Tangmere | |
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St Andrew's Church |
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Tangmere shown within West Sussex | |
Area | 4.67 km2 (1.80 sq mi) |
Population | 2,625. 2011 Census |
• Density | 527/km2 (1,360/sq mi) |
OS grid reference | SU905065 |
• London | 52 miles (84 km) NNE |
Civil parish |
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District | |
Shire county | |
Region | |
Country | England |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Post town | CHICHESTER |
Postcode district | PO20 |
Dialling code | 01243 |
Police | Sussex |
Fire | West Sussex |
Ambulance | South East Coast |
EU Parliament | South East England |
UK Parliament | |
Website | http://www.tangmere-online.co.uk/ |
Tangmere is a village, civil parish, and electoral ward in the Chichester District of West Sussex, England. Located three miles (5 km) north east of Chichester it is twinned with Hermanville-sur-Mer in Lower Normandy, France.
The parish has a land area of 467.3 hectares (1154 acres). In the 2001 census 2462 people lived in 963 households, of whom 1233 were economically active. At the 2011 Census the population was 2,625.
The origin of the name Tangmere is not certain. Mere implies a pool rather than a grand lake, and 'tang' is thought to mean tongs or a serpents tongue. It could be that Tangmere was the pool at the fork, or junction of two ancient paths. The pool was later filled in to form a small village green.
The Saxon village lies a mile south of the Roman road of Stane Street, linking Londinium with Noviomagus Reginorum, now known as Chichester. In 677 the controversial Bishop of York, Wilfrid (later Saint Wilfrid), came to Selsey and converted the South Saxons to Christianity. In 680 a charter, possibly by the King states: “I Caedwalla...have granted his brethren serving God at the church of St Andrew...the land of 10 hides which is called Tangmere”. A hide equated to 120 acres (49 hectares).
The Domesday Survey records that Tangmere had a population of around 120, with the stone church of St Andrew built after the Norman conquest. Originally built of timber, the Saxon church was replaced in 1100 by a stone and timber building. Difficult to date precisely, the building incorporates scavenged and reused stone, including pre-Christian carved figures, Roman bricks; while the size of the yew tree by the present door suggests an ancient sacred site. The church was added to in both the 12th century and in the Victorian era.