Ebernoe
Encyclopedia
Ebernoe is a hamlet
and civil parish
in the District of Chichester
in West Sussex
, England
located six kilometres (4 miles) north of Petworth
near the A283 road.
The parish has a land area of 1239 hectares (3060 acres). In the 2001 census 234 people lived in 102 households of whom 107 were economically active.
Hidden from the road by trees is the Anglican parish church, built from locally made brick in the nineteenth century. Walled to exclude rabbits the churchyard is a haven for wild flowers. Adjoining the church there is another interesting old building, the Old Schoolhouse.
There is a cricket
field where the village team plays, and this is also the venue for the Ebernoe Horn Fair
held every 25 July. Richard Stemp is the current captain of the club.
and Site of Special Scientific Interest
managed by the Sussex Wildlife Trust. Among its ancient woodland, glades and ponds it supports a diversity of plants and animals, including 14 out of 16 species of bat which occur in the UK, including the rare Bechstein's and Barbastelle bats. Adjoining farmland has been purchased with a grant from Restore UK which will be allowed to revert to pasture woodland over a long period with managed grazing by cattle. The Barbastelle bats need old dying trees with loose bark for their roosts and travel great distances along traditional flight lines to feed over damp meadows, which may be as much as 20 kilometres from the roost, in the Arun and Rother valleys. Local landowners are being encouraged to maintain and enhance continuous tree cover along these routes so that the bats can travel out on summer evenings avoiding predation by sparrow hawks.
The ponds on the common were originally constructed for the iron industry and there is also an old brick works which is thought to have been supplying bricks to Petworth House. Ebernoe Furnace Pond was established in 1594 by the Smythes of Wassell to make pig iron for Wassell Forge, at Kirdford. The waters are hidden in woodland on the large Ebernoe Common, an ancient woodland and nature reserve managed by the Sussex Wildlife Trust.
Wassell Mill was formerly a corn-mill and prior to the mid-17th century was a forge for iron working. A stream was dammed to give water power and this arrangement was visible in this area in 1980s, although the water-wheel itself was missing. A short distance from Wassell Mill is a house called Little Wassel, which is believed to have been the miller's house until 1843, when corn milling ceased.
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 six kilometres (4 miles) north of 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...
near the A283 road.
The parish has a land area of 1239 hectares (3060 acres). In the 2001 census 234 people lived in 102 households of whom 107 were economically active.
Hidden from the road by trees is the Anglican parish church, built from locally made brick in the nineteenth century. Walled to exclude rabbits the churchyard is a haven for wild flowers. Adjoining the church there is another interesting old building, the Old Schoolhouse.
There is a cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
field where the village team plays, and this is also the venue for the Ebernoe Horn Fair
Ebernoe Horn Fair
Ebernoe Horn Fair is held in the small Sussex village of Ebernoe, the location of which is about five miles north of Petworth . The fair is held annually on Saint James's Day, 25 July. The tradition is centuries old though it appears to have been revived in 1864 after a long lapse...
held every 25 July. Richard Stemp is the current captain of the club.
Landmarks
Ebernoe Common is a National Nature ReserveNational Nature Reserve
For details of National nature reserves in the United Kingdom see:*National Nature Reserves in England*National Nature Reserves in Northern Ireland*National Nature Reserves in Scotland*National Nature Reserves in Wales...
and Site of Special Scientific Interest
Site 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...
managed by the Sussex Wildlife Trust. Among its ancient woodland, glades and ponds it supports a diversity of plants and animals, including 14 out of 16 species of bat which occur in the UK, including the rare Bechstein's and Barbastelle bats. Adjoining farmland has been purchased with a grant from Restore UK which will be allowed to revert to pasture woodland over a long period with managed grazing by cattle. The Barbastelle bats need old dying trees with loose bark for their roosts and travel great distances along traditional flight lines to feed over damp meadows, which may be as much as 20 kilometres from the roost, in the Arun and Rother valleys. Local landowners are being encouraged to maintain and enhance continuous tree cover along these routes so that the bats can travel out on summer evenings avoiding predation by sparrow hawks.
The ponds on the common were originally constructed for the iron industry and there is also an old brick works which is thought to have been supplying bricks to Petworth House. Ebernoe Furnace Pond was established in 1594 by the Smythes of Wassell to make pig iron for Wassell Forge, at Kirdford. The waters are hidden in woodland on the large Ebernoe Common, an ancient woodland and nature reserve managed by the Sussex Wildlife Trust.
Wassell Mill was formerly a corn-mill and prior to the mid-17th century was a forge for iron working. A stream was dammed to give water power and this arrangement was visible in this area in 1980s, although the water-wheel itself was missing. A short distance from Wassell Mill is a house called Little Wassel, which is believed to have been the miller's house until 1843, when corn milling ceased.