Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jun 26, 2026

Easebourne

Easebourne is a village, Anglican parish and civil parish in the Chichester District of West Sussex, England. It is half a mile (0.8 km) north of Midhurst, across the River Rother on the A272 and A286 roads. The parish includes the hamlet of Henley to the north. In the 2001 census there were 708 households with a total population of 1,717.

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Easebourne
Easebourne Priory
Easebourne
Location within West Sussex
Area17.95 km2 (6.93 sq mi) 1
Population1,820. 2011 Census2
• Density96/km2 (250/sq mi)
OS grid referenceSU894225
• London44 miles (71 km) NE
Civil parish
  • Easebourne
District
Shire county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townMIDHURST
Postcode districtGU29
Dialling code01730
PoliceSussex
FireWest Sussex
AmbulanceSouth East Coast
UK Parliament
Websitehttp://www.easebourne.org/

Easebourne (/ˈɛzbɔːrn/) is a village, Anglican parish and civil parish in the Chichester District of West Sussex, England. It is half a mile (0.8 km) north of Midhurst, across the River Rother on the A272 and A286 roads. The parish includes the hamlet of Henley to the north. In the 2001 census there were 708 households with a total population of 1,717.

History

Easebourne (Eseburne3) was listed in the Domesday Book of 1086 as an ancient Hundred, an extensive area reaching as far afield as Graffham and Cocking to the south, Stedham to the west and Tillington to the east, as well as two hamlets that were not parishes: Todham to the southeast4 and Buddington to the west;5 in total it included 12 settlements containing 276 households.6

In 1861, the population was 859, and the area of the parish 4,043 acres (1,636 ha).7

Governance

An electoral ward of the same name exists. This ward includes Lodsworth and at the 2011 census had a population of 2,492.8

Amenities

There is one public house in Easebourne, the White Horse, and one in Henley, the Duke Of Cumberland. The Rother Inn closed in 1994 and the Holly Tree in 2004. Cowdray Park, to the east of the village, has a golf course, and is home to a cricket club and a first-class polo club.

Parish

The parish church of St Mary is 13th century or earlier, and is a Grade I listed building.910 The parish includes the hamlet of Henley to the north, where there was a Mission Hall established in 1885, since closed.11 In the 2001 census there were 708 households with a total population of 1,717 of whom 785 were economically active.

Notable buildings

Including the parish church, there are 88 listed buildings in the parish of Easebourne as of June 2026.12

Adjacent to the cricket ground lie the ruins of the Tudor Cowdray House,13 built as a mansion with castle features. Started in 1520, it was completed by 1542, but was devastated by fire in 1793. A restoration project in the early 20th century helped to stabilise the ruins.14

Easebourne Priory was built for ten Augustinian canonesses, and was founded before 1238 by the de Bohun family, who were from St. Ann's Hill in nearby Midhurst.15

Also in Easebourne parish, but some way north of the village itself and often referred to as being in Midhurst, is the former hospital and sanatorium founded by King Edward VII in 1906, and funded by Sir Ernest Cassel's provision of £200,000. It was designed mainly by Charles Holden through his practice Adams, Holden and Pearson, in Tudor style. It is Grade II* listed,1617 as are its chapel, lodge, and laundry, under separate listings.12 The hospital's official address of the former King Edward VII Hospital is King Edward VII Estate, Kings Drive, Easebourne, GU29 0BJ.16 The building features long wings of south-facing rooms to maximise patients' exposure to sunlight and fresh air. The design is in keeping with the building's rural setting, with façades in the local tile-hung style.17 Holden designed the sanatorium's V-shaped open-air chapel so that it could be used for both outdoor and indoor worship.1718 The sanatorium was widely praised for its architecture, but also criticised for its "extravagant planning" by the contemporary medical press. The building influenced the design of subsequent sanatoria, "and also promoted a more domestic character to hospitals generally".16 The hospital was closed in 2006, and the whole estate has been subsequently converted to residential use.16 The main building has been converted into luxury apartments, under leasehold for 175 years from 1 January 2015.1920 Plans for further housing developments have continued in the 2020s, and the chapel was extended to create a swimming pool and gym for residents.21 The chapel was put up for sale (£850,000) or to let, in March 2026.2223

On the northern edge of Easebourne village on the A286 road Budgenor Lodge, converted into flats in 2006, is the former Midhurst Union Workhouse, which was opened in 1794 by a Gilbert Union of 17 parishes. From 1835 it was run and enlarged by the Midhurst Poor Law Union, serving 26 parishes.24

The bridge over the River Rother, which forms the boundary between Midhurst parish's North Street and Easebourne parish's Easebourne Lane, is a listed structure, built in 1826.25

Notable people

Anti-apartheid activist Helen Joseph was born in the village in 1905.26 Rear-Admiral Francis Buller lived in Easebourne in retirement.27 Actors Laurence Fox and Billie Piper were married in St Mary's Church in 2007.28

Boris Karloff, British horror actor of screen and stage, died in King Edward VII Hospital from pneumonia at the age of 81 in 1969.29 Alec Guinness, star of stage and screen, died in King Edward VII Hospital in 2000.3031

References

References

  1. "2001 Census: West Sussex – Population by Parish" (PDF). West Sussex County Council. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 June 2011. Retrieved 26 April 2009.
  2. "Civil parish population 2011". Retrieved 15 October 2015.
  3. Coates, Richard (2017). A Dictionary of Sussex Place-Names (PDF). University of the West of England, Bristol. p. 18. Retrieved 18 June 2019.
  4. "Open Domesday: (Great and Little) Todham". Retrieved 23 June 2019.
  5. "Open Domesday: Buddington". Retrieved 23 June 2019.
  6. "Open Domesday: Easebourne Hundred". Retrieved 18 June 2019.
  7. "GENUKI: Easebourne". Retrieved 19 June 2019.
  8. "Ward population 2011". Retrieved 15 October 2015.
  9. Historic England. "Church of St Mary (Grade I) (1277103)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 5 April 2025.
  10. "The Parish Church of St Mary, Easebourne". Retrieved 19 June 2019.
  11. "Henley Mission Hall, Henley Common". Retrieved 19 June 2019.
  12. "Listed Buildings in Easebourne, Chichester, West Sussex". British Listed Buildings. Archived from the original on 7 February 2025. Retrieved 12 June 2026.
  13. Historic England. "The ruins of Cowdray House (Grade I) (1277176)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 5 April 2025.
  14. "The history of Cowdray ruins". Retrieved 5 April 2025.
  15. Historic England. "PRIORY FLATS, PETWORTH ROAD (1277106)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 12 November 2014.
  16. Historic England. "The former King Edward VII Hospital (Grade II*) (1026020)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 11 June 2026.
  17. "King Edward VII Sanatorium". The British Medical Journal. 1 (2372): 1417–1421. 16 June 1906. doi:10.1136/bmj.1.2372.1417. PMC 2381581. PMID 20762736.
  18. Powers, Alan (2007). "Holden, Charles (Henry)". Grove Art Online. Oxford University Press. Retrieved 25 September 2010.
  19. "Large stylish apartment set in stunning grounds: 102 King Edwards VII Apartments Kings Drive, Midhurst, GU29 0EY" (PDF). Retrieved 13 June 2026. Leasehold (175 years from 1st January 2015)
  20. Gladkauskaite, Samanta (19 March 2026). "Former respite hospital on King Edward VII Estate to be turned into luxury apartments". The Argus. Archived from the original on 13 June 2026. Retrieved 13 June 2026.
  21. Powling, Joshua (14 January 2022). "Revised plans for new homes at King Edward VII Estate near Easebourne". SussexWorld. Archived from the original on 22 July 2025. Retrieved 13 June 2026.
  22. "£850,000". OnTheMarket. 2026. Archived from the original on 13 June 2026. Retrieved 13 June 2026.
  23. "The chapel". Tod Anstee. 13 June 2026. Archived from the original on 13 June 2026. Retrieved 13 June 2026 – via assets.reapit.net.
  24. Peter Higginbotham's Workhouse website
  25. Historic England. "Bridge over the River Rother, Easebourne Lane (Grade II) (1354687)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 5 April 2025.
  26. "South African History Online: Helen Joseph". Retrieved 23 June 2019.
  27. "Easebourne Admiral's death". Hampshire Telegraph. 23 July 1943. p. 13.
  28. "Church wedding for Piper and Fox". BBC News. 31 December 2007. Retrieved 23 June 2019.
  29. Biography Archived 1 May 2015 at the Wayback Machine Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 30 June 2013.
  30. GRO Register of Deaths: AUG 2000 1DD 21 Chicester– Alec Guinness, DoB = 2 April 1914, aged 86.
  31. "Acting world mourns Sir Alec". BBC News. 7 August 2000. Archived from the original on 19 July 2023. Retrieved 2 August 2020.
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