An Illustrated Walk Around Old Steyning Town
Dr Janet Pennington SpeakerNet Sponsor
- Regions:
- West Sussex, East Sussex, Surrey, Kent
- Notice Period:
- Emergency (maybe less than one week's notice)
- Type:
- Professional
- Fee:
- Paid: £75-£125
- Category:
- History
- Updated:
- 8th March 2021
This is a chance to browse the streets, lanes and twittens of a small market town with a history that goes back well over a thousand years, from Steyning's foundation legend of St Cuthman, c.700 AD, pushing his mother in a wheelbarrow over the South Downs, to the coming of the railway in 1861. A King of Wessex was buried in the wooden church St Cuthman built. We move on to the fine Norman church, the story of the Grammar School and its beginnings as a merchants' hall in the 1450s. We take in the burning of a Protestant martyr in the reign of Queen Mary I, and hear about the many artists, writers and poets who enjoyed coming to, and living in, an ancient town with rail access from 1861 to 1966. Large archival collections, and the existing buildings, reveal much of the history of this fascinating town, with local events also involving national history. Zoom into Steyning Town! see www.sussexhistorytalks.co.uk
Views: 750 | Enquiries: 1About Dr Janet Pennington
I am an independent historian, giving illustrated talks in Sussex (sometimes nipping into Surrey and Kent) for 35 years. I have a PhD in early-modern Sussex inn and tavern history and give more general talks about the history of English inn signs as well as those in Sussex. I am at present looking at the art of the inn sign. My MA dissertation is about Elizabethan courtier (or con-man!) Sir Thomas Sherley of Wiston House (West Sussex). I worked as Archivist at Lancing College, also teaching local history and palaeography in adult education at the University of Sussex. I am President of the Brighton & Hove Archaeological Society. I am a member of the Wealden Buildings Study Group, and am particularly interested in the ritual protection of the home. I hold a Diploma in English Local History and speak on a variety of subjects connected with Sussex and the South-East, some covering other parts of England - see the variety of talks listed on my website - www.sussexhistorytalks.co.uk - I have given many talks using ZOOM and can also host sessions. Due to my interest in and knowledge of inns, taverns and alehouses and all manner of drinking establishments in England, I have been in more pubs than most people - mainly for research purposes...
Other Talks on SpeakerNet by Dr Janet Pennington
- English Inn Signs - their local & regional significance
- Chanctonbury Ring: the story of a Sussex landmark
- Witches, Warlocks & Wellingtons: the ritual protection of the home
- Shops & Shopping: the history of the small shop through the ages
- Sussex Inn Signs and their History
- Travel in the Past: the problems and pleasures of the journey
- The Pubs & Breweries of Steyning, West Sussex
- An Archaeological Childhood in Sussex
- Steyning Scandals: the secrets of a Sussex market town, 1547-1947
- Wiston House, Sussex: the story of its Elizabethan owner Sir Thomas Sherley
- Sidesaddle Travels in England with Celia Fiennes [1690s]
- The Art of the Inn Sign
- On Your Feet: boots and shoes in history
- Cakes & Ale: 'A Full English' in your 17th century 'local'?
Send a message to the speaker
If you are interested in this talk and wish to contact the speaker, please complete the following form: