Bepton is a village, Anglican parish and civil parish in the Chichester district of West Sussex, England. According to the 2001 census it had 104 households with a population of 249 of whom 117 were economically active. The village is about 3 mi south-west of Midhurst.

History

Bepton (Babintone) was listed in the Domesday Book (1086) in the ancient hundred of Easebourne as having 23 households: 10 villagers, 10 smallholders and three slaves. With ploughing land and a church, it had a value to the lord of the manor of £5. The lord was an unspecified Geoffrey, and the tenant-in-chief was Earl Roger of Shrewsbury. In 1861, the population was 211, the parish was 1224 acre and was mainly arable land. In Kelly's Directory of 1867, the church of St Mary was described as "an ancient flint building in the Anglo-Norman style, and has a nave, chancel, and tower". In 1931, its population was documented at 292. By 1953, its area had expanded to 1,910 acres (770 hectares).

Transport

Road access to Bepton is by approximately 1.5 mi of country lanes off the A286 road from either Bepton Road, Midhurst, or Bell Lane, Cocking. The nearest railway stations are 11 mi west or north of the village, at Petersfield or Haslemere, both on the main line between London and Portsmouth.