4.2 Poling Parish in Angmering

Poling and other enclaves in Angmering

Throughout known history until the end of the 19^th century, a large group of fields to the north of Angmering village, and a small area adjoining St. Margaret’s churchyard, belonged to the parish of Poling. Nevertheless, they also belonged to West Angmering manor.

The main areas can be identified on a modern map, with fair approximation. The Downe Furlong is today the western half of Poling Furzefield, immediately north of the St Margaret's Primary School in Arundel Road. Then a large area to the north-west of that, extending from Hammerpot through the Lions to the western part of Kitpease, and west to Butlers Copse, and from New Place north to Hammerpot Copse. Finally the small Poling outlier near the church is more particularly covered in the history of two houses that once were there, Griffin’s and Lidbitter’s.

These areas were amalgamated with Angmering in December 1877, apart from the outlier by the church which, with some other minor areas, was brought into the parish in1882.

Prehistory

How did this extraordinary arrangement arise, in the mists that obscure Saxon and Norman history?

Such outliers were not at all uncommon. Many of these were ancient manorial outposts in the Weald, but others were quite local. East Preston manor had its own field in Angmering, east of Kitpease, and Rustington a larger field northwest of that in Angmering Park, where the house is situated. The assumption may be made that the wooded lands north of Angmering and south of Barpham had been used similarly to the Wealden forest - as pasturage for the coastal parishes. At a later date, this became formalised in a physical division of the area between the manors and parishes.

There is probably an additional factor. The Poling outlers extended into the centre of Angmering, and it is notable that there were no Angmering parish outliers in Poling or elsewhere. The assumption may be made that West Angmering manor was created from lands that had belonged to Poling, and previously the great Saxon estate of Lyminster. This left behind plots of land over which Poling church maintained rights, perhaps as glebe, but which then reduced to payment of small tithes by farmers of these fields, to the rector or vicar of Poling.

This right also applied to the Rustington outlier in Angmering Park, and the East Preston field south of it, from which small tithes were payable to their vicars. As the East Preston glebe terrier of 1635 made clear:

“Item our Vicar hath all manner of small tiths accruing and due to be payed out of a field lying on the south side of the sayd Parke which field is by estimation twelve acrs belonging to Preston Farme now in the occupation of Nicholas Withers.”

In 1425 the archbishop decided the vicar of Poling needed a greater income and should receive tithes both great and small from all the lands in Poling. As a result, the 1615 and 1635 glebe terriers list the outliers only to emphasise their location, within the bounds of another parish. In 1724 it was plainly stated that the only glebe land belonging to the vicar was, “2 acres and ½ of plain land” and this was near to the vicarage house. [SRS 78]

Poling Glebe Terriers

1615 and 1635

[ Ref: WSRO EpI/25/4 Glebe Terriers

From the BM Dunkin Collection Add 39467 Transcripts of Terriers on MF ]

The Poling tithe map of c1840 includes a schedule of the fields in Angmering, and these can be related to the 1615 descriptions of these areas, with reasonable accuracy.

“The Terrier of the Glebe land and portion of the Tythe belonging to the Vicarage of Polinge exhibited by the Churchwardens and Sidesmen there in the first metropoliticall visitation of the most Reverend Father in God George by god his providence Archbishop of Canterbury etc for the Dioces of Chechester”

[Glebe near the Vicarage in Poling]

“There is a vicarage house barne stable garden orchard and gates adioyninge boundinge uppon the high waye to the north and Common field to the South

Itm a croft of one acre neere adioyninge to the said common field

Itm one acre of meadow called the vicarage medowe [...] and lyinge betweene the farme brookes uppon the east and St Johns medowe uppon the west”

Outliers in Angmering

[Land adjoyning New Place, and Hammerpot, Tithe 151, 157, 159 to 169, at 84 acres]

“Itm lands within boundes of Angmering parish called Harmers and other landes in the west part of Angmering place all belonging to the demeanes of Sir John Shelly Knight Baronet the landes by Estemation lxxx acres and above”

[Tithe 152 to154, Kit Peas, at 21 acres]

“Itm xvj acres belonginge to the copyhold of John Lee of Polinge deceased and nowe in the tenure of the sayd Sir John Shelly called Kitt Pease”

[Next to Angmering church, Tithe 176, 177, 178 at 1.25 acres]

“Itm twoe tenements neere Angmering Church in the tenure of Solomon Griffin and widdowe Stokes”

[These plots assumed to be at Hammerpot where several plots existed in the Tithe map, 158, 170 to 174, but some of which may have been later inclosures from waste]

“Itm a meadowe of an acre an d more belonging to the Coppyhold of Mr Grimes

Itm half an acre of meddowe land of Huge Penfold

Itm half an acre belonginge to the land of George Younge”

[Tithe 155 The Lions, at 12.5 acres]

“Itm xvj acres called Avenes fieldes in the tenure of Hugh Penfold” [1635, in tenure of Oliver Parker]

[Tithe 175, Poling Field, at 18.5 acres]

“Itm xvj acres of the Common called the Downe next adioyning to the high waye to Angmering on the west”

“Witness our handes ......”

Note: This transcript may not have all words spelt exactly as written

The Downe mentioned was north of a glebe field belonging to Angmering of the same name.

It should be added that there were manor outliers of Angmering and Ham in Goring, West Preston, and East Preston, and an evident outlier of Madehurst in Angmering, but these were not parochial.

RWS 26/6/09