| Woolbeding | |
|
Woolbeding
Woolbeding shown within West Sussex |
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| Area | 7.29 km2 (2.81 sq mi) [1] |
|---|---|
| Population | 158 [1] 2001 Census |
| - Density | 22 /km2 (57 /sq mi) |
| OS grid reference | SU872228 |
| - London | 44 miles (71 km) NE |
| Parish | Woolbeding with Redford |
| District | Chichester |
| Shire county | West Sussex |
| Region | South East |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | MIDHURST |
| Postcode district | GU29 |
| Dialling code | 01730 |
| Police | Sussex |
| Fire | West Sussex |
| Ambulance | South East Coast |
| EU Parliament | South East England |
| UK Parliament | Chichester |
| List of places: UK • England • West Sussex | |
Woolbeding is a village in the District of Chichester in West Sussex, England located two kilometres (1.4 miles) north west of Midhurst north of the A272 road and the River Rother.
Woolbeding is recorded in the Domesday book as Welbedinge, meaning Wulfbeards people.
There is an Anglican parish church, All Hallows, of Saxon origin and a large country house Woolbeding House, which was the home of the late Simon Sainsbury of the supermarket family. The Woolbeding estate is owned by the National Trust and includes Woolbeding and Pound Commons which are Sites of Special Scientific Interest.
The parish of Woolbeding with Redford has a land area of 729 hectares (1801 acres). In the 2001 census 158 people lived in 70 households, of whom 83 were economically active.[1]
"Telegraph Hill" a mile from Woolbeding was the site of a station on the semaphore line from London to Portsmouth which operated from 1822 to 1847. The site was previously identified as "Holder" or "Older Hill.
Two poets grew up in the parish, both were sons of the Rector of All Hallows Church, although in different centuries.
Thomas Otway (1652-1685).
Francis William Bourdillon (1852-1921); his father was Rector from 1855 to 1875.
All Hallows is a Grade I-listed church in Woolbeding. There is a line of ancient yews nearby, and a little square tower (constructed in 1728) with quaint pinnacles, in a vaguely medieval style - it looks as if Anglo-Saxon (or Norman) lancets were re-used as its windows. The chancel of this church is quite regular and Victorian, but the nave has tall Anglo-Saxon-type proportions [2], with plain pilasters from ground to roof, and a rather jaunty blocked doorway. There are more pilasters on the north wall, including a truncated one with traces of a filled-in window above it. The quoins are of large stones. These features suggest an Anglo-Saxon date for the main part of the church.
Inside the church is a wall monument to Lady Dame Margaret Mill, wife of Sir Richard Mill of Woolbeding, daughter of Robert Knollys, Esq., of "Grove Place, Co. Southampton", died 1744, aged 56. The coat of arms shown is: "Per fesse Argent and Sable, a pale, and three bears salient, two and one, Counterchanged, muzzled and chained Or [3], impaling: Gules, on a chevron Argent three roses of the field, a canton Argent (recte: Ermine [4])".
Next to a wall that separates the churchyard from the grounds of a picturesque manor house is a curious miniature mausoleum with decorous Tuscan columns and square pilasters, with a frieze of military trophies such as pikes, rifles, cannon, battleaxes, drums and a helmet.
| Next station upwards | Admiralty Semaphore line 1822 | Next station downwards |
| Haste Hill | Holder Hill | Beacon Hill |