Award-winning town planners 'delighted' to open new Midhurst office

The office, which will provide a base for the company’s wide variety of services, is set to open on Midhurst’s historic Knockhundred Row later this year.

An application to paint the existing shopfront, reinstate a sign and install a room divider as well as internal and external doors and windows, was approved by South Downs National Park Planning Authority (SDNPA) officers in December, and planners hope to work in such a way that respects the site’s not-inconsiderable historic character.

"The proposed alterations to the building are modest and represent a thoughtful and sensitive approach to enhancing its functionality and aesthetic appeal while preserving its historic character,” A heritage and planning statement submitted alongside the plans said. “Painting of the shopfront and installation of a new front door will strengthen the building’s traditional character. Internal changes, such as the addition of a room divider and internal doors, will improve the practicality of the space without compromising its heritage value”

Meanwhile, an updated published on the Whaleback website paid tribute to Knockhundred Row’s place in Midhurst history. “The origin of the name Knockhundred Row has sparked much local discussion,” it reads. “Some have suggested that it might refer to some archaic right of the Lord of the Manor – allowing him to ‘knock-up’ one hundred people for his service. However, "Knock" means "hillock," derived from the Brittonic word ‘cnoc,’ and a hundred was a Saxon administrative, military, and judicial division of land introduced between 613 and 1017, intended to support approximately 100 households. Knockhundred is therefore the hundred hill.

"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”. It is appealing to think that the market, and Knockhundred Row, could have developed around the hundred meeting place in a woodland clearing even before the establishment of the town!”