Stedham with Iping is a civil parish

Civil parish

In England, a civil parish is a territorial designation and, where they are found, the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties...

 in the Chichester

Chichester (district)

Chichester is a largely rural local government district in West Sussex, England. Its council is based in the city of Chichester.-History:The district was formed on 1 April 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972, as a merger of the municipal borough of Chichester and the Rural Districts of...

 district of West Sussex

West Sussex

West Sussex is a county in the south of England, bordering onto East Sussex , Hampshire and Surrey. The county of Sussex has been divided into East and West since the 12th century, and obtained separate county councils in 1888, but it remained a single ceremonial county until 1974 and the coming...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. It is approximately two miles (3 km) west of Midhurst

Midhurst

Midhurst is a market town and civil parish in the Chichester district of West Sussex, England, with a population of 4,889 in 2001. The town is situated on the River Rother and is home to the ruin of the Tudor Cowdray House and the stately Victorian Cowdray Park...

 and comprises the two villages of Stedham

Stedham

Stedham is a village in the Chichester district of West Sussex, England. It lies within the civil parish of Stedham with Iping, on the A272 road 1.5 miles west of Midhurst....

 and Iping

Iping

Iping is a village in the Chichester district of West Sussex, England. It lies within the civil parish of Stedham with Iping, just off the A272 road 2 miles west of Midhurst. The village lies on the River Rother...

. There are two churches in the parish: St James in Stedham and St Mary in Iping. Its watermill (now disused) was used for the production of blotting paper

Blotting paper

Blotting paper is a highly absorbent type of paper or other material. It is used to absorb an excess of liquid substances from the surface of writing paper or objects. It is also commonly used as a beauty tool to absorb excess oil from the skin.-Manufacture:Blotting paper is made from different...

.

In the 2001 census the parish had an area of 11 km² (2,671 acres) and had 346 households with a total population of 814. 413 residents were economically active.

Famous former residents include Kerry Packer

Kerry Packer

Kerry Francis Bullmore Packer, AC was an Australian media tycoon. The son of Sir Frank Packer and Gretel Bullmore, the Packer family company owned controlling interest in both the Nine television network and leading Australian publishing company Australian Consolidated Press, which were later...

 who maintained a polo

Polo

Polo is a team sport played on horseback in which the objective is to score goals against an opposing team. Sometimes called, "The Sport of Kings", it was highly popularized by the British. Players score by driving a small white plastic or wooden ball into the opposing team's goal using a...

 team in the area for many years.

The most famous literary connection is with one of the stories of HG Wells. "The Invisible Man

The Invisible Man

The Invisible Man is a science fiction novella by H.G. Wells published in 1897. Wells' novel was originally serialised in Pearson's Weekly in 1897, and published as a novel the same year...

" begins when the bandaged invisible man comes to Iping to rent a room. He eventually gets found out and has to fight the scared villagers to get away.