Lavant Village goes back at least to the time of the Domesday Survey (1086).

It was known then as ‘Loventone’ indicating that it was a ‘ton’ (an enclosure or farmstead or manor) on the River Lavant.

Until the late 19th century there were three Lavants: East Lavant and Mid Lavant and West Lavant. The first two were manors with a parish church.

West Lavant had no church and was a tithing of East Lavant, even though it is physically separated from it by Mid Lavant. In 1872 the parishes were joined for civil purposes and for ecclesiastical purposes in 1880. As a result of this history there are three distinct elements to the village:

East Lavant has the feel of a typical downland village with a church, village green, some fine examples of thatched cottages and use of brick and tile as building materials.

Mid Lavant is essentially a linear settlement with terraced dwellings and more substantial houses along the main road. It is separated from East Lavant by various open fields across which there used to be long views up to the Trundle.

West Lavant is centred around two significant Georgian dwellings, West Lavant Farm (built in 1711) and West Lavant House. These are surrounded by a straggle of cottages and barns, gentrified into modern dwellings. From West Lavant there are long views over fields to Kingley Vale and back to St. Nicholas Church.