Kirdford

Kirdford
Kirdford
 Kirdford shown within West Sussex
Area  20.09 km2 (7.76 sq mi) [1]
Population 1,063. 2011 Census[2]
    density  45/km2 (120/sq mi)
OS grid referenceTQ017266
    London  38 miles (61 km) NNE 
Civil parishKirdford
DistrictChichester
Shire countyWest Sussex
RegionSouth East
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post town BILLINGSHURST
Postcode district RH14 0LS
Dialling code 01403
Police Sussex
Fire West Sussex
Ambulance South East Coast
EU Parliament South East England
UK ParliamentHorsham
List of places
UK
England
West Sussex

Coordinates: 51°01′48″N 0°32′59″W / 51.02988°N 0.54965°W / 51.02988; -0.54965

Kirdford is a village and civil parish in the District of Chichester in West Sussex, England located 6.5 kilometres (4.0 mi) north east of Petworth. The parish has a land area of 2,008 hectares (4,960 acres). In the 2001 census 912 people lived in 373 households, of whom 448 were economically active.[1] At the 2011 Census the population was 1,063[2]

The village has an Anglican church dedicated to St John the Baptist and a chapel and two pubs, The Foresters and the Half Moon. Other amenities include a shop and the village hall which was enlarged in 1977.

In the Middle Ages iron production using ironstone and charcoal, and forest glass making were important industries. In the twentieth century apple growing was established through a cooperative venture, Kirdford Growers, based at the western end of the village. This has now ended and the warehouse site is being used for house building.

In 2011, Kirdford Village Stores won 'Best Corner Shop' in the Telegraph's Best Small Shops in Britain Awards.

The parish church

Inscription on the old rectory wall

There is no reference to a church in the Domesday Book of 1086. The Grade I listed church of St. John the Baptist is built of local sandstone and roofed with Horsham stone slabs.[3] Herringbone masonry and the style of column capitals indicate that the nave is early twelfth century.[4] The north aisle is thirteenth century and the tower fifteenth. The tower carries a peel of six bells and a clock. There are four stained glass windows by Charles Eamer Kempe.[5]

Near the road junction to the west of the church an inscribed stone set into the old rectory wall warns against drunkenness in no uncertain terms.

References

  1. 1 2 "2001 Census: West Sussex – Population by Parish" (PDF). West Sussex County Council. Retrieved 5 May 2009.
  2. 1 2 "Civil Parish Population 2011". Neighbourhood Statistics. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  3. South East Rural Towns Partnership
  4. Corpus of Romanesque Sculpture
  5. A church near you
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Kirdford.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 10/1/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.