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South Harting

The village of South Harting lies 9 miles west of Midhurst.

The bridle path of the South Downs Way loops around Beacon Hill and Harting Downs, south of the groups of Harting villages which crouch below slopes of beech and ash. From the north, South Harting is reached by a tortuous switchback of twisting lanes. '0f all the downland villages it is to my mind the most attractive,' wrote the naturalist W. H. Hudson in Nature in Downland.

The two roads which approach from the south climb and then plunge to a junction on the edge of the village. Here, ancient cottages, with moss-stained thatch and slyly peeping dormer windows, appear to have been roughly assembled and patched with any wood, chalk and brick that was available.

An unexpectedly wide main street descends between Georgian and older restored houses. On the left, the timber jetty of the upper storey of 'ffowlers' Bucke' is attractively exposed, and the brass plaque of its wine-dealing occupant is as discreet as the tasteful decoration of the plastered facade. The neighbouring White Hart, with two sets of steps up from the sloping road, contains massive timbers, and though once a typical Sussex pub is now a wine bar / bistro(!).
At the 'foot' of the main street, located on the junction is the Ship Inn, a grade II listed building (as many of the buildings in the village are). This pub is constructed from (clearly visible) ships timbers (hence the name) A warm and cosy restraunt / saloon bar and public bar. One of the Ballards Beer Walk pubs. Nicely kept ale.

The 19th-century novelist Anthony Trollope lived the last two years of his life in the village, and his pen and paperknife are displayed in the church. In the churchyard is a slender war memorial in Portland stone, the work of the modern sculptor and typographer Eric Gill, who used to live at Ditchling . Just outside the churchyard, near the gate, are the parish stocks and a whipping post equipped with three
sets of wrist irons.

The Church of St Mary and St Gabriel is cruciform, with a spire of green copper shingles. Inside are memorials to the Fords and Fetherstonhaughs of Uppark, a mansion over the hill a mile south.