Up Marden
| Up Marden | |
|---|---|
 Church of St. Michael |
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 Up Marden
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| Up Marden shown within West Sussex | |
| OS grid reference | SU796141 |
| • London | 52 miles (84 km) NE |
| Civil parish | |
| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | Chichester |
| Postcode district | PO18 |
| Dialling code | 023 |
| Police | Sussex |
| Fire | West Sussex |
| Ambulance | South East Coast |
| EU Parliament | South East England |
| UK Parliament | |
Up Marden is a small village in the parish of Compton in the Chichester district of West Sussex, England. The former parish was incorporated into the civil parish of Compton in 1933. It is on the South Downs 7 miles (11 km) north-west of Chichester, close to East Marden and North Marden.
There are neolithic and Roman sites in the area. Recorded history of the settlement starts in the 10th century and a church was in existence by 1121. The present church building is of Norman style construction and the church has remained almost unchanged. It has been described as having one of the loveliest interiors in England. The landscape, which is protected within the South Downs National Park, is based on chalk rock strata formed in the Late Cretaceous.
A neolithic long barrow on Fernbeds Down at the north of Up Marden is named Baverse's Thumb or alternatively Solomon's Thumb, probably as a mediaeval means of Christianising a pagan neolithic monument. Remains of Roman villas at Pitlands Farm in Up Marden and at Watergate Hanger in nearby West Marden indicate that there were Roman estates in the area.
Prior to the Norman Conquest a thegn called Goda is recorded as giving four cassati of land to his son-in-law Wiohstan. Wiohstan bought a further manentern near "the pool called Blackmere" from Ealfred and his wife Ealsware, then sold five hides to Bishop Wulfhun of Selsey for 2,000 silver pennies and a horse in around 935. Wiohstan, with his wife and son, was going to Rome. During the reign of Edward the Confessor the Mardens, then known as Meredone, were owned by Countess Gytha, wife of Earl Godwin, and held by Lefsi. By 1086 the Domesday Book shows four undifferentiated entries for the Mardens which were held by Engeler de Bohun from Roger de Montgomery.
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Wikipedia