Easebourne
{{Short description|Village and parish in West Sussex, England}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2019}}
{{Infobox UK place
| official_name = Easebourne
| country = England
| civil_parish = Easebourne
| region = South East England
| static_image_name = Easebourne Priory 2.jpg
| static_image_caption = Easebourne Priory
| area_total_km2 = 17.95
| population = 1,820.
| population_ref = 2011 Census{{cite web|url=http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadKeyFigures.do?a=7&b=11122925&c=Easebourne&d=16&e=62&g=6473671&i=1001x1003x1032x1004&m=0&r=1&s=1444902970135&enc=1|title=Civil parish population 2011|access-date=15 October 2015}}
| population_density = {{convert|96|/km2|/sqmi|abbr=on}}
| os_grid_reference = SU894225
| coordinates = {{coord|50.99583|-0.72601|display=inline,title}}
| post_town = MIDHURST
| postcode_area = GU
| postcode_district = GU29
| dial_code = 01730
| constituency_westminster = Arundel and South Downs
| london_distance = {{convert|44|mi}} NE
| shire_district = Chichester
| shire_county = West Sussex
| website = http://www.easebourne.org/
}}
Easebourne ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|ɛ|z|b|ɔr|n}}) is a village, Anglican parish and civil parish in the Chichester District of West Sussex, England. It is half a mile (0.8 km) north of Midhurst, across the River Rother on the A272 and A286 roads. The parish includes the hamlet of Henley to the north. In the 2001 census there were 708 households with a total population of 1,717.
History
Easebourne (Eseburne{{cite book|title=A Dictionary of Sussex Place-Names|date=2017|page=18|last=Coates|first=Richard|url=http://eprints.uwe.ac.uk/30943/1/Sussex%20place-names%20AEIOU.pdf|publisher=University of the West of England, Bristol|access-date=18 June 2019}}) was listed in the Domesday Book of 1086 as an ancient Hundred, an extensive area reaching as far afield as Graffham and Cocking to the south, Stedham to the west and Tillington to the east, as well as two hamlets that were not parishes: Todham to the southeast{{cite web|title=Open Domesday: (Great and Little) Todham|url=https://opendomesday.org/place/XX0000/great-and-little-todham/|access-date=23 June 2019}} and Buddington to the west;{{cite web|title=Open Domesday: Buddington|url=https://opendomesday.org/place/SU8823/buddington/|access-date=23 June 2019}} in total it included 12 settlements containing 276 households.{{cite web|title=Open Domesday: Easebourne Hundred|url=https://opendomesday.org/hundred/easebourne/|access-date=18 June 2019}}
In 1861, the population was 859, and the area of the parish {{convert|4043|acre}}.{{cite web|title=GENUKI: Easebourne|url=https://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/SSX/Easebourne|access-date=19 June 2019}}
Governance
An electoral ward of the same name exists. This ward includes Lodsworth and at the 2011 census had a population of 2,492.{{cite web|url=http://www.ukcensusdata.com/easebourne-e05007610#sthash.Mcnt5OAN.dpbs|title=Ward population 2011|access-date=15 October 2015}}
Amenities
There is one public house in Easebourne, the White Horse, and one in Henley, the Duke Of Cumberland. The Rother Inn closed in 1994 and the Holly Tree in 2004. Cowdray Park, to the east of the village, has a golf course, and is home to a cricket club and a first-class polo club.
Parish
The parish church of St Mary is 13th century or earlier, and is a Grade I listed building.{{NHLE|num=1277103 |desc=Church of St Mary |grade=I |access-date=5 April 2025 }}{{cite web|title=The Parish Church of St Mary, Easebourne|url=https://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/SSX/Easebourne/TheParishChurchofStMary|access-date=19 June 2019}} The parish includes the hamlet of Henley to the north, where there was a Mission Hall established in 1885, since closed.{{cite web|title=Henley Mission Hall, Henley Common|url=https://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/SSX/Easebourne/HenleyMissionHall|access-date=19 June 2019}} In the 2001 census there were 708 households with a total population of 1,717 of whom 785 were economically active.
Notable buildings
Including the parish church, there are 88 listed buildings in the parish of Easebourne.{{cite web|title=British Listed Buildings: Easebourne|url=https://britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/england/easebourne-chichester-west-sussex|access-date=5 April 2025}}
Adjacent to the cricket ground lie the ruins of the Tudor Cowdray House,{{NHLE|num=1277176 |desc=The ruins of Cowdray House |grade=I |access-date=5 April 2025 }} built as a mansion with castle features. Started in 1520, it was completed by 1542, but was devastated by fire in 1793. A restoration project in the early 20th century helped to stabilise the ruins.{{cite web|title=The history of Cowdray ruins|url=https://www.cowdray.co.uk/the-history-of-cowdray-ruins/|access-date=5 April 2025}}
Easebourne Priory{{NHLE|num=1277106|desc= PRIORY FLATS, PETWORTH ROAD|accessdate=12 November 2014}} was built for ten Augustinian canonesses and was founded before 1238 by the de Bohun family who were from St. Ann's Hill in nearby Midhurst.
On the northern edge of Easebourne village on the A286 road Budgenor Lodge, converted into flats in 2006, is the former Midhurst Union Workhouse which was opened in 1794 by a Gilbert Union of seventeen parishes. From 1835 it was run and enlarged by the Midhurst Poor Law Union, serving 26 parishes.[http://www.workhouses.org.uk/Midhurst/ Peter Higginbotham's Workhouse website ]
The bridge over the River Rother, which forms the boundary between Midhurst parish's North Street and Easebourne parish's Easebourne Lane, is a listed structure, built in 1826.{{NHLE|num=1354687 |desc=Bridge over the River Rother, Easebourne Lane |grade=II |access-date=5 April 2025 }}
Notable people
Anti-apartheid activist Helen Joseph was born in the village in 1905.{{cite web|title=South African History Online: Helen Joseph|url=https://www.sahistory.org.za/people/helen-joseph|access-date=23 June 2019}} Rear-Admiral Francis Buller lived in Easebourne in retirement.{{cite news|work=Hampshire Telegraph|title=Easebourne Admiral's death|date=23 July 1943|page=13}} Actors Laurence Fox and Billie Piper were married in St Mary's Church in 2007.{{cite news|title=Church wedding for Piper and Fox|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7165825.stm|work=BBC News|date=31 December 2007|access-date=23 June 2019}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
{{commons category|Easebourne}}
- [https://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/SSX/Easebourne Further historical information and sources on GENUKI]
{{Chichester}}
{{authority control}}