Steyning Walk: Town Centre【4K】

Located in the county of West Sussex, and around six miles northeast of Worthing, is the town of Steyning.

The history of Steyning goes all the way back to the beginning of the Saxon migration into parts of the British Isles around the 6th century or possibly earlier. In the 8th century a wooden church was built here by St Cuthman. King Æthelwulf, father of Alfred the Great, was buried here initially, but was later transferred to Winchester. The original Saxon church was replaced by the Norman Church of St Andrew, whose nave dates back to the 12th century. Outside is a statue of St Cuthman gazing at the church. This was carved by local sculptor Penny Reeve, and is seen at the very beginning of the walk, along with the aforementioned Grade I listed church.

Following the Norman invasion of 1066, a castle was built at the neighbouring village of Bramber just under a mile to the southeast, on what was at the time a commanding position over the River Adur. Steyning grew as a port town during the medieval era, although this began to change from around the 15th century when the river began to silt up.

In 1614 Steyning Grammar School was founded after funds were left in the will of William Holland, a wealthy merchant from Steyning and former mayor of Chichester. Holland purchased Brotherhood Hall, which was originally a merchant Guild Hall related to the cloth industry before forming part of the school. The timber-framed sections flanking the red brick porch have been tree ring dated to circa 1461 (seen in detail 3 minutes and 20 seconds into the walk). In his will, Holland stipulated a maximum of 50 students, lest the teacher be "overwhelmed by the multitude". Today, despite the name, it functions as a comprehensive school.

In 1861 a railway station opened in Steyning. This formed part of the Steyning Line - a branch line which connected Shoreham-by-Sea to Horsham. The station, along with the branch line, closed in 1966 due to the Beeching cuts - a controversial move to promote road travel by closing over 2,000 railway stations in Britain. Today, the nearest railway station is Shoreham-by-Sea, situated five miles away. Direct bus services from nearby settlements including Shoreham, Burgess Hill and Horsham are available.

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Filmed: 17th January 2024

Link to the walk on Google Maps: https://maps.app.goo.gl/yLZmduzhQQRWY...

Filmed on a Sony FDR-AX700 with a Zhiyun Crane 2 and a Sony ECM-XYST1M Stereo Microphone.

TIMESTAMPS:

0:00 Vicarage Lane
1:06 Church Street
4:06 High Street