ChaldonHerringnews.co.uk
Welcome to the Chaldon Herring Village Website. Its purpose is to provide accurate
information
about the village to its own residents and to everyone who visits us
– either in person or on the Internet.
The Parish extends to 1253 hectares and includes East and West Chaldon, Whitenothe
,Tadnoll and West Fossil. The population is 170, many of whom are actively engaged
in farming and managing the valleys and
hills of the chalk downland that runs to
the sea, 2 miles distant. The village is overlooked by the Five Marys,
a line of
barrows dating from the late Bronze Age (1620 to 700BC) on the high ground to the
north. After a
brief mention in the Doomsday Book, for centuries this isolated community
was engaged in the harsh
business of agriculture, supplemented by smuggling, until
it was discovered in the early 20th Century by the literary and artistic set from
London – thus began our long association with the Powys family,
Sylvia Townsend Warner
and the sculptor Elizabeth Muntz. More recently, changes to agricultural
practice
have made many of the cottages and barns redundant.
These have been bought and converted by people from far and wide, who have also
been attracted
to this small unspoilt settlement within the valleys close to the
spectacular Jurassic coastline – now a
World Heritage site. While the village shop
and school closed many years ago, St Nicholas church,
The Sailor’s Return pub and
the Village Hall in their various ways provide focus for the village.
Please click
on any of the tabs for more information – for photographs of the village and its
surroundings,
to find out where to stay or catch a bus, to meet the Parish Council,
read the Parish Plan or gather many
other facts about Chaldon Herring. If you have
any comments or material that you would like to offer for inclusion, please go the
‘Building Page’ and send us an e-