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by Andy Horton
(Page started in 2000 and amended later)
SECRETS OF SHOREHAM
Presentation and Discussion
Talk by Andy HortonWhat all the people of Shoreham should know about their town. And what is not written in Henry Cheal's books or in Freddie Feest's Shoreham Herald columns.
Bring your critical facilities with you, because lots of the material is new thinking.
Written under the pseudonym of Questor Stanton, the format asks questions and then I attempt to find out the answers.
e.g. .Who were the first Shorehamites? Where was Pende? What does the name
Hulkesmouth mean? How did the Marlipins get its name? Who were the Butterfly Collectors?
Prehistoric
At
the start of the Cretaceous Period, the sea level was 25 metres above now
and by the mid Cretaceous the seas were 200 metres above now with no polar
ice caps. The Tethys Ocean separated Laurasia (north) from Gondwanland
(south). The Santonian Age from which the fossil below dates was about
87.5 million years ago.
Ocean
Temperature Notes
The
fossil content of the chalk
of NW Europe, particularly the abundance and diversity of the planktonic
foraminifer and coccoliths indicates tropical water temperatures of 20
°C
or more. This has been confirmed by oxygen isotope analysis.
Geology of Brighton to Worthing
Fossil
bivalve Spondylus spinosa (pic).
Fossil Sea Urchin Echinocorys scutatus from
Shoreham beach
1. Awash Valley, Ethiopia.
The earliest proto-humans - the bones of 4.4 million-year-old Ramidus and
the more famous 3 million-year-old Lucy.
2. Laetoli, Tanzania. 3.5 million proto-human footprints.
3. Goma, Ethiopia. 2.9 million years ago. First known tools.
4. Koobi Fora, Kenya. 2.5 - 1 million years ago. Twelve human skulls and evidence of early animal butchery.
5. Sangiran, Java, Indonesia. 1.6 million years ago. Earliest humans outside Africa.
6. Olduvai, Tanzania. 1.5 million years ago. First ever probable construction - a simple shelter.
7. Dmanisi, Georgia, Caucasus. 1.4 million years ago earliest known human in Western Asia.
8. Boxgrove, United Kingdom. 500,000 years ago. Human fossils, first examples of bone and antler tools. Evidence of butchery of very large animals.
9. Zhoukoudian, China. 480,000 years ago. Early fire-making. Human bones and artefacts.
10. Atapuerca, Spain. 250,000 years ago. Probable first evidence of ritual or proto-religious activity. Dozens of human skeletons.
Timeline of Prehistoric Britain [wiki]
But it isn’t until 10,000 years ago that a population of humans reach Britain and persist to survive in such a consistent way that they contribute to modern DNA. Cheddar Man
Timeline
(BBC)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/education/ancestors/chronology.shtml
Flint
Axe head (from the Marlipins Museum) |
2000 BC
Beaker style pottery from a grave in Ravensbourne Avenue (near Buckingham Park, south-west of Slonk Hill, Shoreham (discovered 1958), one mile due south of Mossy Bottom on the downs. (Marlipins Museum exhibit) |
 |
A bronzed flanged axe (Marlipins Museum exhibit) from Buckingham Bottom |
 |
A bowl discovered at Southwick
Roman Villa. It was reconstructed from broken pieces.
(Marlipins
Museum exhibit)
|
A
Cockerel
Plate Brooch from Slonk
Hill Shoreham is dated to the 2nd century AD but found in the debris
from the third. (Estimated length: 50 mm.)
According to the Anglo-Saxon
Chronicle (AD 477) three Saxon ships arrived in
a part of England which was to be later known as Sussex at a place called
Cymenes
ora and chased the Welsh away. Ælle (d. c. 514) accompanied
by three sons Cymen, Wlenca and Cissa landed from Gaul (France) (more
info). In 485 they fought the Welsh (Walas) at
what is probably a boundary stream called Mearcredesburna~.None
of these places have been identified positively with modern locations,
(although the best evidence of Cymenes is Cumenshore,
formerly on the Selsey Bill). Later (491) they besieged
Anderitum
(now Pevensey) and killed all the Britons (Bret) living there. The town
to the west of Shoreham is called Lancing from Wlencing#, and a few miles
further to the west, Cissbury Ring acquired its
name (at
a later date) from Cissa. Evidence of early Saxon (pre AD 500) occupation
of the area to the west of Shoreham is confirmed by barrow burial finds*.
Addenda: towns to the west of Shoreham are especially numerous with the
Saxon ending 'ing'.
(#Lancinges
1086 DB is the first recorded name.)
The
Anglo-Saxon Chronicle text was written at a later date, maybe 9th [first
assembled 877 - 891] or 10th century). The
date 477 was a year after the fall of the western Roman Empire and this
date may have been guessed? If
this date is wrong, the other details may be wrong as well? The
Anglo-Saxons brought their own language within them. They did not live
like the Romans and their culture superseded parts of the Romano-British
way of life. However, at first their numbers were small in comparison to
the native population. The Saxons in this area became known as the South
Saxons. Their agricultural practices are likely to be have been similar
and the differences between the two cultures may have been overemphasised
by some historic writers.
At
the time of the invasion, the Romano-Britons in Sussex would have probably
spoke Latin? But
would these Romano-Brits have German ancestry? (too
small a sample)
Ref:
Professor Tolkien (1963?) said that Latin became the language of most areas
of Celtic speech known to Germanic peoples, but also the ability of Germans
to recognise similarities.
Speculation:
my estimate of the number of Saxons to settle in Sussex in the first wave
of settlements to vary between 250 and 4000 people of all ages, or about
0.25% to 5% of the the native Romano-British and Welsh population. Their
numbers may have been supplemented by later immigration. Later my figure
was revised to 20% in Sussex, but 10% for the whole of Britain. (This
was possible because I downgraded by population estimate for Sussex to
20,000.)
Revision
File
Speculation
is possibly wrong in view of the DNA evidence. The Germanic invasion could
be 20% of the local population (local DNA samples at Midhurst, West Sussex).
However, it depends how the reader interprets the DNA statistics. The negligible
% differences between Midhurst and Cornwall could be more pertinent.
Reference:
A
Y Chromosome Census of the British Isles” - Capelli et al (Alas,
genetics of the female line failed to produce the same results. Second
reference.)
My
estimate (wild guess) of the British population in the 5th century AD is
1,200,000, with an estimate of 20,000 in Sussex. (Revision
)
Evolutionary
Biology Publication
Seven
Ages of Britain (Channel 4 television) says:DNA male white chromosome evidence
says that between 50% and 90% of the current native English population
was Germanic in origin. I think this means Angles and Saxons, perhaps Vikings.
(too
small a sample)
All
this genetic speculation has to be re-evaluated with later published evidence.
(These
notes will be removed in the near future.)
Message
thread and links on this subject (which are my thoughts)
Some
more research into the origins of medieval people in England
Britons,
Angles, ethnicity and material culture from the fourth to seventh centuries
(Link)
Online
Reference book for Medieval Studies (Links)
Historical
Maps
Saxon
Ships (notes)
Anglo-Saxon
Book
From
Roman to Saxon Sussex (Sussex Archaeological Society)
Gallic
Chronicle entry notes
Arthurian
Britain (Britannia)
Weapon
Burials and Historical Context
Social
Context of Warfare in Anglo-Saxon England
Nature
of Warfare in Anglo-Saxon England
Anglo-Saxon
Society (Ða Engliscan Gesiþas)
Also:
Anglo-Saxon History: A Select Bibliography, by Simon Keynes (updated to 1998).
The Ruin and Conquest of Britain 400 A.D. - 600 A.D.
ASSESSING THE ANGLO-SAXON INVASIONS OF THE FIFTH CENTURY
ANSAXNET is a SIG (Special Interest Group) for scholars of the culture and history of England before 1100 C.E.
ANSAXDAT
http://www.mun.ca/Ansaxdat/
Old
English Pages
http://www.georgetown.edu/cball/oe/oe-orgs.html
Anglo-Saxons
(BBC)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/education/ancestors/saxons.shtml
Question:
where did the Suð Seaxe, South Saxons come from ?
This
is unclear. It is difficult to separate Saxons
from Romano-Britons, so separating Angles&
Jutes
(from modern day Denmark, that settled in East Anglia etc.) from the Saxons
from the Weser-Elbe area, now known as Niedersaschen in Germany (south
of the Frisian Islands, cities of Bremen and Hanover) from the Franks
(no positive record*
of settlement in Sussex of these Germanic tribes living in Gaul) is not
certain. The culture and language of the South Saxons were similar to the
Old Saxony, hence the name Saxons, although Germanic tribes is perhaps
a better term. (This general description excludes the settlers of the area
near Hastings in East Sussex.) (* Evidence
of a Frankish brooch has been found north of Shoreham.)
Link
to OE Glyphs (Icelandic Characters etc.)
German archaeologists refuse to label any cultural complex in northern Germany as "Saxon". There were so many different tribes in this area during the Migration Period that they refer to these artefacts as belonging to a "Mixed Group" instead. Where a British archaeologist rubber-stamps an object as 'Saxon', a German archaeologist might see influences belonging to the Chauci, Suebi, or Frisian tribes.
There
were basically two types of Anglian settlers: those that came directly
from their Anglian homes in Denmark and those that travelled first to the
Elbe-Weser area to combine with other tribes such as the Frisian, Chauci,
and Suebi. They were the hybrid people that have been rubber-stamped as
'Saxon'!
Myth
of Saxon England
Comment: not really a myth, but a misleading term or a generic name for different tribes assigned by outsiders. (AH)
5th Century
A Saxon settlement at Botolphs
on the river Adur north of Shoreham dates from the mid-5th to the mid-6th
century AD. Antler pottery dies and evidence of sunken huts were discovered.
Pagan cemeteries discovered dating from the 5th century are recorded on
both sides of the Adur. (Ref: Historical
Atlas of Sussex).
536 Worst ? Year in Human History
6th century
This is the probably
the century of the beginning of most of the settlements ending in 'ing'
between the Adur and the Arun.
Hay
and fodder collected or harvested for domestic livestock around this time.
Notes
7th century
607
The West Saxons under Ceowulf attacked the South Saxons (AS Chronicle).
607. This year Ceolwulf fought against the South-Saxons.
The barrow burial site
at Old Erringham is dated to this century. A solitary copper alloy ansated
brooch, Frankish ? (parallel types from the Netherlands) unlike others
found in Sussex, from Old Erringham is dated from the 8th century. Erringham
Brooch
Sussex
Brooches
Late 7th Century
A number of the Selsea
Charters from the late 7th century, were signed by Nothhelm (a.k.a Nunna)
using the title
King of the South Saxons
(SuthSax). Ref.
c. 688
In the 680s St.
Wilfrid, (exiled Bishop of York) expelled from Northumbria, spent several
years converting the South Saxons (Sussex) to Christianity (this was the
last Saxon area to be converted). At that time the South Saxon ruler was
Æthelwalh (from Encyclopaedia Britannica) who ensured the Bishop's
protection. A legendary Saxon Saint called Cuthman
moved to the Adur Valley spreading the word of Christianity (Cheal:
History of Shoreham).
Churches were built about this time, or two or three centuries later (see
St.
Nicolas Church).
(Until the conversion
to Christianity of Ethelbert of Kent by St Augustine (597) the Anglo-Saxons
had been heathen.)
"Sussex
has resisted attack by the other [Anglo-Saxon] kingdoms owing to the many
hills and thickness of the woods." (Bishop Wilfred).
c.
681 to c. 685 Wilfrid
See
absorbed by Winchester Diocese,
after Wessex conquered Sussex under Caedwalla. The Selsey See returned
in705.
Rulers
of Sussex
692 South
Saxons (Suthsax) mentioned in a charter
c.700
Ine's
code, preserved as an appendix to Alfred's laws, deals mainly with judicial
procedures, listing the punishments to be inflicted for various offences.
His laws show that people of British origin had been incorporated into
the West Saxon social system.
Original
Ine's Laws in OE English
(Ine
succeeded to the Wessex throne upon the retirement of King Caedwalla,
and in 694 he forced the men of Kent to pay compensation for slaying Caedwalla's
brother Mul. In 710 Nunna, the king of the South
Saxons, or Sussex, lent Ine aid against the Cornish Britons, but in 722
and 725 Ine took up arms against the South Saxons, who were harbouring
a rival claimant to his throne.)
8th Century
c. 750
Loom
weight from the Weaving Hut, on display in the Marlipins
Museum
9th
Century
827
The
South Saxons were ruled by the kings
of Sussex until the country was annexed by Wessex, probably in 827,
in the aftermath of the Battle
of Ellandun.
King Æthelwulf died in 858, much mourned by his people, few monarchs have had such an epitaph. He was buried at Steyning, but his body was later moved to Winchester Cathedral.
891
Sussex
(as South Saxons) mentioned as a place in the historic records from
the record for AD 449 in the AS Chronicle. The AS Chronicle was
written at a later date, 890 et seq. The local people would not refer to
themselves as Saxons and this label was put on them by others, Romans,
Bede etc. Notes
The enquiry question is when did Sussex as a name become a political entity?
Suth
Seaxe (late 9th century) Sudsexe (1086) from Mills, English Place
Names. But see 607.
Late
9th
The
fyrd
system of recruiting the army was in operation under Alfred the Great,
who reigned as King of England from 877 to 899.
c.
919 A
document
called the Burghal
Hidage gave a list of the Wessex fortified burghs on the south coast
and Thames valley. This presumably consolidated the Wessex conquest and
protected the local inhabitants from attacks by Danes and Vikings. From
the Adur Valley the burghs (forts) at Burpham (Arun) and Lewes (Ouse) were
equidistant, but it appears that the Lewes fortification was the greater
of the two. The location of the other fort called Eorpeburnan has
not been identified (the most likely location is near Bodiam on the border
with Kent and River Rother which enters the sea at Winchelsea).
1035 et seq Steyning Mint
c. 1020 Julius Work Calendar
In the 11th century the
Norman's established Shoreham as an important haven. The church of St.
Mary de Haura is dated at AD 1103. (NB:
the suffix "de haura" is an old name. The exact date that suffix was first
recorded is 1103.)
Message
about the first inclusion of 'de Haura"
In a document of 1103 Philip de Braose, 2nd Lord of the Rape of Bramber, confirmed a gift made by his father in 1075 to the monks of St. Florence, Saumur. In the original gift St. Mary's is not listed, but in the latter document it is mentioned, indicating that construction had begun around the start of the 12th century.
The original building comprised the present tower (though only up to the first storey, the upper part being a later addition), a nave consisting of five bays (entirely ruined, save for the bay nearest the tower), transepts (which had apsidal chapels to the east), and an apsidal choir (taken down and later replaced).
Architecture of St. Mary de Haura
Churches
of Old & New Shoreham (Victorian History Online)
1066
Norman invasion of England. Shoreham (Soreham) in Domesday Book, 1086.
Sorham 1073. Soraham 1075. Toponymy.
Shoreham is in the Rapeof
Bramber, where a Castle is built, including a construction of knapped flint.
The remains are 23 metres (76 ft) high. The Normans introduced a comprehensive
extension to the English language, but the basic Anglo-Saxon concepts remained.
The Normans introduced the feudal system tying the peasants to the land.
William de
Braose was the local Baron that commissioned the church of St.
Mary' Church at New Shoreham (first recorded in the historical record
c.1103).
1075
See
at Chichester.
1086 Domesday
Book.
The
Domesday book was commissioned in December 1085 by William the Conqueror,
who invaded England in 1066. The first draft was completed in August 1086
and contained records for 13,418 settlements in the English counties south
of the rivers Ribble and Tees (the border with Scotland at the time).
Shoreham
was in the Rape
of Brembre (Bramber), in the Hundred
of Fiskergate (Fishersgate).
NB:
The system was based on pre-Norman, Old English, administrative units,
called rapes, hundreds, shires etc.
Sudsexe.
(? I am not sure that the absence of the -shire suffix is important or
not ?).
In the time of Edward the Confessor " Soresham was assessed for 12 hides," but when the survey was made, "for five hides and half a virgate." There was land for 15 ploughs. On the demesne were three ploughs and 26 villeins and 49 bordars (cottagers) with 12 ploughs. There was a church, six acres of meadow, and woodland yielding (support for) 40 swine. In the time of King Edward the manor was worth 25 pounds, and afterwards 16 pounds. At the time the survey was made the value was stated to be 35 pounds, " and yet," says Domesday Book, " it was (formerly) farmed for 50 pounds, but that could not be borne."
"
William (de Braose) himself holds Soresham "
(Cheal
p 35, p. 50).
The Normans introducing "coppicing" of trees e.g. Hazel.
Medieval History: de Braose (by Lynda Denyer)
Important Quote from
the above pages:
William
de Braose sailed to England with William the Conqueror in 1066 (2.1) His
home was Briouze in Normandy, near Falaise where the Conqueror was born.
The de Braose family origins are unknown, except for the name of William's
mother Gunnor. (2.2)
King William distributed manors across the country to his companions but he chose his best warriors from the Norman nobility to defend the coast of Sussex. Trade and travel between Sussex and Normandy was a lifeline for the new conquerors.
Sussex was divided into five (later six) rapes. The king created a lordship for each rape, possessing all its manors, and the lord built or strengthened a major castle and a port. Trade with Normandy soon flourished, free from interference by English rebels or invaders such as the French or the Danes.
William de Braose became lord of the Rape of Bramber and held over two hundred manors elsewhere. His rape was carved out of the lands of his two Norman neighbours, William de Warenne and Roger de Montgomery. The de Braose rape straddled the River Adur, rectifying the Conqueror's early defensive error in creating a boundary at a vulnerable river estuary.
William de Braose began building Bramber castle, near Steyning, before 1073 to dominate the fertile Adur river valley and its estuary. At first the castle would have been a ditch and a wooden enclosure with a high defensive mound inside. Stone castles were only started after local resistance was under firm control.
A medieval cresset was discovered in Shoreham High Street (near Woolworth's) in 1968 dating from the 11th to 13th century. A cresset is a medieval lamp, this one had 4 bowls which would contain oil and wicks. A Santionage jug was also discovered.
The fortifications at Old Erringham were strengthened with a ringwork-style defences, probably in the 12th century.
There is documentary evidence of a castr at Bramber.
11th
century
The
evaluation archaeological dig on Ropetackle, Shoreham, by Archaeology Sussex
in October 2000,
revealed pottery shards dating back to the 11th/12th century(Talk
by Simon Stevens to the
Shoreham Society on 20 September 2002).
1103
In the 11th century
the Norman's established Shoreham as an important haven. The church of
St.
Mary de Haura is dated at AD 1103. (NB:
the suffix "de haura" is an old name. The exact date that suffix was first
recorded is 1103.)
Message
about the first inclusion of 'de Haura"
1170
The
Knight's
Templar had a chapel in Shoreham. (This
subject has not been researched.)
Manors
of Shoreham
1187 King
Henry II's household embarked at Shoreham for Dieppe.
1199 King John
landed at Shoreham with an army and marched to London to be crowned. He
succeeded Richard I.
12th century
Introduced Fallow Deer
recorded at Bramber Castle. Ref.
1205 For three
years, five Royal Galleys were stationed at Shoreham, making it as important
as any Port in England.
(In the previous year
the French had gained Normandy from the rule of King John).
1208 A Market
is recorded in New Shoreham in competition to the market at Steyning.
Market
Towns in SE England (link)
Abridged
Information
1209 A Charter of King John mentions a ferry at Shoreham. It was also mentioned in a Court case of 1249, and again in papers of 1263. In 1302 this ferry is identified from New Shoreham to Lancing and again identified as a passagium in 1316 and a ferry in 1327 and 1332.
1210 The
outlawed William de Braose escaped to France
through the port of Shoreham. Ref.
1211
King John acquired the lands of William de Braose (d 1211) at Bramber
for himself.
1225
St.
Mary's Church is completed in its finest glory. Before the nave fell
down the total external length of the church was 205 feet (62 metres)*.
Now it is less than half this length. The current nave, originally the
chancel, was added with the Norman Buttresses in the 12th century.
The tower and the small spire would also make the church considerably higher
than today, certainly over 100 feet (30+ metres).
Churches
of Shoreham (Victorian County History)
Noo-Noo is a green-glazed ceramic aquamanile (discovered on the archaeological dig at Ropetackle in March 2003) in the stylised shape of a ram, probably manufactured in the Scarborough area in the C 13th/14th.
Only
two such complete examples are known from Sussex (from Seaford and Lewes
: both found in the C 19th).
International
discoveries of complete ceramic ones, which are delicate and therefore
rare.
Picture and information by Simon Stevens (Archaeology South-East)
1230 Documentary evidence of a windmill at Old Shoreham.
1232 John de Braose, Lord of Bramber, Gower and Tetbury fell from his horse at Bramber and died.
1254 The
County Court was held alternately at Lewes and Shoreham until this date,
when the sheriff
ordered this practice to stop and the Court to be held at Chichester.
(The
Statute of Pleading in 1362 required that Court proceedings be conducted
in English, though "enrolled in Latin")
1262 Simon
de Montford, Earl of Leicester, in dispute with King Henry III, sails
from Shoreham to France. (In 1264 Simon de Montfort led an army that defeated
the King Henry III at Lewes in East Sussex.)
A small bronze shield
identified as the arms of John Giffard who fought for Simon de Montford
was discovered in the Adur Valley. (Evening Argus
Report 6/10/99).
1282
Custom
duties were collected (cocketted), and evaded, at this time for duty to
the King Edward I. The merchandise was sealed with the cocket
of "de Sorham" (Cheal
p.99-100). Duties were collected on wool and hides. The 14th century
wool smugglers became known as "owlers".
1295 New
Schoreham was made a Borough.
(Borough:
incorporated town with special privileges or a district entitled to elect
a member of Parliament. The medieval English borough was an urban centre
identified by a charter granting privileges, autonomy.)
1295:
Richard de Beauchamp and Thomas Pontoyse are the first Members of
Parliament (until 1885) for New Schoreham.
More.
(Creation
of Boroughs 1265)
In 1296, 90 taxpayers resided in the town. Nova Shoram Brewes was also known as Hulkesmouth after the ships known as HULCS that were the main trading vessels in European seas during Medieval times. Salt, beans, corn, wool and woollen goods are likely to have been important exports at this time. With the British population and agriculture expanding, Shoreham enjoyed prosperous times.
13th Century
Borough Seal of New Shoreham
The writing includes the name Hulkesmouth.
The pattern design depicts a stylist representation of a hulc.
1305 King Edward I and Queen Margaret visited Shoreham.
(1306: harsh winter, 1315-1318 Famine occurred in Europe. Source.) (1318: Earthquake in England)
1316-22 Sir John de Mowbray founded a Carmelite Priory* in New Shoreham (see Cheal and 1348). (*Important in the medieval commercial world.)
1323
A
person called Lamb was a prominent wool merchant in Shoreham.
1327 Nails and
horseshoes exported from Shoreham, indicating the iron-working industry
was in operation in the forests of Sussex (Roughey, near Horsham).
The Hospital of St.
Katherine of Shoreham is known from this date.
1346 The
deeds show the Marlipins building (now a Museum)
sold by Stephen Must. It is described as a stone corner tenement called
'Malduppine' situated in the Otmarcat .....
The
initial estimate of the date of the building is estimated to be the late13th/early
14th century for most of the building. It status as the oldest secular
building in Britain is based not on its oldest component part but the the
oldest complete building still in its original form.
1347 Shoreham supplied 26 ships of war and 329 men for the siege of Calais during the reign of Edward III. In 1342, Shoreham provided 21 ships out of the total fleet numbering 347 vessels in the war with the French.
1348
A Carmelite Priory in Shoreham was in danger of being washed away by the
sea. (See 1493)
1350
Reconstructed
map, circa AD 1350. (Link to)
(During
the second half of the 14th century (from the winter of 1348-49),
a third of the population of Britain was killed by the Black Death or "plague?",
with port towns suffering as bad or worse than any place. I have not located
any records for Shoreham, but it is expected that the town suffered many
deaths, and a resultant downturn in the economy of the town. St. Botolphs
(a port) and Coombes on the west side of the River Adur north of Shoreham
suffered and their decline has never been rectified.
(Historical
note: 1381 Peasants Revolt, and the beginning of the end of Feudalism.)
During
the 14th century there are records of piracy off Shoreham, by both the
French and the English.
(Henry
Cheal: Story of Shoreham, pages 124 - 129).
1359 Sea walls at Pende (lost settlement next to the Shoreham) commissioned for repair. Ety: pynd. (2)
NB: End of 14th century and population now spoke Old English (previously French for the ruling classes.)
1400
Shoreham
is required by Henry IV to build one balinger (a ship) to protect against
privateers and piracy (from the French).
1404 Shoreham
suffered encroachment by the sea. (Cheal)
The shipbuilding centre
of La Pende disappeared from the records during this century.
(Pende is mentioned
as a harbour from 1250 to 1359 only, and in 1566 as a landing stage. Its
location is not known (but almost certainly the coastal land south of Mash
Barn Farm and at the west end of Widewater). In 1587, a lagoon at Lancing
was called Penhowse. This is likely to have been the present Widewater
Lagoon.)
1421 Another date
I have for flooding by the sea (from P. Brandon in "Sussex Downs")
New
research alters the original transcript.
1426 The last de Braose died (Bramber lands).
1477 Silting was preventing navigation under Bramber Bridge.
(1450
Historical note: Jack Cade's Kentish rebellion including thousands of peasants
from East Sussex in an uprising against Henry VI.
1485.
The Tudors come to power.)
1489
Procession
Street is described on the south of the Malapynnys.
(The Malapynnys is described as a cellar with a chamber or loft above it
in New Shoram and sold to a merchant of Suthampton.)
1493
Carmelite
Priory becomes uninhabitable because of the inroads from the sea. (see
1348)
The Friars move to Sele near Bramber.
1541 Erringham Farm (north of Shoreham) is a mixed arable and sheep farm.
1545 The French attack Hove, Aldrington and Shoreham. (Date and details need further investigation for accuracy?) Source.
1571 Ship building recorded in the town after a quiet period.
1584-5 Waghenaer's (Dutch: the first detailed atlas of charts of the coastlines of Western Europe.) chart "Spieghel der Zeevaerdt" of the English Channel shows Shoram, Brighthelmstone, Tarring.
By the earlier 16th century land was being reclaimed within the estuary. At Old Shoreham the riverside meadow called the Brooks in 1612 had been subject to tides until c. 1555. Natural silting and the process of inning gradually reduced the volume of tidal water that flowed through the opening to the sea, so that the flow was insufficient to counteract the tendency of wind and tide to deposit shingle and push the opening eastward. Already in 1587 the river met a broad shingle beach which caused it to turn sharply eastward round the southern side of New Shoreham town and find its way into the sea ½ mile east of the church. Source
1592, later chart
shows Shorehing, Bramber, Staning, Bramber, Terring, Lewes. (The
longshore
drift is not shown and the Adur estuary emerges
almost straight into the sea. cf. 1595 John Norden's map of Sussex
shows the longshore drift.)
1594 Another
chart by N. Lambert (a Catholic) commissioned by Philip II of Spain (not
seen yet).
1586 The greatest part of New Shoreham is ruined and under water.
(Although the residents
of Shoreham did not know at the time, theoretical highest range of tides
because of the alignment of the Moon and Sun in relation ship to the Earth
occurs only every 1600 years with the last maximum around the year 1600.
There were considerable floods all around the south coast of England and
in the Netherlands. NB: The tide heights were obtained and they were similar
to the end of the 20th century.)
(Also
the land in southern England is sinking at the rate of about 2 mm a year
[2 metres in a millennium] and there is is also a probable sea level rise
- information to be checked.)
(About this time, Brighthelmstone (Brighton) five miles to the east emerged in importance as the premier fishing port in this part of Sussex. Rebuilt after being burned down by the French.)
[St. Mary's Church: I have not got the precise date that the Nave fell down (the remnants may have been removed in the 18th century and used to repair the the remainder), but the downfall in the fortunes of Shoreham after the Black Death, and destruction of half of New Shoreham by the inroads of the sea, as well as other floods may have reduced the population to such an extent that there were enough workers to repair the church.)
(Spanish
Armada Threat)
(Beacons were erected
in 1587 at Lancing and Aldrington. The first Spanish Armada (of 130 ships)
was defeated in 1588 opening the world for trade and commerce for British
merchant vessels. The second Armada in 1597 was scattered by storms.)
1587 Record
(possibly the first) of the river being blocked by a shingle bank, deflecting
the river and entrance to the harbour eastwards .(Silting problems occurred
as far back as 1368).
In the late 16th
century, the area known as Ropetackle was first mentioned by name.
Rope and sails were made in the town.
1608 New Shoreham Market Charter.
1610
Speed's Map of Sussex (extract)
1612 Michael Drayton publishes Part I of Poly-olbion identifying the River Adur on his map
1622 A mud bank called Scurvy Bank was formed outside the harbour obstructing entrance. (This may be area now known as Adur Recreation Ground, as shown in a map of 1789. Another low tide bank called Mardyke was in the area of the present airfield.). This was the second record of the effects of the longshore drift that deflected the harbour entrance eastward. At one time the vessels entering the port would enter on the west side of this bank. However, this See 1724.
1622 Randall's important map of Shoreham.
1625-38 Shoreham was a very important port and shipbuilding centre. Ships were built in New Shoreham (near the current Norfolk Bridge). Nearby was the George Inn. 21 ships were built for Charles I. (At the start of the Civil War the English Navy had 82 vessels under sail).
1628 One
of ten small English warships built in 1628 originally for the Duke of
Buckingham.
Built by Robert Tranckmore of Shoreham. Went over to the Royalists after the fall of Bristol in 1643 and was recaptured by Parliament's forces in 1645. Was at Helvoetsluys with the Earl of Warwick's fleet in 1648 (see below) and was fitted out as a fireship for Blake's pursuit of Prince Rupert to Lisbon in 1650. She was used for convoy work and despatches during the first Dutch war. Sold "by the candle" (a form of auction- a pin is stuck in the side of a candle and the last bid made before the pin falls, wins) on 19 October 1654 to Jacob Blackpath for £410. (SP18.89)
1627-29 Shoreham
sea captains and ships were given "letters of marque" authorising them
to attack foreign ships, notably Dutch vessels, as privateers. One of these,
the successful Captain William Scras attacked at least 7 ships. He was
buried at St. Botolphs churchyard.
(The
Naval Discipline Act and the formation of the Navy brought about the end
of uncontrolled privateering, which sometimes turned to outright piracy.)
(Moors and other vessels captured slaves for the Barbary Coast slave trade
in the 16th and 17th centuries.)
1635-36 Charles
I did not align himself with the town folk of Shoreham by demanding the
unpopular ships tax of £20 and £10 annually.
1642 Skirmish
between the Roundheads and Royalists at Bramber
Village and Castle
Bramber
Castle was already partially in ruins at this time, although the Keep was
still standing.
(Bramber
Castle & Church 1636, drawing by John Dunstall of Chichester, at Leeds
Museum & Art Gallery)
Conjectural Map of the River Adur course in later medieval times (Link)
1651 Aferry
boat carried travellers from Old Shoreham to the Sussex Pad*. The ferry
service was unreliable and many travellers had to cross the river at the
Bramber bridge. The first mention of this ferry service is in the reign
of James I (1603-25) but it is likely that the ferry was in operation a
long time before this. (*Route of this ferry is queried?)
1671 A
timber wharf is at Kingston.
1671
John
Seller, The English Pilot (1671), the
second book, the first part, page 4, in summary:
Shoreham:
a tide haven, with 18 feet [on the bar at the mouth] at HWST, 3 feet at
LWST and LW common tides, 12 feet a HW common tides. The town is almost
a mile within the haven*.
Vessels drawing 8 to 9 feet can lie afloat at LW a little below the town,
but lie dry elsewhere. (At the
time of publication, this description may have already been out of date.)
[*This
would put the entrance at Silver Sands.]
1676
The population of Sussex is estimated at 79,824, adults 60,934.
| Town | 1603 | 1670 | 1676 | 1724 | 1811 | 1851 |
| Bramber | 242 | 108 | 102 | 95 | 130 | |
| Brighton | 3000 | 2800 | 12012 | 69673 | ||
| Chichester | 2129 | 1915 | 4030 | 6425 | 8662 | |
| Horsham | 879 | 1500 | 3102 | 3839 | 5947 | |
| Lewes | 931 | 973 | 1695 | 1071 | 6221 | 9533 |
| Rye | 743 | 900 | 901 | 2681 | 4592 | |
| Seaford | 303 | 1001 | 997 | |||
| Shoreham | 586 | 861 | 786 | 980 | 2868 | |
| Steyning | 365 | 450 | 641 | 1210 | 1464 | |
| Worthing | 261 | 300 | 2692 | 5970 |
1677 Repairs to St. Mary's Church New Shoreham. The nave was neglected, deteriorated, collapsed, ruined and eventually demolished between 1640 and 1715. (by Giles Standing)
1686 A Government
survey of inns and alehouses give an illustration of the town heirarchy
in West Sussex.
|
Towns
|
Guest Beds
|
Stabling
|
| Chichester |
84
|
221
|
| Horsham |
83
|
365
|
| Midhurst |
53
|
118
|
| Petworth |
45
|
122
|
| New Shoreham |
28
|
44
|
| Arundel |
26
|
50
|
| Steyning |
25
|
48
|
1695 Copperas
Gap at Fishersgate (due south of old Portslade) is used for the export
of Iron ore to London (this is the dip westwards from the eastern boundary
of nowadays Hove, where it would be the only way to get to the shore in
the 17th century).
Copperas
(notes)
1690-96 Seventeen Men-of-War built for the Royal Navy at Shoreham during these years. The vessels included the first HMS Shoreham, constructed in 1693, with a length of 82 ft. and supporting 32 guns. She was engaged in convoy duties.
1698
The
harbour entrance has shifted 2 miles east of St. Mary's, New Shoreham (near
the current Power Station). The
map
shows the natural entrance to be nearer Aldrington with the "Late Outlett"
at Copperas Gap, at modern day Portslade (west), which would be 4.25 miles
east of St. Mary (de Haura*) church, New Shoreham.
The Navy Board visits
Shoreham with a view of constructing an additional shipyard, but there
were problems getting the vessels out summed up as follows: "The
haven's mouth is a very dry barr upon the ebbs of spring tides, and the
outsea in foul weather throws up extraordinary quantities of beach in the
manner of small islands; and whether you go in or out, you meet with great
difficulties and hazard." (* suffix is modern)
Ships
of up to 300 tons are being built at Shoreham.
Dummer
and Wiltshaw's 1698 survey of harbours on the south coast, copies in British
Library, K Mar III, 67, and
Bodleian.
Dummer
1698 Map: The River of Shoreham and Levell between ye Hills
A mill is shown on Ropetackle
(southern end)
1690-1791 Many trading vessels avoided import duties during the 18th century, smuggling the contraband in at night. (In 1791, Revenue Officers seized contraband and transported it to the Customs House at Shoreham.)
AGreat Storm shattered the town of Shoreham
1703 A great storm
shattered the town of Shoreham. This major storm of 26 November caused
destruction on the English Channel coast of England killing over 8000 people
(Defoe).
"The
Market House at Shoreham was blown flat to the ground and the whole town
shattered."
Great
Storm Report
1713
Sussex
Map by Thos Kitchin
1724 The longshore drift had deflected the harbour entrance 3 miles to the east of New Shoreham.
1724 Bugden's Map of Sussex of this year showed two windmills on Mill Hill. Margary map included Erlingham Chalkpits.
Map
1724
The building of ships
resumed in Shoreham after the silting up of the harbour problems of 1698.
The first recorded warship was not listed until 1741. Merchant ships were
not recorded.
1753
The harbour entrance
is now nearly 3½ miles to the east at Fishersgate (south of Portslade)*.
This drift had to be rectified. See 1821. In 1760 an
attempt was made to cut a new harbour entrance#
but it soon failed.
(Navigation
note: 1762 John Harrison [from Yorkshire] proved his accurate chronometer
at sea to enable the determination of longitude with accuracy). (*1780,
entrance at Shoreham.)
1766
A
windmill is erected on (Wind) Mill Hill, on
the downs above Old Shoreham.
Image
and Extra Information
1780 Yeakell
& Gardner Map of Sussex
 |
 |
1782 A map of New Shoreham was published.
1772-75,
1776-80
(Captain) Henry
Roberts (from Shoreham) sailed with Captain
Cook on HMS Resolution, and witnessed the death of Captain Cook, killed
by natives in Hawaii in 1779.
More.
All Captain Cook's voyages were scientific expeditions to add to our knowledge of the earth. They depended for their success upon the precision and thoroughness with which the hydrographic work was carried out. They depended for success also upon the skill and competence with which the new charts were drawn. (Captain then a Mishipman?) Henry Roberts, then, played a vital part in those historic voyages, since it was his clever hand that made the maps. Roberts was not only a fine seaman, then, but a man of genius in a highly specialised field. His charts are very beautiful. They are also very accurate.
1781
The wooden bridge over the (said)
river at Old Shoreham was built, replacing a ferry. The evidence for the
date comes from an Act of Parliament. There does not appear to be any evidence
of any subsequent construction so it is probable that the same bridge remained
until 1916 when the bridge was rebuilt to its previous design, with just
a few minor modifications.
Water colour by T L Rowbothan (August 1867)
Up until 1970 it was the main A27 road for all traffic passing through Shoreham.
1782
A topographical drawing
by Grimm in the British Museum dated 1782 shows the rebuilt Buckingham
House and a row of Sweet Chestnut trees planted by the Colville Bridger,
Lord of Buckingham Manor (Information from Jim Hoare). The Bridger
Coat of Arms contained three Edible Crabs. In Henry Cheal’s book a line
drawing of the water colour is shown.
1785
1786
James Richards was convicted
at Sussex Lent assizes at East Grinstead for breaking into Shoreham Customs
House and stealing 14 casks of foreign spirits and one cask of foreign
gin. For this and another armed robbery the defendant was sentenced to
death reprieved to transportation to Australia.
1787 (George, the Prince Regent commissioned the Pavilion in the village of Brighthelmstone, already the most populous town in Sussex, thus assuring the emergence of nearby Brighton as a premier tourist resort. He was crowned as King George IV in 1820 and visited Brighton until 1827. From 1796 to 1815 England was at war with Napoleon and troops were stationed at Brighton. Sea bathing became important for Brighton as a tourist resort from about 1736. 1754, Richard Russell, the author of a treatise on the health benefits of seawater, settled in Brighton to put his theories into practice, initiating the vogue of sea bathing. In 1783, George, the Prince Regent first visited Brighton.)
1789
Act
of Parliament to maintain Shoreham Harbour
Development
of Shoreham Harbour (by Judith Middleton)
1791 Southdown
Sheep (improvement of the breed 1788) introduced to Erringham Farm, north
of Shoreham . By 1829, his flock attracted international attention because
of improved fleece and superior mutton. (ref: Peter Brandon, the
South Downs, 1998 pic). Later records
(mid-19th century) indicate the land was unsuitable for the sheep
and it was the Lancing Downs (Applesham Farm) that developed the local
sheep industry.
Southdown
Sheep (External site)
1792 A highway
robbery by a Shoreham man named Rook, an accomplice to Howell, on the mail
at the Goldstone Bottom resulted in the execution of the perpetrators by
hanging. The recovery of the bones from the gibbet by Rook's mother, inspired
Tennyson's poem 'Rizpah'
(written about 100 years later).
"Wailing, wailing,
wailing, the wind over land and sea ..."
Goldstone
Mail Robbery
1792 A ship with 50 refugees from France arrives at Shoreham. (French Revolution of 1789. France declared war on Prussia & Austria in 1792.)
1792 Update to the modern calendar with only 19 days in September.
Industrial Revolution begins
1792-3 Primary triangulation of Sussex for the trigonometrical survey to map Sussex. See 1813.
1794
Captain Henry
Roberts (from Shoreham) was promoted to Captain and whilst in command
of HMS Undaunted in the West Indies, he caught yellow fever and died in
1796.
(see earlier entry)
1801 The population of New Shoreham is 799. The population of Sussex is over 159,000.
1807 Turnpike
Road to Bramber and Steyning. 1822 Road to Brighton. 1826 Road from
Old Shoreham to Worthing.
1813
First
1 inch to the mile map of Sussex published. The surveys were done from
1805 to 1813.
1813 Thomas
Ellman (cousin of Southdown sheep farmer John
Ellman of Glynde) owned Buckingham Farm, Shoreham.
The Napoleonic Wars ended following Napoleon's final defeat at Waterloo on 18 June 1815
1816 Poverty
Year followed by a good harvest in 1817
| Shoreham
Harbour from the eastern bank by the famous landscape artist Joseph
Mallard William Turner.
The date of the painting is not known to me. It looks like his later style (1830s ?) emphasising light rather than form. Copperas Gap is likely to be the gap in the cliffs to the right. |
 |
1821
The permanent entrance to Shoreham Harbour was completed at its present
location. This was important because the longshore
drift of shingle had caused problems for centuries.
Development
of Shoreham Harbour (by Judith Middleton)
1822 August, the Shoreham Road commenced from Hove Street to Kingston.
In 1832, 1200 ships entered the port. An average of four vessels a year were built in Shoreham during this decade.
A regular Steam Packet
sailed to le Haura and Dieppe in France. A Custom House was constructed
in 1830. This building which became the Town Hall up to the 1980's is still
standing. (In 1847, nearby Newhaven started as the cross-channel port of
Sussex, and eventually took over.)
Norfolk
Bridge 1833 - 19221835 Map
1838 Swiss Gardens Amusement Park opened by James Britton Balley.
1840 Railway opened
to Brighton with stations
at Shoreham and Kingston. Single track. (Double track 1847, except for
the viaduct.)
1842 Shoreham
to Dieppe Boat Service (GNS Company) connecting with the train (Newhaven
did not have a rail connection until 1847).
By 1845 a line including a single track timber Trestle Bridge (designed by Rastrick) (replaced by current steel bridge in 1893) over the River Adur was opened. By 1844 trains went to London via Brighton in 2 hours 38 minutes (? time). By 1861 the branch line to Horsham was opened. From 1879 the direct line to London was opened through the Cliftonville spur and tunnel in Hove. Kingston railway station closed in 1879.
1845 First
records of a lifeboat at Shoreham. RNLI
Shoreham
Shoreham
Lifeboat History
1848 St Mary's Day School opened in Pond Road, Shoreham. (This school was the precursor to Lancing College and incorporated into it 1857.)
1851 Channel
Islands to Shoreham passenger ship "Ladybird" entering Shoreham Harbour.
From "Jersey Ships and
Railways" by the late John Jean, ISBN 0 8120 029 2 (limited edition;750)
page 65
"Mr H. P. Maples, an insurance and shipbroker based in Shoreham signed an agreement with the London Brighton and South Coast Railway in August of 1850 to begin service between Shoreham and Jersey. This was to be a regular service to connect with the train services of the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway. This route obviously required a sea passage and the vessel that started this run was the "Ladybird" in 1851; she was an iron screw steamer of 353 gross tons built by Denny of Dumbarton and launched early in that same year. A rather fine ship for the times with good accommodation for passengers and with screw propulsion which gave the "Ladybird" a speed of 11 knots. A fine clipper bow made a very good looking vessel indeed, as can be seen in a painting by Ouless, who portrayed so many Jersey and Mainland ships."
1854 Shoreham Regatta first held.
1855 The Canal, the eastern arm of Shoreham Harbour is opened from Southwick to Aldrington Basin.
William Lane, Swiss Gardens, Shoreham 1855 The first professional photographer in Shoreham.
1857 The Old Fort on the Shoreham Beach side of the Shoreham Harbour entrance is completed. It was inhabited until 1920.
1866 New Shoreham Urban District Council first minutes on behalf of the parish of New Shoreham, (Source documents not consulted.)
1867
Mill Hill: Watercolour painting by Robert Thome Waite RWS painted in 1867 and presented to the Marlipins Museum in honour of Henry Cheal in appreciation of his work.
1868 Work starts on Lancing College Chapel.
1869 The
height of the Oyster fishing industry, with a total fishing fleet of 295
boats employing 740 men and 89 boys. The oysters, which brought prosperity
to the whole town, were fished out, and by 1913 the fishing fleet had fallen
to 184 boats employing 397 men.
(Information disputed - under enquiry)
Oyster Smack
1870 The first Gas Works is opened in Shoreham Harbour.
1871 Of
the 161 sailing ships registered at Shoreham, 88 had been built there.
 |
Extrapolated from the 1871 Census |
1872 MV Shoreham is launched (probably not from Shoreham? but the first vessel of this name from Stephenson Clarke Shipping Limited line — the oldest British shipping company.)
1873 Map
1875 Map of the rape and innings of Bramber (Link)
1877 The
building of larger steam-driven vessels brought about the end of Shoreham
as a shipbuilding centre.
1879 First
Ordnance Survey Map of Shoreham (Link)
1880 Steam trams run from the Swiss Cottage Amusement Park to Hove. After the turn of the century the steam trams were replaced by horse-drawn vehicles and the tramway ceased altogether during World War I.
1882 Cement Works opened near Upper Beeding, 2 miles north of Old Shoreham (it closed in 1991). A Lime Pit was in existence in 1851 and much earlier.
1882 Map
1885 MAPS (SIDE BY SIDE)
1885 By the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885, Shoreham ceased to be represented by Members of Parliament, after 590 years, since 1295.
1889 Windmill on Mill Hill, north of Shoreham burned to the ground.
1893 Wooden railway viaduct replaced by the current steel viaduct
1896 St Mary du Haura Church clock in operartion.
Adur History Gallery
1901 The
population of New Shoreham is 3,837 (excluding Old Shoreham and Kingston).
Rise
in population 1831 - 1901
West
Sussex County C.C. Population Statistics: Forecast for 2001
1901-6 New workhouse and infirmary built at Southlands. (Source)
1906 The first Electric Power Station is opened in Shoreham Harbour.
A coaster ( a collier) entering the lock in Shoreham Harbour, 1910.
1908 - 1922
Military Camp at Slonk Hill
Military use of Slonk
Hill area as a camp began around 1908 and extended to at least 1922. Hut
construction began in late 1914 and hut removal was in 1919. The area was
used again during WW2 although no dates are shown in this document. Link
Shoreham
Camp
1910
Shoreham
acquired the suffix to its name and became known as Shoreham-by-Sea.
(The railway
station acquired this name in 1906.)
The urban district of New Shoreham, until then coextensive with New Shoreham
parish, was enlarged to include the 782 a. of Kingston by Sea, the 240
a. of Lancing parish that formed the shingle bank between Shoreham and
the sea, and 539 a. from Old Shoreham. The urban district, amounting to
1,695 a. including tidal water and foreshore, was renamed Shoreham-by-Sea.
1911 Shoreham
Airport
opened for flights, officially on 20 June 1911. The first flying school
opened in 1913.
(The first flight was
flown by Harold Plume Piffard on 18 September 1910, involving a mid-air
turn).
1913 Hydroplanes, built, demonstrated, repaired at Shoreham
1914 20,000 soldiers camped out on Slonk Hill, Shoreham. More info.
1915 No.
14
Squadron of the Royal
Flying Corps was formed on the 3 February 1915 at Shoreham
during World War I. The
first aircraft were Maurice
Farman S.11 and Royal
Aircraft Factory
B.E.2 biplanes.
History
of Shoreham Airport
1916 Toll Bridge rebuilt to the original 1781 design. (Pic.)
1921 Footbridge opened from the High Street to Shoreham Beach.
1922 Norfolk Bow String Girder Bridge opened
1925 Adur Recreation Ground is reclaimed from the river for use by the public.
1928 Marlipins opened as a Museum.
1931 Buckingham Park acquired by the Council.
1933 The
railway line from Brighton to Shoreham and West Worthing is electrified
with a third rail system still in use today. The line from Shoreham and
Brighton to London was also electrified.
The new larger Prince
George Lock opened in Shoreham Harbour.
1933 The remaining 1,387 a. of Old Shoreham, while remaining a separate parish, were added to to Shoreham-by-Sea urban district
1937
Shoreham
won the National Rowing Trophy.
724 acres of downland
(Mill Hill) acquired by Shoreham UDC from the
Bridger Estate.
1938 The
downland is presented to the people of Shoreham to prevent unneeded housing
on the downs. Supported by the Downs Preservation Society. Ref.
1936 Shoreham Airport's art deco terminal built
Passenger air services in operation from Shoreham Airport to the Isle of Wight (DH Dragon Rapide), Jersey, Birmingham and Liverpool. The railway station serving the airport was originally called Bungalow Town Halt (opened 1910), but renamed Shoreham Airport Station (in 1935), the first station to serve an airport in England, in 1930. (Gatwick Airport railway station acquired its name in 1958, previously serving a racecourse.) The railway line is electrified as far west as Portsmouth.
Hawker Hart over the
River Adur on a training flight in 1938
Glass
plate photograph by Peter Trounce,
(Toronto)
The series by Alan Upton
in the Shoreham Herald (spring-
summer 2000) about Shoreham the early 20th century is recommended.
1938 Demolition at both ends of the High Street for road widening
Modern History
Post World War II to be compiled
Picture of the Shoreham Harbour canal and Southwick after World War II
1953 Coronation
Green constructed
1958 James Taylor Shipbuilders went into Receivership (now the Surry Yard east of the Sussex Yacht Club) and Watercraft opened. (Information from Roy Thorp)
1964 Horsham
steam passenger trains ceased 3 May 1964
1966 (6 March) Railway
branch line to Horsham axed, although the line to the Cement Works remained
in operation for freight traffic. The freight sidings to the wharf at Kingston
(River Adur in Shoreham boundaries) closed in 1968, the sidings
at Shoreham-by-Sea station in 1965. (More)
Shoreham
Railway Station page (wiki)
1970 Adur Flyover
opens in July
1973 Police
station moves from Tarmount Lane to Ham Road
1974 Adur District
Council formed, combining previous urban district councils
1974, under the Local Government Act, 1972, the civil parishes of Shoreham-by-Sea,
Old Shoreham, Kingston by Sea, and Southwick became obsolete, and the urban
districts of Shoreham-by-Sea and Southwick were amalgamated with parishes
west of the river to form Adur district
1979-80 New Civic Centre built in Ham Road
1991 Shoreham Cement Works ceases operation
1996
Reg Leggett died on 31 December
1996 and he will remembered for his initatives in the preservation of historic
buildings and successful prevention of numerous schemes that would have
totally wrecked the character of Shoreham. These development schemes included
the 1969 Saltings Bridge development that would have sacrificed New Shoreham
to traffic. The creation of the Shoreham by-pass was the result of his
strenuous efforts and this scheme protected Old Shoreham and proved a far-sighted
view. Reg Leggett founded the Shoreham Historic Trust and Shoreham Preservation
Society (now superseded by the Shoreham
Society). This Shoreham-by-Sea Web Site
commenced the following day.
Bridges
of Shoreham (with dates)
Page compiled by Andy Horton
References
include the list of Books
on the Adur Valley (Web Page Link).
A lot of the material
comes from original research.
Victorian History of Old and New Shoreham
Economic History of Old and New Shoreham
Historic Shoreham and the Adur Valley on facebook
SUSSEXPAST Sussex Archaeological Society EGroup
History
of Mill Hill
History
of Lancing (Ray Hamblett)
Shoreham
Homepage
Fishing
at Shoreham
| Adur Valley |
|
|
Links to Local History web pages for the Adur Valley:
Shoreham
Fort (by Gary Baines)
References:
Victorian History
of Sussex
Rape
of Bramber
Terraced
Lynchet: see "The South Downs" by Peter Brandon 1998, p. 41. (pic)
Cymenes
ora:
this site has not been identified and it has variously suggested that the
locations were either Selsey Bill or somewhere near Seaford, without any
evidence to support this claim. öra
is a Roman/Saxon word that could be the equivalent to shore or a landing
place for vessels. (see Toponymy). A better
claim from toponymic study (if you accept that the name of Lancing originated
from Wlencing [one of the sons of Aella] ) is that location
was between Littlehampton and Shoreham. The Saxons had a hierarchic system
where the Father of his sons would allocate them a tract of land.
Revised:
Later research indicates that near Selsey has the best claim to be the
landing place. Secondly, I cannot see how Lancing originated from Wlenca.
Furthermore, öra meaning a landing
place for boats is also in considerable doubt. Under investigation.
Cumenshore
file (later research)
Mearc
redes burna:
this site has not been identified, but Mearc has been identified
on the toponymic study of Lewisham, SE London, as meaning boundary, andburna
is
a Saxon? word meaning stream (or river). However, the linguistic experts
dismiss this and suggest the suffix Mearcred.
My
first choice is now for a location on the River Arun, perhaps near Burpham.
It must be remembered
that the coast was very different from now with many inlets of the sea
notably at Broadwater, (Worthing), and salt marshes. The River
Adur was a wide inlet and probably only fordable at low tide north
of Bramber (Stretham?). Old Shoreham was possibly? not known until two
or three centuries later, and would must likely to have been constructed
around the present St. Nicolas Church.
St. Botolphs (church
on the west side of the River Adur) on the Coombes road from Shoreham Airport
to Steyning was known from Saxon times. It was probably a harbour at one
time.
de Sancto Botulpho 1288
ingas:
this is a Saxon place name/word which is generally accepted to mean "groups
of people" and was originally thought to be indicative of the early Saxon
settlers. However, this theory is not shared by all Saxon historians, presumably
because this theory was based on the questionable evidence of the Anglo-Saxon
Chronicle, and they preferred the more reliable evidence of burial finds
(from studies in Sussex). They think the suffix tun
is earlier.
Further
research (28/02/01) seems to indicate that ing suffixes were 7th
century settlements. The importance of tun is unclear. to
me.
My tendency is accept
that these place names are indicative of early Saxon settlers. (see the
note
below).
e.g. Patching, Lancing,
Worthing, Goring, Ferring, Angmering, Sompting, Climping#, Tarring, Upper
Beeding#, Poling, Annington (near Botolphs, and originally Anningdun).
Also Bidlington (lost,
near Bramber).
High Salvington, Offington,
Torrington, Durrington, Rustington, Sullington,
Erringham# (Erringham
is just north of Mill Hill),
are all in the small
area (#or just outside) between the rivers Adur (Shoreham) and Arun, formerly
Tarrant {Tarente c.725} (Littlehampton).
Other names in this
are of Sussex slightly further afield are:
Steyning, Fulking, Ditchling,
Wappingthorn, Winding, Hollingbury, Tottington,
West Chiltington, West
Blatchington, Storrington, Washington, Aldrington, Ashington.
Ovingdean, Rottingdean,
Woodingdean.
plus many more (about
19) in Sussex including Birling Gap, West Wittering, Billingshurst, Hastings.
Other smaller names
in Sussex:
Buddington, Warmingshurst,
Atherington, Pallington, Poling, Bailinghill.
Other places well out
of the area:
Reading, Barking, Tooting.
Birmingham, Nottingham,
Gillingham.
The suffix ham in
the latter three names may mean homestead from the OE word ham.
Other early place names
thought to be Saxon: Heene, Pende (pynd = enclosure or impounded
water), Coombes (Cumbhaema gemære 956). gemære
=
boundary.
Other local place names
thought to be Roman: Southwick, Portslade.
(These
could be Latin names incorporated into the Germanic languages before they
arrived in Britain?)
pynding, e ; f. A dam :- Ðæt wæter, ðonne hit biþ gepynd, hit miclaþ . . . ac gif sió pynding wierð onpennad, ðonne tófléwþ hit eall, Past. 38, 6; Swt. 277, 8. Source.
Earlier assumptions about the chronological implications of OE _-ingas_ names were analysed and rejected by John Dodgson in a series of articles in the 1960s. I will happily provide full references, but it's easier to begin with one of the two excellent (and readily available) accounts provided by Margaret Gelling:
(1) "Signposts to the past: place-names and the history of England", 1978 (2nd ed. 1988): see especially chapter 5 which is devoted to the question of chronology.
(2) "Towards a chronology for English place-names", in "Anglo-Saxon settlements" (ed. Della Hooke), 1988: a classic essay.
Both
accounts deal also with work on OE _ha:m_ and _tu:n_. Hope this is a help,
Paul
Cullen
See
also Addenda to Chapter 5 Chronology of English Place Names in Signposts
to the Past by Margaret Gelling, 2nd ed. 1988.
About
100 million years ago Sussex was covered by a warm sea. Sedimentary deposits
of coccoliths (microscopic plankton with a calcium carbonate shell) laid
down the chalk which is the rock of the South Downs of south-east England.
The flint probably formed from the dissolved remains of ancient sponge
siliceous spicules and was deposited at a later date into gaps and beds
in the chalk when the silica then solidified. When the friable chalk was
eroded the flint remained, subsequently rounded into spherical and ovoid
pebbles by the action of the waves grinding the pebbles against each other.
*Reference for glacial years: "The Shell Bird Book" pages 22-23 by James Fisher (Ebury Press & Michael Joseph 1966) SBN 7181 5008 2
# West
of its current location, according to Tarrant (to be checked)
*
The
main area of early Saxon occupation is arguably near Seaford and Pevensey
15 -20 miles to the east. I have not really found any reason why this should
be the location, and most of the evidence I can find points to the main
occupation being between the Adur and the Arun.
Wednesday
15 October 1651, 3 days before the Full Moon.
Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 314: 
11:  18:
26:  |
AnHistorical
Atlas of Sussex
edited
by Kim Leslie & Bryan Short
(Philimore
1999)
ISBN
1 86077 112 2
in British history, a
nonparliamentary tax first levied in medieval times by the English crown
on coastal cities and counties for naval defence in time of war. It required
those being taxed to furnish a certain number of warships or to pay the
ships' equivalent in money. Its revival and its enforcement as a general
tax by Charles I aroused widespread opposition and added to the discontent
leading to the English Civil Wars.
Look
out for
Russell,
M., TheNeolithic flint mines
of Sussex: Excavations by John H Pull at Blackpatch, Church Hill, Tolmere
and Cissbury, 1922-1956. Bournemouth University School of Conservation
Sciences Occasional paper 6. Oxbow. Oxford. 2000
I have not seen it yet.
Yes,
this is a separate book from Miles Russell 2000 Flint Mines
in Neolithic Britain. Tempus.
which
is a good, popular account with lots of pictures. He discusses the finds
made during excavations of the flint mines, including human body parts.
The
review to Anne Induni refers was written by Peter Topping, co-author of
the
English
Heritage book The Neolithic Flint Mines of England, 1999. (with
Martyn Barber and David Field). One of the strengths of this book is a
list of all the putative flint mine sites including the Sussex sites of
Windover Hill, Tolmere Pond (Findon), Slonk Hill, etc with reasons
why the authors do not think they are Neolithic flint mines. However they
do think that Nore Down, Compton, West Sussex, is likely to be a Neolithic
mine.
As
you would expect from RCHME, there are excellent plans, plus the results
of C14 dating programme.
Also, "The Flint Miners of Blackpatch" by J.H. Pull
Later
flint mines at Stoke Down (? date ?) and Nore Down (? Neolithic
?)
Ref: "An Archaeology of the Early Anglo Saxon Kingdoms" by C.J Arnold 1988 Routledge (second edition 1997).
Record
Control No.: E300036957
Author: Welch,
Martin G
Title:
Early
Anglo-Saxon Sussex Anglo-Saxon Sussex">. Parts 1 and 2
Sam Lucy's 'The Anglo-Saxon Way of Death' (Sutton, 2000) ISBN 075092103X
(Information
from:
Keith J Matthews )
BC Dates for Radiocarbon dating from flint mines in West Sussex (selected):
4310 - 3530 Blackpatch
4490 - 3810 Church
Hill
3900 - 3030 Cissbury
3780 - 2920 Cissbury
3910 - 3040 Cissbury
4040 - 3780 Cissbury
3460 - 3360 Cissbury
Fishbourne (west
of Arun)
Pulborough (north
of the South Downs)
Angmering
(between Arun and Adur)
Southwick
(between Adur and Ouse)
Eastbourne (east
of he Ouse)
Early Roman villas were more extensive in Sussex than other parts of Britain including Kent.
Other centre: Chichester
(Noviomagus)
477
Her
cuom Ælle on Bretenlond 7 his .iii. suna, Cymen 7 Wlencing 7 Cissa,
mid .iii. scipum on þa stowe þe is nemned Cymenesora, 7 þær
ofslogon monige Wealas 7 sume on fleame bedrifon on þone wudu þe
is genemned Andredesleage.
= 477. This year came Ælle to Britain, with his three sons, Cymen, and Wlencing, and Cissa, in three ships; landing at a place that is called Cymenesora. There they slew many of the Welsh (Wealas); and some in flight they drove into the wood that is named Andredesleage.
485
Her
Ælle gefeaht wiþ Walas neah Mearcrædesburnan stæðe.
=
485. This year Ælle fought with the Welsh (Walas) neah Mearcrædesburnan
stæðe.
(stæðe
= bank or land adjacent to a stream?)
491
Her
Ælle 7 Cissa ymbsæton Andredescester 7 ofslogon alle þa
þe þærinne eardedon; ne wearþ þær forþon
an Bret to lafe.
(NB: 7 = Tyronian ampersand = &)
=
490. This year Ælle and Cissa besieged the city of Andredescester,
and slew all that were therein; nor was one Briton left there afterwards.
The Third Century Crisis
period is marked by Emperors calling in the coins of their predecessors
and reissuing their own, every time with less silver, thus provoking constant
inflation, which was not tackled until Diocletian's Law on Maximum Prices
(which did not work, because he had to keep issuing it), and then properly
by Constantine, who moved to gold coinage.
Martin
Several
writers record barbarian raids which devastated the British provinces in
360 and 367 (Ammianus Marcellinus 20.1 and 27.8), 382 and 408 (Gallic Chronicle
of 452). The situation was made worse by the withdrawal of troops from
Britain by Magnus Maximus in 383, Stilicho in 402, and Constantine III
in 407, all of which were the results of political and military turmoil
on the Continent. The Roman civil and military administration in Britain
took matters in its own hands, electing three successive "tyrants"--Marcus,
Gratian, and Constantine--in 406, a traumatic year which ended with barbarians
(Alans, Sueves, and Vandals) swarming across the frozen Rhine.
[Extract:
please go to the web
page for the full information]
Copyright
© 1996, Chris Snyder.
Comments
to: Chris Snyder
It
was around about this time that hay meadows
were introduced as a farming practice for the cold climate of Sussex and
Britain so that the domestic animals could be fed over winter. This would
be presumably have both allowed a greater population and encouraged a greater
removal of woodland cover. This would have been an important factor in
the success of the economy.
Source:
Freeman Dyson - Infinite in All Directions, Harper and Row, New York, 1988,
p 135.
I
am having doubts about this theory almost immediately after it was included.
If the Romans harvested grain, surely they could harvest and store grass/hay?
Doubts
turned into scepticism. I expect domestic animals were fed fodder and scraps
and hay harvested from an early date. Maybe, it was not Roman practice
to do this? But did they feed their military animals grain?
The
Romans used hay meadows without a shadow of doubt, so the original hypothesis
was based on an inaccurate premise:
"Cut
hay in season, and be careful not to wait too long. Harvest before the
seed
ripens, and store the best hay by itself for the oxen to eat during the
spring
ploughing, before you feed clover."
Varro
(116-17 BCE), in his 'Rerum Rusticarum' mentions hay (I.xxxi.4): "All
fodder
crops should be cut [between the rising of the Pleiades and the
summer
solstice], first clover, mixed fodder, and vetch, and last hay." and
again
(II.vii.7) for horses: "The breeding stud of horses is best fed in
meadows
on grass, and in stalls and enclosures on dry hay...".
Our
most exhaustive primary source on Roman agriculture and husbandry,
Columella
(c. 70 CE) mentions hay in 'De Re Rustica' (II.xvii.6) as a matter
of
course in all meadows, in XI.ii.40 he suggests that the rising of the
Pleiades
during the second week of May is a good time for the hay-harvest,
and
goes on to tell you how much by area and weight a good reaper can cut in
a
day. In XI.ii.99-100 he expounds on the amounts and proportions of
different
kinds of fodder to give oxen during different months.
I've
just looked hay up in my dictionary, and see that Horace (65-8 BCE)
says
'fenum habet in cornu' ('he has hay on his horns'), meaning a beast (or
a
man, for that matter) is dangerous.
SHOREHAM,32.
5th rate (1694 Shoreham. 1744 sold)
1720
rebuilt at Woolwich as 20 gun 5th rate.
1731
Lieut. Thomas GRIFFIN promoted to SHOREHAM as captain on 1st April. 1739
Cdr. H. Edward BOSCAWEN. Jamaica.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SHOREHAM
PRIZE,12. sloop (1709 captured. 1712 sold)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SHOREHAM
PRIZE, sloop (1746 captured. 1747 lost)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SHOREHAM,24.
6th rate (1744 Hull. 1758 sold)
http://www.cronab.demon.co.uk/18s.HTM
Fox fur clothing, from Lindlow Man c. AD 410 -560
[App. the regional (south-eastern
and East Anglian) reflex of an Old English (i-mutated) by-form of POUND
n.2 Compare Middle Low German pend pond (one isolated attestation in a
15th-cent. translation of an Old Frisian document). Compare PEND v.3, and
also PENT n.1
Attested earlier
in place names and surnames (variously in senses ‘enclosure’, ‘harbour’,
and ‘pond’), e.g. (in place names) Frodeshammespend (811; Kent, now lost;
also Flothamespynd (a1200 in a later version of the same 9th-cent. charter)),
Pende (c1250; with reference to an old harbour on the Sussex coast, whose
name survives in the nearby Pen Hill, Sussex), la Pende (1259; now Pendell
Court, Surrey), Westpende (a1272; with reference to the mill-pond at West
Mill, Southover, Sussex); and (in surnames from Sussex, Surrey, and Hertfordshire)
Sim. de la Pende (1261), Ralph de la Pende (1294), etc.
OED
