HISTORY OF HARTING. 221 



parks, the old or "Middle Park of Harting" by the 

 Church, now Mr. Brockhurst's farm, and the " Down 

 Park" or "Netherpark" of West Harting lowlands. 



" Lady Holt" is a name first occurring about the 

 time of the Reformation. In the fourteenth century, 

 Lady Holt Park is the " pasture of Eckenfield." The 

 equivalent of Lady Holt, would be "the wood ('holt,' 

 akin to German 'holtz') of our Lady." In that wild 

 part of the parish, which was the scene of murders 

 and haunts of ghosts, they would be likely to give 

 a religious name by way of charm. So we have also 

 " Hale or Holy (hallow, hallidome) wood," near Lady 

 Holt, where a murder occurred, as mentioned before.. 

 The first mention of Lady Holt by name, is in the 

 Deed of partition of the Manors in 1557, before the 

 Carylls had settled at Harting. It is here called 

 "Ladaies Holt."* In 1635, West Harting Survey 

 describes (p. 169) " Ladie Holt Farm, late percell of 

 y e Jointer (parcel of Lady Margery Caryll's jointure), 

 contayneth a competent Farmehouse, two Barnes, and 

 other outhouses, orchards, gardens, and gates, and 

 nineteen enclosures. 241 A. : i R. Rent .40. Valor 

 p. annum 44 173. lod." 



The suffix "holt" (raised, high, wood), once com- 

 mon, is now somewhat rare in Sussex, but appears in 

 Hucksholt (once called " Gobbies," or " Holte Farm"), 

 Alice Holt, Fleetsholt, West Harting, and Lady Holt. 

 The name of Hurst also denotes woodland ; and the 

 preponderance of these forest names, such as Wood- 

 house, Padswood, Alderswood Pond, the ancient name 

 for West Harting Pond, Maydenes dene or Maiden's 

 grove, the dene being deep wood, still points to the 

 extent of the old Harting timber-land. " Nywoods," 

 in its most ancient form, "Nywode" (1349 and 1370), 

 in its degenerated style, "New Woods" is a name 



"All those lands, tents, pastures and woodes, called or 

 knowen by the names of Westholte, otherwyse Laddies' Holte, 

 Baker's Holte, Fleet's Holte, Harehurst," &c. 



