Events: What’s On This Week
The Lost Village of Parham
Sunday, 25 May 2008
Parham, near Storrington is famous for its Elizabethan house and gardens. The house was built in 1577 but the surrounding parkland is much older and the mystery of where the former village of Parham was once located remains a mystery. In medieval times, the land formed part of the Westminster Abbey estates and would have been farmed. After the dissolution of the monasteries in 1540, it was acquired by the Palmer family, who built the present house.
Evidence points to there being a community living in the vicinity of the house until as late as the mid 19th century, but no plans exist to indicate exactly where buildings might have stood. The only remnant of the village is St Peters Church that was largely rebuilt in the early 1800’s.
In "Time Team" style, Worthing Archaeology Society are spending Sunday and Bank Holiday Monday, 25 & 26th May, searching for ‘the lost village’. The Archaeological Society’s Field Unit has, over the last ten years, been assisting projects at Binsted, Boxgrove and Slindon, and more recently at Parham. Richard Pailthorpe, Parham’s General Manager, is delighted at their involvement and very much hopes that any discoveries made over the weekend will give us a far greater understanding of how the landscape around the house has evolved.
Visitors will be able to watch the archaeology in progress and view a small exhibition in Parham House about the lost village and the work of the Society.
Parham is open between 10.30am-5pm on both days; please see the website for further visitor information.
