Iping

Coordinates: 50°59′55″N 0°47′09″W / 50.99853°N 0.7859°W / 50.99853; -0.7859

Iping is a village in the Chichester district of West Sussex, England. It lies within the civil parish of Stedham with Iping, just off the A272 road 2 miles (3.5 km) west of Midhurst. The village lies on the River Rother. It is the setting of the classic H. G. Wells science fiction book The Invisible Man.

Etymology

The Saxon name means settlement of the family or followers of a man called Ipa.

History

Iron age

There is an Iron Age contour fort on the hill at Hammer Wood north of the village.

Iping Roman station

This rectangular earthwork with rounded corners lies astride the Roman road between two major British tribal centres at Noviomagus Regnorum (Chichester) and Calleva Atrebatum (Silchester), which runs north-south through Iping. Measuring 86 x 112 metres (282 by 367 feet), the area enclosed by the turf defences was about 0.9ha (2¼ acres), and would have contained the official posting station or mansio and perhaps an iron-smithy. It is similar in size to the way stations at Hardham and Alfoldean on Stane Street. The station is situated at National Grid Reference SU:844261, just over two miles to the north of Iping village and little over half a mile from the crossroads in the centre of the village of Milland, just south-east of the point where the Roman road crossed the Hammer Stream. Although unexcavated, surface finds of Roman material have been found within the confines of the earthwork. It could easily be confused with the Hammer Wood Iron Age contour fort which lies much closer to modern Iping.