Upper Beeding

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Upper Beeding
Beeding Bridge.JPG
Beeding Bridge
Upper Beeding is located in West Sussex
Upper Beeding
Upper Beeding
Location within West Sussex
Area18.77 km2 (7.25 sq mi) [1]
Population3,798 [1] 2001 Census
3,763 (Census 2011)[2]
• Density202/km2 (520/sq mi)
OS grid referenceTQ193105
• London43 miles (69 km) N
Civil parish
  • Upper Beeding
District
  • Horsham
Shire county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townSTEYNING
Postcode districtBN44
Dialling code01903
PoliceSussex
FireWest Sussex
AmbulanceSouth East Coast
UK Parliament
  • Arundel and South Downs
WebsiteUpper Beeding Parish Council
List of places
UK
England
West Sussex
50°52′56″N 0°18′19″W / 50.88228°N 0.30515°W / 50.88228; -0.30515Coordinates: 50°52′56″N 0°18′19″W / 50.88228°N 0.30515°W / 50.88228; -0.30515

Upper Beeding is a village and civil parish in the Horsham District of West Sussex, England. It is located at the northern end of the River Adur gap in the South Downs, four miles (6.4 km) north of Shoreham-by-Sea and has a land area of 1877 hectares (4637 acres). The site is a bridging point over the river: on the opposite bank are Bramber and Steyning, making the whole area somewhat built-up. The civil parish also includes the smaller village of Small Dole to the north (nearer to Henfield), and the village of Edburton to the northeast.

Upper Beeding is on the northern edge of the South Downs National Park which was created in 2010. The South Downs Way and Monarch's Way long-distance footpaths run through the parish; the area is popular with walkers, cyclists and equestrians. The village boasts two pubs: The Rising Sun and The Kings Head. A third pub, The Bridge Inn, closed down in 2009.

History[]

Church of St. Peter (& Sele Priory Church)

The community was originally (and for the majority of its history) called Beeding, with the civil parish changing to Upper Beeding in modern times (date unknown). As is common in such cases, the ecclesiastical parish retains the original name (hence it is the parish of Beeding, and the parish church is Beeding Church). In the early 13th Century the monks of Sele Priory (St Peter's Church, Beeding) began a mission to the area of St Leonard's Forest near Horsham, and established a small mission base, naming it Lower Beeding. Despite being some 10 miles (16 km) away, Lower Beeding remained a part of (Upper) Beeding parish until Victorian times. The existence of Lower Beeding led to differentiation in the name of the original Beeding in some medieval sources, but always as River Beeding. For this reason the prefix Upper is still ignored by many local people today, who refer to their community by the original (and current ecclesiastical) title of Beeding.

In Saxon times Beeding had a near neighbour, the hamlet of Sele. Today's village of Upper Beeding incorporates both communities, with the village centre located between the sites of the two original Saxon settlements. Saxon Beeding was closer to the Dacre Gardens area of modern Beeding, whilst Saxon Sele was nearer to the parish church (Sele Priory Church of St Peter) in modern Beeding.

Upper Beeding and Bramber Village Hall

In 1927 and 1929, land along the High Street was acquired for the building of a village hall to serve the community. Subsequently, funds were donated or raised for the building of the hall, which was completed in 1930. The hall contains meeting rooms where various organizations hold meetings and a number of different kinds of events. The Upper Beeding Parish Council meets monthly in the hall).[3]

Demographics[]

In 2001 census the parish of Upper Beeding had a population of 3,798 living in 1545 households, of whom 2001 were economically active. The population at the 2011 Census was 3,763.[2]

Beeding brooks and Horton brooks[]

Beeding brooks (grid reference

 WikiMiniAtlas
TQ 191 112) and Horton brooks (grid reference
 WikiMiniAtlas
TQ 200 116) are ancient waterside landscapes. They surround the River Adur and have preserved the ancient indentations of the salting channels. In winter, the fossil salt marsh channels are flooded and this is when nature is at its best here. Many birds from Siberia pass the colder months here (which are less cold than Siberia!). The area can support owls, snipe, winter thrushes and winter ducks. The best brook channels still host some important marsh species including ivy-leaved duckweed, water horsetail, water crowfoot and brooklime. There are also many species of water snail including moss bladder snail and great ramshorn snail. To the east of Horton is Horton Clay Pit, an important archeological site with many fossils in the Gault Clay.

By the wet pastures, hidden behind Horton Clay Pit, about 40% of Horton Wood (grid reference

 WikiMiniAtlas
TQ 207 125) still survives. It is a maple, oak and hazel woodland with crab apple, midland thorn and much hawthorn. There are bluebells, goldilocks buttercup, anenomes and early purple orchids and the woodland canopy hosts a noisy rookery.

The brooks are beautiful but many areas are in need of management. Horse paddocks and sprawling buildings encroach the area. Some of the ditches are choked with rotting reeds and algae and many are shallowing and even disappearing. More heavy grazing of the whole area is needed.[4]

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b "2001 Census: West Sussex – Population by Parish" (PDF). West Sussex County Council. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 June 2011. Retrieved 12 April 2009.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b "Civil Parish population 2011". Neighbourhood Statistics. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 4 October 2016.
  3. ^ "Upper Beeding and Bramber Village Hall". Official Custodian of the Charity Commission (Registered Charity No 305435). Retrieved 2 December 2016.
  4. ^ Bangs, David (2018). Land of the Brighton line : a field guide to the Middle Sussex and South East Surrey Weald. [Brighton]. ISBN 978-0-9548638-2-1. OCLC 1247849975.

External links[]


Retrieved from ""