Tales from an endangered Sussex village
It has now been cleared, but when a great limb of the grandfather Spinningwheel Oak came crashing down towards the end of last year, the large branches fell across the footpath to the woods. The speed with which walkers trod a visible track around the obstruction got me thinking about a couple of other 'desire... Continue Reading →
We are the Binsted Oaks. We stand for many more. We provide food and shelter for mammals, birds and insects. Even in death we'll feed 100s of species. We matter to people, too. The Binsted Oaks stand for centuries of rural life, its continuity threatened. Hear our story: I am The Staker Oak. My shape... Continue Reading →
Here is a map of Binsted. There wasn't room for every house. But it gives a sense of how the village and its history fits together. The Oaks run down diagonally from near top left: Scotland Lane; Copythorn; Spinningwheel; Staker. (Broad and Green are off doing their own thing in a clearing beside the woods.)... Continue Reading →
It's GUEST TREE day at Binsted Oaks! Let us introduce you to the Ash coppice stools, near Hundred House copse. They're close to the path of the 'Magenta' option of the A27 Arundel Bypass plans. Here is their centuries-old story... Hundred House copse is likely named for the meeting place of the 'Binsted Hundred', a... Continue Reading →
Binsted's 12th Century church invites questions. It serves the community today, as it has for almost 900 years. But back in 1150 the village was on a peninsula, its looping lane surrounded on three sides by marshes. Why build a church on this spot? Who were the parishioners in previous centuries? One ancient feature may... Continue Reading →
