Rustington
Encyclopedia
Rustington is a seaside resort
and civil parish
near Littlehampton
in West Sussex
. Rustington is centrally situated on the West Sussex coast almost midway between the cathedral city of Chichester
and Brighton
. For local government purposes, it forms part of the Arun
district of the administrative county
of West Sussex. Officially a village
with its own parish council, Rustington is larger than this implies. The A259
runs through the north of the village, westward to Littlehampton
, Bognor Regis
and Chichester, and east to Worthing
and Brighton.
It has expanded considerably in the last few years , with extensive new housing developments, which have altered its original character. With a population of 12,676 in 2001, it has the size and facilities of a small town, including a shopping area with several chain store
s. It is in the Worthing West
parliamentary constituency and its current MP
is Peter Bottomley
. It is served by Angmering
railway station. The parish of Rustington includes the hamlet
of West Preston.
There is a village information centre at the Churchill Parade car park.
Rustington competes annually in the South-East in Bloom competition. It holds an annual carnival
and fete in August and at Christmas has a village carol concert which is free for local residents and features local school children accompanied by the Littlehampton Concert Band.
The local non-league football team, Rustington F.C., went through the entire calendar year of 2006 without losing a single match, earning them a mention on Sky Sports News
on New Year's Eve.
Rustington achieved national fame in 1956 with the launch of Flanders and Swann
's show At the Drop of a Hat
, in which the Gnu
Song contains the lines:
Rustington was home to an American World War I
air base. No longer in existence, this was formerly sited to the east of the high street.
Rustington has its own museum, containing local exhibits and a coffee shop, housed in an 18th century thatched
house recently converted for the purpose.
Located just off the high street is a small courtyard of shops called Churchill Court. On display in the high street is a large Late Ice Age
erratic boulder; this was brought to Rustington on the sea ice during the last Ice Age. It was discovered in a local field (Stonefield) and was used as a boundary marker for many years. Rustington also has a retail park located on the A259 road.
with Angmering and East Preston. Links to Brighton and Portsmouth are provided by the 700 Coastliner bus.
Record 1 - set on 7 September 1946, by Group Captain Teddy Donaldson, flying a Gloster Meteor Star. Donaldson also became the first man to break the 1,000 km/h barrier.
Record 2 - set on 7 September 1953, by Squadron Leader Neville Duke, flying Hawker Hunter
WB188, at a speed of 1170.9 km/h.
To celebrate, on 7 September 1996, Neville Duke returned to Rustington to unveil a plaque, marking the event. He was joined by a Gloster Meteor and a Hawker Hunter, which flew over Rustington sea front.
Seaside resort
A seaside resort is a resort, or resort town, located on the coast. Where a beach is the primary focus for tourists, it may be called a beach resort.- Overview :...
and civil parish
Civil parish
In England, a civil parish is a territorial designation and, where they are found, the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties...
near Littlehampton
Littlehampton
Littlehampton is a seaside resort town and civil parish in the Arun District of West Sussex, England, on the east bank at the mouth of the River Arun. It lies south southwest of London, 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...
. Rustington is centrally situated on the West Sussex coast almost midway between the cathedral city of Chichester
Chichester
Chichester is a cathedral city in West Sussex, within the historic County of Sussex, South-East England. It has a long history as a settlement; its Roman past and its subsequent importance in Anglo-Saxon times are only its beginnings...
and Brighton
Brighton
Brighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain...
. For local government purposes, it forms part of the Arun
Arun
Arun is a local government district in West Sussex, England. It contains the towns of Arundel, Bognor Regis and Littlehampton, and takes its name from the River Arun, which runs through the centre of the district.-History:...
district of the administrative county
Administrative county
An administrative county was an administrative division in England and Wales and Ireland used for the purposes of local government. They are now abolished, although in Northern Ireland their former areas are used as the basis for lieutenancy....
of West Sussex. Officially a village
Village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...
with its own parish council, Rustington is larger than this implies. The A259
A259 road
The A259 is a busy road on the south coast of England passing through Hampshire, West Sussex, East Sussex and part of Kent. Part of the road was named "the most dangerous road in South East England" in 2008.-Description:...
runs through the north of the village, westward to Littlehampton
Littlehampton
Littlehampton is a seaside resort town and civil parish in the Arun District of West Sussex, England, on the east bank at the mouth of the River Arun. It lies south southwest of London, west of Brighton and east of the county town of Chichester....
, Bognor Regis
Bognor Regis
Bognor Regis is a seaside resort town and civil parish in the Arun district of West Sussex, on the south coast of England. It is south-south-west of London, west of Brighton, and south-east of the city of Chichester. Other nearby towns include Littlehampton east-north-east and Selsey to the...
and Chichester, and east to 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...
and Brighton.
It has expanded considerably in the last few years , with extensive new housing developments, which have altered its original character. With a population of 12,676 in 2001, it has the size and facilities of a small town, including a shopping area with several chain store
Chain store
Chain stores are retail outlets that share a brand and central management, and usually have standardized business methods and practices. These characteristics also apply to chain restaurants and some service-oriented chain businesses. In retail, dining and many service categories, chain businesses...
s. It is in the Worthing West
Worthing West
Worthing West is a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election.-Boundaries:...
parliamentary constituency and its current MP
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
is Peter Bottomley
Peter Bottomley
Sir Peter James Bottomley is a British Conservative Party politician. He is the Member of Parliament for Worthing West...
. It is served by Angmering
Angmering
Angmering is a large village and civil parish between Littlehampton and Worthing in West Sussex, England. It is located approximately two miles north of the English Channel; Worthing and Littlehampton are about four miles to the east and west respectively.Angmering railway station is miles away...
railway station. The parish of Rustington includes the hamlet
Hamlet (place)
A hamlet is usually a rural settlement which is too small to be considered a village, though sometimes the word is used for a different sort of community. Historically, when a hamlet became large enough to justify building a church, it was then classified as a village...
of West Preston.
The village
Rustington contains a conservation area which extends from the south end of North Lane to the Lamb Public House in The Street. This area, whose trees are protected, has the largest number of historic buildings in the area (many listed Grade II), with The Street and surrounding roads containing among the finest 17th and 18th century Sussex flint cottages in West Sussex, some thatched.There is a village information centre at the Churchill Parade car park.
Rustington competes annually in the South-East in Bloom competition. It holds an annual carnival
Carnival
Carnaval is a festive season which occurs immediately before Lent; the main events are usually during February. Carnaval typically involves a public celebration or parade combining some elements of a circus, mask and public street party...
and fete in August and at Christmas has a village carol concert which is free for local residents and features local school children accompanied by the Littlehampton Concert Band.
The local non-league football team, Rustington F.C., went through the entire calendar year of 2006 without losing a single match, earning them a mention on Sky Sports News
Sky Sports News
Sky Sports News is a 24-hour sports news channel in the United Kingdom. It is run by BSkyB whose sports channels include Sky Sports 1, 2, 3 and 4, as well as Sky Sports HD1, HD2, HD3 and HD4....
on New Year's Eve.
Rustington achieved national fame in 1956 with the launch of Flanders and Swann
Flanders and Swann
The British duo Flanders and Swann were the actor and singer Michael Flanders and the composer, pianist and linguist Donald Swann , who collaborated in writing and performing comic songs....
's show At the Drop of a Hat
At the Drop of a Hat
At the Drop of a Hat is a musical revue by Flanders and Swann, described by them as "An After-Dinner Farrago". In the show, they both sang on a nearly bare stage, accompanied by Swann on the piano...
, in which the Gnu
The Gnu
"The Gnu" is a humorous song about a talking gnu by Flanders and Swann.The word gnu is consistently pronounced with two syllables as "g-noo", with the g clearly enunciated, and the n unpalatalised...
Song contains the lines:
- I had taken furnished lodgings down at Rustington-on-Sea
- Whence I travelled on to...(Ashton-under-Lyne it was actually)...
Rustington was home to an American World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
air base. No longer in existence, this was formerly sited to the east of the high street.
Rustington has its own museum, containing local exhibits and a coffee shop, housed in an 18th century thatched
Thatching
Thatching is the craft of building a roof with dry vegetation such as straw, water reed, sedge , rushes, or heather, layering the vegetation so as to shed water away from the inner roof. It is a very old roofing method and has been used in both tropical and temperate climates...
house recently converted for the purpose.
Shopping facilities
Rustington's shopping facilities have increased over the last few years and there are various independent retailers including butchers, greengrocers and bakers as well as a number of quality multiple retailers. It has all the major banks and a post office serving a population of 40,000.Located just off the high street is a small courtyard of shops called Churchill Court. On display in the high street is a large Late 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...
erratic boulder; this was brought to Rustington on the sea ice during the last Ice Age. It was discovered in a local field (Stonefield) and was used as a boundary marker for many years. Rustington also has a retail park located on the A259 road.
Transport
Rustington shares Angmering railway stationAngmering railway station
Angmering is a railway station on the West Coastway Line, situated on the border of Angmering and East Preston in the district of Arun. It was opened in 1846. The station itself is situated about 3/4 of a mile away from the centre of Angmering village, and approx 150 metres south of the A259...
with Angmering and East Preston. Links to Brighton and Portsmouth are provided by the 700 Coastliner bus.
The Rustington Event
The Rustington Event was held in 2006. It was a celebration of Christmas for the village. Shops stayed open late for Christmas shopping and a whole range of different Christmas food and entertainment was laid on. The following year, in 2007, adverse weather spoiled the event with many businesses deciding to close early due to lack of customers turning out and a number of events being cancelled. In 2008, due to lack of interest, the Event was cancelled.In the news
- Paul Pegrum, of Pegrum's bakery (now Forfar's), created the world's biggest hot cross bunHot cross bunA hot cross bun, or cross-bun, is a sweet, yeast-leavened, spiced bun made with currants or raisins, often with candied citrus fruits, marked with a cross on the top. The cross can be made in a variety of ways including: of pastry; flour and water mixture; rice paper; icing; two intersecting cuts...
to publicise Rustington at Easter 2002. After four hours of cooking, the bun surpassed two out of the three existing records. A weights and measures inspector from BrightonBrightonBrighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain...
and Hove Council found the bun had smashed the current weight record of 38 kg (84 lbs), weighing in at 42.8 kg (94 lb 6oz).It is also the widest hot cross bun ever made, with a diameter of 4 ft 4in (132 cm).
Air speed records
Two world air speed records were set on the date 7 September over Rustington sea front.Record 1 - set on 7 September 1946, by Group Captain Teddy Donaldson, flying a Gloster Meteor Star. Donaldson also became the first man to break the 1,000 km/h barrier.
Record 2 - set on 7 September 1953, by Squadron Leader Neville Duke, flying Hawker Hunter
Hawker Hunter
The Hawker Hunter is a subsonic British jet aircraft developed in the 1950s. The single-seat Hunter entered service as a manoeuvrable fighter aircraft, and later operated in fighter-bomber and reconnaissance roles in numerous conflicts. Two-seat variants remained in use for training and secondary...
WB188, at a speed of 1170.9 km/h.
To celebrate, on 7 September 1996, Neville Duke returned to Rustington to unveil a plaque, marking the event. He was joined by a Gloster Meteor and a Hawker Hunter, which flew over Rustington sea front.
Twin towns
- Los AltosLos AltosLos Altos is the name of several places, including:* the former state of Los Altos, Central America, now divided between Guatemala and Mexico.* the city of Los Altos, California, in the United States....
CaliforniaCaliforniaCalifornia is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area... - KünzellKünzellKünzell is a municipality in the district of Fulda, in Hesse, Germany. It is situated 3 km east of Fulda. It is twinned with the English town of Rustington....
GermanyGermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
Notable people
- JM Barrie, Scottish author and dramatist; author of Peter PanPeter PanPeter Pan is a character created by Scottish novelist and playwright J. M. Barrie . A mischievous boy who can fly and magically refuses to grow up, Peter Pan spends his never-ending childhood adventuring on the small island of Neverland as the leader of his gang the Lost Boys, interacting with...
. - Graham SutherlandGraham SutherlandGraham Vivien Sutherland OM was an English artist.-Early life:He was born in Streatham, attending Homefield Preparatory School, Sutton. He was then educated at Epsom College, Surrey before going up to Goldsmiths, University of London...
OM, English artist - Lindsay AndersonLindsay AndersonLindsay Gordon Anderson was an Indian-born, British feature film, theatre and documentary director, film critic, and leading light of the Free Cinema movement and the British New Wave...
, Indian-born English feature film, theatre and documentary director, film critic, and leading light of the Free Cinema movement and the British New Wave. He wrote If.... while living in his mother's house on the village's Sea Estate. - Sir Geoffrey JellicoeGeoffrey JellicoeSir Geoffrey Jellicoe was an English landscape architect, garden designer, Architect and author.Jellicoe was born in Chelsea. He studied at the Architectural Association in London in 1919 and won a Rome Scholarship in 1923 which enabled him to research his first book Italian Gardens of the...
, English landscape architect, garden designer, architect and author, who grew up in the village. - Sir Hubert ParryHubert ParrySir Charles Hubert Hastings Parry, 1st Baronet was an English composer, teacher and historian of music.Parry's first major works appeared in 1880. As a composer he is best known for the choral song "Jerusalem", the coronation anthem "I was glad" and the hymn tune "Repton", which sets the words...
, English composer, lived in Sea Lane from 1880 until his death in October 1918. He composed the well-known hymn tune Rustington which he named after the village. - Delirious?Delirious?Delirious? were an English Christian rock and worship band. For the majority of their career, the lineup featured Martin Smith on vocals and guitar, Stu G on guitar and backing vocals, Jon Thatcher on bass guitar, Tim Jupp on keys and piano, and Stew Smith on drums and percussion...
, English Christian rock and worship band members live in the village. - Brian WhiteBrian White (cartoonist)Brian White was a British cartoonist, creating 'The Nipper' for the Daily Mail between 1933 and 1947.Both 'Keyhole Kate' and 'Double Trouble' ran in London's Evening Standard....
, Cartoonist. He spent much of his later life in the village. - Ed PetrieEd PetrieEdward 'Ed' Oliver James Petrie is a British actor, comedian and television presenter. He was born, and grew up in, the seaside resort of Rustington, and was educated at Broadwater Manor in Worthing and the independent school Ardingly College in the village of Ardingly in West Sussex...
, British comedian, actor and television presenter. He was born and raised in the village. - Mitchell SymonsMitchell SymonsMitchell Symons is a Journalist/Writer from London, England. Born in 1957, he was educated at Mill Hill School and the LSE where he studied Law. Since leaving the BBC, where he was a researcher and director, he worked as a writer, broadcaster and journalist...
, journalist and bestselling author. He has lived just outside the village since 1995. - Andrew PearsonAndrew PearsonAndrew Stuart Pearson is a former English cricketer. Pearson was a left-handed batsman who bowled right-arm off break. He was born in Rustington, Sussex....
, cricketer who played for BedfordshireBedfordshire County Cricket ClubBedfordshire County Cricket Club is one of the county clubs which make up the Minor Counties in the English domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Bedfordshire and competing in the Minor Counties Championship and the MCCA Knockout Trophy. The Minor Counties play three-day...
.