Bibliography - Bignor, Chichester District, West Sussex
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Account of the Remains of a Roman Villa, discovered at Bignor, in Sussex, in the Years 1811, 1812, 1813, 1814, and 1815, by Samuel Lysons, V.P., F.R.S., published 1817 in Archaeologia; or Miscellaneous Tracts relating to Antiquity (vol. 18, article, pp.203-221) accessible at: British Library & West Sussex Libraries   View Online

The village of Bignor, in Sussex, is pleasantly situated on the north side of the South Downs, at the distance of about nine miles from the sea, six miles from Petworth, and about the same distance from Arundel. Within half a mile of the village runs a Roman road very distinctly marked, leading from Chichester by way of Pulborough (where it crosses the river Arun) to Dorking, and from thence to London. On this road there was great reason to expect some traces of a Roman station about Bignor, as Richard of Cirencester, in his fifteenth Iter, next after Regnum, proceeding eastward, introduces a station which he terms "Ad decimum," not noticed in the Itinerary of Antonine; and Bignor is, by the Roman road, about ten miles disstant from Chichester, the Regnum of the Romans. No Roman remains had however been noticed near this place till the year 1811, when a mosaic pavement was discovered by the plough in the month of July, in a field called the Deny, about a quarter of a mile east of the church, part of a copyhold estate held under the Earl of Newburgh by Mr. George Tupper, a respectable farmer, by whom it is also occupied. The inhabitants of the village have a tradition, that Bignor formerly stood in this field, and the common field adjoining, on the east, called the Town-Field.

Observations upon the Composition of the Colours found on the Walls of the Roman House discovered at Bignor in Sussex, by Sir Humphry Davy, Knt., F.R.S., published 1817 in Archaeologia; or Miscellaneous Tracts relating to Antiquity (vol. 18, article, p.222)   View Online

I have examined the colours found on the walls of the Roman house discovered at Bignor in Sussex, and I find that they are similar in chemical composition to those employed in the baths of Titus at Rome, and in the houses and public buildings at Pompeii and Herculaneum.

Account of further Discoveries of the Remains of a Roman Villa at Bignor in Sussex, by Samuel Lysons, V.P., F.R.S., published 1821 in Archaeologia; or Miscellaneous Tracts relating to Antiquity (vol. 19, article, pp.178-183)   View Online

Since the early part of the year 1815, when I communicated to the Society of Antiquaries an account of the remains of a Roman villa discovered at Bignor in Sussex, further discoveries have been made, to a considerable extent, as will appear by the annexed plan, (Pl. XIII.) in which the several rooms, contained in the plan published in the eighteenth volume of the Archaeologia, are marked with figures from No. 1 to No. 26, and from 28 to 44.

Parish of Bignor, by Thomas Walker Horsfield, published 1835 in The History, Antiquities and Topography of the County of Sussex (vol. II, rape of Arundel, pp.149-151) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 2397][Lib 3212] & The Keep [LIB/507380][Lib/500088] & West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries

Account of the Bignor Roman Villa, by S. Lysons, published 1839 (London: Clarke & Lewis) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 5495] & West Sussex Libraries

An illustrated guide book to Midhurst and neighbourhood. Giving a full account of the ruins at Cowdray, the priory at Easebourne, Woolbeding, Trotton, the Roman remains at Bignor, and all the points of interest in the neighbourhood, by G. D. Wolferstan, published 1868 (107 pp.)

Bignor, by Mark Antony Lower, M.A., published 1870 in A Compendious History of Sussex, Topographical, Archaeological & Anecdotal (vol. I, pp.49-51, Lewes: George P. Bacon) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 8946][Lib 3314] & The Keep [LIB/500159]   View Online

Ordnance Survey Book of Reference to the plan of the Parish of Bignor, published 1876 (article, London: H.M.S.O. & printed at George E. Eyre and William Spottiswoode)   View Online

The Roman Mosaic Pavements at Bignor, by Rev. Thomas Debary, M.A., published 1880 in Sussex Archæological Collections (vol. 30, article, pp.63-89) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 2115] & The Keep [LIB/500248] & S.A.S. library   View Online

The Bignor Pavement, by S. Lysons, published 1886 (Whiting & Co.) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 4398] & West Sussex Libraries

On the Remains of a Roman Villa Discovered at Bignor in Sussex in Year 1811

The Roman Villa at Bignor, Near Chichester, by Walter De Gray Birch, F.S.A., published March 1886 in Journal of the British Archaeological Association (first series, vol 42, issue 1, article, pp.57-64)   View Online

Monumental Inscription in Bignor Church, by F. H. Arnold, published 1894 in Sussex Archæological Collections (vol. 39, notes & queries, p.207) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 2124] & The Keep [LIB/500257] & S.A.S. library   View Online

Petworth and its surroundings, Bignor, Pulborough, etc, by L. C. Barnes, published 1902 (pamphlet, London: London: Homeland Association) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 12781] & West Sussex Libraries

Bignor, by E. V. Lucas with illustrations by Frederick L. Griggs, published 1904 in Highways and Byways in Sussex (Chapter XI, London: Macmillan & Co.) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 41][Lib 12792][Lib 15825] & The Keep [LIB/500142]   View Online

The Roman Villa at Bignor, by S. E. Winbolt, published 1926 (Clarendon Press)

Two Notes on Roman Sussex. 1: Bignor Bath Recovered, by S. E. Winbolt, M.A., published 1926 in Sussex Archæological Collections (vol. 67, article, pp.85-88) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 2152] & The Keep [LIB/500285] & S.A.S. library

The Bignor Roman Villa Excavations, by S. E. Winbolt, M.A., published 1927 in Sussex County Magazine (vol. I no. 4, article, pp.156-159) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 2303][Lib 8326] & The Keep [LIB/500137]

The Bignor Roman Villa Excavations, by S. E. Winbolt, M.A., published 1927 in Sussex County Magazine (vol. I no. 5, article, pp.206-208) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 2303][Lib 8326] & The Keep [LIB/500137]

The Bignor Roman Villa Excavations, by S. E. Winbolt, M.A., published 1927 in Sussex County Magazine (vol. I no. 6, article, pp.270-272) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 2303][Lib 8326] & The Keep [LIB/500137]

Charlotte Smith, Sussex Poet, by Kenneth Povey, published 1927 in Sussex County Magazine (vol. I no. 13, article, pp.567-571) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 2303][Lib 8326] & The Keep [LIB/500137]

Roman ring from Bignor, by Unknown, published October 1927 in The Antiquaries Journal (vol. 7 issue 4, note, p.521)   View Online

Ancient Sculptured Marbles at Bignor Park, Sussex, by S. E. Winbolt, published 1928 (Society for the Promotion of Hellenic Studies) accessible at: West Sussex Libraries

Reprinted from the Journal of Hellenic Studies Vol. 48, 1928, P.178-182

Ancient Sculptured Marbles at Bignor Park, Sussex, by S. E. Winbolt, published 1928 in Journal of Hellenic Studies (vol. 48, no. 2, article, pp.178-182)

The Story of Roman Sussex II - Stane Street, by S. E. Winbolt, M.A., published 1928 in Sussex County Magazine (vol. II no. 6, article, pp.242-247) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 9327] & The Keep [LIB/500138]

Notes on the Roman Vill at Bignor, by George Herbert, published 1929 (unpublished) accessible at: West Sussex Libraries

Greek Sepulchre at Bignor Park, by S. E. Winbolt, published 1929 in Sussex County Magazine (vol. III no. 6, article, pp.407-408) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 2307] & The Keep [LIB/500139]

Along the Roman Road. 2 - Bignor Hill and the Villa, by F. J. Bulstrode, published 1929 in Sussex County Magazine (vol. III no. 8, article, pp.549-554) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 2307] & The Keep [LIB/500140]

Along the Roman Road. 3 - Bignor to Oakwood Hill, by F. J. Bulstrode, published 1929 in Sussex County Magazine (vol. III no. 9, article, pp.653-659) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 2307] & The Keep [LIB/500140]

The Bignor Roman Villa , by S. E. Winbolt, published May 1929 in Sussex Notes & Queries (vol. II no. 6, note, p.180) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 8951] & The Keep [LIB/500204] & S.A.S. library

Roman Villa at Bignor, Sussex, by S. E. Winbolt and George Herbert, published 1930 (new edition, Oxford: Clarendon Press) accessible at: West Sussex Libraries

Thomas Sefton, by W. A. Price, published February 1934 in Sussex Notes & Queries (vol. V no. 1, note, pp.28-29) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 2204][Lib 8223][Lib 8862] & The Keep [LIB/500207] & S.A.S. library

Altar in Bignor Church, by W. H. G. [W. H. Godfrey], published November 1934 in Sussex Notes & Queries (vol. V no. 4, note, pp.120-122) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 2204][Lib 8223][Lib 8862] & The Keep [LIB/500207] & S.A.S. library

Roman Gold Finger-Ring from Bignor Villa, by T. D. Kendrick, published November 1939 in Sussex Notes & Queries (vol. VII no. 8, note, pp.244-245) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 12536][Lib 8864][Lib 2206] & The Keep [LIB/500209] & S.A.S. library

Romance of a river [Arun]: [Stopham, Bignor, Burphem, Arundel, Houghton], by Country Life contributor(s), published 13 July 1951 in Country Life (article, pp.106-108) accessible at: R.I.B.A. Library

Secrets of a Downland Village [Bignor], by Katherine Ashworth, published 12 May 1955 in Country Life (article, pp.1250-1253)

Bignor Park, Sussex, by Gordon Nares, published 26 April 1956 in Country Life (article, pp.869-863; and 3 May, pp.924-927)

Bignor Roman Villa, 1956, by S. S. Frere, published May 1957 in Sussex Notes & Queries (vol. XIV nos. 13 & 14, article, pp.228-229) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 8232][Lib 2213] & The Keep [LIB/500216] & S.A.S. library

I am, My Dear Sir, A Selection of Letters mainly to and by John Hawkins 1761-1841 of Bignor Park and Trewithen, Cornwall, by Francis W. Steer, published 1959 (Chichester: Moore & Tillyer) accessible at: West Sussex Libraries

The Roman Villa at Bignor, Sussex, by S. E. Winbolt and George Herbert, published 1959 (booklet) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 15774][Lib 14613]

Bignor Villa Water Supply, by Major C. A. Pogson, M.C., published November 1960 in Sussex Notes & Queries (vol. XV no. 6, article, pp.192-196) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 8233] & The Keep [LIB/500217] & S.A.S. library

Bignor Villa (S.N.Q XV 165), by S. S. Frere, published November 1960 in Sussex Notes & Queries (vol. XV no. 6, reply, pp.200-201) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 8233] & The Keep [LIB/500217] & S.A.S. library

Bignor Villa (S.N.Q XV 165), by I. D. Margary, published November 1960 in Sussex Notes & Queries (vol. XV no. 6, reply, p.201) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 8233] & The Keep [LIB/500217] & S.A.S. library

Further notes on shepherds' staves, by Francis W. Steer, published 1965 in Agricultural History Review (vol. 13, no. 1, article, pp.47-49)   Download PDF

Concerns Bignor Park and Petworth, for which house John Flaxman had in 1825 made a sculpture of Apollo holding a stave.

The Letters of John Hawkins and Samuel and Daniel Lysons, 1812-1830, edited by Francis W. Steer, published 1966 (Chichester: West Sussex County Council) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 5600] & The Keep [LIB/501833] & West Sussex Libraries

with special reference to the Roman Villa at Bignor

Guide to the Church of Holy Cross, Bignor, by Francis W. Steer, published 1968 (pamphlet) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 4843]

Russian-inscribed Slabs at Bignor, by Mrs. J. M. Bickerdike, published September 1974 in Sussex Archæological Society Newsletter (no. 14, article, p.60) accessible at: S.A.S. library   Download PDF

Some Observations on the Economy of the Roman Villa at Bignor, Sussex, by S. Applebaum, published November 1975 in Britannia (vol. 6, article, pp.118-132)   View Online

The following examination of the agricultural aspects of Bignor Roman villa was written in 1950, and is here reproduced with a few additions, and with corrections necessitated by the results of Professor S. S. Frere's excavations at the villa in the years 1957-1962.
It is very likely that Lysons, who excavated the villa in the eighteenth century, did not find, or did not record, earlier farm-buildings which may well have preceded those to be seen on his plan. Nor may he have noticed various details or subdivisions of the latter. Nevertheless it seemed worthwhile attempting their analysis in order to resuscitate the general lines of the agriculture practised at Bignor in the fourth century; and while further excavation of the farmyard, if it takes place, will doubtless produce corrections and new facts, the attempt will have been justified if it suggests new considerations and methods. Some of the conclusions of the present study were included in much abbreviated form in the writer's contribution on Roman Britain to The Agrarian History of England, Vol. I, part ii, published in 1972.

Excavations 1978: Barkhale, West Sussex, by P. E. Leach, published December 1978 in Sussex Archæological Society Newsletter (no. 26, article, p.160, ISSN: 0307-2568) accessible at: S.A.S. library   Download PDF

Bignor Roman Villa: guide book with plan, by S. S. Frere, published c.1979 (booklet) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 9818] & West Sussex Libraries

The Bignor Villa, by Sheppard Frere, published November 1982 in Britannia (vol. 13, article, pp.135-195)   View Online

The villa at Bignor, West Sussex (SU 987147), is one of the largest and best-known in the province of Britain. First discovered in 1811 during ploughing, it was excavated by Samuel Lysons in annual campaigns until 1818. The plans and mosaics received sumptuous publication; but because of potential expense imposed by the recent Copyright Act which required deposition in various Libraries of 11 copies of any work containing letterpress, no accompanying text was printed. Instead, two papers were published in Archaeologia. These are somewhat summary in description and they contain measurements which are inconsistent both mutually and when compared with the plans. Recent work has added to the plan several walls which Lysons did not find, and has also shown that the well-known plan itself is inaccurate in showing the north and south sides of the courtyard as parallel (FIG. I). In fact they diverge. After cover-buildings had been erected over the principal mosaics and the rest reburied, matters rested for over a century. In 1925 S. E. Winbolt re-excavated and repaired the cold bath (in Room 55), which had been left open without a cover-building; and in 1929 the Venus mosaic (Room 3), whose condition had been deteriorating, was professionally relaid.

The Excavation of a Neolithic Causewayed Enclosure on Barkhale Down, Bignor Hill, West Sussex, by Peter E. Leach, published 1983 in Sussex Archæological Collections (vol. 121, article, pp.11-30) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 8902] & The Keep [LIB/500308] & S.A.S. library

Excavations at Bignor Roman Villa 1975 - 1976, by Frederick G. Aldsworth, published 1983 in Sussex Archæological Collections (vol. 121, archaeological note, pp.203-208) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 8902] & The Keep [LIB/500308] & S.A.S. library

The Roman Villa at Bignor in the fourth century, by E. W. Black, published March 1983 in Oxford Journal of Archaeology (vol. 2, issue 1, article, pp.93-107)   View Online

The plan of the Bignor villa is reassessed in the light of recent excavations by Frere. Changes of plan are recognized and discussed. The farm buildings are considered in detail modifying Applebaum's original interpretations.

Bignor Roman Villa Rediscovered , by Fred Aldsworth, published 1986 in Popular Archaeology (vol. 7, no. 4, article, pp.2-13) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 9817]

Bignor Roman Villa Guide Book, by Fred Aldsworth, published 1987 (Beric Tempest & Co. Ltd.) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 9874] & West Sussex Libraries

Water-wheel Driven Beam Pump at Bignor Park, by R. M. Palmer and A. E. Baxter, published 1989 in Sussex Industrial History (issue no. 19, article, pp.11-21, ISSN: 0263-5151) accessible at: The Keep [LIB/506526]   Download PDF

It was a tantalisingly brief mention of Bignor Park in the S.I.H. article on the Petworth Water Supply that set the first-named author on what proved to be a long and at times exhausting trail of discovery and detection. Armed with the statement that a beam pump similar to that at Coultershaw existed in Bignor Park, he set out with the, almost voluntary, aid of some S.I.A.S. colleagues to track it down. This article relates their endeavours to piece together the design and operation of the pump installation.
The article starts by tracing the history of Bignor Park and includes some comments on water supply to country houses. This is followed by a description of the excavation and recording carried out on site. The results are then set out, leading to a theoretical reconstruction of the layout and operation of the pump. Finally, the archival evidence available on the history of the pump is considered and some attempt made to date its origin.
Bignor Park is in West Sussex, situated just to the north of the Downs near Petworth and lies in the Gault Clay strip between the Upper and Lower Greensands. Through the Park runs a stream fed by springs which gush out from the foot of the Downs above Bignor Mill. By this stream was built the beam pump (GR 993153) to supply water to Bignor House.

Religious Survey 1851 - Chichester district, edited by John A. Vickers, published August 1990 in The Religious Census of Sussex 1851 (Sussex Record Society, vol. 75, pp.161-172, ISBN-10: 085445036X & ISBN-13: 9780854450367) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 10578][Lib 13824] & The Keep [LIB/500452][LIB/507827] & West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries

Chichester district incl. Sutton, Greatham, Bury, Fittleworth, Coates, Bignor, Slindon, Egdean, Barlavington, Burton, Duncton, Heyshott, South Bersted & Bognor

French Resistance in Sussex, by Barbara Bertram, published 1995 (96 pp., Barnworks Publishing, ISBN-10: 189917401X & ISBN-13: 9781899174010) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 13028] & British Library & West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries

The tiny village of Bignor, near Petworth, Sussex, may appear a sleepy place, but during World War II it provided the ideal camouflage for a "secret house", hiding men and women from the French Resistance. The owner of the house recalls her memories and experiences of the times

Excavations at Bignor Roman Villa, West Sussex 1985-1990, by Frederick G. Aldsworth and David Rudling, published 1995 in Sussex Archæological Collections (vol. 133, article, pp.103-188) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 13209] & The Keep [LIB/500288] & S.A.S. library

Bignor Roman Villa and the Institute of Archaeology, by David Rudling, published 1 November 1997 in Archaeology International (vol. 1, article, pp.16-19, ISSN: 1463-1725) accessible at: University of Sussex Library   View Online

The large Roman villa at Bignor is one of the most elaborate in Britain. The Director of the Institute's Field Archaeology Unit describes the history and current stage of its archaeological investigation.

Sexing of Romano-British baby burials from the Beddingham and Bignor Villas, by Tony Waldron, G. Michael Taylor and David Rudling, published 1999 in Sussex Archæological Collections (vol. 137, article, pp.71-80) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 14439] & The Keep [LIB/500291] & S.A.S. library   View Online

A simple method is described for measuring the depth of the sciatic notch in foetal ilia. In the pilot study presented, both morphological and molecular analyses were undertaken separately to determine the sexes of six Romano-British infant burials from the Roman villa at Beddingham, East Sussex and one from the villa at Bignor, West Sussex. We have attempted to establish a discriminant criterion by relating morphological findings to the sex as determined by amelogenin PCR. Simple geometrical analysis of the sciatic notch indicated that of the six infant burials at Beddingham, three were female and three were male. Using the same criteria, the sex of the Bignor baby was determined as female. Amelogenin PCR was in agreement in four cases from Beddingham (three males and one female), but owing to poor quality of DNA, comparison was excluded in two remaining burials judged as female on morphological criteria. Similarly, owing to poor DNA preservation, PCR was negative with bone extracts prepared from the Bignor baby. If the burials at Beddingham were the result of infanticide, its victims were not exclusively female.

Great sites on the lasting impact of Bignor villa, by M. Henig, published 2000 in British Archaeology (issue 51, article, pp.20-25)

Animals as status symbols? Pigs and cattle in Iron Age/Roman West Sussex, by Martyn Allen, published April 2008 in Sussex Past & Present (no. 114, article, p.8, ISSN: 1357-7417) accessible at: The Keep [LIB/500475] & S.A.S. library   View Online

The role of animals in archaeology has traditionally been thought of from an economic perspective, with animal bone reports highlighting 'calories consumed' or 'yields produced'. More recently, the social importance of animals, as in ritual practices, ethnic values or symbolically in art, have been emphasised.

Millstones at Bignor. Was the Domesday Book wrong?, by Bridget Howard, published May 2008 in Midhurst Heritage (No 9, article, pp.14-14, Spring 2008, Midhurst Society & printed at Kerry Type Ltd) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 16354]

Millstones and quarries in Bignor and surrounding areas, in Norman times.

Bignor Roman Villa, by David Rudling and Miles Russell, published 4 May 2015 (160 pp., The History Press, ISBN-10: 0750961554 & ISBN-13: 9780750961554) accessible at: West Sussex Libraries

Discovered in 1811, Bignor is one of the richest and most impressive villas in Britain, its mosaics ranking among the finest in north-western Europe. Opened to the public for the first time in 1814, the site also represents one of Britain's earliest tourist attractions, remaining in the hands of the same family, the Tuppers, to this day. This book sets out to explain the villa, who built it, when, how it would have been used and what it meant within the context of the Roman province of Britannia. It also sets out to interpret the remains, as they appear today, explaining in detail the meaning of the fine mosaic pavements and describing how the villa was first found and explored and the conservation problems facing the site in the twenty-first century. Now, after 200 years, the remarkable story of Bignor Roman Villa is told in full in this beautifully illustrated book.

Reading Roman Mosaics: Bignor, Lullingstone, Chedworth, Brading & Newport Roman Villas, by Derrick Napier, published 15 July 2015 (138 pp., UK Book Publishing, ISBN-10: 1910223468 & ISBN-13: 9781910223468) accessible at: West Sussex Libraries

Bignor Roman Villa: Unlocking the site's secrets, published December 2015 in Current Archaeology (Issue 309, article, pp.20-27)

Illustrated Guide to Bignor Roman Villa, published (no date) (pamphlet, Bognor Roman Villa) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 12970]

Bignor Parish Register, published (no date) by the Sussex Family History Group and Parish Register Transcription Society (Ref: SXW119, CD-ROM)

Baptisms 1556-1908, Marriages 1565-1836 and Burials 1565-1906. Indexed Transcription. Includes 22 photographs. Vol.119.