Singleton, West Sussex

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Singleton

Singleton, West Sussex (West Sussex)
Singleton, West Sussex

Singleton shown within West Sussex
Population 476 (2001)
OS grid reference SU877130
District Chichester
Shire county West Sussex
Region South East
Constituent country England
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town CHICHESTER
Postcode district PO18
Dialling code 01243
Police Sussex
Fire West Sussex
Ambulance South East Coast
European Parliament South East England
UK Parliament Chichester
List of places: UKEnglandWest Sussex

Coordinates: 50°54′38″N 0°45′11″W / 50.91066, -0.75313

Singleton is a village and civil parish in the Chichester district of West Sussex, England. It lies in the Lavant valley, north of Chichester on the A286 road to Midhurst.

The village name is derived from the Anglo-Saxon 'sengel', which means "burnt clearing".

The Weald and Downland Open Air Museum of Historic Buildings is situated on the edge of the village. Over 40 historic buildings from south-east England have been rescued from destruction, dismantled and reconstructed on the site.

A railway served the village at Singleton station between 1880 and 1953. The station complex is now in use as part of a vineyard.

The parish has a land area of 1601.8 hectares (3956 acres). In the 2001 census 476 people lived in 199 households, of whom 199 were economically active.

[edit] The parish church

Church of the blessed Virgin Mary.
Church of the blessed Virgin Mary.

The Anglican parish church has Saxon nave walls and massive square tower. The aisles were added later. This was a hundrethal church, the central church of the Hundred of Singleton, a Saxon administrative grouping of parishes. The tower has three Saxon windows and a Saxon doorway leading into thin air high up in the nave, showing that there was once an upper room above the nave. It is likely that the priests for the churches in the hundred would have lived in this room. The Saxon tower arch was rebuilt in the twelfth or thirteenth century with a pointed arch. The pews are from the Tudor period.

[edit] External links