Houghton, Sussex

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Houghton
Sussex
Houghton Bridge ca 1895.jpg
Bridge over the Arun at Houghton
Location
Grid reference: TQ018115
Location: 50°53’40"N, 0°33’11"W
Data
Population: 153  (2011[1])
Post town: Arundel
Postcode: BN18
Dialling code: 01798
Local Government
Council: Arun
Parliamentary
constituency:
Arundel and South Downs
The Turnpike

Houghton is a low-population linear settlement and parish in Sussex. It has a large elevated tract of land which is mostly wooded and two main farms forming its civil parish. It is on the River Arun, where it has a bridge to a rural part of Amberley, three miles north of Arundel. The area is, equally, part of the South Downs National Park. The census 2011 included the population of South Stoke.

Geography

The Downs rise steeply from the riverside plain to the west and north-west of the developed street. A straight side-road leads just a mile to the nearest village with a convenience shop, Bury, still on the relatively flat eastern plain, at the foot of the hills. Homes are modest but many are listed buildings.[2]

Amenities and recreation

In the village is a simple two-cell church dedicated to St Nicholas, originally built in the 13th century but largely rebuilt in 1857. It is mid ranked in the national grading system of listed buildings (at Grade II*).[3]

Houghton is home to the George and Dragon pub, pre-dating the Civil War[4] and said to have been a stop-off point of Charles I's son (the future Charles II) on his escape to France in 1651 following his defeat by Cromwell's army at the Battle of Worcester. A large minority of Arundel Park where it is well-wooded is in the parish, as is Houghton Forest which is free public access and covers the west of the parish.[5]

The Monarch's Way long-distance footpath (which follows Charles's supposed route from Worcester to Shoreham-by-Sea) descends from the Downs to the west into the village, before heading south along the river towards Arundel.

References

  1. Key Statistics; Quick Statistics: Population Density United Kingdom Census 2011 Office for National Statistics Retrieved 10 May 2014
  2. e.g. National Heritage List 1027633: Houghton, Sussex
    National Heritage List 1027634: Houghton, Sussex
    National Heritage List 12340216: Houghton, Sussex
    National Heritage List 12763316: Houghton, Sussex
    National Heritage List 13538766: Houghton, Sussex
  3. National Heritage List 1027636: Houghton, Sussex
  4. National Heritage List 1234034: Houghton, Sussex
  5. National Heritage List 1000170: Houghton, Sussex

Outside links

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