Barpham, West Sussex :: Shared Description
Not to be confused with neighbouring Burpham, Barpham, sometimes known as Bargeham and pronounced as Barffham, is a former medieval downland parish that existed from about the 11th century until it was dissolved and added to the parish of Angmering in the early 16th. The original parish was bounded by Burpham to the west, Rackham to the north west, Storrington to the north east, a detached portion of Clapham containing Lee Farm and another surrounding Michelgrove to the east, and Angmering to the south.
The original village seems to have been split into two parts, the church and manor were located on Barpham Hill whilst the rest of the village was in the valley below. Excavations on the church have revealed that it dates from the Saxon period and had been extended in four different phases up to the 14th century. By that time the village had fallen in decline, taxation documents of 1296 and 1327 reveal a drop in the number of those paying taxes suggesting depopulation was already taking place most likely due to the agricultural shift away from arable to the less labour intensive sheep farming resulting in the local peasants heading south to the coastal plain to look for work. The arrival of the Black Death in 1348 finished the village off. The church subsequently fell into decay and was probably long gone when it was finally decommissioned in 1523.
Upper Barpham Farm has most likely been built on the site of the former manor and dates from the 16th century whilst the church originally lay in a field to the north called Chapel Croft and nothing remains except some very uneven ground. Lower Barpham lies next to the site of the medieval village whose earthworks are still visible in the adjacent field to the west.
Bibliography
"Angmering" in Victoria County History: A History of Sussex Vol. V part 2 (2009)
Peter Brandon - The South Downs (Phillimore, 2002)
John Vigar - The Deserted Villages of Sussex (Dovecote, 1994)
Martin B Snow - Barpham (2010) Link
RW Standing - "barpham" from Angmering Village History (2005) Link
A Barr Hamilton - "Bargeham Church" (SAC 1964) reprinted in Link
The original village seems to have been split into two parts, the church and manor were located on Barpham Hill whilst the rest of the village was in the valley below. Excavations on the church have revealed that it dates from the Saxon period and had been extended in four different phases up to the 14th century. By that time the village had fallen in decline, taxation documents of 1296 and 1327 reveal a drop in the number of those paying taxes suggesting depopulation was already taking place most likely due to the agricultural shift away from arable to the less labour intensive sheep farming resulting in the local peasants heading south to the coastal plain to look for work. The arrival of the Black Death in 1348 finished the village off. The church subsequently fell into decay and was probably long gone when it was finally decommissioned in 1523.
Upper Barpham Farm has most likely been built on the site of the former manor and dates from the 16th century whilst the church originally lay in a field to the north called Chapel Croft and nothing remains except some very uneven ground. Lower Barpham lies next to the site of the medieval village whose earthworks are still visible in the adjacent field to the west.
Bibliography
"Angmering" in Victoria County History: A History of Sussex Vol. V part 2 (2009)
Peter Brandon - The South Downs (Phillimore, 2002)
John Vigar - The Deserted Villages of Sussex (Dovecote, 1994)
Martin B Snow - Barpham (2010) Link
RW Standing - "barpham" from Angmering Village History (2005) Link
A Barr Hamilton - "Bargeham Church" (SAC 1964) reprinted in Link
by Simon Carey
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Created: Sun, 4 Aug 2013, Updated: Sun, 4 Aug 2013
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