The lost medieval village

My most recent blog for Country Life features a lovely house, Westlands Farm, on the edge of Chichester Harbour, but behind the beautiful gardens and open fields lies an unusual history of the missing village of East Itchenor.

Westlands Farm

Westlands

Westlands Farm was built in the early 19th century, but the history of the surrounding area dates back to the Romans. However, it was during the Anglo-Saxon period and the early middle ages that the village of East Itchenor developed and thrived. In the 13th century East Itchenor was larger than neighbouring Birdham, but in 1348 when the Black Death spread across England, East Itchenor was badly affected.

Sales particulars for Westlands 1854

Throughout the 17th and 18th centuries the area where Westlands stands today remained open farming land until in the early 1800s and Westlands Farm was built.

Westlands Farm - early 20th century