Elsted

Elsted is a village, Anglican parish and former civil parish, now in the civil parish of Elsted and Treyford, in the Chichester district of West Sussex, England. The village is on the Midhurst to South Harting Road 4.5 miles (7.2 km) west of Midhurst. In 1961, the civil parish had a population of 188.^[1] On 1 April 2003, the civil parish was abolished and merged with Treyford to form "Elsted & Treyford".^[2]

Elsted
St Paul's Church
Elsted Location within West Sussex
OS grid reference	SU816195
Civil parish	Elsted and Treyford
District	Chichester
Shire county	West Sussex
Region	South East
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	Midhurst
Postcode district	GU29 0
Police	Sussex
Fire	West Sussex
Ambulance	South East Coast
UK Parliament	Chichester
List of places UK England West Sussex 50.97006°N 0.83902°W / 50.97006; -0.83902

History

Elsted (Halestede) was listed in the Domesday Book (1086) within the ancient hundred of Dumpford. At that time, it comprised 32 households: seven villagers, 23 smallholders, and two slaves; with ploughing land, pasture and woodland for pigs, as well as a mill and a church. It had a value to the lord of the manor of £15.^[3]

In 1861, the area was 1,789 acres (724 ha), and the population was 174.^[4]

Parish church

The small parish church, St. Paul's, located north of the crossroads, has a nave which had become derelict, leaving only the chancel in use as the village church until it was rebuilt in the 1950s. The surviving north wall is of Norman style herringbone stonework, with two round arched doorways filled in to make lancet windows.^[4]

Amenities

The village has one public house, and another at the former Elsted railway station at Elsted Marsh east of the village.

Notable people

• Thomas Weelkes (1575-1623), composer and organist
• Alwyne Michael Webster Whistler (1909–1993), British Army general
• William Downes Willis (1790-1871), rector at Elsted until his death

Looking north from the Village Hall over the new cricket pitch in 2007