Linchmere, also spelled Lynchmere, is a village and a

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

, the northernmost parish in the

Chichester Chichester ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parish in the Chichester District, Chichester district of West Sussex, England.OS Explorer map 120: Chichester, South Harting and Selsey Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher ...

district A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municip ...

West Sussex West Sussex is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Surrey to the north, East Sussex to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Hampshire to the west. The largest settlement is Cr ...

, England. It is between Haslemere and Liphook, south of the B2131 road. As well as Linchmere village, the parish contains the settlements of Hammer and Camelsdale. Linchmere parish is bordered to the north by

Haslemere The town of Haslemere () and the villages of Shottermill and Grayswood are in south-west Surrey, England, around south-west of London. Together with the settlements of Hindhead and Beacon Hill (Hindhead, Surrey), Beacon Hill, they comprise ...

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

with a tributary of the

River Wey The River Wey is a main tributary of the River Thames in south east England. Its two branches, one of which rises near Alton, Hampshire, Alton in Hampshire and the other in West Sussex to the south of Haslemere, join at Tilford in Surrey. Onc ...

as boundary, to the east by

Fernhurst Fernhurst is a village and civil parish in the Chichester District of West Sussex, England, on the A286 Milford, Surrey, to Chichester road, south of Haslemere and north of Midhurst. The parish includes the settlements of Henley Common, Kin ...

parish, to the south by Linch civil parish with the Shulbrede stream as boundary, and to the west by the civil parish of

Bramshott Bramshott is a village and parish with mediaeval origins in the East Hampshire district of Hampshire, England. It lies north of Liphook, and with Liphook forms the civil parish of Bramshott and Liphook.Ordnance Survey The nearest railway sta ...

in Hampshire. In the 2001 census there were 836 households in the civil parish, with a total population of 2,225. The population in the 2011 Census had increased to 2,392.

Village Church

St Peter's church is on the south side of Linchmere village, on a high point overlooking valleys to the South and West. Lynchmere - church heads

The BBC correspondent famous for his work in the 1939-45 war

Richard Dimbleby Frederick Richard Dimbleby (25 May 1913 – 22 December 1965) was an English journalist and broadcaster who became the BBC's first war correspondent and then its leading TV news commentator. As host of the long-running current affairs pro ...

is buried in St Peter's churchyard. Inside the church on the North wall is an 8 ft long stone tablet with 7 human faces, representing the seven biblical Deadly Sins. A brass plaque says that it dates from about 1300AD and was originally in a church in the South of France, being presented to Lynchmere church in the year 1906.

Village History

The name Linchmere was, in ancient times, spelled ''Wlenchemere''. South of the village is the remains of an Augustinian priory founded in 1200 was first known as Woolynchmere Priory and later as

Shulbrede Priory Shulbrede Priory is a former medieval monastic house in West Sussex, England; it became the home of the Ponsonby family, including the first Lord Ponsonby. It is a Grade I listed building. Early history Shulbrede Priory was originally known as ...

. It is located south of Linchmere village centre), and is associated with a nearly manor house and the peerage of

Baron Ponsonby of Shulbrede Baron Ponsonby of Shulbrede, of Shulbrede in the County of Sussex, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1930 for the politician Arthur Ponsonby. Ponsonby was the third son of General Sir Henry Ponsonby and the grea ...

The settlement at Hammer took its name from an iron mill which was active there from before 1573 until at least 1730. There were also other iron works in the district including one partly in what is now Fernhurst parish, in Furnace Wood near Lower Lodge Farm, apparently started a little before 1620. The associated water supply is still named Furnace Pond and is just south of Linchmere village centre.

References

* Ordnance Survey Explorer (scale 1:25,000) map 133 Haslemere & Petersfield

External links

Linchmere Civil Parish Council information pageBritish History Online:LinchmereThe priory and manor of Lynchmere and Shulbrede
{{authority control Villages in West Sussex Chichester District