Upwaltham
Encyclopedia
Upwaltham is a hamlet
and civil parish
in the District of Chichester
in West Sussex
, England
located twelve kilometres (8 miles) north east of Chichester
on the A285 road. This small parish on the South Downs
consists of a small early Norman
church and adjoining farmstead in an east-west aligned dry valley
in the chalk
. There are a few more houses at Benges where the A285 to Chichester leaves the valley. From Benges Hill the parish extends south as far as the disused Roman
road of Stane Street, in an area of open access woodland. The barns at Upwaltham House Farm have been converted into a conference and wedding venue. The adjoining farmstead of Littleton Farm is only 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) to the east in the same valley, but lies in Duncton
parish.
The land area of the parish is 494 hectares (1221 acres), with a population in the 2001 census of 25 people living in 10 households.
church dedicated to St. Mary the Virgin is just over nine hundred years old, and remains little altered in size and structure, although the windows are not original, some being medieval and some Victorian
. The three foot (90 cm) thick walls are of stone and downland flint
. In Norman style the church has a tall narrow nave and a rounded apse chancel for the alter. The original round Norman chancel arch, between nave and chancel, was replaced after about 100 years by a wider pointed arch. The south door was rebuilt when the church was about 200 years old, and the porch in the nineteenth century. The floor tiling is Victorian. The stone font at the west end of the nave is as old as the church. In the chancel there is a piscina, a small sink for washing communion vessels, which appears to be made from a reused Norman column capital.
Parish records of births and deaths from 1592 are held by the West Sussex Record Office.
The ecclesiastical parish is now jointly run with Tillington
and Duncton
, the Rector living at Tillington.
Hamlet (place)
A hamlet is usually a rural settlement which is too small to be considered a village, though sometimes the word is used for a different sort of community. Historically, when a hamlet became large enough to justify building a church, it was then classified as a village...
and 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 District of 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...
in 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...
located twelve kilometres (8 miles) north east of Chichester
Chichester
Chichester is a cathedral city in West Sussex, within the historic County of Sussex, South-East England. It has a long history as a settlement; its Roman past and its subsequent importance in Anglo-Saxon times are only its beginnings...
on the A285 road. This small parish on the South Downs
South Downs
The South Downs is a range of chalk hills that extends for about across the south-eastern coastal counties of England from the Itchen Valley of Hampshire in the west to Beachy Head, near Eastbourne, East Sussex, in the east. It is bounded on its northern side by a steep escarpment, from whose...
consists of a small early Norman
Norman architecture
About|Romanesque architecture, primarily English|other buildings in Normandy|Architecture of Normandy.File:Durham Cathedral. Nave by James Valentine c.1890.jpg|thumb|200px|The nave of Durham Cathedral demonstrates the characteristic round arched style, though use of shallow pointed arches above the...
church and adjoining farmstead in an east-west aligned dry valley
Dry valley
A dry valley is a valley found in either karst or chalk terrain that no longer has a surface flow of water.There are many examples of the latter along the North and South Downs in southern England...
in the chalk
Chalk
Chalk is a soft, white, porous sedimentary rock, a form of limestone composed of the mineral calcite. Calcite is calcium carbonate or CaCO3. It forms under reasonably deep marine conditions from the gradual accumulation of minute calcite plates shed from micro-organisms called coccolithophores....
. There are a few more houses at Benges where the A285 to Chichester leaves the valley. From Benges Hill the parish extends south as far as the disused Roman
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
road of Stane Street, in an area of open access woodland. The barns at Upwaltham House Farm have been converted into a conference and wedding venue. The adjoining farmstead of Littleton Farm is only 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) to the east in the same valley, but lies in Duncton
Duncton
Duncton is a village and civil parish in the District of Chichester in West Sussex, England located one mile south of Petworth on the A285 road.The parish has a land area of 800.4 hectares...
parish.
The land area of the parish is 494 hectares (1221 acres), with a population in the 2001 census of 25 people living in 10 households.
The church
The early NormanNorman architecture
About|Romanesque architecture, primarily English|other buildings in Normandy|Architecture of Normandy.File:Durham Cathedral. Nave by James Valentine c.1890.jpg|thumb|200px|The nave of Durham Cathedral demonstrates the characteristic round arched style, though use of shallow pointed arches above the...
church dedicated to St. Mary the Virgin is just over nine hundred years old, and remains little altered in size and structure, although the windows are not original, some being medieval and some Victorian
Victorian architecture
The term Victorian architecture refers collectively to several architectural styles employed predominantly during the middle and late 19th century. The period that it indicates may slightly overlap the actual reign, 20 June 1837 – 22 January 1901, of Queen Victoria. This represents the British and...
. The three foot (90 cm) thick walls are of stone and downland flint
Flint
Flint is a hard, sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as a variety of chert. It occurs chiefly as nodules and masses in sedimentary rocks, such as chalks and limestones. Inside the nodule, flint is usually dark grey, black, green, white, or brown in colour, and...
. In Norman style the church has a tall narrow nave and a rounded apse chancel for the alter. The original round Norman chancel arch, between nave and chancel, was replaced after about 100 years by a wider pointed arch. The south door was rebuilt when the church was about 200 years old, and the porch in the nineteenth century. The floor tiling is Victorian. The stone font at the west end of the nave is as old as the church. In the chancel there is a piscina, a small sink for washing communion vessels, which appears to be made from a reused Norman column capital.
Parish records of births and deaths from 1592 are held by the West Sussex Record Office.
The ecclesiastical parish is now jointly run with Tillington
Tillington
Tillington may refer to more than one place in England:*Tillington, Herefordshire*Tillington, Staffordshire*Tillington, West Sussex...
and Duncton
Duncton
Duncton is a village and civil parish in the District of Chichester in West Sussex, England located one mile south of Petworth on the A285 road.The parish has a land area of 800.4 hectares...
, the Rector living at Tillington.