Midhurst

Midhurst () is a market town and civil parish in the Chichester District in West Sussex, England. It lies on the River Rother, 20 miles (30 km) inland from the English Channel and 12 miles (19 km) north of Chichester. The name Midhurst was first recorded in 1186 as Middeherst, meaning "Middle wooded hill", or "(place) among the wooded hills". It derives from the Old English words midd (adjective) or mid (preposition), meaning "in the middle", plus hyrst, "a wooded hill". The Norman St. Ann's Castle dates from about 1120, although the foundations are all that can now be seen. The castle, the parish church of St. Mary Magdalene and St. Denis, together with South Pond, the former fish-pond for the castle, are the only three structures left from this early period. The parish church is the oldest building in Midhurst. Just across the River Rother, in the parish of Easebourne, is the ruin of the Tudor Cowdray House.