South Bersted, Sussex Genealogy

England   Sussex

Parish History
South Bersted St Mary Magdalene is an Ancient Parish in West Sussex. Other places in the parish include: Shrimpney' Shripney and North Bersted.

BERSTED, SOUTH (St. Mary Magdalene), a parish, in the hundred of Aldwick, rape of Chichester,W. division of Sussex, 6 miles (S. E.) from Chichester;containing, with the town of Bognor, and the tythings of North and of South Bersted, and Shripney, 2490 inbitatants, of whom 194 are in North Bersted. It comprises 2455 acres, of which about 1575 acres are arable,774 pasture, and 6 woodland; the surface is pleasingly varied, and the soil in general a rich loam resting upon a reddish clay or brick earth, and in some parts sand and gravel. The village, which formerly consisted only of a few fishermen's cottages, has been greatly improved.The living is a vicarage, valued in the king's books at£7. 18. 9.; patron, the Archbishop of Canterbury;appropriators, the Dean and Chapter: the great tithes have been commuted for £810, and those of the vicar for £400. The church, erected in 1400, is a plain edifice,with a tower surmounted by a low spire of shingles; inthe churchyard is the tomb of Sir Richard Hotham,Knt., founder of the town of Bognor. A chapel dedicated to St. John was erected at Bognor, and consecrated in 1822. Stephen de "Berghestede," who was elevated to the see of Chichester in 1262, was a native of the place; and Dr. Lloyd, Bishop of Oxford, was vicar.

From: A Topographical Dictionary of England (1848), pp. 214-223. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=50794 Date accessed: 08 May 2011.

Civil Registration
Birth, marriages and deaths were kept by the government, from July 1837 to the present day. The civil registration article tells more about these records. There are several Internet sites with name lists or indexes. A popular site is FreeBMD.

Church records
Contributor: Include here information for parish registers, Bishop’s Transcripts, non conformist and other types of church records, such as parish chest records. Add the contact information for the office holding the original records. Add links to the Family History Library Catalog showing the film numbers in their collection

Census records
Contributor: Include an overview if there is any unique information, such as the census for X year was destroyed. Add a link to online sites for indexes and/or images. Also add a link to the Family History Library Catalog showing the film numbers in their collection.

Poor Law Unions
Sutton (East Preston) Poor Law Union, Sussex

Probate records
Records of wills, administrations, inventories, indexes, etc. were filed by the court with jurisdiction over this parish. Go to Sussex Probate Records to find the name of the court having primary jurisdiction. Scroll down in the article to the section Court Jurisdictions by Parish.

Maps and Gazetteers
Maps are a visual look at the locations in England. Gazetteers contain brief summaries about a place.


 * England Jurisdictions 1851
 * Vision of Britain

Web sites
Contributor: Add any relevant sites that aren’t mentioned above.