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This selection of articles and extracts will grow as our web
site develops.
We hope you will come back again to see
what's new.
A Very Special Day
Sunday, April 6, 2008 |
 This day in Steyning was not an historic day, yet nobody will forget it.
In some parts of the world it would seem like a miracle and in others all
too ordinary. Living near the Sussex coast, we thought it was very
special and children literally screamed with joy. How long might it be
before we see this again? View our picture gallery to find out exactly what
did happen on Sunday, April 6, 2008. |
The Market-Houses of Steyning
By
Janet Pennington
 Steyning
is an ancient market town, but where was the medieval market-house?
Surely Steyning had one. Local historians have long failed to identify
a medieval market-house in Steyning and there has been some confusion
about the Old Market House in the High Street, with the famous clock
above it. Janet Pennington set herself the task of finding a solution.
This article was first published in the Sussex Archaeological
Collections.
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Steyning:
Pretty as a Picture
But
does the old place still look the same?
 Steyning
has attracted visitors since Saxon pilgrims first flocked to
Saint
Cuthman's shrine. In more recent times, the best loved Steyning scenes
have been preserved in pictures and postcards. They give a visitor's
view of our old medieval town and perhaps an answer to the question,
"Does the old place still look the same?" |
Charles
Stewart Parnell and Katherine O'Shea
Married
at Steyning on June 25th, 1891
 A
selection of views and reports. If you believe the Profumo Affair was the
greatest political scandal, think again. The repercussions of Charles
Parnell's affair with 'Kitty' O'Shea are still with us today.
Parnell almost achieved Irish Home Rule but when his
relationship with a married woman hit the headlines, the cause was
lost. Steyning was the venue for the couple's eventual marriage and, to
modern
eyes, the high point of their tragic romance.
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Steyning: The
Confessor's Gift and the Conqueror's Oath
By Lynda Denyer
 In 1066
William the Conqueror took a knife and used it to make a solemn oath.
He swore to grant Steyning in Sussex to a powerful Norman abbey but,
strange to say, this was before he crossed the sea
to fight the
battle of Hastings. Edward the Confessor had tried and failed to
establish Norman monks at Steyning. King Harold was determined to keep
them out. In this tale of royal saints and sinners, how did Steyning
feature in the issue of "who should be King of England" |
Mr Potter of Bramber
By Tony Ketteman
 An article
about Potter's Museum in Bramber. Victorian visitors loved Mr Potter's
stuffed animal curiosities and tableaux. Children who saw the
four-legged chicken and the two-headed lamb, right up until the 1970s,
never forgot them. The collection, including "The Original Death and
Burial of Cock Robin", eventually moved to Jamaica Inn, Cornwall but in
2003 it was broken into lots and auctioned. A few items were purchased
by Steyning Museum.
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Steyning Grammar School: The Church Street
Buildings
By J M Sleight
 The
Introduction to the booklet "Schooldays Remembered", on sale at
Steyning Museum. Brotherhood Hall is a 15th century building which
became a school for boys by 1584, when Elizabeth I was on the
throne. This is the story of how the school overcame failure and the
building survived neglect to become a remarkable part of today's
secondary school facilities. |
Sussex
by the Sea: A Walk Down the Adur Valley
With S P B Mais
 An extract
from a BBC Radio "Regional Programme" broadcast on October 10, 1938.
The full transcript is available in Steyning Museum library.
The transcript gives a
delightful insight into the rural economy and local traditions just
before the Second World War, with many memories from the previous
century. Everyone agrees, life has changed since the War but little
could they know how completely another war was about to transform their
world. |
The
Downs Above Steyning: Prehistory
Based on Steyning Museum Publications
 A summary of local
evidence for
Neolithic to Iron Age people on the
Downs, with linked pages and diagrams. The Romans conquered Britian
nearly two thousand years ago and ended the period we call
"prehistory". The chalk downland above Steyning has some fascinating
clues about human activity before the Romans arrived. Mysterious
monuments and features up to six thousand years old have been excavated
and some of their secrets have been revealed. |
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