South Harting is a village within

Harting Harting is a civil parish in the Chichester District of West Sussex, England. It is situated on the northern flank of the South Downs, around southeast of Petersfield in Hampshire. It comprises the village of South Harting and the hamlets of Ea ...

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 ...

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 of

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.OS Explorer map 120: Chichester, South Harting and Selsey Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – Southampton B2 edition. Publishing Date:2009. It lies on the B2146 road, southeast of Petersfield in

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...

. South Harting has two churches, one Anglican and one Congregational, plus a school and a pub. Recorded history dates from Norman times. The

National Trust The National Trust () is a heritage and nature conservation charity and membership organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The Trust was founded in 1895 by Octavia Hill, Sir Robert Hunter and Hardwicke Rawnsley to "promote the ...

property Uppark sits high on the

South Downs The South Downs are a range of chalk hills in the south-eastern coastal counties of England that extends for about across the south-eastern coastal counties of England from the Itchen valley of Hampshire in the west to Beachy Head, in the ...

, south of the village on the B2146.

History

South Harting, along with the hamlets of West Harting and East Harting, was listed in the

Domesday Book Domesday Book ( ; the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book") is a manuscript record of the Great Survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...

of 1086 as the large Manor of Harting (''Hertinges''). Listed were 134 villagers, 42 smallholders and 20 slaves, ploughlands, woodland and meadows, and nine mills, a significant settlement at that time, even though the parish included Rogate. Details of subsequent structures and ownership over several centuries are described in ''A history of the county of Sussex'' published in 1953. Apart from three generations of the Earls Montgomery the manor was in the possession of the Crown until 1610, when it was granted to the Caryll family. During the

First English Civil War The First English Civil War took place in England and Wales from 1642 to 1646, and forms part of the 1639 to 1653 Wars of the Three Kingdoms. An estimated 15% to 20% of adult males in England and Wales served in the military at some point b ...

in 1643, there were two engagements fought in the village including the Battle of South Harting fought on the night of 23–24 November 1643, and on 24 November the parish register records that 3 soldiers were buried in the churchyard. South Harting suffered greatly during the

English Civil War The English Civil War or Great Rebellion was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Cavaliers, Royalists and Roundhead, Parliamentarians in the Kingdom of England from 1642 to 1651. Part of the wider 1639 to 1653 Wars of th ...

and was ransacked multiple times by both sides. A

Royalist A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of gove ...

garrison A garrison is any body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it. The term now often applies to certain facilities that constitute a military base or fortified military headquarters. A garrison is usually in a city ...

was present in the village from early December 1643 centred around Harting Place, the house of Sir John Caryll who was an ardent Royalist, to protect the lines of communication between

Winchester Winchester (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs N ...

and

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

, and the newly captured Arundel. A second engagement was fought in South Harting in December 1643. In 1746 the manor was purchased by the Featherstonhaugh ( ) family, in whose possession it remains. In 1861 the parish covered and had a population of 1,247. South Harting was the subject of the 1956 documentary "An English Village" as a quintessential English village nestled at the base of the South Downs, embodying the traditional, rural aspects of English life. Commissioned by the Colonial Office and produced by Anvil Films, the film showcases the village's economy centred around the land and brickworks, highlighting a self-sufficient and neighbourly community. The documentary illustrates how the church, parish council, local school, village shops, and community activities like the Women's Institute contribute to the cohesiveness and smooth running of village life. This portrayal serves not only as a record of the village in the mid-1950s but also as an archival treasure reflecting the timeless values of English village life before modern changes took effect.

Amenities

Churches

The

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

parish church of St Mary and St Gabriel is at the southwestern end of the village street, in an elevated position. It has a coppered spire on the tower and a peal of six bells. Major restoration work was carried out in the 1850s, and in 2010 further improvements were made including the building of an attached room for the Sunday school. The church is a Grade I

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

In the churchyard is the tall South Harting War Memorial Cross, (1920), a

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

memorial by Eric Gill with the bas relief of St Patrick attributed to Gill being by Hilary Stratton. The memorial is a Grade II* listed structure. South Harting has a Congregational Church.

Education

Harting Church of England Primary School takes children from four to eleven years old. Alongside the school is the village hall from which a pre-school group operates.

Public houses

Harting now has just one pub, ''The White Hart'', a Grade II

that includes six bedrooms (and bathrooms). Only forty years ago the village had three pubs. The White Hart is owned and operated by Upham Breweries, a local Hampshire company.

Sport

In the 1920s Harting Hill (now the B2141 road) was the venue for one of the most important motor hill climbs in the country, with Frazer Nash, Aston Martin and Raymond Mays (Bugatti) participating. The event was founded by Earl Russell in 1905. Harting Cricket Club serves all the Hartings. Harting have a football club playing in the West Sussex Football League.

Events

Every Whit Monday Harting celebrates the ''Festivities''. Since 1880, the Harting Old Club has had its annual meeting on Whit Monday and the village Festivities started in 1961, replacing a traditional funfair which used to take centre stage in the street. All money raised at the Festivities goes to local groups and charity. In 2022, for that year only, the Festivities were held on Friday 3 June.

Notable people

The painter Theodore Garman worked and painted in the village and is buried in the parish church graveyard. The Victorian writer

Anthony Trollope Anthony Trollope ( ; 24 April 1815 – 6 December 1882) was an English novelist and civil servant of the Victorian era. Among the best-known of his 47 novels are two series of six novels each collectively known as the ''Chronicles of Barsetshire ...

spent the last years of his life in South Harting. He moved here in 1880 and lived at The Grange. His pen, paperknife and letter scales are on display in the parish church.

H. G. Wells Herbert George Wells (21 September 1866 – 13 August 1946) was an English writer, prolific in many genres. He wrote more than fifty novels and dozens of short stories. His non-fiction output included works of social commentary, politics, hist ...

sometimes lived at Uppark as a young man; his mother was a lady's maid there.

Bertrand Russell Bertrand Arthur William Russell, 3rd Earl Russell, (18 May 1872 – 2 February 1970) was a British philosopher, logician, mathematician, and public intellectual. He had influence on mathematics, logic, set theory, and various areas of analytic ...

and his wife Dora founded the experimental Beacon Hill School at Telegraph House, which was their residence in 1927. Admiral Sir Horace Law lived in South Harting and was a lay preacher at the parish church, where a room is named after him. Television presenter and producer Cliff Michelmore (1919–2016) was a local resident and was buried in the graveyard of the parish church in 2016 next to his wife Jean Metcalfe who died in 2000.

Peggy Guggenheim Marguerite "Peggy" Guggenheim ( ; August 26, 1898 – December 23, 1979) was an American art collector, bohemianism, bohemian, and socialite. Born to the wealthy New York City Guggenheim family, she was the daughter of Benjamin Guggenheim, who we ...

lived in the village during the 1930s.

Listed buildings

There are 90 listed buildings in the parish, of which 41 (including a telephone kiosk) are in the village of South Harting itself. Most are listed Grade II, but the parish church and Uppark are listed Grade I.

References

Bibliography

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External links

South Harting Parish Council

History of South Harting on GENUKI

History and old photographs of Harting
{{authority control Villages in West Sussex