IPING
The parish, which has an area of 2,240 acres, is about
6 miles in length, stretching south from the Hampshire
border, with an average width of less than ½ mile. The
village of Iping lies rather over a mile from the south
end of the parish at a crossing of the River Rother, 1 mile
east of Chithurst and 2 miles north-west of Midhurst.
The bridge over the Rother is partly of 17th-century
date. It has four round arches, of which the two
southern have each three square ribs. The piers have
V-shaped cutwaters on the west, now reduced in height.
Half a mile to the west a tributary, now called Hammer
Stream, enters the Rother from the north. This forms
the western boundary of the parish for about a mile, as
far as New Bridge, a little below which it has been
dammed to the Hammer Pond for former ironworks.
It would seem that originally the boundary continued
up the stream for another 1½ miles, as in 1544 Kingsham
and Kingsham Wood, on the east side of the stream and
now included in Chithurst, were described as in Iping. (fn. 1)
Iping Marsh was inclosed under an Act of 1854. (fn. 2)
From the village, which lies on the 100-ft. contour
line, the ground rises northwards for 1½ miles, reaching
360 ft. on Stub Hill, near which point is a cottage of
early-17th-century timber-framing with freestone filling
and a central chimney-stack of thin bricks. Beyond this
the ground drops again to about 200 ft. at Iping Marsh
and the hamlet of Wardley, where it rises steeply to
over 460 ft. at Wardley Hanger. South of the churchyard is a farm-house with a 17th-century central chimney-stack, part of the east front being of coursed rubble
with brick dressings and segmental-headed windows of
that date. Near the southern edge of the parish is Fitzhall, originally built by Christopher Bettesworth in the
time of Elizabeth, (fn. 3) but completely rebuilt in the 19th
century, nothing remaining of the early house except
a chamfered plinth on what was the main eastern front
of an L-shaped house, but is now part of a back
wing.
Just west of Iping Bridge are mill buildings, presumably on the site of the mill, valued at 3s. 4d. in
Domesday Book. (fn. 4) By 1665 there was a water-mill containing a wheat-mill and a malt-mill under one roof,
and the site of a former fulling-mill. (fn. 5) At the beginning
of the 18th century this became a paper-mill and it continued to be used for this purpose until 1930, about
which time it was burnt down. (fn. 6)
MANORS
IPING, which was held of the Confessor by Oualet, was not included in the lands
given to Earl Roger, but in 1086 was held
directly of King William by Eldred (of Winchester).
It was rated at 4 hides; there was a mill, a quarry worth
9s. 4d., and extensive woodland; one haw in Chichester
belonged to the manor, and 40d. was received from
circet, or church-scot. (fn. 7) Towards the end of the 12th
century the manor was in the hands of Richard Musard,
who gave to Lewes Priory 'the hide of Trepeham with
croft and meadow' in Iping. (fn. 8) In 1212 this gift was confirmed by Richard's son and heir William Musard, (fn. 9)
who subsequently added 'the land which is called Hooe'
in a charter to which his wife Joan and his heir William
gave their consent. (fn. 10) The manor evidently descended in
the family, as in 1330 William Musard died seised of
the manor of Iping, then said to be held of Herbert de
St. Quintin, (fn. 11) whose connexion with it is otherwise unknown; William's son and namesake was 'of Iping' in
1339, in which year Sir Henry Husee of Hastings acknowledged a debt to him of 100 marks. (fn. 12) It seems
probable that this was for the purchase of the manor,
which is next found, in 1370, in the hands of Sir Henry
Husee, (fn. 13) and in 1390 in those of Ankarette his widow
at the time of her death. (fn. 14) In 1412 Henry Husee held
2/3 of the manor, (fn. 15) the other ⅓ being dower of his mother
Margaret, and he and the Prior of Lewes held jointly
½ knight's fee in Iping in 1428. (fn. 16) Henry Lovell, who
had married Constance, one of the two daughters and
coheirs of Nicholas Husee (d. 1472), (fn. 17) in 1499 quitclaimed all right in the manor and advowson to John
Goring, (fn. 18) whose father John (d. 1495) had probably
purchased them some years before, as he was patron of
the church in 1483. (fn. 19) John's great-grandson George
Goring sold in 1576 to John Selwyn of Friston, (fn. 20) who
in 1588 mortgaged the manor to Richard May, (fn. 21) and
next year sold it to Thomas Bettesworth. (fn. 22) Thomas
died seised of the manor in 1594, (fn. 23) and his son Sir
Peter mortgaged it in 1623 to Sir Robert Seymour and
Henry Ades, (fn. 24) and then to Henry Hooke, (fn. 25) who evidently acquired it after the death of Sir Peter Bettesworth in 1635. In 1668 John Hooke sold the manor
and advowson of Iping to Mary Box, widow, (fn. 26) and in
1694 Henry Box, her grandson, made a settlement of
the estate. (fn. 27) He died in 1718, and in 1734 Martha
Box, widow, presented to the living. (fn. 28)
Charles Peyton,
who married Henry Box's daughter Ruth, (fn. 29) was in possession by 1747 (fn. 30) and presented to the living, as Sir
Charles Peyton, bart., in 1758.
After his death, without issue, in
1760 the estate came to William
Fawkener (whose father Sir
Everard had married Mary
daughter of Ralph Box, (fn. 31) and
sister of Henry Box) and
Georgiana Anne his wife, who
in 1784 sold the manor and
advowson to George, Earl of
Egremont. (fn. 32) In 1798 he sold
part of the estate north of the
river to Lord Robert Spencer,
who sold it to Admiral Sir Charles Hamilton, bart.,
about 1800. (fn. 33) Sir Charles died at Iping in 1849, aged
82; his son Sir Charles John James died in January 1892,
aged 81, when the estate passed to his cousin Sir Edward
Archibald Hamilton, (fn. 34) who died in 1915 and was
succeeded by his son Sir Archibald Hamilton, from
whom it passed to his brother Sir Sydney Hamilton.
Hamilton. Gules three pierced cinque foils ermine.
The manor of DEAN in Iping and Stedham may
represent, at least in part, the lands of Lewes Priory; for
'Trepeham' was given to Lewes by Richard Musard (fn. 35)
and land called Traphams was in 1665 part of Dean
manor. (fn. 36) The Lewes property in Iping, as elsewhere,
was granted to Thomas Cromwell in 1538 (fn. 37) and on his
attainder reverted to the Crown, but its subsequent history is obscure. Dean is first mentioned as a manor in
1571, when George Goring sold it to Thomas Bettesworth. (fn. 38) Thomas held the manor with that of Iping at
his death in 1594, (fn. 39) and Sir Peter Bettesworth by his
will of 1634 instructed his wife Elizabeth and his son
Charles to sell both manors to pay his debts. (fn. 40) Accordingly in 1638 Elizabeth, then wife of John Harris, and
Charles Bettesworth sold the manor of Dean to William
Stewart and Sir John Meade, (fn. 41) acting apparently for
Humphrey Stewart, who settled Pleystowe Hill in
Iping and Stedham, and Mill Meade below Legett
Mill, being parts of Dean manor, on his younger son
William for life. (fn. 42) Humphrey Stewart's grandson
Thomas conveyed the manor to Henry Box and Henry
Aylwey in 1706. (fn. 43) In 1732 John Reeves, and Mary
Reeves, spinster, sold 2/3 of the manor to Humphrey
Ridge, to whom the other ⅓ was conveyed by John
Reeves in 1738. (fn. 44) The manor is next found in 1776,
when William Richardson and Mary his wife transferred it to Hester Gray, (fn. 45) presumably on a mortgage,
as Richardson went bankrupt and his assigns sold the
manor to John Utterson, (fn. 46) who was lord of the manor
in 1784. (fn. 47) His children sold it in 1814 to Samuel
Garland. (fn. 48)
Boxgrove Priory in 1535 held property in Iping producing £1 6s. 4d., (fn. 49) and in 1544 Kingsham and Kingsham Wood, formerly held by Boxgrove, were granted to
Sir Henry Audley and John Cordell. (fn. 50) In 1548 estates
called Wykewood, Reynoldes, and Noreland in Iping,
late of Durford Abbey, were given to Robert Curson. (fn. 51)
CHURCH
The church of ST. MARY
(fn. 52) stands
south of the River Rother; it is built of
stone and roofed with tile.
In 1782 it consisted of a small nave and chancel; (fn. 53)
this was completely rebuilt in 1840 (fn. 54) and a tower
added; with the exception of the latter it was again rebuilt in 1885, the date being carved on the south face
of the porch. It now consists of chancel with north
vestry, nave with south porch, and west tower, all in
the style of the 13th century. The fittings are modern.
Built into the east wall of the porch is a small graveslab, perhaps 13th-century, with a stem resting on steps
but having, instead of the usual cross, a head in the
form of a fleur-de-lis.
There is one bell, dated 1616, by Roger Tapsil. (fn. 55)
The communion plate includes a fine Elizabethan
chalice of 1568, with two bands of engraved ornament; a paten cover of the same date; and a plain
chalice and paten cover of 1635, the latter inscribed—
'The gift of Arthur Bettesworth, citisen and stationer,
of London'; also a square silver salver of 1724. (fn. 56)
The registers begin for burials and marriages in 1653
and for baptisms in 1664.
ADVOWSON
Iping was at first ecclesiastically part
of Stedham, the church of which
belonged to Lewes Priory, and it was
probably to that church that the church-scot (circet) of
40d., mentioned in the Domesday Survey, (fn. 57) was paid;
but in about 1190 Richard Musard, in return for his
gift of land (see above), obtained from the prior and
convent leave to dedicate a chapel at Iping and a cemetery for the burial of his men. For this the rector was
to pay 2s. at Michaelmas to the monks of Lewes, and
the rector of Stedham should have the burial fees, and
also the tithes of Trepeham, which he had given to the
priory. (fn. 58) Richard retained the patronage, (fn. 59) and this
descended continuously with the manor (fn. 60) and is now
held by Lord Leconfield.
The church of Iping was valued at £5 in 1291. (fn. 61) At
some date between 1408 and 1482 the church of Chithurst (q.v.) was attached to it as a chapel, and has so
continued. The two were valued together in 1535 at
£5 17s. (fn. 62)