Graffham

This article is about the village in West Sussex and is not to be confused with Grafham.

Graffham is a village, Anglican parish and civil parish in West Sussex, England, situated on the northern escarpment of the South Downs within the South Downs National Park. The civil parish is made up of the village of Graffham, part of the hamlet of Selham, and South Ambersham. It forms part of the Bury Ward for the purposes of electing a Councillor to Chichester District Council.

Graffham
Parish church of St Giles, Graffham, which Is In A Benefice With St Peter’s, East Lavington
Graffham Location within West Sussex
Area	11.81 km2 (4.56 sq mi) [1]
Population	516. 2011 Census[2]
• Density	43/km2 (110/sq mi)
OS grid reference	SU927175
• London	45 miles (72 km) NNE
Civil parish	Graffham
District	Chichester
Shire county	West Sussex
Region	South East
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	PETWORTH
Postcode district	GU28
Dialling code	01798
Police	Sussex
Fire	West Sussex
Ambulance	South East Coast
UK Parliament	Arundel and South Downs
Website	https://graffham-pc.uk/
List of places UK England West Sussex 50.94989°N 0.68077°W / 50.94989; -0.68077

History

Graffham was listed in the Domesday Book (1086) in the ancient hundred of Easebourne as having 13 households: seven villagers and six smallholders; with land for ploughing, woodland for pigs and a church, the parish's value to the lord of the manor was £8.^[3]

In the 1861 census, the parish covered 1,658 acres (671 ha) and had a population of 410.^[4] Selham was still a separate parish covering 1,042 acres (422 ha) with a population of 123.^[5]

Demography

In the 2001 census, the parish covered 11.81 km² (2,917 acres) and had 229 households with a total population of 510 of whom 229 residents were economically active. The population at the 2021 Census was 517.^[2]

Amenities

The village of Graffham contains three pubs The Forester's Arms The White Horse, and The Three Moles (just across the parish boundary in Selham), a recreation ground, a village shop, the Anglican parish church of St Giles, which was largely rebuilt between 1874 and 1887, and a primary school. Seaford College, an independent school, is close by.

Notable people

• Timothy Bell, Baron Bell (1941-2019), advertising and public relations executive
• Ann Dally (1926-2007), author and psychiatrist.^[6]
• Henry Edward Manning (1808-1892), cleric, curate to John Sargent
• Harry Ricardo (1885-1974), engineer, improver of the internal combustion engine
• John Sargent (1780-1833), clergyman, academic and biographer
• Ethel Scarborough (1880-1956), pianist, composer and politician, lived at Quiet Court.^[7]
• Jane Vigor (1699-1783), letter writer, born in Graffham
• Samuel Wilberforce (1805-1873), Church of England bishop
• David Young, Baron Young of Graffham (1932-2022), politician