Lavant, West Sussex Explained

Official Name:Lavant
Country:England
Civil Parish:Lavant
Region:South East England
Static Image:St Nicholas' Church, Mid Lavant (NHLE Code 1232537).JPG
Static Image Width:240px
Static Image Caption:Church of St Nicholas, Mid Lavant
Area Footnotes:[1]
Area Total Km2:16.53
Population:1,656.
Population Ref:2011 Census[2]
Population Density:96/km2
Os Grid Reference:SU857087
Coordinates:50.8716°N -0.7824°W
Post Town:CHICHESTER
Postcode Area:PO
Postcode District:PO18
Constituency Westminster:Chichester
London Distance: NNE
Shire District:Chichester
Shire County:West Sussex
Website:https://web.archive.org/web/20090227055103/http://lavantpc.org.uk/

Lavant is a civil parish in the Chichester district of West Sussex, England, north of Chichester. It includes three villages: Mid Lavant[3] and East Lavant,[4] which are separate Anglican parishes, and the much smaller West Lavant. It takes its name from the River Lavant which flows from East Dean to Chichester.

The A286 road between Chichester and Midhurst runs through the parish.

The villages were served by a station in Mid Lavant, on the railway line that ran between Chichester and Midhurst, but this closed in stages between 1931 and 1991.

History

Prehistory

In 1993, the Lavant drum, a small Neolithic cylinder, was discovered during excavations at Chalk Pit Lane. It is one of only five known objects of its type, and the only one discovered outside of Yorkshire. (The other four are the three Folkton drums, discovered in 1889 in North Yorkshire,[5] and the Burton Agnes drum, discovered in 2015 in East Yorkshire.[6]) It has been suggested that these objects were tools used to measure cord to standard lengths which were used in the construction of monuments such as Stonehenge and the timber circle at Durrington Walls.[7]

East Lavant

See main article: East Lavant. East Lavant was listed in the Domesday Book.[8]

In 1861, the population of the parish (with West Lavant) was 421, and the area was .

Mid Lavant

Mid Lavant (Loventone) was listed in the Domesday Book (1086) in the ancient hundred of Singleton as having 20 households: 10 villagers and 10 smallholders; with ploughing land and a mill, it had a value to the lords of the manor, Guy of Lavant and Ivo of Grandmesnil, of £9.[9]

In 1861, the area of the small parish was, and described in Kelly's Directory of 1867 as "principally arable". The population in 1861 was 257. The Duke of Richmond was the principal landowner and patron of the parish church.[10] The village pub is named after the Earl of March.

The parish church is dedicated to St Nicholas. It contains the vault of the May family, seated at Rawmere House in Mid Lavant,[11] with a monument of Lady Mary May by John Bushnell.

Landmarks

See main article: Kingley Vale. Kingley Vale lies on the border of the parish; it is a Site of Special Scientific Interest, a national nature reserve and is noted for its yew woodlands.[12] Archaeological remains from the Bronze Age, Iron Age and Roman times have been identified.[13] [14]

Governance

An electoral ward in the same name exists. This ward includes Westhampnett with a total ward population taken at the 2011 census of 2,365.[15]

Sport

Lavant is home to two sporting clubs, Lavant Football Club[16] and Lavant Cricket Club.[17]

Notable people

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 2001 Census: West Sussex – Population by Parish . West Sussex County Council . 5 May 2009 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110608075926/http://www.westsussex.gov.uk/communityandliving/census2001/pop_parish_summary.pdf . 8 June 2011 .
  2. Web site: Civil Parish population 2011. 15 October 2015. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20160305013546/http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadKeyFigures.do?a=7&b=11125475&c=Lavant&d=16&e=62&g=6473733&i=1001x1003x1032x1004&m=0&r=1&s=1444919334914&enc=1. 5 March 2016.
  3. Web site: GENUKI: Mid Lavant. 24 June 2019.
  4. Web site: GENUKI: East Lavant. 24 June 2019.
  5. Kenny. James. Teather. Anne M.. 2016. New insights into the Neolithic chalk drums from Folkton (North Yorkshire) and Lavant (West Sussex). PAST: The Newsletter of the Prehistoric Society. en. 83. 5–6.
  6. Web site: British Museum’s Stonehenge exhibition adds ‘most important prehistoric art find in 100 years’ . https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220211/https://advisor.museumsandheritage.com/news/british-museums-stonehenge-exhibition-adds-important-british-prehistoric-art-find-100-years/ . 2022-02-11 . live. Museums + Heritage Advisor . 10 February 2022.
  7. Teather. Anne. Chamberlain. Andrew. Parker Pearson. Mike. 2019-01-02. The chalk drums from Folkton and Lavant: Measuring devices from the time of Stonehenge. British Journal for the History of Mathematics. en. 34. 1. 1–11. 10.1080/17498430.2018.1555927. 2637-5451. free.
  8. Web site: Open Domesday: East Lavant. 24 June 2019.
  9. Web site: Open Domesday: Mid Lavant. 24 June 2019.
  10. Web site: Laughton - Laverstoke Pages 33-37 A Topographical Dictionary of England. Originally published by S Lewis, London, 1848. . British History Online.
  11. Web site: Mid Lavant, in A History of the County of Sussex: Volume 4, the Rape of Chichester. Originally published by Victoria County History, London, 1953 . British History Online . British History Online . 22 July 2024.
  12. Web site: SSSI Citation - Kingley Vale . Natural England . 4 April 2009 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110525102312/http://www.english-nature.org.uk/citation/citation_photo/1002819.pdf . 25 May 2011 .
  13. Down. Alec. Gazeteer of Sites and Finds. Chichester Excavations. Phillimore & Co. Ltd.. Chichester. 1979. 4. 36–7. 0-85033-344-X.
  14. Boyden. J. R.. Excavations at Goosehill Camp, 1953-5. Sussex Archaeological Collections. 1956. 94. 70–99 . 10.5284/1085886 . free.
  15. Web site: Ward population 2011. 15 October 2015. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20160204192143/http://www.ukcensusdata.com/lavant-e05007616#sthash.cEL8jyDu.iC90WFay.dpbs. 4 February 2016.
  16. Web site: Lavant Football Club. Club Website. 2018-06-10.
  17. Web site: Lavant Cricket Club . 2017-05-02 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20180609155414/http://www.lavantcricketclub.org.uk/ . 2018-06-09 .
  18. Web site: Player profile: William Humphry. CricketArchive. 30 June 2012. subscription. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20131019064841/http://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Players/37/37068/37068.html. 19 October 2013.