Storrington

infobox UK place
country = England
static_

static_image_caption=
latitude= 50.91776
longitude= -0.45459
official_name = Storrington
population =
civil_parish= Storrington and Sullington
shire_district= Horsham
shire_county= West Sussex
region= South East England
constituency_westminster= Arundel and South Downs
post_town=
postcode_district =
postcode_area=
dial_code=
os_grid_reference= TQ087142

Storrington is a village in the Horsham District of West Sussex, England, and one of two in the civil parish of Storrington and Sullington. Storrington lies at the foot of the north side of the South Downs. As of 2006 the village has a population of around 4,500. [ [http://www.horsham.gov.uk/your_area/your_area_1780.asp Parish Population Projections] ] It has one main shopping street (The High Street). The A283 road runs directly through the middle and connects Storrington to Steyning in the east and Pulborough in the west.

Storrington existed in the Domesday Book, although back then it was listed as 'Estorchestone', meaning a place well-known for storks. It was for a long time the local market place being given permission for a regular market in 1399. Tanning and blacksmithing were also important industries and only in the 20th century did these roles fade away. Rabbit breeding was another significant industry and an association with this is still extant in the number of local place names including 'warren', such as Warren Hill, Sullington Warren and Warren Croft. This working/small industry background has however, left little behind architecturally. Nikolaus Pevsner, noted only the small door in Browns lane, the Church, and the Dominican convent known as The Abbey to be historically significant. Since 1945 Storrington has expanded greatly with a variety of housing projects enlarging the village. However, it is still possible to be in open countryside in a few minutes from the town centre when walking towards the Downs or one of the commons.

Key sights and activities are Parham Park and the walks along and around the Downs. Parham Park, towards Pulborough, is a large and stately country house with rolling parkland complete with a large herd of maintained deer. It is open most weekends to visitors. There is also the Edwin Lutyens built Little Thakeham nearby.

There are a variety of places of worship such as St Mary's on Church St, which is the main Church of England place of worship, and the Priory of Our Lady of England on Monastery Lane, which is the Roman Catholic parish church of Storrington. The Roman Catholic bishops of Arundel lived nearby for a while. Other Christian denominations have places as well, such as the Methodists, and other groups such as the Jehovah's Witnesses.

Storrington has most of the facilities of a small town; large recreation ground with football (soccer) and cricket pitches and a leisure centre. The main supermarket is Somerfield. Sainsbury's and Tesco can be found in Pulborough to the west. The is a wide variety of shops and businesses, delicatessens, charity shops, butchers, clothes shops, three pubs (The New Moon, The Anchor Inn and The White Horse Inn), coffee shops, hardware stores, estate agencies, two banks, a variety of restaurants, a museum and a Post Office.

The nearest large towns are Horsham, approximately convert|12|mi|km|abbr=on to the north, and Worthing, around the same distance to the south. Mainline train services can be picked up from Pulborough or Amberley. Trains to London take an hour and a quarter and terminate at Victoria. Trains to Gatwick Airport take around 30 minutes.

References

External links

* [http://www.storringtonmuseum.org/ Storrington Museum]
* [http://www.storrington.org.uk/ Community website]
* [http://www.horsham.gov.uk/ Horsham District Council]
* [http://www.storringtoncc.org.uk/ Storrington Camera Club]