As Gate, the settlement was listed in the 1086 Domesday Book as having 28 households, plough lands, woodlands, meadows and a church, with an annual value of £4.

The Anglican parish in the late 19th century was 910 acres (370 ha) and had a population of about 100.

[5] Barnham railway station (which was actually within Eastergate parish) was opened in 1864 and lies on the West Coastway Line.

East and West Coastway (to Brighton in the East and Portsmouth or Southampton in the West) and London services are operated by Southern, with occasional First Great Western services travelling as far afield as Great Malvern and Cardiff.

The civil parish covered an area of 370 hectares (910 acres) (of which about half is farmed) and had a population of 3107 according to the 2001 census.