Oving, West Sussex


Oving is a civil and ecclesiastical parish in West Sussex, lying on the coastal plain immediately to the east of Chichester. It is bounded on the north and west sides by the A27 trunk road. The A259 Chichester-Bognor road traverses the southern part of the parish.

Demography

The parish had a population of 1,022 in the 2001 UK Census, increasing to 1,051 at the 2011 census. Half the population lives in Oving village, the rest in the smaller settlements of Shopwhyke, Drayton, Merston and Colworth. The parishes of Oving and North Mundham are combined to form the North Mundham electoral ward of Chichester District Council.

History

Although in the ancient hundred of Boxgrove, Oving is not listed in the Domesday Book of 1086.
Kelly's Directory of 1867 describes the ecclesiastical parish as extending to with a population of 949.

Geography

The landscape is flat and is given over mainly to agriculture with some growing of salad crops close to the A259. The landscape of the western part of the parish at Drayton and Shopwhyke has been affected by gravel extraction, which has left a number of lakes that are inaccessible to the public.

Amenities

Oving village is known for the Gribble Inn, a popular country pub with a real ale brewery attached. This is the origin of the ale, Fursty Ferret, now owned by Hall and Woodhouse. The other prominent public building is St Andrew's parish church, which dates from the 13th century.