Bignor
{{Short description|Village and parish in West Sussex, England}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2019}}
{{Use British English|date=May 2025}}
{{Infobox UK place
| official_name = Bignor
| country = England
| civil_parish = Bignor
| region = South East England
| static_image_name = Bignor cottage.JPG
| static_image_width =
| static_image_caption = The Yeoman's House
| area_total_km2 = 4.71
| population = 103
| population_ref = 2001 Census
| population_density = {{convert|22|/km2|/sqmi|abbr=on}}
| os_grid_reference = SU984146
| coordinates = {{coord|50.92293|-0.6013|display=inline,title}}
| post_town = PULBOROUGH
| postcode_area = RH
| postcode_district = RH20
| dial_code = 01798
| constituency_westminster = Arundel and South Downs
| london_distance = {{convert|43|mi}} NNE
| shire_district = Chichester
| shire_county = West Sussex
| website =
}}
Bignor is a village and civil parish in the Chichester district of the English county of West Sussex, about {{convert|6|mi|km|spell=in}} north of Arundel. It is in the civil parish of Pulborough.
The nearest railway station is {{convert|3.3|mi|km}} south east of the village, at Amberley. The area of the parish is {{convert|471|ha|acre|abbr=off}}. According to the 2001 census Bignor had a population of 103 people living in 43 households.
The village is next to the line of Stane Street, an important Roman road, where it ascends the escarpment of the South Downs. The modern track from the village to the hill top climbs steeply up to and then roughly follows the Roman route, but before the car park at the top Stane Street can be seen as a wide flat terraceway below the modern track.
Landmarks
The Anglican parish church of the Holy Cross is a largely 13th century structure, but it is mentioned in the Domesday Book with the chancel arch and font surviving from the 11th century. It is one of a benefice of five downland churches (Barlavington, Bignor, Burton, Coates and Sutton).[http://www.openchurchestrust.org.uk/Churches/Bignor.htm Description by the Open Churches Trust] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080618122100/http://www.openchurchestrust.org.uk/Churches/Bignor.htm |date=2008-06-18 }}
Historic houses in the village include the Yeoman's House, a ca. 15th century oak-framed hall house of the "wealden" type. Formerly known as the Old Shop the house has a recessed centre section with curved brackets supporting the eaves, while the first floor of the wings projects. There is some brick infill in the centre section with the rest of the walls having a mix of plaster and flint infill.[https://web.archive.org/web/20121023124912/http://www.imagesofengland.org.uk/details/default.aspx?pid=2&id=300343 English Heritage national monuments record]
=Roman villa=
{{Main|Bignor Roman Villa}}
Within the parish are the excavations of a large Roman villa which has been open to the public since 1814. The villa contains some of the finest and best preserved Roman mosaics in England.
=Bignor Manor House=
During World War II, Bignor Manor House was the rented family home of Major Anthony Bertram who was working for military intelligence with French resistance agents. He volunteered to use the manor house as a secret forward base for members of the resistance who were waiting to be flown by light aircraft to France on moonlit nights from RAF Tangmere air base.
His wife Barbara looked after the agents and carried out final checks on clothing and equipment to ensure that everything they had was consistent with being French. Agents returning from France would also be taken there for food, rest and initial debriefing.Barbara Bertram, French Resistance in Sussex 1988, Barnworks Publishing {{ISBN|1-899174-01-X}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
{{commons category|Bignor, West Sussex}}
- [http://www.bignorromanvilla.co.uk Official Website for Bignor Roman Villa (Under construction - 15/03/07)]
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20070927203152/http://www.achurchnearyou.com/venue.php?V=4788 Holy Cross Church]
- [https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/80017822 Manor house Bertram oral history]
{{Chichester}}
{{authority control}}