About Shoreham by Sea

 

 

Shoreham-by-Sea, is a historic town with a centre which reflects the architecture of its fishing history. There are old cottages, houses and some beautiful churches. Yet the town is vibrant and there are some stunning new developments along it’s riverside and harbour front. It is a unique area with the natural features of its tidal river, an active harbour and commercial port.

 

Shoreham-by-Sea is in the Adur District of West Sussex; it enjoys a unique location, bordered on the north by the South Downs National Park, on the west by the open valley of the River Adur and on the south by the river and Shoreham Beach. Such close proximity to the South Downs, river and coast make Shoreham-by-Sea a very desirable place to live and visit.

 

The town and port of 'New Shoreham' was established by the Norman Conquerors towards the end of the 11th century. Shoreham-by-Sea's strategic location and proximity to Normandy made it a logical place to improve facilities for travel and trade. The magnificent Church of St Mary de Haura was built in the decade following the Doomsday Survey of 1086 and the town laid out on a grid pattern. Marlipins Museum, a 12th century building in Shoreham High Street, is one of the oldest surviving secular buildings in the UK and dates from this time.

 

The rise of Brighton and Worthing and the coming of the railway in 1840 prepared the way for Shoreham-by-Sea's rise as a rapidly growing Victorian sea port with several shipyards and an active coasting trade.

 

Shoreham Beach to the south of the town, is the shingle bank thrown up over the centuries by the sea. Converted railway carriages became summer homes around the turn of the century, and Bungalow Town, as it was then known, became home for a short time to a flourishing film industry. It was cleared for defence reasons during the second World War and is now completely developed for modern houses. However the Church of the Good Shepherd, built in 1913, still stands.