Steyning

Steyning is a small West Sussex town on the South Downs in the Adur valley approximately 4 miles north of Shoreham-by-Sea. In Steyning, there is access to a variety of facilities. These include 4 public houses, 4 estate agents and 4 banks. Furthermore, there is a state-of-the-art leisure centre, which was built with National Lottery funding.

Steyning is also home to a succesful amateur football club, Steyning FC, who are climbing ever higher. Although mainly composed of local villagers, there is the odd ex-professional involved. That said, the star of the team is a local boy, Mark Watkins, currently 19.

History of Steyning

Steyning has existed since at least Anglo-Saxon times. King Alfred the Great's father, Ethelwulf of Wessex, was buried there in the church of St Cuthman, before being transferred to Winchester.

Edward the Confessor granted Steyning to the abbot and convent of Fécamp, who retained control until the 15th century. The Abbey of Fécamp re-dedicated the church of St Cuthman to St Andrew in the 13th Century.

According to the Domesday Book, by 1086 Steyning was a thriving port. It had a market, a mint and two churches. However, in the 14th century, the river began to silt up and the town began to decay.

Later, Steyning was a rotten borough, returning two MPs from 1278 until it was disfranchised by the Reform Act of 1832.

In 1614, William Holland, Alderman of Chichester founded and endowed Steyning Grammar School.

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