach, Alder Croft, Merrifield and Parsons Field. To the west of the common was Avenals farm, occupied by Thomas Upperton, and to the east Patching Furzefield.

Rising from the south side of the stream and meadows, there is still the vestigial outline of Ecclesden Green, and running south-west from there the banks and hedgeline of its Highway to Angmering, really an extension of the High Street that only survives on the west side of Ecclesden Manor and now renamed Ecclesden Lane. Around this village green there were the scattered cottages and farmhouses of the hamlet. At least six dwellings close by, although only one survives, the Richard Penfold farmhouse. A lane runs south from the green past the farmhouse to where the ruins of an old house was recently demolished, and replaced, the Sara Ingram farmstead, with possibly a cottage not mentioned by the survey.

There is another small wedge of land west of the Green, between the stream and old Highway. This Highway now terminates at a point north of Ecclesden Manor where a hedgeline runs north. A field boundary which marks the line of Swans Lane which headed off towards the water meadows but is now a vast motorway junction

Enclosed by the Collins, West Croft and Harmwood, a block of land called the Rodges of Ecclesden belonged to and included the manor house. It is evident that here and elsewhere the 1679 boundaries of this large farm were the same as in the 19th century, further south adjoining Cow Lane and including the major part of the Lakes of Ecclesden. The survey makes no mention of owner or tenant, and it is only from the 1671 survey of Kingston that we know it was owned by John Baker, and something of the history of this house and farm may be read in other articles written for the Society.

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3.1.2 West of the Swans

Unexpectedly there was another corner of Ecclesden west of Swans Lane, largely covered by the present bypass, which included several crofts and cottages. Apart from Hollands Mead by the stream, these are lost within Chapel Field on later maps. The lost crofts include Ferns Crofts, occupied by William Palmer and Richard Penfold, and the Leares by John Haslen. In the same location were two houses belonging to Thomas Pannett and Edward Rickes.

It is tempting to try and move these houses west to where the Spotted Cow Inn is today, but their description as being adjacent to Swans Lane is proof enough of their being another portion of the decayed village of Ecclesden.

Apart from this four or so acres, and Hollands, the area west of Swans was part of the Avenals or Avenells farm, in East Angmering manor.

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3.1.3 The Common Arable Fields of Ecclesden

There is a lane and footpath on the south side of Ecclesden Manor, which continues due east to Highdown, and will be familiar to many dogs taking their owners for a walk. This path runs along a bank that is all there is left of the great cliff that stood above an ancient beach, before the sea retreated, and in the survey is called Port Bank. Barring the alarming sight of ships sailing overland, the alternative meaning for Port is evident, as Town Bank and way.

North of Port Bank were the first of the common open fields of the manor, West Hill, Middle and East Hill, and Sheeplands to their north. Another footpath to Highdown branches off the Port Bank way, next to the present large chalk pit and mill which did not exist in 1679, and continues past a small pit, which did then exist but has been filled in, at the boundary between West and Middle Hill. Here we come across one of those peculiarities of old surveys and land measure, that can easily confuse the unwary. West Hill of nearly 16 acres comprised about 20 selions or strips, running north to south, averaging less than an acre each, but in the survey they totalled about 20 acres. On this part of the coastal plain it is virtually certain that any field measured in customary acres will only be three quarters that in statute measure. The Saxon acre was that small.

On the southern slopes of Highdown below the Port Bank, a great arable breadbasket was largely in the hands of Ecclesden Farm or Manor, in the survey referred to as Ecclesden Farm laines, which would seem to have been a Sussex name for fields. Nothing of the layout of this farm is known apart from its overall boundaries. All of the Bishopp lands were on the east side against the Ferring boundary at Hangleton Lane. Directly below Port Bank these lands were divided between the three main open fields of Ecclesden, prosaically called East, Middle and West Common, and indeed the hedged boundaries of the commons could still be seen in recent years.

Reconstruction of these fields with all the selions, or strips, in their correct location is very problematical, but has been achieved for West Common, with some confidence. It appears to be complete in having 30 selions aligned East to West, as in the other fields, and almost 38 acres in aggregate area.. However, as is expected, the statute area of the field was just over 26 acres, which tends to confirm use of the customary acre by the survey. It is unfortunate that the surveyor did not provide his own estimate of total common field areas.

It is very unlikely that the distribution of selions amongst the tenants had been inherited from very ancient times, the redistribution of lands by the Manor was an occasional occurrence. In the West Common eight tenants of various sorts had their strips well distributed, William Palmer with his eight down to Mary Huling with only one. To illustrate, Palmer had the 6th, 8th, 13th, 15th, 20th, 25th, 27th, and 29th strip from the north, ranging in extent from half an acre to as much as three acres customary.

Article Index

3.1.4 Hangleton and The Lakes

Further down at the angle of land between Littlehampton Road and Hangleton Lane, there was a combination of enclosed crofts and Butts, the name butts signifying a sort of awkward corner between common fields. In all some thirty acres. It appears likely these several plots were later reassembled as shown on maps of the 19th century. Mary Huling had her house by the road and west of it John Strong with his, but neither can be positively identified with a house that existed there in the 19th century.

South of the road the final area making up Ecclesden proper, was the strangely named Lakes of Ecclesden, as if the farmers were ploughing in a marsh. There were, and still are, ponds and a stream to the Kingston boundary, and the clue is in that, the name lake may have come from the old word for a stream. Thus, land by a stream. Most of this belonged to Ecclesden Farm as in the 19th century, and the only two crofts it did not own were in the north-east corner, belonging to the same John Strong as already mentioned.

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3.1.5 Houses in Ecclesden

In this part of Angmering, namely Ecclesden Green and Hangleton, there were therefore ten houses and one cottage in the Bishopp estate. The survey provides no evidence for other dwellings, apart from Ecclesden Manor, but the existence of a freehold cottage is not beyond question, the environs of Ecclesden Common waste in the north is a possible location for these. Tenants are named for the listed houses, but this is no proof of occupancy. Either house, land, or both could be sub-let, and where manorial tenants had more than one house sub-letting is certain. (Note: the "T" numbers below refer to the 1839 Tithe Map plot)

William Palmer copyhold house probably near the stream east of the Green.

William Young leasehold house east of the Green possibly at T299a

Sara Ingram copyhold house south of Green probably T290 Upper Hangleton

Richard Penfold copyhold house evidently at T300 Upper Ecclesden

Susan and John Wise copyhold cottage with no land, near to the Penfold house.

Mary Huling copyhold house west of Green near the stream

John Haslen copyhold house probably at T274 by the highway west of the Green

Thomas Pannett and Edward Rickes each with a house in T344 at the east end of Angmering High Street.

John Strong copyhold house by Littlehampton Road

Mary Huling another property, long leasehold house by Littlehampton Road. This farm was on a very long lease that was virtually a freehold Ecclesden Manor, owned by John Baker, possibly with its own cottages, and owing no quit rent or other dues to Cecil Bishopp.

Article Index

3.2 West Angmering

Turning now to the other parts of the 1679 Survey relating to West Angmering alias Ecclesden, it is immediately clear that a distinction has to be made between Ecclesden proper, and the rest of the manor, separated from Ecclesden by the body of East Angmering. As its name implies West Angmering was in that part of the village and, in origin, Ecclesden must have been a distinct entity in the extremity of the parish, east even of East Angmering manor. There was a mingling of the manors in that broad area of commons south of the village, but whether this was an evolutionary outcome, or original, is a large question. Possibly even here, the manors once had fairly distinct blocks to themselves.

Albeit, in 1679 West Angmering occupied that entire part of the parish, north of Ham, from the church through Old and New Place across the road to Pryors Farm, and beyond that the whole of Angmering Park below Barpham, all but a small wood which was in East Angmering. Rather more oddly, it also occupied most of a small triangular "island" site within East Angmering, encompassed by The Street, Water Lane, and Weavers Hill, but excluding the Pigeon House. This site included several well known cottages all of which have been lost in recent history and memory.

Arising from that, another remarkable feature of Angmering history, is that although a preponderate part of the parish was owned by West Angmering and Ecclesden, if this had been Angmering in entirety, we would be dealing with a decayed village. In the 16th century the Palmer family evidently turned out most of their villagers in what became New Place farm. and in Ecclesden proper a slow process of decay ended in the 19th century with barely a handful of cottages and a farmhouse surviving, besides Ecclesden Manor itself. Yet, while East Angmering prospered, its church was abandoned and only West Angmering church today serves the parish.

Article Index

3.2.1 West Angmering - The Steane

Beginning with this island outlier of West Angmering, a triangle of common and crofts, amounting to little more than 8.25 acres in the Tithe Map computation, but naturally more by customary measure.

The Survey provides invaluable assistance in identifying the houses, by making a special note of West Angmering dwellings within East Angmering. All but one of these can be placed in the Steyne, only Weavers Cottage being just outside. Nevertheless, a general rule has to be applied that, a house shown on the c1840 tithe map, may only be on the same general site as a house in 1679.

If the survey can be trusted, some eight strips running north to south were occupied by five tenants. Disconcertingly one of these was Henry Blaxton, with an East Angmering farm, but these two plots may in some way have become attached to that farm although originally in the West manor.

Of the houses, one belonging to John Gibbs appears to have been near to the Pigeon House but was lost by the 19th century. The first house that can be reasonably identified was occupied by Henry Ellyot, but the description manor house is lined through as though incorrect, and later sources refer to it as the Court House. A factual title, it may be assumed, indicating where the manor court was held. [T368] It is believed to be the small cottage set back from the road next to Commerce House.

Beyond that to the west, Nicholas Cheesman and wife had what can be identified on old photographs as the thatched Rose Cottage - well known in anecdotes. [T368]

Opposite Saddlers, a small farmhouse called Yew Trees, later owned by Sayers, was in 1679 occupied by John Sturt, together with its barn and other buildings. [T370]

The most well known cottage of them all stood at the corner of the Square. Bunnes, named quite literally as being where John Bunn lived. [T373]

It does not seem likely that Eachways was included in this Steane outlier, and reading the Survey there is some indication that Water Lane was bifurcated at that point, with a lane on each side of that house. However there was a cottage behind, of no known name, and this is the last of the Steane cottages - occupied by William Adams with the Street on three sides.[T375]

Most to be remarked about the Steyne is not that it was accounted to be in West Angmering, but the lands occupied by its various householders were situated in the common fields south of the village, which otherwise would have been East Angmering territory. Otherwise West Angmering tenants had their holdings quite distinctly in that place, and Ecclesden tenants quite distinctly in their eastern part of the parish. The explanation for this historical quirk is yet to be discovered.

Notes for the commons south of the village will be found in the East Angmering chapters when compiled.

Article Index

3.2.2 West Angmering - The Brooks

The Survey, when all the pieces and plots are put together, confirms fairly certainly that West Angmering proper constituted that vast extent of arable, woods and pasture, from Black Ditch in the south through New Place and Pryors, to Angmering Park itself. Most of this freehold in the hands of Shelley of Michelgrove.

Next to the Black Ditch, the brooks pasture and large fields directly north of it, where the Roman Villa lies buried, is known today as Church Farm.

It was not so then, for this is the one part of West Angmering which was altered by the Inclosures early in the 19th century. The brooks themselves were in a number of pastures, usually separated by drainage ditches, as another form of common field. Nothing is stated about the brooks along the main Black Ditch stream, running down from the Decoy, without much doubt these being in the hands of Shelley and Old Place farm.

All the occupiers of common pasture were under West Angmering manor. The difficulty in reconstructing the survey arises from freeholders who were not paying quit rent to the manor lord, therefore did not have their plots included in the survey. Thomas Palmer and Thomas Oliver had plots in the brooks, but not in the survey, presumably freehold. The other interesting freeholder was the church, or Rector, but here there is the help of glebe terriers of about the same date. Two glebe plots can be placed, together with those of six villager tenants of the manor, and two freeholders, with at least fourteen pastures in all. Just one large pasture lay on the Ham side of the stream, south of the present churchyard, extending along the road with the path to Ham through it.

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3.2.3 West Angmering - Common Field

Still today there is a footpath which acts as a short route for walkers from Rectory Lane to Poling. In the past it was rather more significant as the lane giving access to West Common, its route marking the north boundary. Is it only coincidence that the boundary near Black Ditch curves nicely around the Roman Villa site as if it had always been known to locals, perhaps it was known when the common was first laid out.

In the 19th century the common measured 78 acres, and probably over 100 acres in 1679 by customary measure, the exact figure being unknown as the survey is defective. In general the selions or strips would have run north to south, but even in the 17th century many of these had been gathered together so as to create large unenclosed plots of many acres each. The west part was in just 3 plots, with 25 customary acres and 19 statute. The larger section in some fourteen plots of varying size which are difficult to locate exactly. Here again Thomas Palmer had a couple of freehold plots, not listed in the survey, and two more plots were glebe belonging to the church.

Perhaps the most unexpected finding is that, at the extreme east end, against the lane adjoining what is today Fletchers Recreation Ground, was the site of a dwelling. The house and barn of Robert Jordan.

The other surprising feature is that the entire common was occupied by only four tenants, including Palmer, besides the glebe. This contrasts markedly with the minute subdivision of the Ecclesden common arable fields.

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3.2.4 West Angmering - Church and Farmsteads

Today the old environs of the church have been lost in a welter of housing, particularly the west side. In 1679 a churchyard that extended only a few yards south of the porch, was surrounded by two crofts, with the churchyard north boundary extending west to the West Common boundary. What is now Grey Barn is centrally placed against Rectory Lane, in the croft on that side, a small enclosure adjoining is now occupied by the Rectory garden, and against that a lane led south by the Common field with the Robert Jordan house the other side. On the north side of Rectory Lane, a modern name created when the Rectory was built, the end house was what is now called Church Farm.

The southern croft was one of the glebe fields until the inclosures, named the Hempshires, although whether it was often used for that crop is speculative. Estimated at five acres but as usual less. The other main croft to the north was the site of Richard Penfold's farmhouse, with its barns and buildings, but was unlikely to have included Grey Barn. Richard also had his house at Ecclesden, which raises the question of where he lived. The small enclosure west of that was later an orchard, and in 1679 occupied by William Adams.

Here a slightly annoying deficiency in the Survey, makes it appear that nothing else occupied the area. But other lists of minor cottages and places, fill in some gaps. What is now the Vestry built by Gratwicke in 1853, was very likely the site of "Redmans" cottage, built before 1614, and owned by several generations of shoe makers.

All that can presently be said of the houses north of Rectory Lane, is that William Adams was tenant of "Church Farm" although the survey as usual does not grace it with a name. Here again, as with many manorial tenants, having several tenancies and houses to his name the term tenant may not mean occupier. Directly east of this farmstead and its buildings, was the old West Angmering Vicarage House with its croft and herb garden. When did this decay away, and disappear? It seems rather perverse to have abandoned this residence next to the church which survived, in favour of distant East Angmering Parsonage, although we may suppose it was a superior building.

Assuredly there were houses at the east end of Rectory lane, but the Survey only mentions land there owned by Thomas Palmer and occupied by John Sturt. In due course they should be traced, as freeholds in West Angmering.

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3.2.5 West Angmering - Old and New Place and Angmering Park

One other farmstead was close by, Old Place, just to the north from Rectory Lane where there is indeed still a farm but not the ancient house. At that time, this farm was quite separate from New Place, and had its own tenant of Sir Charles Shelley the freeholder. Had he not been paying some small quit rent to Bishopp for his vast estate in Angmering, nothing would appear in the Survey about these lands. As it is the descriptions are deficient, and although fields are named they do not comprise all that made up Old Place and the other farms. Fortunately there is an estate map detailing them, made a hundred years later, and nothing suggests there had been significant changes in that time.

There is one conundrum. Descriptions of the West Common plots, speak of Thomas Palmer owning land to the north suggesting those enclosures laying a little west of Old Place. It is conceivable that a vestige of the old Palmer farm was not taken over by Shelley until later. The notional area of Old Place in the survey at 170 acres was certainly short by any form of measure.

However, the description is such that the boundaries between Old and New Place were the same as in 1773. Apart from the Thomas Palmer question, Old Place included all the fields north of West Common, including the western brooks, up to and including The Steyne or Stean [T158] which bordered the Decoy, and on the east side of the lane, Coney Burrow or Berry Field [T241]. Was this the site of a cony or rabbit warren in more ancient times?

New Place therefore extended north of that, including the decoy ponds and woods, and at a more realistic 150 acres. In addition there was an area of 40 acres west of New Place house, comprising six fields, called the Breach. This had evidently been a common waste in the early 16th century, and figured in a dispute with Thomas Palmer when he ousted the villagers of West Angmering from their lands in the neighbourhood.

Shelley's estate did not end there, he also had the Woodhouse farm east of the stream that feeds the decoy. A corner of Angmering extending towards Poling Corner, in customary measure given as 60 acres. This continued as a distinct farm through until the 19th century.[T138-150]

North of the present A27, an ill defined area of woodland that would have included a large area of Poling detached from the main parish, called Butlers and Hammers also belonged to Shelley. It was bounded by Hammer Pot, where the inn is, to the Dover lane east of that. It is still named on maps as Butlers and Hammerpot Copse. A cottage belonging to Richard Ockenden was very likely situated by the main road here, but various other cottages would have belonged to the Shelley farms without mention by the Survey.

However, the greatest Shelley acquisition in area, although the Survey refrains from any estimate, was Angmering Park, the "major part" was all it had to say. Completing the park, in the northwest corner, was a peculiar outlier of East Angmering manor, at Smiths Wood. This least changed part of Angmering, extends from the Dover north into the woods at Barpham, and is directly contiguous to his then estate and mansion at Michelgrove in Patching.

A few cottages adjoining the main road north of New Place and Woodhouse, were still owned by Bishopp. These are not at all well located, and at present their identity may be left undecided. Thomas Walls and Edward Hoare each with copyhold cottages.

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3.2.6 West Angmering - Pryors

North of the A27 and west of the previously mentioned Butlers, is where the Priorslease farm was and is, or as the Survey had it Pryors Lease. Today the house is gone and only a few barns mark the spot. Adjoining it were several other plots of lands in various hands, and cottages at Charloe.

Owned by Humphrey Gratwicke of Ham, this notionally 50 acre farm was crossed out of the Survey, evidently because Bishopp found he had no quit rent or other dues from Pryors. In the 19th century it still occupied much the same area, although the old boundaries are ambiguous [T110 - 118, 129 - 133]

Other parts west and south of Pryors, were fairly well divided amongst genuine tenants of Bishopp. Richard Jordan with his 30 acres Charloe [T234-5]. William Adams, Cheesman and others with the remaining crofts.

Thomas Pledge and John Stemp were cottagers by the road at what later came to be called Naked Boys, and between them the house of John Bowley. Since no cottages in this vicinity have survived, it is speculative that they can be identified with cottages there in the 19th century.

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3.2.7 West Angmering - Houses

The 1679 Survey was of land rather than houses, and it is undoubted that a number of cottages and houses did exist which owed some form of rent to Bishopp, which were not mentioned. That is quite apart from many freehold houses that he was not concerned with.

The Shelley estate, had its principal messuages of Old Place, New Place, and Angmering Park House, and the Decoy Cottage is know to be old. His Park and farms required a variety of cottages to serve them, from gamekeepers to ordinary labourers, although some Angmering villagers may have worked for the estate.

Houses in Ecclesden proper have been listed, those in West Angmering in the Survey are listed below, with their location on the c1840 Tithe Map, as accurately as can presently be calculated. Present road names are used in some instances.

It is again emphasised that the named manorial tenants may not have been the resident occupiers.

Robert Pannatt copyhold cottage Weavers Cottage in Water Lane [T261]

John and Richard Gibbs copyhold house in Steyne north of The Street [T364]

Henry Ellyot leasehold house Court House in Steyne [T370]

Nicholas Cheesman copyhold house Rose Cottage in Steyne [T368]

John Sturt copyhold house Yew Trees by Steyne [T370]

John Bunn copyhold cottage Bunnnes by Steyne [T373]

William Adams copyhold cottage behind Eachways by Steyne [T375]

Vicarage House north of Rectory Lane [T394]

William Adams copyhold house Church Farm House in Rectory Lane [T395]

Richard Penfold copyhold house south side of Rectory Lane [T397]

Robert Jordan copyhold house east end of West Common [T449]

Sir Charles Shelley freehold house Old Place [T451]

Sir Charles Shelley freehold house New Place [T182] Sir Charles Shelley freehold house Woodhouse [T142]

Richard Ockenden copyhold cottage Green Lodge east of Pryors farm [T174]

Thomas Walls copyhold cottage south of road near Woodhouse

Edward Hoare copyhold cottage south of road near Woodhouse

Humphry Grattwick gent, freehold Pryors Lease [T115]

Thomas Pledge copyhold cottage south of Pryors [T124

John Bowley copyhold house south of Pryors [T125]

John Stemp copyhold cottage south of Pryors [T126]

John Martin copyhold cottage at Harroway [T91]

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3.3 Farms of West Angmering and Ecclesden

Farms in West Angmering and Ecclesden exhibit almost as great a contrast as possible, although Angmering Park was in origin presumably a game or deer park rather than the farm it had become by the time of the survey.

Other great farms were those owned by Shelley in West Angmering. It has to be assumed New Place had been created in the early 16th century, when Palmer ousted the villagers. Old Place, as its name implies, would have been the original Manor Farm, perhaps not always so extensive, but an integrated unit of enclosures in the way usually be found with the principal leasehold farm in manors.

At Ecclesden the one great farm was that of the Manor House itself, although owned by the Baker family, and no longer part of the manor.

All other holdings, or combinations under the same tenant, were well under half that size or less. From 66 acres down to single crofts, for those who had any land. Of these Shelley owned Woodhouse of 60 customary acres, and Gratwicke owned Priors Lease of 50 acres, both integrated units with no common field strips.

Otherwise the farms were in some significant part common field based, although usually including crofts adjacent to the house. Robert Jordan with 66 acres, half of which was at Charloe, and although the other half was in the West Field south of Old Place, it had the advantage of being in large blocks rather than strips. William Adams had the same advantage, with most of his 40 acres in blocks within this Common. And so again for Richard Penfold, far his Rectory Lane farm of 29 acres.

Five other tenancies also based in West Angmering were quite small, and all of the commonfield type, with scattered selions in the open fields of central Angmering. Henry Ellyot, 32 acres, Richard Adams 18, John Gibbs, John Sturt and Nicholas Cheesman each around 8 to 9 acres.

All the Ecclesden based tenants, although having crofts about their houses, also had to contend with many and often tiny strips in the commons there. Even Thomas Pannatt had more plots than his 5 acres, and similarly Edward Rickes 9 acres, John Haslen 30 acres, Sara Ingram 33, Mary Huling 38 acres. Of these smallholds only John Strong at Hangleton had a good compact farm of 24 acres.

Three larger farms at Ecclesden combined crofts with common. William Young with 16 acres of crofts by his house, but the rest of his 40 acres in the Ecclesden open fields in some fourteen plots and strips, and Richard Penfold some 18 acres enclosed but the rest in common field strips.

William Palmer with his 62 acre copyhold, had the largest farm in Ecclesden apart from the Manor, but it was in complete contrast to it as a common field holding. Although several crofts aggregated at about 20 acres, this compared with his other 40 acres in some 35 strips, spread between commons near his house down to those in the far south of Ecclesden above Hangleton.

What kind of husbandry was practiced did not concern the survey, and lack of manorial records closes that avenue. The main source of information is therefore probate inventories taken when people died. These indicate that most Angmering husbandmen had mixed arable and animal farms, with arable dominant, which is barely a surprise in a coastal plain parish south of the Downs.

What the inventories demonstrate is that there were probably fewer active farmers than tenancies, as given by the Survey, with widows and others sub-letting smallholdings. Henry Elliott, who died in 1689, had two smallholds in the survey, but his inventory clearly describes land extending to at least eighty acres of cornland, besides pasture for his cattle and sheep. His single waggon is what can be expected on a holding of that size.

On the other hand, some years later in 1721, John Edsaw died in possession not only of Ecclesden Manor Farm but other land as well, and therefore had at least 180 acres of arable, with unaccounted pasture for around 200 sheep, and some 100 cattle including his teams of oxen. In due proportion he needed two waggons and other husbandry tools and vehicles.

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Part 4 - East Angmering Reconstructed

In realistic terms, what was named East Angmering, might be called Central Angmering. It was the filling in a parish sandwich, with Ham and West Angmering on one side, and Ecclesden on the other side. The greater part of the village was contained in this manor, principally centred on the High Street, and northwards around the site of East Angmering church, through to the Swillage area where Norfolk House is today, and including Avenals, the demesne or manor farm.

It comprised, in the south, a block containing the West or Town Field and East Field, located between what is now Station Road and Cow Lane, next to the Angmering bypass. The crofts and gardens of the Street in the north, to old Worthing Road in the south. Ignore the A259 and railway, which cut through these erstwhile common fields; the ancient south boundary of the manor and parish is that road which crosses the railway at Roundstone, and continues through to Station Road south of the railway station.

The second great block of land comprised an area north of the High Street, from Arundel Road almost to Ecclesden Manor and to the east side of the Motor racing Circuit. It extended north to the old Arundel to Worthing road that has recently been cut off by the A27 route.

Finally, the northern block of the manor is an area centred on Norfolk House. From Hammerpot to Selden Lane, and north to a lane which runs from Longfurlong through the Dover and on to Crossbush. The only small peculiarity excluded is the Steane, a small outlier of West Angmering north of the Street, in that triangle of land west of Pigeon House.

Another slightly unusual feature is that Avenals is at the eastern extremity of the manor, whilst the parish church was at the western extremity. It was more usual for the lord of the manor to establish his manor house and church near to each other, and often together. Here hangs a large question about how the manor evolved.

To clarify matters about roads and lanes in East Angmering, their names were altogether more vague and changeable than today. Highway was a general name for all parish maintained roads, in addition to which there were footways and greenways. Old Worthing Road was called Preston Lane. Hamm Lane was our Station Road. West Lane our Roundstone Lane, and East Lane is now Cow Lane. Angmering Street was indeed that, but in those days extended through the village north into Arundel Road, at least where the houses were situated. Weavers Hill, in the few instances when mentioned, was merely the Highway. Water Lane, in one instance, was called Stream Lane. Running north from it, Dappers Lane had the variation Dapples Lane. Then there was the cumbersome title "Highway to Arundel" in the north. Finally at Hammerpot a lane north was probably Fox Lane, with Park Lane at the boundary of Angmering Park.

Concentrating on what did exist in 1679, according to the Survey, a reconstruction must take unified areas of the manor one at a time. .

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4.1 The Steane

This small area is easily disposed of, since most of it was in West Angmering, and has been described in Part 3 Section 2.1. Only that section bordering Weaves Hill belonged to East Angmering. Of three houses that existed in the Survey two still remain, the Pigeon House and Cressingham.

The house that has been lost belonged to Richard and John Gibbs, together with around nine acres of land. The site is still largely vacant - directly east of Pigeon House in that small angle of meadow between Weavers and the Street.

Pigeon House itself was a freehold, and is remarkable, not only in being one of the truly medieval buildings of the village, but as one of few named houses - a "Messuage and Garden called Pigeon House" and owned by Walter Elphick. Here we can be fairly certain this gentleman was not resident, but lived at Petworth. Only sixteen acres of land belonged to the property, other parts of it having been sold off, and only a much larger estate would have justified building this large farmstead.

Cressingham Cottage was accounted a house, but with only eight acres of land, part of which was the croft north of the farmstead, extending through to Water Lane. The core of this building survives within a greatly extended house, in 1679 tenanted by Sara Older and Sara Crossingham.

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4.1.1 East becomes West

That the major part of the Steane was in West Angmering may have derived from a manorial machination in the 16th century. John Palmer acquired his manors and then ousted tenants from lands near his future residence at New Place, after which they were given other properties in lieu. The evidence in the case is not clear, but it is conceivable they were partly recompensed with lands in East Angmering manor, and were rehoused at the Steane. It is notable that the houses there were copyholds.

As Skeet surmised, the house called Bunnes may be associated with John Bune, one of the complainants in the court case. His descendant, also named John, had this house in 1679.

In total, the Steane tenants of West Angmering occupied a reputed fifty-seven acres, a few acres of which were in the Steane but mostly in the commons south of the Street.

There may as yet be clues as to the truth of this theory in early manorial rolls and other deeds that have survived.

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4.2 Avenals, the Malt House, and Swillage

On the other side of Weavers Hill from Pigeon House, crofts extended across towards Ecclesden Manor, along the Street, including what is known as Chapel Field. An undefined part of the field has already been mentioned as taken up by crofts and cottages in Ecclesden, but the eastern part is altogether more vague. If houses existed in the Spotted Cow location they cannot be found in the Survey, partly due to the Blaxton part of the terrier being fragmentary.

Henry Blaxton may have been the leaseholder of Malt House, although it would thereafter have become a freehold outside the manor. Nearby, Henry Mourton had a freehold house, and this may be identified as the former Pear Tree Cottage, now Wayside Cottage, but in that case its farmland had become detached. Certainly, a few years later, Thomas Adams had a lease of Pear Tree farm. The only present reason for locating these two houses there, is because their descriptions fit to the highway and Avenals farm.

For all that can be gleaned from the Survey, Avenells farm - leased to Thomas Upperton - was much as it would be until recent years. It occupied that narrow belt of land between Dappers Lane and Ecclesden Common, and south over the Ecclesden stream, and most of the land between Swan Lane and Weavers Hill, apart from the Malt House area. In the north Avenals occupied much of the Swills area, apart from the Poling and East Preston outliers, and a few fields in the hands of Blaxton and others. Not enough of the Swills is covered by what remains of the Survey to be exact. Cottages would also have been situated in the Swills hamlet but nothing is recorded of them.

Avenals farmhouse still exists close to Ecclesden stream, at the end of old Water Lane, amongst its meadows bordering Weavers Hill. The great pity is that none of the fields are described with their old form of names, and not even the area of the farm as a whole is estimated, although the Survey is damaged from this point onwards. What rent and leasehold terms there were are lost, but a few years later Peter Penfold was paying £50 rent each year for the tenancy. This was fairly modest for the size of holding, but certainly more than the few pounds being charged for the manor farm at East Preston early in the century.

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4.3 Lopdells and Conyers

This part of Angmering was situated between Dappers Lane and Arundel Road on the west. The site of East Angmering church is at the south end behind Church Road or Bakers Row, and a few fields and woods survive at the north end, where a Poling parish outlier was, south of which is St. Margaret's Primary School.

All of this section appears to have been East Angmering manor territory, together with its houses, but with some freehold at the north end which cannot be readily identified. The school is sited in two fields that were glebe at a later date, but are not identified as such in the glebe terrier of c1663.

South of that, the most substantial block of land, now residential estate, was Lopdells and Stile Field occupied by Thomas Palmer as freehold and leasehold. Below that Church Fields were held by Steadman Breden on a long lease making them virtually freehold. Two widely separated Chantry Fields, owned by Hugh Penfold, owed no quit rent or other dues to the manor.

The only houses that existed belonged to the manor as copyhold, leasehold, and freeholds, with perhaps one house not subject to it. Together with their gardens and crofts, these began about where the Lamb Inn is today, and continued through Church Road, and then north along Arundel Road to the vicinity of Lansdowne Way.

A Thomas Carter cottage and Elizabeth Sturt house would seem to have occupied sites largely taken up by the Lamb Inn buildings today. Just to the west of that is the well known and ancient Conyers to Little Avenings group in Church Road, which have an involved history. Hugh Penfold and Thomas Rogers held the houses as they existed in 1679, much of this row of buildings being built and rebuilt many times. Conyers was the croft adjoining owned by Thomas Rogers, lending its name to the house. The only other house in Church Road was Blaber Cottage, with then or later a blacksmith forge, but this place is uncomplicated in having John Blaber as its eponymous tenant.

Directly behind Conyers is the site of East Angmering church, on land several feet higher than Church Road. To the west of the site there were then open gardens, where the present library and former Older's School was built soon after the Survey was made. North of these is Church House, which John Stone owned but as two former houses.

Modern houses and roads now occupy the croft and cottage site tenanted by John Bunn. This had the interesting name of St Mary Hold, a name which may hold a few secrets of interest. Apart from various farm and other buildings there is another gap before coming to the ancient buildings recently used as a butcher's shop, but at that time a house and barn owned by John Pratt. Some way beyond that a William Pratt, brother or other relative of John as may be, had his cottage as the last of the dwellings in this Street part of the village.

There was though, just one old house in Dappers Lane, on the west side. It is just possible it had recently been built, as a long leasehold owned by Edward Morman. Such are the tenuous clues provided by the descriptions that more information is needed in order to be certain.

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4.3.1 Poling in Angmering

Curving around the present parish church and churchyard, from the lychgate through to the Village Hall, was that strange little outlier of Poling parish, which was yet in East Angmering manor. In the main a meadow owned by Joan Penfold but, at the lychgate end, two cottages.

Richard Ludbitter with his copyhold cottage at the north end. Immediately south of it Joan Chambers with a presumably superior leasehold house. At a later date the occupants had the trades of blacksmith and wheelwright, conveniently at the village crossroads.

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4.4 Thomas Palmer and Inclosure

It is remarkable that of the many large landowners or occupiers in West Angmering and Ecclesden only Humphrey Gratwicke and Charles Shelley held their lands in blocks outside the common fields. In East Angmering there were many smallholds attached to houses, but of large scale farms, apart naturally from the manor farm at Avenals, only Thomas Palmer is outstanding as an owner with entirely inclosed lands. Thomas owned the large block that has been mentioned at Stile Field and Lopdells, and another large area called Mill Fields on the east side of Station Road, which included his farmstead in The Square, now sadly gone. He also had rather more obscure fields adjoining Old Place farm.

Here a little speculation is in order, employing knowledge of what was happening elsewhere locally. Thomas was a member of that family which had only sixty or so years previously sold the two manors to Bishopp. Giving up the manors was not giving up all ownership of land in Angmering, and this farm represented their surviving stake in the village. It is the complete lack of any selions in the open common fields that may be significant, with the family taking that measure which is known to have been employed in Kingston, namely "inclosure by agreement".

This form of inclosure took place in the manor court, with a major landowner "agreeing" to exchange his strips in the common field with various other tenants. Managed in such as way that his strips were gathered together in one furlong division of the common, which would then become his own field. By this argument, in the 16th centuries, Mill Field, Lopdells, and Stile Field were common field furlongs which in about 1615 Messrs Palmer inclosed for their own future use, although they later moved away from Angmering so far as can be determined.

After the considerable land transactions of the family round about 1600, creating long leaseholds and freeholds in the manors, a long period of stability ensued under Bishopp of Parham. Although the common fields of Ecclesden were inclosed gradually, this was mainly due to farms being integrated, with the unused farmsteads allowed to decay. It was not until the 19th century that any more substantial change took place in East Angmering, when what remained of the open fields were inclosed totally.

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4.5 West Common

4.5.1 West Common- the Street

The problems with reconstructing Angmering in 1679 become manifest with the two commons south of the village, not only in themselves, but also with respect to the numerous houses and cottages in the Street, which made up much of the former settled area. Many of these houses, or their successors, survive, and there is a danger that one may be mistaken for another in such a way as to distort any history of the village that may be written

It is not too difficult to identify most of the major enclosures, by their names, acreage, and curtilage descriptions. Gardens and farmsteads, so called "gates," were so small and densely spaced, that with the Surveyor omitting to name neighbouring houses, error is possible. The additional complication is that several houses were not owned by Bishopp, and are not referred to in any way. It is, for instance, likely that a house existed on the corner of the Square which became the Red Lion Inn, and further east no doubt Richard Sturt had another house at Cottrells, but these lands were of no interest to Bishopp. It does also appear likely they had been attached to the Palmer farm at Mill Fields adjoining, and not to any Bishopp lands.

South of this was indeed the Mill Field owned by Thomas Palmer, and the farmhouse to this was on the east side of the Square, where are now shops. It can just be made out on old photographs as a barn like building, named the Rosary.

First of the cottages owned by Bishopp in the Street, was that of Edward Monk east of Cottrells. This site is better known as Barrack Yard, that double row of cottages (demolished in the 1930s) facing each other across a courtyard.

Past that and the Rose and Crown Cottages, do not appear to have been built. The site occupied by the barn and croft of Nicholas Chalk, with some five acres of land in common field strips nearby.

Richard Sturt and then Robert Crossingham had the next two cottages or houses, without any lands attached to them. Honey Lane is next to these giving access to the Common Field and through to East Preston. Past which was the Parsonage, with its large gardens, or as we know it today Syon House.

A small croft then intervened, before John Roberts' cottage called Jinmans, with its three acre smallhold. Evidently this was at the site of Bow Cottage.

There is little doubt about Chants Cottage, an excellent timber framed building, held by Henry Blaxton, as the farmhouse to the substantial Chalks farm - a previous tenant - by lease from Bishopp. "House barne stable gates and backside", although its widely distributed crofts and strips cannot easily be placed due to the damaged terrier or survey of 1679.

John Gibbs and John Grenfield occupied the last two of the Bishopp properties in the Street, freeholds with a few acres each. But Weavers and Brocketts were the last houses before Roundstone Lane, and perhaps both of these were owned by Hugh Penfold. Was one of these the Constables farm and house said by the Survey to be part of the manor of West Preston?

In the whole extent of West Town Common, only two other houses are likely to have existed, the Old Mill House in Station Road, although the Survey makes no mention of it, and William Oulder's cottage within his compact farm, soon afterwards taken over as school charity land.

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4.5.2 West Common - the Enclosures

Not unnaturally, the enclosures created at some distant period were located against the roads on the west and south. As already said, Thomas Palmer owned the Mill Fields south from the Square, where Mill Road is today. Then another field called Earthpitt, slightly modified when the common was inclosed in the 19th century, was divided between Thomas Olliver and Hugh Penfold. Old Mill Cottage stands at the boundary between Mill and Earthpitt Fields.

The Angmering School is more or less at the north end of what was then the William Oulder farm, but imminently to become School Charity Land to fund the first Angmering school at the present library. A bungalow by the road is on the site of his farmstead.

North of Preston Place in East Preston, now cut through by the road and rail, an involved group of enclosures belonged to Olliver Weekes - Wash Beetle Croft, Stonefield and Loaves amongst the names.

From there, east along the Worthing Road, the main crofts were: Gratwicke of Ham with the Irishes. Weekes again with his Charles Dell, and another small croft by Roundstone Lane. In between a small open field furlong called Charles Dell or Charles Oak, and presumably all that was left after Weekes had inclosed his part. One of the many glebe selions of the parish was in this furlong, others being scattered about the main open field.

Rather isolated between the Oulder farm and Irishes a small enclosure, later to be attached to the School Land, belonged to West Angmering tenants, John Sturt and Richard Adams. Another outlier of that manor also belonged to Richard Adams, a croft north of the common in the angle between the Street and Roundstone Lane.

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4.5.3 West Common - the Open Field

Otherwise, all of the West Town Common would seem to have been in open fields strips, in several furlongs. With the survey being damaged and many freehold selions not being described, reconstruction of the main open field in detail is almost impossible.

The open field did in fact include what is referred to as the South Common, no doubt a substantial remnant of what had been an entirely separate open field. Otherwise there was Stone Furlong towards the west side, a Middle Furlong, and East Furlong next to Roundstone Lane. But even then the open field was less in area than that inclosed.

Scattered about the open field, East Angmering parish had some nine strips of various sizes as glebe. These were of course gathered together with others from West Angmering, when the common was inclosed in the 19th century, and the Middle Furlong became one great glebe enclosure south of the parson's house.

A number of selions in various parts of the open field belonged to West Angmering manor - the Steane householders; no particular pattern or concentration for these can be discerned.

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4.6 East Common and the Pound

Only two houses in the Survey were located in the whole East Common area, between Roundstone Lane and Ecclesden at Cow Lane, and these stood close together near the Street. Thomas Olliver with a farmstead and twenty acres called Bacons, and Henry Blaxton with the Poundlands and his lands of that name. The interesting matter is that Poundlands evidently occupied that strip of land directly against the Street, north of the present Pound House garden. Present day Pound House might rather be identified with Bacons, having sixteen of its acres in enclosures around it.

Otherwise, most of the enclosures or large blocks of this common were at the south end, extending from what is today Roundstone in the west to the new roundabout in the east. Of particular note is that the croft where the Roundstone Inn and caravan park are today was then part of Oulder's school land, only exchanged so as to move to the main block of this farm in the 19th century Inclosures.

Even more notable is the Nine Acre field north of that, where are now nurseries. This was owned by Weekes and may be identified as the field which belonged to Madehurst manor, according to the Survey, one of the two parts of Angmering parish which did not belong to East Angmering manor.

East from Roundstone were the fields belonging to Mary Baker of East Preston, called Pigeon House land, because they had been purchased by the family from the Pigeon House owner only a few years previously.

Finally to the east, a small strip owned by Oulder, then another larger strip owned Joan Penfold and lastly a Walter Elphick field of six acres, still a part of Pigeon House farm.

Logically enough the open field that took up most of the area, centrally between Bacons and Roundstone, was divided into East and West Furlongs. Here again the large number of small strips, many of them missing from the Survey, makes reconstruction a thankless task. None of these were glebe belonging to the church, but several selions distributed about the field, belonged to West Angmering manor, tenanted by the Steane householders.

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4.7 East Angmering Houses

Although the location of these houses is provided using tithe map notations of c1840, these sites vary from virtual certainty to mere probability based on inadequate descriptions. Even then, there is no guarantee that any house that existed in the 19th century was the same house as in 1679, with rebuilding a common occurrence.

Only the houses in the Survey and earlier Glebe Terrier are listed.

Names of houses which exist today do not imply they are the same as existed in 1679.

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4.8 Farms of East Angmering

Farms in East Angmering were in the usual range of sizes for a local common field manor. Avenals the manor farm the one major player, at well over 200 acres although not stated.

Many of the cottages and houses had no land attached to them, some of their owners and occupiers being tradesmen, but a few were wealthy businessmen, such as John Stone of Church House who was a merchant. A few landowners or tenants had several houses and farms, such as Henry Blaxton with Chants and the Pound.

Not everyone lived in Angmering or depended on the farms their. Walter Elphick had Pigeon House with its sixteen acres, but was a gentleman of Petworth. Mary Baker with twelve acres had her home and land in East Preston. As already mentioned Thomas Palmer, although possessing a large set of farms in the village lived it seems at Peppering. Steadman Breaden with twenty acres, had his home probably in Rustington.

William Oulder was certainly of Angmering, on his neat 35 acre farm, but also had lands at Kingston and probably Ham. Oliver Weekes had two holdings of some seventy acres plus other private land. Hugh Penfold only tenanted nine acres, but had other houses in the Street and substantial lands as his own.

Small scale husbandmen, included Sara Older with eight acres, Richard Gibbs with nine but also a similar farm in West Angmering, Nicholas Chalk a mere five acres, and Richard Adams with a ten acre lease. Finally Henry Ellyot occupied nineteen acres, but also another sixteen in West Angmering.

That only leaves the up and coming Olliver family. Thomas owning twenty nine acres in the Survey, but destined to be a substantial farmer in due course. He died in possession of Kingston Manor Farm in 1687, his inventory confirming his extensive holdings, with 145 acres of land under corn, together with numerous cattle and well over a hundred sheep. A two waggon enterprise, besides other farm appliances.

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4.9 Angmering in Goring and West Preston

All there is left to mention is the two farms belonging to East Angmering, and yet outside the parish. In the way that other manors had land in Angmering parish.

The exact location of these houses and lands has not been determined, but Richard Sturt occupied six acres and a house in West Preston, as a copyhold, while John Whittington had his copyhold house and six acres in Goring.

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Part 5 - Summary of 1679 Survey Tenancies for West and East Angmering

West Angmering and Ecclesden Manor

1/ Henry Ellyot - Court House in Angmering, about 32 acres, lease for years, rent not stated.
2/ William Young - House in Ecclesden, 40 acres, lease, £15 per annum
3/ Thomas Knight - Orchard in Ecclesden, no details.
4/ Susan wife of John Wise - Cottage in Ecclesden, copyhold for lives, rent 1s per annum.
5/ William Palmer gent. - House in Ecclesden, 62 acres, copyhold for his life, rent £3.
6/ Richard Penfold and daughters - House in Ecclesden, 40 acres, copyhold for lives, rent 53s 4d
7/ John Haslen in right of his wife - House in Ecclesden, 30 ½ acres, copyhold for her life, rent 20s 8d
8/ Sara Ingram widow and son - House in Ecclesden, 33 ½ acres, copyhold for lives, rent 40s
9/ Mary Huling widow - House in Ecclesden, 16 acres, copyhold for her life, rent 16s
10/ John Strong, wife and son - House in Ecclesden, 15 acres, copyhold for lives, rent 15s
11/ The same John Strong and family - 9 acres in Ecclesden, copyhold for live, rent 9s.
12/ Margarett wife of Nicholas Cheesman and brother Martin Chalk. - House in Angmering, 7 ½ acres, copyhold for lives, rent 6s 8d
13/ Richard Adams - 18 acres in Angmering, copyhold for his life, rent £4 6s 8d
14/ Edward Rickes by right of his wife - House in Ecclesden, 9 acres, copyhold for her life, rent 36s 8d
15/ Thomas Pannett - House in Ecclesden, 5 ½ acres, copyhold for his life, rent 50s.
16/ Richard and William Young - 1 ½ acres in Ecclesden, copyhold for lives, rent 10s
17/ Robert Jordan - House in Angmering, 66 acres in Angmering, copyhold for his life, rent 40s.
18/ William Adams - Cottage in Angmering, copyhold for life, rent 5s
19/ William Adams of Barpham - House in Angmering, 40 acres, copyhold for his life, rent [£4]
20/ Richard Ockenden, daughter and son - Cottage 1 acre , copyhold for lives, rent 2s
21/ John and Richard Gibbs - House in Angmering, 9 ½ acres, copyhold for lives, rent 6s 8d.
22/ John Stemp, wife and son - Cottage in Angmering, ¾ acres, copyhold for lives, rent 1s
23/ John Sturt - House in Angmering, 8 acres, copyhold for his life, rent 23s 4d
24/ John Bunn by right of his wife, and his son. - Cottage in Angmering, copyhold for lives, rent 3s 4d
25/ John Bowley by right of his wife - House in Angmering, 2 acres, copyhold for her life, rent 12s
26/ Thomas Walls and others - Cottage in Angmering, copyhold for lives, rent 1s
27/ Edward Hoare [and others not stated] - Cottage in Angmering, copyhold for lives, rent 1s
28/ Thomas Pledge, wife and son - Cottage in Angmering, copyhold for lives, rent 2s
29/ Robert Pannatt, and his wife - Cottage in Angmering, copyhold for lives, rent 2s
30/ John Martin and wife - Cottage in Angmering, copyhold for lives, rent 1s
31/ Richard Penfold and daughters - House in Angmering, 29 acres, copyhold for lives, rent 20s and 10s
32/ Mary Huling widow - House in Ecclesden, 22 acres, lease for 10, 000 years, rent 21s 3d
33/ not applicable
34/ Humphrey Grattwick gent - House in Angmering, 50 acres Pryors Lease, rent 1s
35/ Sir Charles Shelley baronet - Old Place and 170 acres, New Place and 150 acres, Breach 40 acres, Woodhouse and 60 acres, Butlers no acreage, Angmering Park, freehold rent not given East Angmering Manor
36/ Thomas Olliver - House, 20 acres called Bacons, freehold rent not stated
37/ John Pratt - House, freehold, rent 1s
38/ John Gibbs - House, 2 ½ acres, freehold rent 2s
39/ Walter Elphick gent - House called Pigeon House, 16 acres, freehold rent 9s
40/ Mary Baker spinster - 12 acres, freehold rent 6s
41/ John Stone - House, freehold rent 6d
42/ The same John Stone - House, freehold rent 6d
43/ Hugh Penfold - House, freehold in reversion rent 2s 8d
44/ William Oulder - House, 35 acres, freehold rent 8s
45/ Robert Crossingham - House, ½ acre, freehold rent 1d
46/ Henry Mourton - House, freehold rent one pepper corn
47/ John Grinfeild - House, 5 acres, freehold rent not stated
48/ Olliver Weekes Esq - 23 acres, freehold rent 8s
49/ The same Olliver Weekes - 41 ¾ acres, freehold rent 24s 2d
50/ Thomas Palmer Esq - House, 40 acres, freehold rent not stated
51/ The same Thomas Palmer - land area not stated, freehold rent not stated
52/ Sir Charles Shelley baronet - Smith Wood in Angmering Park, freehold rent 8s 6d
53/ Steadman Breaden - 20 acres, leasehold for 10, 000 years rent 8s
54/ Thomas Olliver - 9 acres, leasehold for 10, 000 years rent 4s 5d
55/ Hugh Penfold - 9 acres, leasehold for 10, 000 years rent 4s 5d
56/ Edward Morman - Cottage, leasehold for 1,000 years rent 6d
57/ Joan Penfold widow - ¼ acre of land, leasehold for 10,000 years rent 1d
58/ Elizabeth Sturt - House, leasehold for 10, 000 years rent 6d
59/ Joan Chambers widow - House, leasehold for unstated years rent 4s
60/ John Roberts, wife and son - Cottage called Jinmans, 3 acres, copyhold for lives rent 3s 4d
61/ Sara Older widow and Sara Crossingham - House, 8 acres, copyhold for lives rent 8s 6d
62/ Richard Sturt and wife - Cottage, copyhold for lives rent 6s 8d
63/ Thomas Carter, wife and son - Cottage, copyhold for lives rent 2s 6d
64/ Richard and John Gibbs - House, 9 acres, copyhold for lives rent 15s 2d
65/ The same Gibbs - Cottage, copyhold for live rent 2s
66/ Nicholas Chalk for other lives - 5 acres, copyhold for lives rent 3s 4d
67/ Edward Monk - Cottage, copyhold for his life rent 6s 8d
68/ The same Edward Monk - 1 acre of land, copyhold for his life rent 4s
69/ Thomas and Charles Charles or Rogers - House, 3 acres called Conyers, copyhold for lives rent 20s
70/ Richard Ludbitter, wife and son - Cottage, ½ acre, copyhold for lives rent 3s 4d
71/ John Bunn - House, 4 acres, copyhold for his life rent 7s
72/ William Pratt, wife and his brother - Cottage, copyhold for lives rent 4s
73/ Elizabeth and Richard Sturt - House in West Preston, 6 acres, copyhold for lives rent 2s
74/ John Whittington, and daughters - House in Goring, 6 acres, copyhold for lives rent 8s
75/ John Blaber and wife - Cottage, copyhold for lives rent 6s 8d [The document is damaged and fragmentary hereon]
76/ Thomas Upperton - Manor House called Avenells farm, area not stated, leasehold rent not known
77/ Richard Adams - [10] acres, leasehold rent not known
78/ Henry Blaxton - House and land called Poundlands unknown terms
79/ Henry Blaxton? - extensive farm unknown terms
80/ Henry Ellyot - 19 acres called Barnards, lease for years, rent not known
81/ Henry Blaxton - extensive leasehold farm terms not known

Article Index

RW Standing
September 2004

Page updated: 29 Sept 2004