East Wittering

East Wittering
A thatched cottage in Bracklesham
East Wittering  East Wittering shown within West Sussex
Population	4,658 (2011.Civil Parish)[1]
OS grid reference	SZ795972
District	Chichester
Shire county	West Sussex
Region	South East
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	CHICHESTER
Postcode district	PO20
Police	Sussex
Fire	West Sussex
Ambulance	South East Coast
EU Parliament	South East England
UK Parliament	Chichester
List of places UK England West Sussex

Coordinates: 50°46′10″N 0°52′26″W / 50.76942°N 0.87377°W / 50.76942; -0.87377

East Wittering is a coastal village in the Chichester district of West Sussex, England. The eastern half of the village lies within the civil parish of East Wittering and Bracklesham, while the western half lies within the boundary of West Wittering civil parish. The village sits on the B2179 road seven miles (11.3 km) southwest of Chichester, on the Manhood Peninsula.

History

The windmill

There has been a settlement at East Wittering for over a thousand years. The Witterings were included in a grant of land to Bishop Wilfrid in the late 7th century. The area is mentioned in the Domesday Book, as part of the Hundred of Westringes (later Manhood). The Witterings together with Sidlesham were rated as 36 hides at the time of Edward the Confessor.^[2] For centuries the manor of East Wittering was in the hands of the Wystryng family, who took their name from the place.^[3]

The former 12th century Anglican parish Church of the Assumption of St Mary the Virgin, has been replaced by the more modern St Anne's Church. St Anne's was built in the village centre during the 1950s, and the old church declared redundant in 1983.^[4][5]

In Victorian times the RNLI raised enough subscriptions to launch a distress boat from the beach at East Wittering, a role now covered by the Fire Service.^[6] Last century the area began to attract greater numbers of holiday makers^[7] but in May 1944 it became the landing beach for the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division during a dummy run for D-Day,^[8] code named Operation Fabius.^[9]

Since then it has returned to a quiet area with a small primary school,^[10] popular with week-end surfers.^[11] Nikolaus Pevsner described the village as "a jumble of bungalows and chalets near the beach in an untidy half grown up state". St Anne's Anglican Church was designed by architect Harry Sherwood who was surveyor of the fabric of Chichester Cathedral. The foundation stone was laid on 6 June 1958 by the then Bishop of Chichester who consecrated the building on 14 May 1959. Within the Church there is a plaque inscribed "1914-1918 No lives were lost from this Parish. All returned safely. LAUS DEO" which testifies to the fact that East Wittering is one of the Thankful Villages - those very rare places that suffered no fatalities during the Great War of 1914-1918.

Surf culture

The village of East Wittering and the whole stretch of Bracklesham Bay is popular with many surfers.^[12] With a low beach gradient and the lack of any obvious dangers such as rips or obstacles it is a great beach for learners and with one of the UK's longest running surf clubs, Shore Surf Club.^[13]

Governance

An electoral ward of the same name exists. The ward includes surrounding areas. At the 2011 census it had a total ward population of 5,117.^[14]

References

External links

Media related to East Wittering at Wikimedia Commons