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ADUR VALLEY EFORUM PAGE |
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| NATURE NOTES
(BY LOCATION): |
| Shoreham
Library
Pond Road Shoreham-by-Sea West Sussex Tel: 01273 454438 |
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by
Andy Horton
Description.
History
for the visitor. Harbour.
Airport.
Landscape
and wildlife. Politics and Services.
Local
Groups.
Toponymy
Top Ten Facts about Adur
Adur Festival
- Shoreham-by-Sea is a medium-sized (population 19,175) provincial town on the Sussex coast in southern England, United Kingdom. It is in the middle of the ribbon of urban development along the coast between the city of Brighton & Hove and the larger town of Worthing.
- OS Explorer 122 map or the Landranger 198 covers the Shoreham-by-Sea area.
- Adur Census 2001 Profile
- The local newspaper is the Shoreham Herald.
- Lancing History & Wildlife
- Sompting Parish Blogspot
Shoreham from the Air (MultiMap)
Shoreham from the SW end of the Footbridge
- The town centre, which is actually the parish of New Shoreham, is dominated by the River Adur which is a wide expanse of vegetated mud-flats at low water, with the river flow cutting a narrow path, and a tidal inlet at high tide. From the centre it is easy walking distance over the Footbridge to a shingle beach, with sand at low tide, and to both the downs and the river valley.
History
- Although Shoreham has far more history than the neighbouring towns, there is little obvious evidence for visitors. The large Norman church of St. Mary de Haura dominates the town centre, and this reflects New Shoreham as the most important town in the region up to the 14th century when the town was half destroyed by encroachment from the sea. The church is only half the size of the original - the former nave has completely fallen down. The street plan north of the High Street dates back to medieval times and the building which is now the Marlipin's Museum dates back to the 14th century.
St. Mary de Haura Church from the SE
Stately
stands it, the work of hands unknown of: statelier, afar and near,
Rise
around it the heights that bound our landward gaze from the seaboard here;
Downs
that swerve and aspire in curve and change of heights that the dawn holds
dear.
- New Shoreham recovered as a town and enjoyed prosperity in the 17th century from shipbuilding and trading through the harbour. This success was destroyed by a series of storms and inroads by the sea at the beginning of the 18th century that caused massive destruction of the town.
- Ancient Times
-
Historical
Snippets - Old Postcards
- Chronological History
- Medieval History: de Braose (by Lynda Denyer)
- Church of England Churches in Shoreham
- Religion in the Adur District (Churches)
- Local History web pages
- The view from the top of the square tower of St. Mary's church is recommended if the weather is fine, but it is only open to the public on one day of the year. The height of the tower is 81 feet (25 metres). The transepts contain original Norman buttresses. St. Mary's Church is dated to 1103 AD when the first building was completed (it commenced circa 1096). At night when the Church is lit up, it looks impressive.
- More Information
- In Old Shoreham, the small church of St. Nicolas dates back to late Saxon times, although it has been extensively renovated in Norman times, with the tower constructed about 1140. There is a Norman beam and an oak screen dating back to the late 13th century.
- St. Julian's Church in Kingston Buci, now part of Shoreham-by-Sea, dates from the middle of the 11th century, before the arrival of the Normans.
Geography
Harbour
- Shoreham is the premier Sussex port serving a hinterland of over 400 thousand people including the city of Brighton & Hove and the larger town of Worthing.
- Shoreham Harbour which was based in the town centre up to the beginning of the 20th century is now mostly to the east of the town boundary. The entrance is opposite the Lighthouse on the south coast A259 road and marks the approach to Shoreham from the east. There is still wharfage in use on the northern side and this stretch of road is bordered by unattractive industrial uses.
HMS Shoreham entering Shoreham Harbour on 7 March 2002
- Around 1295 New Shoreham was known by the alternative name of Hulkesmouth because of its importance as a harbour and shipbuilding centre. The hulc was depicted in the town seal. Hulcs are believed to have taken over from cogs and up to the late 15th century seem to have been the main sea-going trading vessels of N W Europe.
- In the subsequent centuries Shoreham was at times the most important English Channel port and at other times fell into disuse because of silting up of the harbour.
A modern map can be found on the
Shoreham-by-Sea 2 Page.
- Public Hards allow the free launching of boats, notably at Ropetackle. It is important to get the tides right and there is still 30 minutes to go to reach the harbour entrance. High springs occur around midday.
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Airport
- Shoreham Airport is located on the western side of the River Adur. A walk runs from the town centre across the road bridge (Norfolk Bridge) and along the towpath adjacent to the airfield.
- The first commercial aerodrome in Britain, opened in 1911*, is now used almost exclusively for light aircraft and helicopter flights. Pleasure flights are available. The Art Deco terminal building was designed by Stavers H. Tiltman. (* The first flight took place in September 1910.)
- Shoreham Airport News
- Shoreham Airport in World War II
- Shoreham Airport: More Information
- Shoreham Airport (Official)
- My comments over the Expansion Plans for Shoreham Airport
General
- Shoreham is different in character from the sprawling Brighton conurbation six miles to the east. There are 22 pubs and enough restaurants and cafes.
- Most people work within 10 miles of Shoreham, although 20% of the working population commute to London, which is just over an hours ride on the hourly + trains. Unemployment rose sharply in the 1980's.
Politics & Services
- Adur District Council is the Local Authority and it includes the neighbouring towns of Southwick to the east and Lancing to the west. The Conservatives are now the largest party with an overall majority (2004). The Civic Centre is in Shoreham. The Parliamentary Constituency from May 1997 is called Worthing East and Shoreham (previously Shoreham) and returned Tim Loughton (Conservative) in May 2001 with a massive 6,139 majority from the second-placed Labour party. The County Council is West Sussex with an overall Conservative majority (from NOC in May 1997), which is responsible for education
- West Sussex County Council
- Local Councillors
- The nearest Further Education College is the Northbrook College in Worthing. Shoreham has a hospital called Southlands, but there is no Accident & Emergency Unit and emergencies are likely to be taken to Worthing Hospital. The Health Centre in Pond Road may be able to treat minor accident victims during the day. Shoreham Community Centre is also in Pond Road and the Library in the same complex as the Health Centre.
- Adur Political
- The local weekly newspaper is the Shoreham Herald.
- An Electronic News Bulletin called Adur Torpedo is available free on request.
- Adur District Council Facts & Figures for Adur
Landscape & Wildlife
- Transversed by the River Adur and with the downs and the sea nearby, the area supports a diverse wildlife flora and fauna. The mudflats support wading birds and gulls, including the Ringed Plover which attempts to breed on the coastal shingle. The Pied Wagtail is common in the town and the Great Black-backed Gull visits the estuary in the winter months. Insect fauna includes dragonflies over the flood plains of the river. The south and west facing downs attract at least 32 species of butterflies including the Chalkhill Blue.
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- The underlying rock is chalk
on the downs, with alluvium in the old river channels. The Adur district
is fortunate to have a large variety of habitats in a small area, including
natural chalk downs and butterfly meadows, freshwater and reed beds, salt
marsh and estuary, brackish water lagoons,
woodland, shingle seashore, chalk platform
undersea and large expanses of sand.
NEWS & EVENTS14 June 2008 10:00 am - 4:00 pm
Adur World Oceans Day
Venue: Coronation Green, New Shoreham
Adur Festival Event
- Adur World Oceans Day was a unique opportunity to introduce children to the mysterious undersea and seashore world with displays of live fish, lobsters and crabs, and a variety of exhibits on the ocean environment, including talks designed for young students, and video and computer displays and interactive displays and competitions to keep the children occupied. There will be a new displays for this year.
- Over 40 species of fish have been recorded in the River Adur estuary. Most noticeable are Grey Mullet and Bass. The oyster fishery was important in Victorian times, but it has been overfished. Mussel beds occur in the estuary.
- The Nature Notes pages have a chronologue of newsworthy wildlife in the lower Adur valley. Contributions are welcome.
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- Adur Valley page
- Adur Wildlife Gallery (CD-ROM only)
- Bird List of the Estuary
- Butterflies of the Adur Valley & Downs
- Fishes of the Brackish Estuary
- Flowering Plants of the Shingle
- Geological Notes
- Habitats
- Lancing Nature
- Old Fort
- Religion in the Adur District (Churches)
- Shoreham Beach Weather History 2000 et. seq. (Softwair Publishing)
- Steyning Museum
- Sussex Wildlife Web Sites
- Scientific names are available for enquirers.
- Nature Notes 2008
Toponymy
- The origin of "Shore" came from scora the past participle of the Saxon scoren shear, shorn, and probably means a slope, or the foot of a slope? (but where is the slope?)
- The origin of "ham" almost certainly came from the Saxon word hamm, which probably originally meant a natural enclosure or pasture.
- Full Toponymy
- Colloquial Words
- Colloquial pronunciation of the name includes Shoram, where the 'h' is silent. This name was written on coins minted in the Middle Ages.
This web page receives over 50 visitors every day and
the whole web site receives over 40,000 unique visitors in every year.
The Shoreham-by-Sea site commenced on 1 January 1997.
Click here for more about Shoreham-by-Sea
If you have visited this site please leave a message at:
EMail: Glaucus@hotmail.com
If
you do not receive a reply or acknowledgement to an EMail within two weeks,
please write again
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Copyright © 1997- 2008 Andy Horton
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