Bodiam (St. Giles)

BODIAM (St. Giles), a parish, in the union of Ticehurst, hundred of Staple, rape of Hastings, E. division of Sussex, 2 miles (S. W.) from Sandhurst, and 12 (S. S. E.) from Lamberhurst; comprising 1594 acres, and containing 377 inhabitants. A castle was erected here in 1386 by Sir Edward Dalyngrudge, which, during the civil war in the reign of Charles I., was dismantled by the parliamentarian troops; the remains are in some parts tolerably entire, and the whole, though in a dilapidated state, still forms a stately and magnificent pile. The parish is bounded on the south by the river Rother, which is here navigable; and on the north and north-east by the county of Kent. The living is a vicarage endowed with the rectorial tithes, valued in the king's books at £6. 18. 6½.; patron, the Rev. J. Image. The tithes have been commuted for £320, and the glebe comprises 10 acres. The church is a neat edifice in the later English style, with a low square embattled tower.