Steyning
Encyclopedia
Steyning is a small town and civil parish in the Horsham
District of West Sussex
, England
. It is located at the north end of the River Adur
gap in the South Downs
, four miles (6.4 km) north of Shoreham-by-Sea
. The smaller villages of Bramber
and Upper Beeding
constitute, with Steyning, a built-up area at this crossing-point of the river.
times. Legend has it that St. Cuthman
built a church, af one time dedicated to him, later to St Andrew, and now jointly to St Andrew and St Cuthman, where he stopped after carrying his mother in a wheelbarrow
. Several of the signs that can be seen on entering Steyning bear an image of his feat. King Alfred the Great
's father, Ethelwulf of Wessex
, was originally buried in that church, before being transferred to Winchester - a Saxon grave slab (possibly his) remains in the church porch.
granted his royal minster church in Steyning, with its large and wealthy manor lands, to the Abbey Church of the Holy Trinity at Fécamp
, to take effect after the death of Aelfwine, the Bishop of Winchester
, who had charge of Steyning. The bishop died in 1047 and ecclesiastical jurisdiction then passed directly to the Pope
. (In the same way, Fécamp Abbey
itself answered to no Norman bishop, only to the Pope.) This was confirmed in a charter by William. Confirming the gift of Steyning, made by Edward the Confessor, this charter acquitted the grantees of all earthly service and subjection to barons, princes, and others, and gave them all royal liberties, custom, and justice over all matters arising in their land, and threatened any who should infringe these liberties with an amercement of £100 of gold.
This was an addition to the nearby port with land around Rye
, Winchelsea
and Hastings
, already given to the same Abbey by King Cnut
, to honour a promise made by his wife Emma of Normandy
's first husband King Aethelred
. By then Steyning was already a thriving and important port with a market, a royal mint, the church founded by St Cuthman, and one other church, as Domesday Book
relates 60 years later. Godwin, Earl of Wessex
expelled the Norman monks in 1052 and seized Steyning for himself, and his son Harold
decided to keep it upon his accession. This made commercial and strategic sense as Harold did not want a Norman toehold in a potential invasion port, but William responded by swearing on a knife before setting out for England to recover it for the monks:
This gained him a ship from Fécamp and, upon his victory at Hastings
, he honoured his promise and returned it to the monks. However, its strategic importance made William place William de Braose
in a new castle
at nearby Bramber
, who began a vigorous boundary dispute and power tussle with the monks, William's settlement having lacked definite terms in the first place. Domesday Book, completed in 1086, brought this to a head. It found that de Braose had built a bridge at Bramber and demanded tolls from ships travelling further along the river to the port at Steyning. The monks challenged Bramber's right to bury its parishioners in the churchyard at William de Braose's new church of Saint Nicholas, and demanded its burial fees, despite it being built to serve the castle not the town. The monks produced forged documents to defend their position and were unhappy with the failure of their claim on Hastings
In 1086 the King called his sons, barons and bishops to court (the last time an English king presided personally, with his full court, to decide a matter of law) to settle this. It took a full day, and the Abbey won over the court, forcing de Braose to curtail his bridge tolls, give up various encroachments onto the abbey's lands and organise a mass exhumation and transfer of all Bramber's dead to the churchyard of Saint Cuthman's Church in Steyning.
dispute once and for all; it continued for centuries afterwards, exacerbated by the Lord of Bramber founding his own religious establishments in his neighbouring parish. Meanwhile in the 14th century, the river Adur
began to silt up and the town's use as a port became difficult leading to a loss of trade and population. The monks of Fécamp Abbey
retained control of Steyning until the 15th century, and re-dedicated the church of St Cuthman to St Andrew
in the 13th Century.
Steyning began returning two Members of Parliament
from 1278 and as a rotten borough
made up of a depopulated port became similar to Dunwich
until the Reform Act 1832
.
of Chichester
founded and endowed Steyning Grammar School
.http://steyningmuseum.org.uk/brotherhood.htm
The railway from London
to Shoreham
arrived in Steyning in 1861 and a station
was opened to serve the town, see the black line and station in the map displayed.
The legendary Irish politician Charles Stewart Parnell
married 'Kitty' O'Shea (niece of Lord Hatherley
) here in 1891, the culmination of the affair that saw his fall from power, catastrophically dividing Irish politics.
Besides much agriculture, brewing and to a small extent brickmaking, more than 25 men were employed in the sheep related trade as fellmongers
more than four were parchment makers
, five were millers and there was a surgeon, an oil painter James M. Burfield R.A., R.B.A. (Exh.1880-1883) and a watch maker in the town during the 1881 census.
The railway remained in service for over a century, closing in 1966 as result of the Beeching Axe
. The route of the railway line has since been converted into a footpath and cycleway known as the Downs Link
.
In Steyning there is access to a variety of facilities including four public houses, four estate agents
and three banks
. Furthermore, there is a state-of-the-art leisure centre, which was built with National Lottery
funding. The town is home to Steyning Grammar School, now a comprehensive school of 2500 students founded in the Stuart period, see above, with a sixth form comprising over 400 students. The school has a catchment area
that extends as far as Dial Post
and sometimes Worthing
.
A Spring Fair is held on the Spring bank holiday (the last Monday in May).
The Monarch's Way
long-distance footpath skirts the southern end of the town.
Horsham (district)
Horsham is a local government district in West Sussex, England. Its council is based in Horsham. The district borders those of Crawley, Mid Sussex, Mole Valley, Chichester, Arun and Adur....
District of 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 is located at the north end of the River Adur
River Adur
The Adur is a river in Sussex, England; it gives its name to the Adur district of West Sussex. The river was formerly navigable for large vessels up as far as Steyning, where there was a large port, but over time the river valley became silted up and the port moved down to the deeper waters nearer...
gap in 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...
, four miles (6.4 km) north of Shoreham-by-Sea
Shoreham-by-Sea
Shoreham-by-Sea is a small town, port and seaside resort in West Sussex, England. Shoreham-by-Sea railway station is located less than a mile from the town centre and London Gatwick Airport is away...
. The smaller villages of Bramber
Bramber
Bramber is a village and civil parish in the Horsham District of West Sussex, England. It is located on the northern edge of the South Downs and on the west side of the River Adur. Nearby are the communities of Steyning to the west and Upper Beeding to the east, and the other side of the river....
and Upper Beeding
Upper Beeding
Upper Beeding is a village and civil parish in the Horsham District of West Sussex, England. It is located at the northern end of the River Adur gap in the South Downs four miles north of Shoreham-by-Sea and has a land area of 1877 hectares...
constitute, with Steyning, a built-up area at this crossing-point of the river.
Demographics
The parish has a land area of 1574 hectares (3888 acres). In the 2001 census 5812 people lived in 2530 households, of whom 2747 were economically active.History
Saxon
Steyning has existed since Anglo-SaxonAnglo-Saxons
Anglo-Saxon is a term used by historians to designate the Germanic tribes who invaded and settled the south and east of Great Britain beginning in the early 5th century AD, and the period from their creation of the English nation to the Norman conquest. The Anglo-Saxon Era denotes the period of...
times. Legend has it that St. Cuthman
Cuthman of Steyning
Saint Cuthmann of Steyning was an Anglo-Saxon hermit, church-builder and saint.-Birth:In the biographies of the saints called the Acta Sanctorum which were preserved at the Abbey of Fécamp in Normandy it is said that he was born about 681 A.D., either in Devon or Cornwall, or more probably at...
built a church, af one time dedicated to him, later to St Andrew, and now jointly to St Andrew and St Cuthman, where he stopped after carrying his mother in a wheelbarrow
Wheelbarrow
A wheelbarrow is a small hand-propelled vehicle, usually with just one wheel, designed to be pushed and guided by a single person using two handles to the rear, or by a sail to push the ancient wheelbarrow by wind. The term "wheelbarrow" is made of two words: "wheel" and "barrow." "Barrow" is a...
. Several of the signs that can be seen on entering Steyning bear an image of his feat. King Alfred the Great
Alfred the Great
Alfred the Great was King of Wessex from 871 to 899.Alfred is noted for his defence of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of southern England against the Vikings, becoming the only English monarch still to be accorded the epithet "the Great". Alfred was the first King of the West Saxons to style himself...
's father, Ethelwulf of Wessex
Ethelwulf of Wessex
Æthelwulf, also spelled Aethelwulf or Ethelwulf; Old English: Æþelwulf, meaning 'Noble Wolf', was King of Wessex from 839 until his death in 858. He is the only son who can indisputably be accredited to King Egbert of Wessex. He conquered the kingdom of Kent on behalf of his father in 825, and was...
, was originally buried in that church, before being transferred to Winchester - a Saxon grave slab (possibly his) remains in the church porch.
Norman
To thank his Norman protectors for refuge during his exile, Edward the ConfessorEdward the Confessor
Edward the Confessor also known as St. Edward the Confessor , son of Æthelred the Unready and Emma of Normandy, was one of the last Anglo-Saxon kings of England and is usually regarded as the last king of the House of Wessex, ruling from 1042 to 1066....
granted his royal minster church in Steyning, with its large and wealthy manor lands, to the Abbey Church of the Holy Trinity at Fécamp
Fécamp
Fécamp is a commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the Haute-Normandie region in northern France.-Geography:Fécamp is situated in the valley of the river Valmont, at the heart of the Pays de Caux, on the Albaster Coast...
, to take effect after the death of Aelfwine, the Bishop of Winchester
Bishop of Winchester
The Bishop of Winchester is the head of the Church of England diocese of Winchester, with his cathedra at Winchester Cathedral in Hampshire.The bishop is one of five Church of England bishops to be among the Lords Spiritual regardless of their length of service. His diocese is one of the oldest and...
, who had charge of Steyning. The bishop died in 1047 and ecclesiastical jurisdiction then passed directly to the Pope
Pope Clement II
Pope Clement II , was Pope from December 25, 1046 to his death. He was the first in a series of reform-minded popes from Germany.Born in Hornburg, Lower Saxony, Germany, he was the son of Count Konrad of Morsleben and Hornburg and his wife Amulrad.In 1040, he became Bishop of Bamberg...
. (In the same way, Fécamp Abbey
Fécamp Abbey
Fécamp Abbey is a Benedictine abbey in Normandy, northern France.The abbey was the first producer of Bénédictine, a herbal liqueur, based on brandy.-First foundation:...
itself answered to no Norman bishop, only to the Pope.) This was confirmed in a charter by William. Confirming the gift of Steyning, made by Edward the Confessor, this charter acquitted the grantees of all earthly service and subjection to barons, princes, and others, and gave them all royal liberties, custom, and justice over all matters arising in their land, and threatened any who should infringe these liberties with an amercement of £100 of gold.
This was an addition to the nearby port with land around Rye
Rye, East Sussex
Rye is a small town in East Sussex, England, which stands approximately two miles from the open sea and is at the confluence of three rivers: the Rother, the Tillingham and the Brede...
, Winchelsea
Winchelsea
Winchelsea is a small village in East Sussex, England, located between the High Weald and the Romney Marsh, approximately two miles south west of Rye and seven miles north east of Hastings...
and Hastings
Hastings
Hastings is a town and borough in the county of East Sussex on the south coast of England. The town is located east of the county town of Lewes and south east of London, and has an estimated population of 86,900....
, already given to the same Abbey by King Cnut
Canute the Great
Cnut the Great , also known as Canute, was a king of Denmark, England, Norway and parts of Sweden. Though after the death of his heirs within a decade of his own and the Norman conquest of England in 1066, his legacy was largely lost to history, historian Norman F...
, to honour a promise made by his wife Emma of Normandy
Emma of Normandy
Emma , was a daughter of Richard the Fearless, Duke of Normandy, by his second wife Gunnora. She was Queen consort of England twice, by successive marriages: first as second wife to Æthelred the Unready of England ; and then second wife to Cnut the Great of Denmark...
's first husband King Aethelred
Ethelred the Unready
Æthelred the Unready, or Æthelred II , was king of England . He was son of King Edgar and Queen Ælfthryth. Æthelred was only about 10 when his half-brother Edward was murdered...
. By then Steyning was already a thriving and important port with a market, a royal mint, the church founded by St Cuthman, and one other church, as Domesday Book
Domesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
relates 60 years later. Godwin, Earl of Wessex
Godwin, Earl of Wessex
Godwin of Wessex , was one of the most powerful lords in England under the Danish king Cnut the Great and his successors. Cnut made him the first Earl of Wessex...
expelled the Norman monks in 1052 and seized Steyning for himself, and his son Harold
Harold Godwinson
Harold Godwinson was the last Anglo-Saxon King of England.It could be argued that Edgar the Atheling, who was proclaimed as king by the witan but never crowned, was really the last Anglo-Saxon king...
decided to keep it upon his accession. This made commercial and strategic sense as Harold did not want a Norman toehold in a potential invasion port, but William responded by swearing on a knife before setting out for England to recover it for the monks:
- Of the land of Steyning [county of Sussex]; the Duke gave seisin to the Church by the token of a knife, before he went to England; the grant to take effect if God should give him victory in England.
- Witnesses: Aymeri the vicomte; Richard fitzGilbert; Pons.
This gained him a ship from Fécamp and, upon his victory at Hastings
Battle of Hastings
The Battle of Hastings occurred on 14 October 1066 during the Norman conquest of England, between the Norman-French army of Duke William II of Normandy and the English army under King Harold II...
, he honoured his promise and returned it to the monks. However, its strategic importance made William place William de Braose
William de Braose, 1st Lord of Bramber
William de Braose , First Lord of Bramber was previously lord of Briouze, Normandy. He was granted lands in England by William the Conqueror soon after he and his followers had invaded and controlled Saxon England.- Norman victor :De Braose was given extensive lands in Sussex by 1073...
in a new castle
Bramber Castle
Bramber Castle is a Norman motte-and-bailey castle in the village of Bramber, West Sussex overlooking the River Adur .William De Braose constructed the castle c1070, along with the Norman church, on a natural mound and most of the surviving masonry dates from this time...
at nearby Bramber
Bramber
Bramber is a village and civil parish in the Horsham District of West Sussex, England. It is located on the northern edge of the South Downs and on the west side of the River Adur. Nearby are the communities of Steyning to the west and Upper Beeding to the east, and the other side of the river....
, who began a vigorous boundary dispute and power tussle with the monks, William's settlement having lacked definite terms in the first place. Domesday Book, completed in 1086, brought this to a head. It found that de Braose had built a bridge at Bramber and demanded tolls from ships travelling further along the river to the port at Steyning. The monks challenged Bramber's right to bury its parishioners in the churchyard at William de Braose's new church of Saint Nicholas, and demanded its burial fees, despite it being built to serve the castle not the town. The monks produced forged documents to defend their position and were unhappy with the failure of their claim on Hastings
Hastings
Hastings is a town and borough in the county of East Sussex on the south coast of England. The town is located east of the county town of Lewes and south east of London, and has an estimated population of 86,900....
In 1086 the King called his sons, barons and bishops to court (the last time an English king presided personally, with his full court, to decide a matter of law) to settle this. It took a full day, and the Abbey won over the court, forcing de Braose to curtail his bridge tolls, give up various encroachments onto the abbey's lands and organise a mass exhumation and transfer of all Bramber's dead to the churchyard of Saint Cuthman's Church in Steyning.
Mid to Late Medieval
Even the 1086 judgment did not settle the Steyning versus BramberBramber
Bramber is a village and civil parish in the Horsham District of West Sussex, England. It is located on the northern edge of the South Downs and on the west side of the River Adur. Nearby are the communities of Steyning to the west and Upper Beeding to the east, and the other side of the river....
dispute once and for all; it continued for centuries afterwards, exacerbated by the Lord of Bramber founding his own religious establishments in his neighbouring parish. Meanwhile in the 14th century, the river Adur
River Adur
The Adur is a river in Sussex, England; it gives its name to the Adur district of West Sussex. The river was formerly navigable for large vessels up as far as Steyning, where there was a large port, but over time the river valley became silted up and the port moved down to the deeper waters nearer...
began to silt up and the town's use as a port became difficult leading to a loss of trade and population. The monks of Fécamp Abbey
Fécamp Abbey
Fécamp Abbey is a Benedictine abbey in Normandy, northern France.The abbey was the first producer of Bénédictine, a herbal liqueur, based on brandy.-First foundation:...
retained control of Steyning until the 15th century, and re-dedicated the church of St Cuthman to St Andrew
Saint Andrew
Saint Andrew , called in the Orthodox tradition Prōtoklētos, or the First-called, is a Christian Apostle and the brother of Saint Peter. The name "Andrew" , like other Greek names, appears to have been common among the Jews from the 3rd or 2nd century BC. No Hebrew or Aramaic name is recorded for him...
in the 13th Century.
Steyning began returning two Members of Parliament
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,...
from 1278 and as a rotten borough
Rotten borough
A "rotten", "decayed" or pocket borough was a parliamentary borough or constituency in the United Kingdom that had a very small electorate and could be used by a patron to gain undue and unrepresentative influence within Parliament....
made up of a depopulated port became similar to Dunwich
Dunwich
Dunwich is a small town in Suffolk, England, within the Suffolk Coast and Heaths AONB.Dunwich was the capital of East Anglia 1500 years ago but the harbour and most of the town have since disappeared due to coastal erosion. Its decline began in 1286 when a sea surge hit the East Anglian coast, and...
until the Reform Act 1832
Reform Act 1832
The Representation of the People Act 1832 was an Act of Parliament that introduced wide-ranging changes to the electoral system of England and Wales...
.
17th century
In 1614, William Holland, AldermanAlderman
An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council member chosen by the elected members themselves rather than by popular vote, or a council...
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...
founded and endowed Steyning Grammar School
Steyning Grammar School
Steyning Grammar School is a state comprehensive school in Steyning, West Sussex, England. It is the only state school in West Sussex which caters for boarders...
.http://steyningmuseum.org.uk/brotherhood.htm
19th century
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
to Shoreham
Shoreham-by-Sea
Shoreham-by-Sea is a small town, port and seaside resort in West Sussex, England. Shoreham-by-Sea railway station is located less than a mile from the town centre and London Gatwick Airport is away...
arrived in Steyning in 1861 and a station
Steyning railway station
Steyning railway station was on the Steyning Line which served the small Saxon market town of Steyning.-Station opening and development:The arrival of the station accelerated residential development in the area and some houses were constructed by the railway contractor to the west of the station...
was opened to serve the town, see the black line and station in the map displayed.
The legendary Irish politician Charles Stewart Parnell
Charles Stewart Parnell
Charles Stewart Parnell was an Irish landowner, nationalist political leader, land reform agitator, and the founder and leader of the Irish Parliamentary Party...
married 'Kitty' O'Shea (niece of Lord Hatherley
William Wood, 1st Baron Hatherley
William Page Wood, 1st Baron Hatherley PC, QC was a British lawyer and statesman who served as a Liberal Lord Chancellor between 1868 and 1872 in William Ewart Gladstone's first ministry.-Background and education:...
) here in 1891, the culmination of the affair that saw his fall from power, catastrophically dividing Irish politics.
Besides much agriculture, brewing and to a small extent brickmaking, more than 25 men were employed in the sheep related trade as fellmongers
Fellmonger
A fellmonger was a dealer in hides or skins, particularly sheepskins, who might also prepare skins for tanning. The name is derived from the Old English ‘fell’ meaning skins and ‘monger’ meaning dealer...
more than four were parchment makers
Parchment
Parchment is a thin material made from calfskin, sheepskin or goatskin, often split. Its most common use was as a material for writing on, for documents, notes, or the pages of a book, codex or manuscript. It is distinct from leather in that parchment is limed but not tanned; therefore, it is very...
, five were millers and there was a surgeon, an oil painter James M. Burfield R.A., R.B.A. (Exh.1880-1883) and a watch maker in the town during the 1881 census.
The railway remained in service for over a century, closing in 1966 as result of the Beeching Axe
Beeching Axe
The Beeching Axe or the Beeching Cuts are informal names for the British Government's attempt in the 1960s to reduce the cost of running British Railways, the nationalised railway system in the United Kingdom. The name is that of the main author of The Reshaping of British Railways, Dr Richard...
. The route of the railway line has since been converted into a footpath and cycleway known as the Downs Link
Downs Link
The Downs Link is a 36.7-mile footpath and bridleway linking the North Downs Way at St. Martha's Hill in Surrey with the South Downs Way near Steyning in West Sussex and on via the Coastal Link to Shoreham-by-Sea.- History :...
.
Modern town
Estate agent
An estate agent is a person or business that arranges the selling, renting or management of properties, and other buildings, in the United Kingdom and Ireland. An agent that specialises in renting is often called a letting or management agent...
and three banks
Bank
A bank is a financial institution that serves as a financial intermediary. The term "bank" may refer to one of several related types of entities:...
. Furthermore, there is a state-of-the-art leisure centre, which was built with National Lottery
National Lottery (United Kingdom)
The National Lottery is the state-franchised national lottery in the United Kingdom and the Isle of Man.It is operated by Camelot Group, to whom the licence was granted in 1994, 2001 and again in 2007. The lottery is regulated by the National Lottery Commission, and was established by the then...
funding. The town is home to Steyning Grammar School, now a comprehensive school of 2500 students founded in the Stuart period, see above, with a sixth form comprising over 400 students. The school has a catchment area
Catchment area (human geography)
In human geography, a catchment area is the area and population from which a city or individual service attracts visitors or customers. For example, a school catchment area is the geographic area from which students are eligible to attend a local school...
that extends as far as Dial Post
Dial Post
Dial Post is a hamlet in the Horsham District of West Sussex, England. It was originally on the main A24 road linking London and Worthing, between Southwater and Ashington, but the road now bypasses to the east. It has a population of around 50-100....
and sometimes 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...
.
A Spring Fair is held on the Spring bank holiday (the last Monday in May).
The Monarch's Way
Monarch's Way
The Monarch's Way is a long-distance footpath in England that approximates the escape route taken by King Charles II in 1651 after being defeated in the Battle of Worcester.Most of the footpath is waymarked...
long-distance footpath skirts the southern end of the town.
Steyning Festival
In 2009, The Steyning Festival was awarded a lottery grant to bring international artist and psychogeographer Chris Dooks to Steyning for a month-long residency, resulting in a free mp3 tour.Nightlife
Steyning has four pubs, an Indian restaurant and a wine bar - the Star Inn, the Chequer Inn, White's, and the Norfolk Arms, as well as a number of other restaurants and wine bars.Notable residents
- Christopher Rawson Penfold born on 2 August 1811, son of the vicar of Steyning, John Penfold. He founded PenfoldsPenfoldsPenfolds is an Australian wine producer, founded in 1844 by Christopher Rawson Penfold, an English physician who emigrated to Australia, and his wife, Mary Penfold...
, one of Australia's greatest wine growing businesses. - John IrelandJohn Ireland (composer)John Nicholson Ireland was an English composer.- Life :John Ireland was born in Bowdon, near Altrincham, Manchester, into a family of Scottish descent and some cultural distinction. His father, Alexander Ireland, a publisher and newspaper proprietor, was aged 70 at John's birth...
, composer. - James M. Burfield R.A., R.B.A. (Exh.1880-1883), painter.
- Victor Benjamin Neuburg occultist and poet, proprietor of the Vine Press.
- Peter Carter-RuckPeter Carter-RuckPeter Frederick Carter-Ruck was an English lawyer, specialising in libel cases. The firm he founded, Carter-Ruck, is still practising.-Personal life:...
, Founder of Carter-Ruck Solicitors. Born in the town in 1914 - Laurence OlivierLaurence OlivierLaurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier, OM was an English actor, director, and producer. He was one of the most famous and revered actors of the 20th century. He married three times, to fellow actors Jill Esmond, Vivien Leigh, and Joan Plowright...
, the actor, had a home near Steyning where he died in 1989 at the age of 82. - Sally GunnellSally GunnellSally Jane Janet Gunnell OBE is a former British Olympic champion in the 400 m hurdles...
, former British athlete. - Elizabeth NortonElizabeth NortonElizabeth Norton is a British historian specialising in the queens of England and the Tudor period. She obtained an Master of Arts in Archaeology and Anthropology from the University of Cambridge in 2003 and a masters degree in European Archaeology from the University of Oxford in 2004.She is the...
, historian and author grew up in Steyning and was educated at Steyning Grammar School.
See also
- Steyning (UK Parliament constituency)Steyning (UK Parliament constituency)Steyning was a parliamentary borough in Sussex, England, which elected two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons sporadically from 1298 and continuously from 1467 until 1832...
for political history of Steyning - Steyning railway stationSteyning railway stationSteyning railway station was on the Steyning Line which served the small Saxon market town of Steyning.-Station opening and development:The arrival of the station accelerated residential development in the area and some houses were constructed by the railway contractor to the west of the station...