Steyning
| Steyning | |
|---|---|
 High Street, Steyning town centre |
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 Steyning
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| Steyning shown within West Sussex | |
| Area | 15.74 km2 (6.08 sq mi) |
| Population | 5,812 2001 Census 5,990 (Census 2011) |
| • Density | 369/km2 (960/sq mi) |
| OS grid reference | TQ177110 |
| • London | 43 miles (69 km) NNE |
| Civil parish |
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| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | STEYNING |
| Postcode district | BN44 |
| Dialling code | 01903 |
| Police | Sussex |
| Fire | West Sussex |
| Ambulance | South East Coast |
| EU Parliament | South East England |
| UK Parliament | |
Steyning (/stɛnɪŋ/) (pronounced as Stenning) is a small rural 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.
The parish has a land area of 1,574 hectares (3,888 acres). In the 2001 census 5,812 people lived in 2,530 households, of whom 2,747 were economically active.
Steyning has existed since Anglo-Saxon times. Legend has it that St. Cuthman built a church, at 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.
To thank his Norman protectors for refuge during his exile, Edward the Confessor 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:
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