| Steyning | |
|---|---|
| Town andcivil parish | |
 High Street, Steyning town centre | |
  Steyning Location withinWest Sussex | |
| Area | 15.74 km2 (6.08 sq mi) [2] |
| Population | 5,832 [3] |
| • Density | 369/km2 (960/sq mi) |
| OS grid reference | TQ177110 |
| • London | 43 mi (69 km)NNE |
| Civil parish |
|
| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | STEYNING |
| Postcode district | BN44 |
| Dialling code | 01903 |
| Police | Sussex |
| Fire | West Sussex |
| Ambulance | South East Coast |
| UK Parliament | |
| |
Steyning (/ˈstɛnɪŋ/ ⓘSTEN-ing) is a town andcivil parish in theHorsham district ofWest Sussex, England. It is located at the north end of theRiver Adur gap in theSouth Downs, four miles (six kilometres) north of the coastal town ofShoreham-by-Sea.
The smaller villages ofBramber andUpper Beeding constitute, with Steyning, a built-up area at this crossing-point of the river.
The parish has a land area of 1,574 hectares (3,890 acres). In the 2001 census 5,812 people lived in 2,530 households, of whom 2,747 were economically active.
The name Steyning possibly derives from theOld Englishstāning meaning 'the stone people' or the 'dwellers at the stony place'.[4]
Steyning has existed sinceAnglo-Saxon times. Legend has it thatSt Cuthman built a church, at one time dedicated to him, later to St Andrew, and now jointly to St Andrew and St Cuthman, where he stopped after carrying his mother in awheelbarrow. Several of the signs that can be seen on entering Steyning bear an image of his feat. In 858, according to theAnnals of St Neots,Æthelwulf, King of Wessex, the father ofAlfred the Great, was buried in the church. Æthelwulf's body was later transferred toWinchester, probably by Alfred.[5] A carved Saxon grave slab (possibly Æthelwulf's) remains in the church porch.
To thank his Norman protectors for refuge during his exile,Edward the Confessor granted his royal minster church in Steyning, with its large and wealthy manor lands, to the Abbey Church of the Holy Trinity atFécamp, to take effect after the death of Aelfwine, theBishop of Winchester, who had charge of Steyning. The bishop died in 1047 and ecclesiastical jurisdiction then passed directly to thePope. (In the same way,Fécamp Abbey itself answered to no Norman bishop, only to the Pope.) This was confirmed in a charter by William. Confirming the gift of Steyning, made by Edward the Confessor, this charter acquitted the grantees of all earthly service and subjection to barons, princes and others, and gave them all royal liberties, custom and justice over all matters arising in their land, and threatened any who should infringe these liberties with an amercement of £100 of gold.[6]This was an addition to the nearby port with land aroundRye,Winchelsea andHastings, already given to the same Abbey byKing Cnut, to honour a promise made by his wifeEmma of Normandy's first husbandKing Aethelred. By then Steyning was already a thriving and important port with a market, a royal mint, the church founded by St Cuthman and one other church, asDomesday Book relates 60 years later.Godwin, Earl of Wessex expelled the Norman monks in 1052 and seized Steyning for himself, and his sonHarold decided to keep it upon his accession. This made commercial and strategic sense as Harold did not want a Norman toehold in a potential invasion port, butWilliam responded by swearing on a knife before setting out for England to recover it for the monks:
This gained him a ship from Fécamp and, upon his victory atHastings, he honoured his promise and returned it to the monks. However, its strategic importance made William placeWilliam de Braose in a newcastle at nearby Bramber, who began a vigorous boundary dispute and power tussle with the monks, William's settlement having lacked definite terms in the first place.Domesday Book, completed in 1086, brought this to a head. It found that de Braose had built a bridge at Bramber and demanded tolls from ships travelling further along the river to the port at Steyning. The monks challenged Bramber's right to bury its parishioners in the churchyard at William de Braose's newchurch of St Nicholas, and demanded its burial fees, despite it being built to serve the castle not the town. The monks produced forged documents to defend their position and were unhappy with the failure of their claim onHastings.[8] In 1086 the king called his sons, barons and bishops to court (the last time an English king presided personally, with his full court, to decide a matter of law) to settle this. It took a full day, and the Abbey won over the court, forcing de Braose to curtail his bridge tolls, give up various encroachments onto the abbey's lands[9] and organise a mass exhumation and transfer of all Bramber's dead to the churchyard of Saint Cuthman's Church in Steyning.
Even the 1086 judgment did not settle the Steyning versus Bramber dispute once and for all; it continued for centuries afterwards, exacerbated by the Lord of Bramber founding his own religious establishments in his neighbouring parish. Meanwhile, in the 14th century, theRiver Adur began to silt up and the town's use as a port became difficult leading to a loss of trade and population. The monks ofFécamp Abbey retained control of Steyning until the 15th century, and re-dedicated the church of St Cuthman toSt Andrew in the 13th century.
Steyning began returning two members of parliament from 1278 and as arotten borough made up of a depopulated port became similar toDunwich until theReform Act 1832.
In 1614, William Holland,Alderman ofChichester founded and endowedSteyning Grammar School.[10]
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TheSteyning Line railway from London toShoreham arrived in Steyning in 1861 and astation was opened to serve the town. The railway remained in service for over a century, closing in 1966 as result of theBeeching Axe. The route of the railway line has since been converted into a footpath and cycleway known as theDowns Link. The nearest railway station to the town today isShoreham-by-Sea, some 5–6 miles away by road.
TheOld Town Hall, currently used as an estate agents, at 38 High Street, was built in 1886.[11]
The legendary Irish politicianCharles Stewart Parnell married'Kitty' O'Shea (niece ofLord Hatherley) here in 1891, the culmination of anadulterous affair that saw his fall from power, catastrophically dividing Irish politics.
Besides much agriculture, brewing, a tannery (Tanyard Lane) and, to a small extent, brickmaking, more than 25 men were employed in sheep related trades asfellmongers, four or more wereparchment makers, five were millers and there was a surgeon, James M. Burfield an oil painter, and a watch maker in the town during the 1881 census.[12]
Steyning has three pubs: the Star Inn, theChequer Inn and the White Horse, as well as a number of restaurants and cafes. A fourth pub, the Grade II listed Norfolk Arms, closed in 2021.,[13] In addition there are a number of shops, a health centre, a public library and the Steyning Museum. The leisure centre was built withNational Lottery funding.
A spring fair is held on theSpring bank holiday (the last Monday in May).
TheMonarch's Way long-distance footpath skirts the southern end of the town.
Steyning continues to be served by regular public transport. Bus operatorBrighton & Hove operates route 2 hourly to Steyning fromRottingdean via Brighton, Hove and Shoreham-by-Sea.[14]
The town is home to Steyning Grammar School, of around 1,950 pupils[15] and with a Sixth Form College comprising over 200 students. The school has been part of theBohunt Education Trust (BET)[16] since 2021. The school has acatchment area that extends as far asDial Post and sometimesWorthing. Steyning is also home to a primary school (~400 pupils) and a pre-school.
The Steyning Festival was founded in 2006.[citation needed] The event is biennial and runs for two weeks at the end of May/start of June. It includes theatre, music, literature, talks, walks and community events.
In 2009, the Steyning Festival was awarded a lottery grant to bring international artist and psychogeographerChris Dooks to Steyning for a month-long residency, resulting in a free MP3 tour.
There is a long established cricket club near the police station.[17] Steyning has anon-league football club calledSteyning Town Community Football Club, who play at the Shooting Field. The town also has its ownleisure centre.
Steyning Athletic Club, established in 1951, offers a variety of sports to members - including Running, Swimming, Cycling, Race walking, Circuits/Fitness and Triathlon. Annual Club events include the Roundhill Romp (10k running race that is part of the Sussex Fun Run League) and the Steyning Stinger (Full Marathon and Half Marathon on the South Downs).
Steyning is also host to a detachment of theArmy Cadet Force,[18] and anAir Training Corps squadron,[19] both national voluntary youth organisations sponsored by theMoD.[20]
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