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CHAPTER 1
THE EARLY YEARS

When writing a history such as this it is often difficult to find a suitable starting point. Cavemen and dinosaurs come to mind. However, we have chosen to commence this Aldingbourne history from the Roman invasion and subsequent occupation 55BC – AD450.

Roman Aldingbourne

For over 500 years the Romans occupied Britain and their first recorded road, Stane Street, was constructed just to the north of Aldingbourne. A second coastal road is believed to have been at least partly built from Chichester possibly destined for Anderida, the Roman name for the port of Pevensey, its route a straight line through Oving, Aldingbourne, Eastergate and so on. It is likely that a Roman settlement existed south of Hook Lane near the Aldingbourne Rife where, in more recent times, a Roman Toga Clip has been unearthed. Further evidence of a settlement emerged in 1942 when, for the first time, the rife was mechanically dredged revealing a mass of oyster shells, part of the staple diet in Roman times. The theory is that oysters were kept fresh in some form of container in the rife before being eaten and the shells then discarded into the water.  It is also believed that the ‘Font’ of Fontwell was named by the Roman soldiers, who used the spring by the side of the road, the ‘well’ being added by the Anglo Saxons. These are only snippets of information to date, but who knows what yet may be unearthed?

Saxon Ealdingburman

By now known as Ealdingburman, it was part of the land of the Bishopric of Selsey. Caedwalla, King of Wessex, after a period of exile, invaded the kingdom of Sussex before converting to Christianity. Theodore of Tarsus, the seventh Archbishop of Canterbury, divided England into Sees and Parishes. It is possible that the existing boundaries were those determined at that time since it is on record that the Manor of Ealdingburman has always been in the See of Chichester.

1. Ealdingburman translates into Elda’s home by the stream or Elda’s stream, Elda being a one time Saxon Chieftain.
2. ‘Sees’ were areas under the jurisdiction of a Bishop, whereas a Parish was a
   district or subdivision of a county under a single clergyman.
   

 

An early record of the parish tells of Nothelm, the King of the South Saxons, handing over land for a church and monastery in AD692 at the specific request of his sister, Nothgitha. If the church was built soon after this then it is reasonable to assume that its earliest beginnings date from around AD700. Likewise the monastery, believed to have been built either on the site of Manor Park Farm or Tote Copse.

•     There is no certain record on which of these two places the monastery stood.  If it was the Manor Park Farm it is likely to have survived until the reign of King Henry VIII (1509-1547), whereas Tote Copse became the summer residence of the Bishop of Chichester around 1050. Legend has it that these places were all connected by underground passages and there may be some truth in this as, in more recent times, evidence has been unearthed of an entrance to a passage at both Aldingbourne Church and Manor Farm House.

King Alfred (871-899) in his will, now kept in the British Museum, bequeathed to his son, Aetheelm, the Manor of Ealdingburman.

Tote Copse (picture David Gillbard)

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