ECONOMIC HISTORY.
Agriculture.
In 1086
the demesne farm of Beeding manor, which presumably then included Horton, had 4 ploughteams, and
that of Tottington 1 team. At the same date the future
King's Barns manor was included in the estate of
William de Braose described as lying in Steyning, of
which the demesne farm had 2 teams. (fn. 50) The demesne
farms of the four manors named remained large in
later centuries. In the 14th century the Beeding
demesnes comprised c. 265 a., those of King's Barns
c. 140 a., (fn. 51) those of Tottington 240 a., (fn. 52) and those
of Horton apparently c. 215 a.; (fn. 53) between them they
thus already comprised over a fifth of the land in the
parish. By the mid 15th century the demesne lands
of King's Barns, (fn. 54) Beeding, (fn. 55) and Sele manors (fn. 56) were
being leased.
After c. 1500 the demesne farms gradually grew
in size. By 1614 the King's Barns demesnes were
said to comprise 470 a., and in 1640, when they were
divided into two farms, they also included arable
land in Steyning open fields and woodland grazing
in Ashurst; (fn. 57) later, however, they were further
divided between various owners. (fn. 58) Tottington Manor
farm comprised 231 a. in 1652, presumably forming
a long north-south strip as later; (fn. 59) in 1829 it had
554 a. including woods. (fn. 60) Beeding Court farm was
said in 1715 to comprise 400 a., (fn. 61) and by 1733 had
grown to 988 a. including 36 a. in Bramber and
Botolphs and 845 a. of downland, 110 a. of which
were arable. (fn. 62) In 1832 the farm had 1,032 a. (fn. 63) Meanwhile the Horton demesnes by 1773 comprised
255 a. (fn. 64) Between the late 16th and early 19th centuries the demesne or home farms presumably continued to be usually leased, (fn. 65) their owners often not
being resident in the parish. In the late 18th and
early 19th centuries, for instance, Beeding Court
farm was leased for periods of between 1 and 21
years. (fn. 66)
Tenants of all four chief manors of the parish and
of Sele manor were recorded in the Middle Ages. (fn. 67)
Those of Beeding and Horton manors evidently included many whose lands lay outside the parish,
since in later centuries there were tenants of Beeding
in Cowfold, Slaugham, and West Grinstead, (fn. 68) and
tenants of Horton in Southwick and Kingston by
Sea. (fn. 69) Similarly Sele manor in the early 19th century
had tenants in many parishes. (fn. 70) Whether tenants of
King's Barns and Tottington ever held land in the
parish is unknown; certainly by 1600 the only tenements recorded at either manor lay elsewhere, those
of King's Barns chiefly in Steyning and Ashurst, (fn. 71)
and those of Tottington in Cowfold, Cuckfield,
Woodmancote, and other places. (fn. 72)
The manumission of a neif of Sele manor was
recorded in 1271. (fn. 73) Both at Beeding and at Horton
customary services were still owed in the 14th century, (fn. 74) and a tenant of King's Barns still seems to
have had a duty of carrying stone in 1530. (fn. 75) Tenants
of Beeding in 1400 (fn. 76) and of King's Barns in 1530 (fn. 77)
paid chevage for living outside the manor and the
daughter of a neif of Beeding manor in 1524 needed
the lord's licence to marry. (fn. 78)
There continued to be tenants of Beeding, Horton, and Sele manors in the parish until the late 19th
century and even the early 20th. (fn. 79) Copyholders of
both Beeding and Horton could demise their holdings, (fn. 80) and tenants of Horton could mortgage
theirs. (fn. 81) The custom of borough English obtained on
copyholds at Beeding in 1551, (fn. 82) and that of freebench at both manors. (fn. 83) Tenants, however, became
progressively fewer through engrossing or enfranchisement. Thus the 13 freeholders and 8 copyholders who still held land of Beeding in the parish
in 1718 were further reduced to 10 and 7 respectively by 1791, and to 9 and 4 by 1824. (fn. 84) Similarly
the 2 freeholders and 4 copyholders who still held
land of Horton in the parish in 1771 had become
apparently 1 and 2 respectively by 1824. (fn. 85)
Some free and copyhold tenements developed by
engrossing into larger farms. New House and Maines
farms, both held as copyhold of Beeding manor by
John Backshell in 1733, when they comprised respectively 59 a. and 91 a., (fn. 86) later passed to the Penfold family which by 1842 owned 28 a. in the parish. (fn. 87)
A freehold estate of Beeding called Snelling's in
1733, when it comprised 96 a., (fn. 88) became the nucleus
of the later Pond farm, of which the farmhouse lay
on the south side of High Street. (fn. 89) Similarly White's
and Fuller's copyholds of Horton manor, mentioned
in the mid 18th century, (fn. 90) came with other lands to
form Upper Horton farm, which in 1826 comprised
547 a. in Upper Beeding and Edburton; in that year
it was leased on an 8-year lease, and in 1835 by the
year. (fn. 91) Also mentioned in 1733 was Hobjohn's farm,
which apparently comprised 67 a. held of Sele
manor. (fn. 92)
About 1840 landholding was dominated by a few
large estates, most of which were leased. The estates
of the Bridgers, lords of Beeding and Horton, included two large farms, Beeding Court of 890 a. and
Upper Horton of 503 a. The Horton manor demesnes
proper, belonging to the Burrells, totalled 275 a.,
and Tottington Manor farm 407 a. In King's Barns
tithing the former demesne lands included two farms
belonging to the Clitherows and the Blunts, of 132 a.
and 101 a. respectively. Other large estates included
Pond farm and the Hyde in Upper Beeding village,
of 92 a. and 108 a. respectively, but the only two
which were owner-occupied were the Penfolds' New
House farm of 277 a. and W. Gorringe's New Horton in the north of 98 a., (fn. 93) a farm created between
1795 and 1813. (fn. 94)
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries most land
continued to belong to large estates, being leased (fn. 95)
or managed by bailiffs. There were bailiffs at Tottington Manor, King's Barn, and New House farms,
for instance, in 1895, (fn. 96) and in 1909 only 275 a. out of
the 3,348 a. listed were owner-occupied; at the latter
date out of 20 holdings 9 were over 50 a. and 4 over
300 a. (fn. 97)
The arable open-field land of the parish presumably occupied much the same area in the Middle
Ages as later on the Chalk and Greensand soils below
the downland scarp. (fn. 98) In 1733 forty-two furlongs
divided into strips were depicted east and south-east
of the village, evidently including the Mill furlong
on Windmill Hill mentioned in 1535, (fn. 99) and Drove
furlong and the East and West Billworth (later
Bilward) south-east of the Henfield road, mentioned
in 1384 and 1535 respectively. (fn. 1) In addition there
were the Ham north of the modern village street and
the Hyde and the Flaxlands east and north-east of
Hyde Street, all three of which had been mentioned
in the Middle Ages. (fn. 2) The fields around the village
belonged largely to Beeding manor, though in 1733
some strips there were held of Horton or Sele manors.
Further east were fields belonging partly or wholly
to Horton, including in 1733 the Clays and the
Golding. A field called Blackley in Horton had been
mentioned in 1524. (fn. 3) There were also at one time possibly separate fields for Tottington, since a close of
24 a. lying south of Tottington Manor in 1652 and
later was called the Laine. (fn. 4)
The surviving open fields were evidently still
commonable in 1597 when the tenants of Beeding
manor were restrained for the future from putting
their cattle there between 1 May and the end of
harvest. (fn. 5) In the early 18th century copyhold and
freehold tenants of Beeding and Horton typically
owned both inclosed and open-field arable: the freehold called Snelling's, for instance, in 1733 had 33 a.
of open-field arable out of a total area of 96 a., and
New House farm 23 a. out of 59 a. (fn. 6)
The fences which tenants of Beeding manor were
ordered to make in the Flaxlands and the Clays in
1559 may have been for temporary not permanent
inclosure. (fn. 7) The open fields of the parish were later
inclosed by a gradual process of exchange and engrossing. By 1760 the 117 a. of the Horton open
fields were already divided between only six owners,
of whom Richard Arnold, the lord of the manor, had
28 a. and Harry Bridger 63 a., some furlongs already
being in single ownership. Consolidation of holdings
proceeded further in 1762 when Arnold exchanged
land in the fields with both Bridger and one other
owner. (fn. 8)
The Beeding open fields were inclosed similarly.
Whereas in 1733 the strips had been divided between
16 owners, most being under 1 a. in area, (fn. 9) by 1842
practically all the surviving fields were divided between the owners of four farms: the Hyde, and Pond,
New House, and Upper Horton farms. (fn. 10) Further
consolidation evidently took place later, for no inclosure Act was ever sought.
There was severally held as well as open-field
arable land in the Middle Ages; for instance, the
Beeding manor demesne farm had 96 a. on the downs
in 1326. (fn. 11) There are strip lynchets apparently of
medieval date on Beeding Hill. (fn. 12) In 1384 the lord of
Beeding had the right to fold 400 sheep between
Christmas and Lady Day and 800 sheep during the
rest of the year on his several arable lands, at a rate
of 2 a. every 3 weeks. (fn. 13) There continued to be arable
on the downs in later centuries. (fn. 14)
Farming in the Middle Ages was predominantly
arable. In 1210 King's Barns manor received £11
5s. 1d. from surplus corn sold. (fn. 15) In 1340 the ninth of
sheaves was valued at nine times those of fleeces and
lambs, (fn. 16) and at about the same period the Horton
demesne farm comprised mostly arable. (fn. 17) Barley was
grown in 1285, (fn. 18) oats in 1398, (fn. 19) and possibly wheat
and oats in 1280; (fn. 20) orchards and a vineyard belonging to the Braose family and apparently at Upper
Beeding had been mentioned in the late 11th century. (fn. 21) Wheat, barley, oats, peas, and tares were
grown at Tottington Manor farm in 1652, (fn. 22) and oats
at Beeding manor in 1718. (fn. 23) About 1840 wheat,
barley, oats, rape, seeds, and turnips were listed at
Beeding tithing and wheat, seeds, and beans at King's
Barns, but by that date pasture predominated in the
parish over arable. (fn. 24)
The estuary of the river Adur provided brookland
pasture. Common pasture in the marsh of Horton
was claimed in 1225, apparently unsuccessfully, by
the lord of Wyckham manor in Steyning. (fn. 25) The
marshland pasture rights possessed by the demesne
farm of Beeding manor (fn. 26) in the late 14th century,
however, were presumably exercised in marshes
nearer the village. (fn. 27)
With the inning of the river valley some former
common pasture presumably became several, but
common saltmarsh remained in later centuries outside the river wall which protected the inclosed
lands; in 1614, for instance, there was pasture for
pigs and sheep there. (fn. 28) There was common pasture
belonging to Horton manor in 1704, which was commonable by both cows and horses. (fn. 29) In 1760, however, as a result of a dispute, the Horton common
brooks comprising 41 a. were divided between the
lord of the manor and the two surviving commoners,
the lord receiving 17 a., Harry Bridger 19 a., and
William Scardefield 5 a. (fn. 30) Other brookland pasture
rights remained in the early 19th century: in 1828 an
unnamed farm comprising copyholds of Beeding
manor was said to be entitled to common pasture in
the Court meads for 7 bullocks between 12 August
and 2 February; in practice that land was divided by
consent between the commoners and treated for the
period concerned as if it were several. (fn. 31)
There had been brookland pasture held in severalty
in the parish since the 14th century or earlier, evidently the result of inning. In 1349 that belonging to
the Tottington demesne farm was said to be often
unmowable because of flooding. (fn. 32) Beeding manor
also had marshland in severalty in 1384, (fn. 33) as did Sele
manor in the 15th century, (fn. 34) while in 1398 the 75 a.
of meadow belonging to the King's Barns demesne
farm was a high proportion of its lands. (fn. 35) In later
centuries the amount of several brookland increased
greatly. (fn. 36) By 1733 Beeding Court farm had 78 a., (fn. 37)
for instance, while Horton farm in 1826 contained
almost as much brookland as arable. (fn. 38) At King's
Barns, meanwhile, the emphasis on pasture, noticeable already by 1398, (fn. 39) had become more pronounced by 1614 when only 73 a. out of 470 a. in the
demesne farm were arable. (fn. 40) In 1761 one of the
farms into which the King's Barns demesnes had
been divided comprised 120 a. of marshland which
was leased to a grazier for fattening; (fn. 41) it was perhaps
the same estate which in 1811, as Marsh farm, comprised 99 a., and which was then said to be able to
fatten on average 30 bullocks and to keep 40 to 50
breeding ewes each year, besides other stock. (fn. 42) In
the late 18th century the Upper Beeding valley pasture was said to be as valuable as pasture in the
Pevensey levels, though less so than that near Rye. (fn. 43)
About 1840 the several brookland pasture on both
sides of the river was highly regarded for fattening
both cattle and sheep, and was divided between
various owners. (fn. 44)
The downland meanwhile provided both common
and several sheep pasture. The Beeding manor
demesne farm had several sheepdown by 1291 (fn. 45) and
in 1384 had pasture on the common downs for 1,100
sheep in summer and 400 in winter. (fn. 46) Another estate,
of 40 a., belonging to Simon of Hazelholt, had pasture in 1344 for 200 sheep, presumably on the
downs. (fn. 47) By 1733 much downland had become
several, for Beeding Court farm then had 735 a.,
apparently all south-west of the road to Shoreham.
The common down then lay in the south-east. (fn. 48) At
least two copyhold tenements of Horton had sheep
leazes there in 1704. (fn. 49) In 1760 the two remaining
commoners of Horton exchanged their leazes to the
lord, who agreed in future to fold his flock on their
lands every year, manuring 1 a. for every 20 leazes
which they had had. (fn. 50) By 1828 only 4 commoners
were still entitled to common pasture on the remaining 300 or 400 a. of common down on Beeding Hill. (fn. 51)
One copyholder of Beeding manor in 1886 still possessed 160 sheep leazes and the right of cutting
furze on the hill, (fn. 52) but the land had probably
long been divided by consent for practical
purposes.
Since c. 1850 agriculture in the parish has been
greatly influenced by the growth of the coastal towns.
Two market gardeners were recorded in 1852. (fn. 53) In
1875 the chief crops were wheat (390 a.), oats (243 a.),
rape (234 a.), and turnips or swedes (574 a.); in addition 1,810 a. were kept as permanent grass. At the
same date 686 cattle, 3,946 sheep, and 59 pigs were
kept. In 1909 stock was kept in much the same proportions; the acreage of permanent grass had risen
to 2,168 a., while that of wheat had declined, but in
addition 3¼ a. of apples were grown. (fn. 54) An unsuccessful rabbit farm was started at Freshcombe Lodge on
the downs c. 1900, (fn. 55) and in 1913 there were two
poultry farmers. (fn. 56) The brookland pasture of the
parish continued to be highly valued, (fn. 57) a dairy farmer
being recorded in 1938. (fn. 58) In 1975 there was pasture
on the downland scarp and in the valley, but the
southern and western slopes of the downs and the
north-east quarter of the parish were cultivated. (fn. 59)
Golding Barn farm in 1981 was used for fattening
beef cattle. (fn. 60)
Mills.
There may have been a mill in the parish
in 1086 on the future King's Barns manor. (fn. 61) Mills
were recorded on both King's Barns and Beeding
manors in 1210 and 1326; they were presumably
water mills. (fn. 62) Another water mill belonging to Sele
priory in the 13th century (fn. 63) was apparently the same
as the mill near the priory which later passed to
Magdalen College, Oxford, but which is not heard
of after 1578. (fn. 64)
The windmill recorded on Beeding manor in 1384
and 1500 (fn. 65) may well have been on Windmill Hill,
where a mill was recorded from the mid 17th century. (fn. 66) A miller was mentioned in the parish in
1700, (fn. 67) and in the late 18th and early 19th centuries
members of the Slaughter family worked the mill,
doing good business in the absence of any local competition. (fn. 68) The mill was blown down between 1875
and 1896. (fn. 69)
Fair.
A pedlary fair was held at an unknown site
on 21 July in the late 18th century. (fn. 70)
Trade and industry.
The chief non-agricultural
occupation at Upper Beeding in the Middle Ages
was the extraction of salt from the tidal estuary of the
river Adur. (fn. 71) Other trades possibly indicated by surnames in the 13th and early 14th centuries were
those of smith, tailor, and baker. (fn. 72) Two brewers
were mentioned in 1538. (fn. 73) In the 17th and 18th centuries many tradesmen were recorded as of Beeding,
though sometimes it is not clear which of the two
portions of the far-flung parish they inhabited: from
time to time there were a carpenter (fn. 74) or wheelwright, (fn. 75) a tailor, (fn. 76) a weaver, (fn. 77) a shoemaker, (fn. 78) and a
blacksmith, (fn. 79) and less frequently a butcher (fn. 80) and a
maltster; (fn. 81) on one occasion a barber and wigmaker
was mentioned. (fn. 82) In 1689 a parishioner was practising as a physician without a licence. (fn. 83)
In the Middle Ages the Adur estuary provided
fish as well as salt. Sele priory presumably at its
foundation in the late 11th century was granted the
right of fishing in the Adur between 'Bedny' at the
north end of the parish and Old Shoreham church. (fn. 84)
Magdalen College, Sele's successor, leased the fishery
to the vicar in 1624 and later as an augmentation to
the income of the vicarage, (fn. 85) and either the college or
the vicar presumably sublet it. (fn. 86) Horton and King's
Barns manors also had fisheries in the Adur in the
14th century. (fn. 87) In 1730 the river was said to produce
mullet, pike, plaice, eels, and other fish. (fn. 88) In the 17th
century and presumably at other dates poor parishioners fished illegally there. (fn. 89) The river also later
provided the means for smuggling. (fn. 90) More legal
riparian activities were barging (fn. 91) and boatbuilding:
a vessel is said to have been built at Beeding bridge
c. 1682. (fn. 92)
In the early 19th century the proportion of those
employed other than in agriculture rose from one in
sixteen in the 1810s to two in seven in the 1830s. (fn. 93)
Tradesmen recorded between 1813 and 1828 include
a grocer, a farrier, and a butcher, besides two blacksmiths, two shoemakers, and three wheelwrights. (fn. 94)
In 1845 (fn. 95) there was a marine stores dealer, and in
1862 a timber carrier. Other specialized tradesmen
recorded in the late 19th and 20th centuries were a
basket maker in 1882 and a men's outfitter in 1930.
A land surveyor lived in the village in 1882. At Small
Dole there were a wheelwright and blacksmith in
1874, a builder, decorator, and undertaker in 1903,
and a farrier in 1930. By 1938 there were an antique
dealer and a draper in the parish, a wood merchant
and a plumber at Small Dole, and at least five tea
rooms or tea gardens. Meanwhile the river continued
to provide employment, (fn. 96) though in 1882 the complaint was made that commercial fishermen from
Shoreham were 'sweeping' the river with small-mesh
nets to the disadvantage of lesser operators. (fn. 97) In
1981 there were shops and an estate agent's office in
High Street, a square of shops north-east of Hyde
Lane, and others at Small Dole. At Small Dole there
was also a small industrial estate, where seven firms
had premises, including a large firm of civil engineering contractors which had moved there in 1967. (fn. 98)
Many parishioners then worked elsewhere, in the
coastal towns, in Horsham, or in London. (fn. 99)
The chief employer in the parish in the 20th century, however, has been the cement works in the
south-west corner. A chalkpit at the same site existed
c. 1732, (fn. 1) and in 1814 was said to have a considerable
trade in lime. Water transport was then used, (fn. 2) presumably to take the lime up river for use on the land,
as certainly happened later. (fn. 3) By 1882 the Beeding
Cement Co. had been established, and in 1895 the
firm of H. R. Lewis and Co. which then owned the
cement works was also described as limeburners
and coal merchants. (fn. 4) A year or two later the site was
bought by the Sussex Portland Cement Co. of Newhaven, from whom it was taken over in 1912 by
British Portland Cement Manufacturers. In the first
decade of the 20th century the works expanded
greatly, being the chief cause of the 50 per cent increase of population in the parish at that time. (fn. 5) Clay,
which had previously been brought from outside the
area by sea, was dug on a large scale after c. 1902
from a pit near Horton (fn. 6) and brought down at first by
river and later by a pipeline. The cement works
buildings were replaced c. 1950 by large new ones on
the opposite, eastern, side of the main road; they
could produce 250,000 tons a year, (fn. 7) and supplied
cement for the construction of the oil refinery at
Fawley (Hants) and for other large projects on the
south coast. In 1968 there were 250 employees, most
of whom presumably lived, as later, in Upper Beeding, Small Dole, Steyning, or Henfield. (fn. 8) Lime as
well as cement was still being made in 1971. (fn. 9) The
cement works continued to flourish in 1981, when
there were c. 330 employees. (fn. 10)
In 1807 and 1842 there were two other chalk pits
in the parish, at Horton and near Castle Town. (fn. 11)
One or other had apparently existed in 1535 when a
Chalkpits furlong was mentioned. (fn. 12) Both continued
to be worked in the late 19th and 20th centuries, together with others. About 1947 the site at Horton
was described as the Golding Barn limeworks. (fn. 13)