Findon Valley is a neighbourhood of the Borough

Borough

A borough is an administrative division in various countries. In principle, the term borough designates a self-governing township although, in practice, official use of the term varies widely....

 of Worthing

Worthing

Worthing is a large seaside town with borough status in West Sussex, within the historic County of Sussex, forming part of the Brighton/Worthing/Littlehampton conurbation. It is situated at the foot of the South Downs, west of Brighton, and east of the county town of Chichester...

 in West Sussex

West Sussex

West Sussex is a county in the south of England, bordering onto East Sussex , Hampshire and Surrey. The county of Sussex has been divided into East and West since the 12th century, and obtained separate county councils in 1888, but it remained a single ceremonial county until 1974 and the coming...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. It lies on the A24

A24 road (Great Britain)

The A24 is a major road in England. It runs south from Clapham in southwest London through Morden before entering Surrey and heading through Ewell, Epsom, Ashtead, Leatherhead and Dorking...

 road 2.9 miles (4.7 km) north of the town centre.

The settlement of Findon Valley is named after the dry valley through the South Downs

South Downs

The South Downs is a range of chalk hills that extends for about across the south-eastern coastal counties of England from the Itchen Valley of Hampshire in the west to Beachy Head, near Eastbourne, East Sussex, in the east. It is bounded on its northern side by a steep escarpment, from whose...

 on which it lies. Like other dry downland

Downland

A downland is an area of open chalk hills. This term is especially used to describe the chalk countryside in southern England. Areas of downland are often referred to as Downs....

 valleys, Findon Valley was created during the last ice age

Ice age

An ice age or, more precisely, glacial age, is a generic geological period of long-term reduction in the temperature of the Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental ice sheets, polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers...

 when chalk that was being frozen prevented water from seaping downwards through the chalk. In summer, streams of melting ice would flow down off the Weald

Weald

The Weald is the name given to an area in South East England situated between the parallel chalk escarpments of the North and the South Downs. It should be regarded as three separate parts: the sandstone "High Weald" in the centre; the clay "Low Weald" periphery; and the Greensand Ridge which...

 across the Downs, creating the dry valleys such as Findon Valley.

The settlement of Findon Valley is bordered to the west and east by land in the South Downs National Park

South Downs National Park

The South Downs National Park is England's newest National Park, having become fully operational on 1 April 2011. The park, covering an area of in southern England, stretches for from Winchester in the west to Eastbourne in the east through the counties of Hampshire, West Sussex and East Sussex...

. To the west, it is bordered by parkland and downland known as 'the Gallops' and to the east by the steep slopes of Mount Carvey and the prehistoric site of Cissbury

Cissbury

Cissbury is the name of a prehistoric site near the village of Findon around 5 miles north of Worthing in the English county of West Sussex. The site is managed by the National Trust....

. It is separated from the village of Findon

Findon

Findon is a village and civil parish in the Arun District of West Sussex, England, four miles north of Worthing. The parish has an area of 16.41 km² and a population of 1848 persons ....

  by a strategic gap - also part of the South Downs National Park. Findon Valley was built from the 1930s to 1950s, with its library having been built in 1958. It is also home to the Vale School, All Saints Parish Church, Findon Valley Free Church and a parade of shops.

Notable former residents of Findon Valley include the composer Charles Williams

Charles Williams (composer)

Charles Williams was a British composer and conductor, contributing music to over 50 films...

. Also, Rose Setten

Rose Setten

Rose Setten is the 2004 winner of BBC Young Choirgirl of the Year. Setten's achievement was particularly noteworthy because at the time she was head chorister at a small provincial parish with limited resources, All Saints Church in Findon Valley, and was competing against professional choristers...

, winner in 2004 of BBC Young Choirgirl of the Year, was formerly head chorister of All Saints Church.