Rotherbridge
| Rotherbridge | |
|---|---|
 Rotherbridge Farm viewed from the end of the Rother bridge |
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 Rotherbridge
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| Rotherbridge shown within West Sussex | |
| OS grid reference | SU96652019 |
| • London | 42 miles (68 km) NNE |
| Civil parish | |
| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | PETWORTH |
| Postcode district | GU28 |
| Dialling code | 01798 |
| Police | Sussex |
| Fire | West Sussex |
| Ambulance | South East Coast |
| EU Parliament | South East England |
| UK Parliament | |
Rotherbridge is a small, rural community situated approximately 1 mile (1.6 km) south-west of Petworth in West Sussex, England. Until 1800, the road from Chichester to Petworth crossed the River Rother by a bridge here; the river acquired its present name from the bridge. Rotherbridge also gave its name to the Hundred of Rotherbridge which comprised several of the surrounding villages, as well as the town of Petworth.
The name "Rotherbridge" is derived from the Anglo-Saxon Redrebruge, meaning "cattle bridge", or "cattle way". The original Old English name was "hrÿdõer brycge", meaning "bridge over which cattle are driven". By 1280, the name had become "Rutherbrig", taking its present form in 1550.
The name "Rother" for the river is a back formation from "Rotherbidge". Before this the river was known as the "Scir", a Saxon word meaning "bright" or "clear".
Rotherbridge was also the name of the Saxon Hundred or administrative group of parishes. In the Domesday Book, the Hundred of Rotherbridge comprised the settlements of Sutton, Petworth, Duncton, Barlavington, Lavington, Burton, Glatting and Stopham, a total of 194 households. Rotherbridge was the meeting place for the families from the hundred although this later moved to the town of Petworth.
In 1872, John Marius Wilson, in The Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales" described the Hundred of Rotherbridge as "a hundred in Arundel rape, Sussex, containing Barlavington parish and 11 other parishes. Acres: 40,212. Population in 1851: 9,529. Houses: 1,687."
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Wikipedia