Burpham (St. Mary)

BURPHAM (St. Mary), a parish, in the union of Preston (under Gilbert's act), hundred of Poling, rape of Arundel, W. division of Sussex, 4½ miles (N. E. by E.) from Arundel; containing 280 inhabitants. It is bounded on the west by the river Arun, and comprises by measurement 2723 acres, of which 903 are common or waste; the surface is hilly, and near the church is a high embankment, supposed to be of Roman origin, commanding a fine view of Arundel Castle, and the windings of the river. The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at £7. 12. 6.; patrons and appropriators, the Dean and Chapter of Chichester: the great tithes have been commuted for £295. 10., and the vicarial for £149. 8. The church is principally of Norman architecture; and was originally cruciform, but the south transept has been taken down. On the downs are numerous barrows, several of which have been opened, and found to contain coins, skeletons, and military weapons: at Peppering, near Arundel, were discovered in 1820, near the foot of the downs, in a bed of gravelly loam resting upon chalk, about 3 feet from the surface, and 80 above the level of the sea, the bones, a tusk, and some grinders of an elephant.