Mengham
| Mengham | |
| Hampshire | |
|---|---|
 Ithica Close, Mengham | |
| Location | |
| Island: | Hayling Island |
| Grid reference: | SZ725990 |
| Location: | 50°47’12"N, -0°58’18"W |
| Data | |
| Postcode: | PO11 |
| Local Government | |
Mengham is the largest village on Hayling Island in Hampshire: it is the largest shopping area on the island, and has three schools and a library. The village is in the south of the island, overlooking Spithead, and merging into the neighbouring villages to create in effect one village, known as South Hayling.
The east side of the village is at the shore of Chichester Harbour, the natural harbour enclosed by the island. A creek, Mengham Rithe, flows into the harbour, and the tidal flats here are known as the Megham Salterns.
Church
The village church is the Priory Church of St Mary's, a historic church in the centre of Hayling Island, at the north end of the village.
The church was built from 1250, when it became clear that the island's main church at the time, the Church of All Saints, was likely to be overwhelmed by the sea, and indeed it was lost to the sea when much of the island disappeared in 1324. It belonged to the Abbey of Jumièges in Normandy until foreign priories were deprived of possessions in England, and Henry V granted it to the monks of Sheen in Surrey until the dissolution of the monasteries.
The church has some fine thirteenth-century carvings on pillars, and two ancient fonts – one hollowed out from an Anglo-Saxon stone which was originally the base of a Saxon cross, and the other a square bowl of Purbeck marble dating back to about 1200, placed on a 13th-century base.
Local legend insists that there is a secret tunnel whose entrance is disguised as a grave in the churchyard, used by smugglers.
Outside links
- St Mary's Church: Hayling Benefice