Some may argue that Ebernoe Common is not forgotten, but it’s one of those places that even if you live relatively near, you may know little about. Ebernoe itself is but a tiny hamlet tucked away down a narrow winding lane north of Petworth in Sussex and well and truly off the beaten track. But it was not always this way.
Unexpected brickwork
Park down a little track beside Holy Trinity Church and within moments you can step straight into the woodland of Ebernoe Common. The church itself is an unexpected sight. Built between 1865 and 1867 for what was then a remote corner of Kirdford parish, its colourful “polychrome” brickwork stands out against the surrounding woodland. The church owed its existence to William Peachey, the local squire and principal landowner, who recognised that the journey to Kirdford Church was simply too far for local residents. He donated the land, provided access and paid the £1,200 construction costs.
The Peachey family shaped life in Ebernoe for generations. Having acquired the manor in 1668, they remained influential landowners for more than two centuries. Local tradition even suggests that nearby Ebernoe House was positioned to take advantage of two magnificent Spanish chestnut trees already standing on the site. In the graveyard, you’ll find two Peachey gravestones and inside the church, the simple and slightly austere interior both conflicts and complements the outside at the same time.
Ebernoe Common
Ebernoe Common is a National Nature Reserve, and it ajoins Butcherlands Nature Reserve. The Common is one of the finest surviving examples of wood pasture in Sussex, a landscape shaped by generations of grazing, management and use. The result is an extraordinarily rich habitat, supporting rare lichens, fungi, invertebrates and an astonishing fourteen of Britain’s seventeen species of bat. More than seventy species of birds have also been recorded here. If you’re walking here, you are first struck by the tranquillity and serenity, interrupted only by colourful birdsong. In fact, the birdsong is so constant and so varied that on a warm, sunny day, it feels almost tropical. Yet this landscape was not always quiet.
More bricks
If you know where to look, you’ll find evidence of a brickworks, clay pits, ponds, a quarry and the site of an iron furnace. The remains of several cottages survive too, although you are more likely to notice subtle changes in vegetation than obvious ruins. Brickmaking took place here from at least the late seventeenth century. Records show bricks being transported from Ebernoe to Petworth in 1693, while a brick kiln is mentioned in correspondence relating to Petworth House in 1702. Deep within the woodland, the remains of the brickworks still survive. The site continued operating until the 1930s and produced bricks used in local buildings, including the church and village school.
The commoners of the Common
For centuries, commoners would have turned cattle and pigs out beneath the trees to graze and forage amongst the beech mast and acorns. In short, this now silent woodland was once bustling and busy. The clanging and crashing of the ironworks, rumbling carts travelling back and forth to the brickworks, people living in the woods, people grazing their livestock, church goers, noise, life and industry.
Walking the Common
On a warm summer morning, I followed the paths south-east from the church. Once over the cattle grid (yes cattle graze here), you quickly come to the site of the old brickworks. They are a “rare example of a small 18th, unmechanised kiln”. The restored updraught kiln has an open top firing chamber and was originally fired by wood. The updraught kiln was restored between 1980 and 1982.
From the old brickworks I continued towards Butcherlands Nature Reserve. From there, I looped first west and then north to Furnace Pond before returning to the church. The walk covered a little over four kilometres and took about an hour, although I stopped often. During that time I did not meet a single person. Just me and the birds.
It is easy to think of Ebernoe Common as a peaceful woodland walk. And it is certainly that. But it is also something more: it’s an unassuming landscape of birdsong and trees which holds the story of a forgotten community and time.
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