Coates, West Sussex
Encyclopedia
Coates is a downland village
in the Chichester
district of West Sussex
, England
. Coates lies one mile (1.7 km) southwest from Fittleworth
and four miles (6.8 km) south-east-by-south from Petworth
. It is within the ancient divisions of the Bury Hundred and the Rape (county subdivision) of Arundel.The village is bounded north by the Rother Navigation.
of Lewes Priory
, stating that the Church of "Cotes" made an annual donation to the Prior. The church is of early English style and consists of a single nave now covered by a wood floor with a bellcote (rebuilt 1961) and a small square chancel. The chancel arch is plain and half circular. One Norman window has survived on the south wall. The larger windows are late 14th century and of early English lancet type. A small Sussex marble lead-lined font stands extant at the west end of the nave and constructed within the south wall of the chancel is a sedile ( pl sedilia
) or priest's chair. Unusually the entrance to the church is on the north side presumably for the ease of the residents from the nearby manor house Coates Manor. The Registers date from 1559 and the living is linked to nearby Burton,(West Sussex) (Bodecton). Since 1982 St Agatha's has been within the parish of Barlavington
and Sutton and Bignor.
.
lies on land above the village in a position that affords extensive views across the Sussex countryside. It was built in 1820 by John King in the Strawberry Hill
gothic style and was extensively renovated in the early twenty first century after years of gradual decline. It is the place where Louisa Hamilton, Duchess of Abercorn
, an ancestor of Princes William and Harry
, died on 31 March 1905.(There is a memorial inside the church commemorating her life) and visitors to the house are known to have included Sir Winston Churchill and Kaiser Wilhelm. In the fifties it was owned by the former Master of the Hursley and Hambledon Hunt Gerald Joynson who renovated it and eccentrically installed in a room a specially constructed coffin for himself
During the Second World War it was requisitioned and used by the army. It was here in 1940-41 that Lieutenant- colonel Stewart Blacker
invented the Spigot Mortar or Blacker Bombard
a cheap and easily produced piece of anti-tank ordinance required after the British Army's heavy equipment at been lost at Dunkirk. It was used extensively by the Home Guard
as designated by English Nature
. This consists of three blocks of land all within a one kilometre radius of Coates Castle and which contains an important British population of the Field Cricket Gryllus campestris
, an insect protected under Schedule 5 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. It is one of three known populations and the only one that was not subject to a reintroduction.
Coates Common and Lords Piece are areas of Sussex heathland containing breeding populations of heathland birds including Nightjar and Dartford Warbler.
Village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...
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...
. Coates lies one mile (1.7 km) southwest from Fittleworth
Fittleworth
Fittleworth is a village and civil parish in the District of Chichester in West Sussex, England located seven kilometres west from Pulborough on the A283 road and three miles south east from Petworth. The village has an Anglican church, a primary school and one pub, the Swan...
and four miles (6.8 km) south-east-by-south from Petworth
Petworth
Petworth is a small town and civil parish in the Chichester District of West Sussex, England. It is located at the junction of the A272 east-west road from Heathfield to Winchester and the A283 Milford to Shoreham-by-Sea road. Some twelve miles to the south west of Petworth along the A285 road...
. It is within the ancient divisions of the Bury Hundred and the Rape (county subdivision) of Arundel.The village is bounded north by the Rother Navigation.
St Agatha's Church,
The Anglican church of St Agatha is first recorded in about 1100 in the ChartularyChartulary
A cartulary or chartulary , also called Pancarta and Codex Diplomaticus, is a medieval manuscript volume or roll containing transcriptions of original documents relating to the foundation, privileges, and legal rights of ecclesiastical establishments, municipal corporations, industrial...
of Lewes Priory
Lewes Priory
The Priory of St Pancras was the first Cluniac house in England and had one of the largest monastic churches in the country. It was set within an extensive walled and gated precinct laid out in a commanding location fronting the tidal shore-line at the head of the Ouse valley to the south of Lewes...
, stating that the Church of "Cotes" made an annual donation to the Prior. The church is of early English style and consists of a single nave now covered by a wood floor with a bellcote (rebuilt 1961) and a small square chancel. The chancel arch is plain and half circular. One Norman window has survived on the south wall. The larger windows are late 14th century and of early English lancet type. A small Sussex marble lead-lined font stands extant at the west end of the nave and constructed within the south wall of the chancel is a sedile ( pl sedilia
Sedilia
Sedilia , in ecclesiastical architecture, is the term used to describe stone seats, usually to be found on the south side of an altar, often in the chancel, for the use of the officiating priests...
) or priest's chair. Unusually the entrance to the church is on the north side presumably for the ease of the residents from the nearby manor house Coates Manor. The Registers date from 1559 and the living is linked to nearby Burton,(West Sussex) (Bodecton). Since 1982 St Agatha's has been within the parish of Barlavington
Barlavington
Barlavington is a small village and civil parish in the Chichester district of West Sussex, England. The village is situated about six kilometres south of Petworth, east of the A285 road....
and Sutton and Bignor.
Coates Manor House
Coates Manor House is Elizabethan in origin and the former seat of the Coates family whose name is given to the village. It is well known for its gardens which are available for public viewing by appointment as part of the National Gardens SchemeNational Gardens Scheme
The National Gardens Scheme, was founded in 1927 in England with the aim of "opening gardens of quality, character and interest to the public for charity". Originally, the money was raised to provide pension support for district nurses; 609 private gardens were opened and £8,191 was raised.Over...
.
Coates Castle
Coates Castle, a Grade-II mansion listed by English HeritageEnglish Heritage
English Heritage . is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...
lies on land above the village in a position that affords extensive views across the Sussex countryside. It was built in 1820 by John King in the Strawberry Hill
Strawberry Hill House
Strawberry Hill is the Gothic Revival villa of Horace Walpole which he built in the second half of the 18th century in what is now an affluent area of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames in Twickenham, London...
gothic style and was extensively renovated in the early twenty first century after years of gradual decline. It is the place where Louisa Hamilton, Duchess of Abercorn
Louisa Hamilton, Duchess of Abercorn
Lady Louisa Jane Russell was the wife of James Hamilton, 1st Duke of Abercorn, and the daughter of John Russell, 6th Duke of Bedford, by his second wife Lady Georgiana Gordon...
, an ancestor of Princes William and Harry
British Royal Family
The British Royal Family is the group of close relatives of the monarch of the United Kingdom. The term is also commonly applied to the same group of people as the relations of the monarch in her or his role as sovereign of any of the other Commonwealth realms, thus sometimes at variance with...
, died on 31 March 1905.(There is a memorial inside the church commemorating her life) and visitors to the house are known to have included Sir Winston Churchill and Kaiser Wilhelm. In the fifties it was owned by the former Master of the Hursley and Hambledon Hunt Gerald Joynson who renovated it and eccentrically installed in a room a specially constructed coffin for himself
During the Second World War it was requisitioned and used by the army. It was here in 1940-41 that Lieutenant- colonel Stewart Blacker
Stewart Blacker
Lieutenant-Colonel Latham Valentine Stewart Blacker OBE was a British Army officer and inventor of weapons.He invented the Blacker Bombard, laid the basis of the PIAT - both based on the spigot mortar - and the Ayre Petard...
invented the Spigot Mortar or Blacker Bombard
Blacker Bombard
The Blacker Bombard, also known as the 29mm Spigot Mortar, was an infantry anti-tank weapon devised by Lieutenant-Colonel Stewart Blacker in the early years of the Second World War.-Development:...
a cheap and easily produced piece of anti-tank ordinance required after the British Army's heavy equipment at been lost at Dunkirk. It was used extensively by the Home Guard
Conservation area
Coates contains a Site of Special Scientific InterestSite of Special Scientific Interest
A Site of Special Scientific Interest is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom. SSSIs are the basic building block of site-based nature conservation legislation and most other legal nature/geological conservation designations in Great Britain are based upon...
as designated by English Nature
English Nature
English Nature was the United Kingdom government agency that promoted the conservation of wildlife, geology and wild places throughout England between 1990 and 2006...
. This consists of three blocks of land all within a one kilometre radius of Coates Castle and which contains an important British population of the Field Cricket Gryllus campestris
Gryllus campestris
Gryllus campestris is one of many crickets known as the Field cricket. These insects are dark colored and slightly less than one inch in length. The males range from 19 to 23 mm and the females from 17 to 22 mm....
, an insect protected under Schedule 5 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. It is one of three known populations and the only one that was not subject to a reintroduction.
Coates Common and Lords Piece are areas of Sussex heathland containing breeding populations of heathland birds including Nightjar and Dartford Warbler.