Bodiam or Bodiham, Sussex

Historical Description

Bodiam or Bodiham, a village and a parish in Sussex. The village stands on the river Pother, 3½ miles ESE of Hurst Green, and 5 from Etchingham station on the S.E.R. It has a post office under Hawkhurst; money order and telegraph office, Sandhurst (Kent). A fair is held annually on 6 June. The parish comprises 1604 acres; population, 310. The manor belonged to Sir Edward Dalryngrudge, who fought at Crecy and Poitiers, and passed to the Lewknors and others. A grand strong castle on it was built by Dalryngrudge, and is now a picturesque ruin, nearly square, with round towers at the angles, square towers in the middle of the sides, a great machicolated gateway, and remains of ancient defences and approach. The living is a vicarage, endowed with the rectorial tithes, in the diocese of Chichester gross value, £427 with residence. The church is Early and Decorated English.

Administration

The following is a list of the administrative units in which this place was either wholly or partly included.

Any dates in this table should be used as a guide only.

Civil Registration

For general information about Civil Registration (births, marriages and deaths) see the Civil Registration page.

Directories & Gazetteers

We have transcribed the entry for Bodiam or Bodiham from the following:

• Samuel Lewis' A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858. (Bodiam (St. Giles))

Maps

Online maps of Bodiam or Bodiham are available from a number of sites:

• Bing (Current Ordnance Survey maps).
• Google Streetview.
• National Library of Scotland. (Old maps)
• OpenStreetMap.
• old-maps.co.uk (Old Ordnance Survey maps to buy).
• Streetmap.co.uk (Current Ordnance Survey maps).
• A Vision of Britain through Time. (Old maps)

Newspapers and Periodicals

The British Newspaper Archive have fully searchable digitised copies of the following Sussex newspapers online:

• Mid Sussex Times
• Chichester Express and West Sussex Journal
• Sussex Agricultural Express
• Hastings and St Leonards Observer
• Sussex Advertiser
• Brighton Gazette
• Bexhill-on-Sea Observer