Northchapel
Encyclopedia
Northchapel is a village
and civil parish
in Chichester District in West Sussex
, England
.
It stands on the A283 road just south of the Surrey
border, around 9 km north of Petworth
.
The village is believed to have taken its name from a church which was once a chapelry and was the north chapel of the Manor
of Petworth, and originally was two separate words, North and Chapel
.
camp at Piper's Copse, the only one found on low ground in Sussex
. The rampart
is over 8 feet (2.4 m) high in places and almost circular, enclosing an area of just over 1 acres (4,046.9 m²). Iron Age pottery and iron slag have been found on the site. Roman and medieval pottery have also been found at Pipers Copse.
Following the Saxon conquest of Sussex in the late 5th century AD it is likely that the Northchapel area, like much of the wet clay
areas of the low weald was used as summer pasture and pannage for pigs by people from Saxon villages along the coastal plain. These summer wood pastures are called "outliers". The ending "fold" in names such as Diddlesfold and Frithfold indicates the presence of animal enclosures for this purpose.
When the Domesday Book
was compiled after the Norman Conquest the area did not get mentioned as any separate entity from the Manor of Petworth. There would now have been more permanent settlement with small fields being cleared from forest and bounded by ditches and laid hedges. From the mid-12th century the Manor of Petworth was held by the Percy family, the powerful and often rebellious Earls of Northumberland
. These lords had an enclosed deer park
at Mitchell Park, then called Micel (great) Park, where records indicate there was a hunting lodge with gardens and orchards. There were two water mills near Colhook, grinding corn. Diddlesfold Manor was given to the Abbey
of Reading
, and lands near Gospel Green were given to Shulbrede Priory
.
Today the parish
is a tranquil area of farms and woodlands, but in medieval times it was bustling with industry. Forest glassmaking was a speciality of the western weald, using local sand and potash made from bracken or wood ash and large quantities of fire wood. In the 1560s French Huguenot
glassmakers brought improved techniques to the area. The remains of a kiln that produced high quality window glass in the 17th century have been uncovered at Tanlands Copse.
Competing for firewood with glassmakers were the ironmasters
, using continental technology in the Tudor
and Stuart
periods, to smelt iron from locally dug ironstone
in water powered blast furnaces. The streams fed by springs
on Blackdown
were dammed to drive waterwheels which worked large twin bellows
. Other waterwheels drove large forge hammers which converted the pig iron
into wrought iron
. There was a furnace north of Frith Wood and a forge hammer by Hammer Bridge at Mitchell Park.
In the 1790s the government bought land at Fisherstreet from the third Earl of Egremont to set up a factory for producing high quality charcoal
by using coal to heat wood, mainly willow, alder and alder buckthorn, in iron cylinders. Tar,methyl alcohol and acid were distilled into wooden barrels leaving high quality charcoal needed by gunpowder mills to produce improved black powder for the Napoleonic wars
. The works had closed by 1826 and in 1828 the site was used for a large gala and illegal prize fight by bare-knuckle boxers from London. By 1839 the site had become a tannery
where cattle hides were soaked in liquid made from ground up oak tree
bark for many months, a very smelly process.
Brick making was another important industry, with the brickworks
at Colhook Common being established by 1779 and continuing until the 1960s. Both red and yellow clay
were available on the common, and sand nearby,as well as plenty of firewood for firing the bricks. These materials were dug and cut during the winter and the actual brick making done in the summer when the clay would dry before firing.
Northchapel, along with Duncton
, became a separate parish from Petworth in 1717. The present parish church of St. Michael and all Angels was built in 1878 retaining the tower of the 1833 church which replaced the first stone church, probably built in the 14th century. It contains some interesting stained glass windows by Wilhelmina Geddes
from 1930. A surviving drawing shows the early church as a simple stone building with a Horsham stone roof and wooden bell tower.
As well as the Anglican parish church there was the chapel of the Society of Dependants, built in 1872 behind the present village shop and now a private dwelling. The shop itself began as a cooperative venture by the society. The Dependants, an independent Christian sect, had a strong presence in the village. They were commonly known as "Cokelers" possibly from "Cuckolders", a slander by their religious enemies.
Education for the ordinary people began in 1835 with the building of a free Sunday School at the junction with the lane to Hillgrove, using government money channelled through the Church of England. in 1849 this was extended to become a Church of England
day school, giving a free basic education in literacy
and numeracy
and having emphasis on religious indoctrination. By the early 20th century the building was considered inadequate by the County Council and the site unhealthy as they were pumping water from the sewage polluted stream. The clergy were unable to retain control by making the necessary improvements so a new council run school was built by the village green
, opening in 1916, and still in use today as the primary school.
Alongside the primary school is the Working Men's Club, founded in 1924 as a memorial to the villagers killed in the First World War. A Canadian Army hut was moved from Aldershot
for the club. The club was extended and renovated in 1977.
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...
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 Chichester District 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...
.
It stands on the A283 road just south of the Surrey
Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
border, around 9 km 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...
.
The village is believed to have taken its name from a church which was once a chapelry and was the north chapel of the Manor
Manorialism
Manorialism, an essential element of feudal society, was the organizing principle of rural economy that originated in the villa system of the Late Roman Empire, was widely practiced in medieval western and parts of central Europe, and was slowly replaced by the advent of a money-based market...
of Petworth, and originally was two separate words, North and Chapel
Chapel
A chapel is a building used by Christians as a place of fellowship and worship. It may be part of a larger structure or complex, such as a church, college, hospital, palace, prison or funeral home, located on board a military or commercial ship, or it may be an entirely free-standing building,...
.
History
The earliest known human settlement is an iron ageIron Age
The Iron Age is the archaeological period generally occurring after the Bronze Age, marked by the prevalent use of iron. The early period of the age is characterized by the widespread use of iron or steel. The adoption of such material coincided with other changes in society, including differing...
camp at Piper's Copse, the only one found on low ground in Sussex
Sussex
Sussex , from the Old English Sūþsēaxe , is an historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. It is bounded on the north by Surrey, east by Kent, south by the English Channel, and west by Hampshire, and is divided for local government into West...
. The rampart
Defensive wall
A defensive wall is a fortification used to protect a city or settlement from potential aggressors. In ancient to modern times, they were used to enclose settlements...
is over 8 feet (2.4 m) high in places and almost circular, enclosing an area of just over 1 acres (4,046.9 m²). Iron Age pottery and iron slag have been found on the site. Roman and medieval pottery have also been found at Pipers Copse.
Following the Saxon conquest of Sussex in the late 5th century AD it is likely that the Northchapel area, like much of the wet clay
Clay
Clay is a general term including many combinations of one or more clay minerals with traces of metal oxides and organic matter. Geologic clay deposits are mostly composed of phyllosilicate minerals containing variable amounts of water trapped in the mineral structure.- Formation :Clay minerals...
areas of the low weald was used as summer pasture and pannage for pigs by people from Saxon villages along the coastal plain. These summer wood pastures are called "outliers". The ending "fold" in names such as Diddlesfold and Frithfold indicates the presence of animal enclosures for this purpose.
When the Domesday Book
Domesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
was compiled after the Norman Conquest the area did not get mentioned as any separate entity from the Manor of Petworth. There would now have been more permanent settlement with small fields being cleared from forest and bounded by ditches and laid hedges. From the mid-12th century the Manor of Petworth was held by the Percy family, the powerful and often rebellious Earls of Northumberland
Northumberland
Northumberland is the northernmost ceremonial county and a unitary district in North East England. For Eurostat purposes Northumberland is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three boroughs or unitary districts that comprise the "Northumberland and Tyne and Wear" NUTS 2 region...
. These lords had an enclosed deer park
Medieval deer park
A medieval deer park was an enclosed area containing deer. It was bounded by a ditch and bank with a wooden park pale on top of the bank. The ditch was typically on the inside, thus allowing deer to enter the park but preventing them from leaving.-History:...
at Mitchell Park, then called Micel (great) Park, where records indicate there was a hunting lodge with gardens and orchards. There were two water mills near Colhook, grinding corn. Diddlesfold Manor was given to the Abbey
Abbey
An abbey is a Catholic monastery or convent, under the authority of an Abbot or an Abbess, who serves as the spiritual father or mother of the community.The term can also refer to an establishment which has long ceased to function as an abbey,...
of Reading
Reading, Berkshire
Reading is a large town and unitary authority area in England. It is located in the Thames Valley at the confluence of the River Thames and River Kennet, and on both the Great Western Main Line railway and the M4 motorway, some west of London....
, and lands near Gospel Green were given to Shulbrede Priory
Priory
A priory is a house of men or women under religious vows that is headed by a prior or prioress. Priories may be houses of mendicant friars or religious sisters , or monasteries of monks or nuns .The Benedictines and their offshoots , the Premonstratensians, and the...
.
Today the parish
Parish
A parish is a territorial unit historically under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of one parish priest, who might be assisted in his pastoral duties by a curate or curates - also priests but not the parish priest - from a more or less central parish church with its associated organization...
is a tranquil area of farms and woodlands, but in medieval times it was bustling with industry. Forest glassmaking was a speciality of the western weald, using local sand and potash made from bracken or wood ash and large quantities of fire wood. In the 1560s French Huguenot
Huguenot
The Huguenots were members of the Protestant Reformed Church of France during the 16th and 17th centuries. Since the 17th century, people who formerly would have been called Huguenots have instead simply been called French Protestants, a title suggested by their German co-religionists, the...
glassmakers brought improved techniques to the area. The remains of a kiln that produced high quality window glass in the 17th century have been uncovered at Tanlands Copse.
Competing for firewood with glassmakers were the ironmasters
Wealden iron industry
The Wealden iron industry was located in the Weald of south-eastern England. It was formerly an important industry, producing a large proportion of the bar iron made in England in the 16th century and most British cannon until about 1770. Ironmaking in the Weald used ironstone from various clay...
, using continental technology in the Tudor
Tudor period
The Tudor period usually refers to the period between 1485 and 1603, specifically in relation to the history of England. This coincides with the rule of the Tudor dynasty in England whose first monarch was Henry VII...
and Stuart
Stuart period
The Stuart period of English and British history refers to the period between 1603 and 1714, while in Scotland it begins in 1371. These dates coincide with the rule of the Scottish royal House of Stuart, whose first monarch to rule England was James I & VI...
periods, to smelt iron from locally dug ironstone
Ironstone
Ironstone is a sedimentary rock, either deposited directly as a ferruginous sediment or created by chemical repacement, that contains a substantial proportion of an iron compound from which iron either can be or once was smelted commercially. This term is customarily restricted to hard coarsely...
in water powered blast furnaces. The streams fed by springs
Spring (hydrosphere)
A spring—also known as a rising or resurgence—is a component of the hydrosphere. Specifically, it is any natural situation where water flows to the surface of the earth from underground...
on Blackdown
Blackdown, Sussex
Blackdown, or Black Down, is the highest hill in the historic county of Sussex, at 280 metres , and is second only to Leith Hill in southeastern England....
were dammed to drive waterwheels which worked large twin bellows
Bellows
A bellows is a device for delivering pressurized air in a controlled quantity to a controlled location.Basically, a bellows is a deformable container which has an outlet nozzle. When the volume of the bellows is decreased, the air escapes through the outlet...
. Other waterwheels drove large forge hammers which converted the pig iron
Pig iron
Pig iron is the intermediate product of smelting iron ore with a high-carbon fuel such as coke, usually with limestone as a flux. Charcoal and anthracite have also been used as fuel...
into wrought iron
Wrought iron
thumb|The [[Eiffel tower]] is constructed from [[puddle iron]], a form of wrought ironWrought iron is an iron alloy with a very low carbon...
. There was a furnace north of Frith Wood and a forge hammer by Hammer Bridge at Mitchell Park.
In the 1790s the government bought land at Fisherstreet from the third Earl of Egremont to set up a factory for producing high quality charcoal
Charcoal
Charcoal is the dark grey residue consisting of carbon, and any remaining ash, obtained by removing water and other volatile constituents from animal and vegetation substances. Charcoal is usually produced by slow pyrolysis, the heating of wood or other substances in the absence of oxygen...
by using coal to heat wood, mainly willow, alder and alder buckthorn, in iron cylinders. Tar,methyl alcohol and acid were distilled into wooden barrels leaving high quality charcoal needed by gunpowder mills to produce improved black powder for the Napoleonic wars
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
. The works had closed by 1826 and in 1828 the site was used for a large gala and illegal prize fight by bare-knuckle boxers from London. By 1839 the site had become a tannery
Tanning
Tanning is the making of leather from the skins of animals which does not easily decompose. Traditionally, tanning used tannin, an acidic chemical compound from which the tanning process draws its name . Coloring may occur during tanning...
where cattle hides were soaked in liquid made from ground up oak tree
Oak Tree
Oak Tree may refer to:*Oak, the tree*Oak Tree, County Durham, a village in County Durham, England*The Oaktree Foundation, a youth-run aid and development agency*Oak Tree National, golf club in Edmond, Oklahoma...
bark for many months, a very smelly process.
Brick making was another important industry, with the brickworks
Brickworks
A brickworks also known as a brick factory, is a factory for the manufacturing of bricks, from clay or shale. Usually a brickworks is located on a clay bedrock often with a quarry for clay on site....
at Colhook Common being established by 1779 and continuing until the 1960s. Both red and yellow clay
Clay
Clay is a general term including many combinations of one or more clay minerals with traces of metal oxides and organic matter. Geologic clay deposits are mostly composed of phyllosilicate minerals containing variable amounts of water trapped in the mineral structure.- Formation :Clay minerals...
were available on the common, and sand nearby,as well as plenty of firewood for firing the bricks. These materials were dug and cut during the winter and the actual brick making done in the summer when the clay would dry before firing.
Northchapel, along with Duncton
Duncton
Duncton is a village and civil parish in the District of Chichester in West Sussex, England located one mile south of Petworth on the A285 road.The parish has a land area of 800.4 hectares...
, became a separate parish from Petworth in 1717. The present parish church of St. Michael and all Angels was built in 1878 retaining the tower of the 1833 church which replaced the first stone church, probably built in the 14th century. It contains some interesting stained glass windows by Wilhelmina Geddes
Wilhelmina Geddes
Wilhelmina Geddes was an Irish stained glass artist. She had a workshop at the An Túr Gloine and was a member of the Arts and Crafts Movement. Important achievements included windows at St. Bartholomew’s in Ottawa, Canada....
from 1930. A surviving drawing shows the early church as a simple stone building with a Horsham stone roof and wooden bell tower.
As well as the Anglican parish church there was the chapel of the Society of Dependants, built in 1872 behind the present village shop and now a private dwelling. The shop itself began as a cooperative venture by the society. The Dependants, an independent Christian sect, had a strong presence in the village. They were commonly known as "Cokelers" possibly from "Cuckolders", a slander by their religious enemies.
Education for the ordinary people began in 1835 with the building of a free Sunday School at the junction with the lane to Hillgrove, using government money channelled through the Church of England. in 1849 this was extended to become a Church of England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
day school, giving a free basic education in literacy
Literacy
Literacy has traditionally been described as the ability to read for knowledge, write coherently and think critically about printed material.Literacy represents the lifelong, intellectual process of gaining meaning from print...
and numeracy
Numeracy
Numeracy is the ability to reason with numbers and other mathematical concepts. A numerically literate person can manage and respond to the mathematical demands of life...
and having emphasis on religious indoctrination. By the early 20th century the building was considered inadequate by the County Council and the site unhealthy as they were pumping water from the sewage polluted stream. The clergy were unable to retain control by making the necessary improvements so a new council run school was built by the village green
Village green
A village green is a common open area which is a part of a settlement. Traditionally, such an area was often common grass land at the centre of a small agricultural settlement, used for grazing and sometimes for community events...
, opening in 1916, and still in use today as the primary school.
Alongside the primary school is the Working Men's Club, founded in 1924 as a memorial to the villagers killed in the First World War. A Canadian Army hut was moved from Aldershot
Aldershot
Aldershot is a town in the English county of Hampshire, located on heathland about southwest of London. The town is administered by Rushmoor Borough Council...
for the club. The club was extended and renovated in 1977.