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Cocking, West Sussex

Coordinates:50°57′05″N0°45′03″W/ 50.9513°N 0.75095°W/50.9513; -0.75095
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Cocking
Cocking village centre
Cocking is located in West Sussex
Cocking
Cocking
Location withinWest Sussex
Area10.16 km2(3.92 sq mi)[1]
Population4202011 Census[2]
•Density45/km2(120/sq mi)
OS grid referenceSU878176
•London47 miles (76 km)NE
Civil parish
  • Cocking
District
Shire county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townMIDHURST
Postcode districtGU29
Dialling code01730
PoliceSussex
FireWest Sussex
AmbulanceSouth East Coast
UK Parliament
Websitehttp:// cocking.org/
List of places
UK
England
West Sussex
50°57′05″N0°45′03″W/ 50.9513°N 0.75095°W/50.9513; -0.75095

Cockingis a village,parish[3]andcivil parishin theChichester districtofWest Sussex,England. The village is about three miles (5 km) south ofMidhurston the mainA286 roadtoChichester.

In the 2001 census there were 190 households in the civil parish with a total population of 459 of whom 223 were economically active.[1]In 2011, the population was 420.[4]

History and notable buildings

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Cocking (Cochinges) was listed in theDomesday Book(1086) in the ancienthundredofEasebourneas having 32 households: 18 cottagers, eight smallholders and six slaves; with ploughing land, five mills and a church, it had a value to the lord of the manor of £15.[5]

The 11th century[6]Anglicanparishchurchhad no known dedication until 2007 when it was dedicated toSt. Catherine of Siena.[7]There was a Congregational Chapel in Crypt Lane, founded in 1806 and rebuilt in 1907, which is now a private house.[8]

In the centre of the village, on the corner of Mill Lane, stands the old school, now a private residence. This was built in 1870 to the designs of architectsRichard CarpenterandWilliam Slater.The school has Gothic-style windows and door arches, is faced in flint, and has a red-tiled roof and decorative barge-boards to the gables. The former schoolmaster's house has a distinctive chimney-stack with four outlets.[9]

To the south of the village are the remains ofCocking Lime Works,abandoned in 1999, and the associated chalk pit.[10]To the north are a few traces of theChorley Iron Foundry,which cast the waterwheels now at theWeald and Downland Open Air Museum[11]and at theCoultershaw Beam Pump.[12]

There still remain in the village some houses of 17th century origin. In 1931 the population of the village was 431.[13]

There was aRichard Cobdenpub in Cocking which closed and became a private residence in the 20th century.[14][15]Richard Cobdenlived in nearbyHeyshott.[16][17]

Transport

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A railway once used to serve the area atCocking Station,on theChichester to Midhurst lineopened in 1881, but was completely closed from 1953. The village is on the Stagecoach South No.60 bus route which runs from Midhurst to Chichester.

Today

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A number of buildings in the village belong to theCowdray Estate,distinguished by their external woodwork painted yellow.[18]

The remaining village pub, formerlyThe Blue Bell,became a restaurant with accommodation calledThe Bluebell Inn,and stands on the corner of Bell Lane.

Cocking is on theSouth Downs Waylong-distance footpath.[19]

References

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  1. ^ab"2001 Census: West Sussex – Population by Parish"(PDF).West Sussex County Council. Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 8 June 2011.Retrieved26 April2009.
  2. ^"Civil parish population 2011".Retrieved17 October2015.
  3. ^"GENUKI: Cocking".Retrieved8 November2018.
  4. ^"Civil parish population 2011".Retrieved17 October2015.
  5. ^"Open Domesday: Cocking".Retrieved20 June2019.
  6. ^Historic England(1 February 1996)."Cocking Church (1026062)".National Heritage List for England.Retrieved12 May2013.
  7. ^"Ancient church is given a name - after 900 years".Chichester Observer. 11 April 2007.Retrieved12 May2013.
  8. ^"GENUKI: Cocking Congregational Chapel".Retrieved8 November2018.
  9. ^Lewis, Roland (2007).What The Victorians Did For Sussex.Snake River Press. p. 49.ISBN978-1906022044.
  10. ^Martin, Ron (2003)."Cocking Lime Works"(PDF).Sussex Industrial History.Sussex Industrial Archaeology Society.
  11. ^"Watermill from Lurgashall".The Buildings.Weald and Downland Open Air Museum. Archived fromthe originalon 21 July 2012.Retrieved3 June2013.
  12. ^"Coultershaw Beam Pump".Sussex Mills Group.Retrieved3 June2013.
  13. ^"British History Online: Cocking".Retrieved28 January2014.
  14. ^"Gravelroots: Old photographs of Cocking".Retrieved28 January2014.
  15. ^Rothwell, David (2006).Dictionary of Pub Names.Wordsworth Reference Series. p. 325.
  16. ^"British Listed Buildings: Dunford House".Retrieved8 November2018.
  17. ^Historic England."Dunford House (Grade II) (1025929)".National Heritage List for England.Retrieved9 May2023.
  18. ^"Midhurst Tourist Guide: Cowdray Park".Retrieved28 January2014.
  19. ^"The South Downs Way: Amberley to Cocking".Retrieved28 January2014.
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