DURRINGTON
The fromer parish of Durrington, (fn. 54) now part of
Worthing borough, lay partly on the south slope of
the South Downs and partly on the coastal plain.
Like Heene, it was a medieval chapelry of West
Tarring; the layout of its boundaries in the 19th
century shows that its area had been carved out of
Tarring parish. (fn. 55) Though it remained part of West
Tarring ecclesiastical parish until the 20th century,
it was separate for civil purposes from the 16th. In
1881 it comprised 900 a. In 1902 it was augmented
by parts of Broadwater and West Tarring, the
latter including Salvington hamlet, and the enlarged
parish was added to Worthing in 1929. (fn. 56) The
present article deals with the history of the parish
up to c. 1900, though certain topics, including the
history of institutions originating before that date,
are treated here up to 1978.
The parish was some 2 miles long by 2/3 mile
wide, the eastern and western boundaries being
nearly straight. (fn. 57) The boundaries do not seem to
correspond, except perhaps in part, with those of
the Saxon estate of Durrington recorded in 934. (fn. 58)
The north half of the parish lay on the chalk, which
rises quite steeply to 457 ft. at the north-west
corner; and the south half on the Coombe deposits
which overlie the chalk. (fn. 59) A spring which formerly
broke out near the modern village centre formed a
prominent pond there in the 18th and 19th centuries, (fn. 60) but both spring and pond had disappeared
by 1978.
Durrington village lay in the south half of the
parish. In the late 18th century it had two separate
parts. (fn. 61) The northern one, containing the chapel,
the manor-house, and Hebron south of the chapel,
a house of the 18th century or earlier with a central
chimney-stack, retained some of the character of a
village in 1978. The southern part near the modern
roundabout on the Broadwater–Littlehampton road,
where there had also been medieval settlement, (fn. 62)
was of equal size in the late 18th century, but had
shrunk by 1875 to three or four scattered houses.
St. Mary's Farmhouse there, which was 18thcentury perhaps with an earlier core, was in ruins
in 1978. The parish also contained a hamlet, Cote
or Walcote, to the north-west, recorded from the late
12th century. (fn. 63) In 1795 it apparently had at least 6
houses, (fn. 64) and in 1841 62 inhabitants. (fn. 65) Several
pre-20th-century buildings survived there in 1978.
The parish remained rural until the end of the
19th century, when it began to be developed partly
for building and partly for market-gardening and
brickmaking. (fn. 66) Swandean house, built by 1875, was
the only large house in the parish at that date apart
from the manor-house; by 1896 it had become a
hospital. (fn. 67)
The Chichester–Brighton road, apparently of
Roman origin, (fn. 68) traverses the centre of the parish,
bypassing Durrington village, but touching the
southern end of Cote hamlet. Part of it may have
been called Patching Way in the Middle Ages. (fn. 69)
The Broadwater–Littlehampton road, which formed
the southern boundary of the parish, also seems to
be old, (fn. 70) and Salvington Road, linking Durrington
with Salvington, was in existence by 1768. Northwards communication with wealden pastures was
provided by the roads leading north from Durrington
and Cote which joined to form the downland track
leading by way of Tolmare Farm, in Findon, and
Storrington. (fn. 71)
Thirty-one persons were enumerated at Durrington in 1086. (fn. 72) There were 25 taxpayers in 1296,
23 in 1327, and 26 in 1332. (fn. 73) Twenty-two persons
were assessed to the subsidy in 1524. (fn. 74) Seventy-two
adults were recorded there in 1676, (fn. 75) and three
years later there were claimed to be only 3 farmers
and c. 24 cottagers 'of a very mean and poor condition'. (fn. 76) The population increased from 140 in
1801 to 194 in 1821, but afterwards fell to 153 in
1891, rising sharply again in the next decade to
257 in 1901. (fn. 77)
The Lamb inn at Durrington was recorded in
1809, (fn. 78) and the North Star, on the Broadwater–
Littlehampton road south-east of the village, in
1869. (fn. 79) Both survived in 1978.
Durrington village received a main water supply
before neighbouring rural parishes when the West
Worthing Waterworks Company's reservoir was
opened off the Chichester–Brighton road in 1894. (fn. 80)
MANOR AND OTHER ESTATES.
In 934 King
Athelstan granted to his thegn Alfwald 12 hides
at DURRINGTON. That estate presumably included what was later Durrington manor, but since
it was much larger than the area of the later Durrington chapelry, it perhaps also included land in
what became Clapham. (fn. 81) In 1086 Robert, evidently
Robert le Savage, lord of Broadwater, held two
estates in Durrington of William de Braose. One,
rated at 1 hide, had been held of Earl Harold in 1066
by Ulward, and the other, rated at 2 hides and 1
yardland, had been held at the same date by
Edward. (fn. 82) Durrington thereafter descended with
Broadwater, (fn. 83) but no reference to it as a separate
manor has been found after the mid 15th century,
and it evidently came to be considered thereafter
as a member of Broadwater. In 1814 the lord of
Broadwater was owner of the soil of Durrington
common pastures and wastes. (fn. 84)
An estate called Durrington manor between the
17th and 20th centuries comprised freehold and
copyhold tenements of Broadwater manor. (fn. 85) Sir
William Whitmore and Laurence Alcock were
dealing with it in 1685. (fn. 86) From James Butler of
Warminghurst (d. 1775) it passed to Gabriel Eyre
of Lewes (d. 1763), who devised it to the three
Wheatley sisters of the same place. The youngest,
Jane, evidently acquired her sisters' shares, for in
1768 her husband Henry Burtenshaw held 242 a.
in Durrington. (fn. 87) About 1777 he sold the lands to
Hannah Shelley, also of Lewes (d. 1781). Her
nephew and heir Henry Shelley (fn. 88) was succeeded
in 1805 by his son Henry, and the younger Henry
in 1811 by his sisters Elizabeth, Cordelia, and
Eleanor. Eleanor and her husband George Dalbiac (fn. 89)
conveyed her third of the manor in 1824 to her two
sisters, (fn. 90) who held the manor c. 1839. (fn. 91) Cordelia
survived Elizabeth, and at her death in 1854 left
her property jointly to her nephews Henry and
William Dalbiac. (fn. 92) Henry Dalbiac held the manor
in 1874, (fn. 93) being succeeded in 1889 by his son,
another Henry (d. 1900). (fn. 94)
Durrington manor-house, which lies east of the
chapel and replaces an earlier building, is of the
18th century externally, with a faôade of 3 bays and
2 storeys. (fn. 95)
The dean and chapter of Chichester held 6 a.
in the open fields of Durrington by 1570. (fn. 96) At
inclosure in 1818 they were allotted 4½ a., (fn. 97) which
was sold to the duke of Norfolk in 1872. (fn. 98)
ECONOMIC HISTORY.
In 1086 there was land
at Durrington for 8 ploughs. Eleven villani and 14
bordars had 7½ teams on the two manors, and the
demesne land of one of them was worked by 1 team
and 4 servi. Two bordars worked 1½ hide which a
Frenchman held of the other manor. (fn. 99) In later
centuries tenants of Durrington manor were
virtually tenants of Broadwater, of which Durrington was a member. (fn. 1) At the end of the 15th
century there were c. 90 free and copyhold tenements,
varying in size between ½ a. and 2 yardlands. Three
copyholders still owed a few labour services. (fn. 2) In
1892 it was said that nearly all the land in the parish
had until recently been held of Broadwater manor. (fn. 3)
The largest estate in 1768 was the reputed manor, (fn. 4)
comprising both free and copyhold land held of
Broadwater, (fn. 5) and containing 242 a. Four other
estates of between 60 and 110 a. included Ham
farm, (fn. 6) recorded from 1569, when it was said to be
held of Goring manor. (fn. 7) Successive owners of the
reputed manor continued to engross land after
1768. (fn. 8)
Durrington village and Cote hamlet were each
ringed by open fields, (fn. 9) those of Durrington including Swandean mentioned in 1326. (fn. 10) The South
Ham and West Ham mentioned in 1257 apparently
lay in the south-east corner of the parish, (fn. 11) but few
of the other open-field names listed in 1257 were
preserved later. Names mentioned in 1768 include
Upper Cricklade and Easter Mills. By that date,
though some former furlongs had become several
closes, 257 a., especially in the east, still lay in open
fields, mostly in strips less than 1 a. in area. (fn. 12) There
was presumably always common downland pasture
in Durrington; (fn. 13)
c. 1777, for instance, the reputed
manor had 900 sheep leazes there. (fn. 14) Along the
stream south-west of the modern village there was
common meadow land, which in 1768 comprised
14 a. divided into 40 strips. (fn. 15) In addition, the manor
had formerly had detached pasture land in the
Weald, presumably represented by the woodland
for 14 swine mentioned in 1086; (fn. 16) various pasture
places were listed in 934, (fn. 17) presumably including
Drungewick, in Wisborough Green, whose name
indicates an outlying dairy-farm belonging to
Durrington. (fn. 18) By 1768 some downland had already
been inclosed (fn. 19) and in 1777 60 a. of downland was
said to have been recently converted to tillage. (fn. 20)
Crops mentioned in Durrington in the Middle
Ages were wheat, barley, oats, vetch, and beans in
1324, (fn. 21) and apples in 1349. (fn. 22) Wheat, barley, oats,
and peas were mentioned in 1796, when one inhabitant had a flock of 92 sheep. (fn. 23) In 1818 the
remaining open fields and wastes of the parish,
comprising 540 a., or more than half its area, were
inclosed under an Act of 1814. The lord of Broadwater manor received 19 a. as lord of the soil, and
26 landowners received allotments; most were of
less than 15 a., but those of the owners of the reputed
manor and of Ham farm were 158 a. and 66 a.
respectively, while a farmer at Cote received 120 a.
A small area west of High Salvington mill was granted to the parish as cottagers' allotments. (fn. 24)
About 1839 there were four large farms in the
parish, all leased: the reputed manor farm of 258 a.,
Ham farm of 125 a., and two farms at Cote of
131 a. and 211 a.; (fn. 25) 692 a. were arable, and 161 a.
meadow or pasture. (fn. 26) Wheat, barley, oats, turnips,
and mangold-wurzels were the chief crops in 1874.
There were five farmers in 1852, and two in 1899. (fn. 27)
Meanwhile market-gardening and the glass-house
industry had become important. There were two
'gardeners' in 1852, and one in 1882. (fn. 28) By 1896 a
large area south of the village had become marketgardens, (fn. 29) and the industry remained important in
the parish well into the 20th century, being only
gradually displaced by building development.
The windmill mentioned at Durrington manor in
1300 (fn. 30) may have been at High Salvington, which
unlike Salvington hamlet lay in Durrington parish.
The present mill there, called Durrington mill in
1808, (fn. 31) was built c. 1700, (fn. 32) and ceased working in
1897. (fn. 33) In the early 20th century it was used as a
tea-house, (fn. 34) and in 1954 it was bought by Worthing
corporation. (fn. 35)
A brick-works was recorded at Durrington in
1768, (fn. 36) and there was another in 1896. (fn. 37) There was
also a forge in the village in 1768, (fn. 38) which by c. 1839
belonged to the Overington family; (fn. 39) in 1978 a
descendant had an ironmongery business on the
same site. In the 19th century there were at different
times a grocer, a beer retailer, and a wheelwright
in the village. (fn. 40)
LOCAL GOVERNMENT.
As a member of
Broadwater, Durrington came under the jurisdiction
of that manor's court baron and view of frankpledge. (fn. 41) Officers were sometimes appointed for
Durrington separately, for instance an ale-taster in
1501. (fn. 42)
Two churchwardens, or chapelwardens, are
recorded at Durrington for most years between
1544 and 1642. On three occasions between 1676
and 1683 the parishioners failed to elect a warden
until ordered to do so by the Tarring deanery court,
and they may have elected none after the chapel
went out of use in the mid 17th century. From 1684
there was apparently always one warden. The office
never seems to have been held with that of churchwarden for West Tarring or Heene. (fn. 43)
From 1677 or earlier there were also one or two
separate overseers for Durrington. (fn. 44) At some time
before 1680 the church bell was sold and the
proceeds applied to poor relief. (fn. 45) In the 18th and
early 19th centuries a separate poor-rate was levied.
Methods of poor-relief used included the provision
of clothes and material, food, fuel, bedding, and
domestic utensils, repairs to houses, the payment of
rent, and medical care. Weekly payments were also
made, and pauper children apprenticed; one
parishioner who refused an apprentice was fined
£10. From 1780 the overseers were paid a salary of
£5 a year each. The alms-house where one pauper
was put was perhaps the same as the 'parish house'
at Cote, where parish meetings were held, and
which survived c. 1839. (fn. 46) In the late 18th and early
19th centuries the parish surveyor received £6 a
year salary, his duties including the maintenance
of the parish house.
In 1803 Durrington was added to East Preston
united parishes, later East Preston union. (fn. 47) From
1894 it was in East Preston rural district. (fn. 48)
CHURCHES.
There was a church at Durrington
in 1086, (fn. 49) which was presumably then as later a
chapel of West Tarring. No separate incumbents
are recorded before 1914, when Durrington was
made a parish with its own vicar. (fn. 50) The advowson
was then vested in the bishop of Chichester, (fn. 51) who
still held it in 1978.
In the Middle Ages and later the revenues of
Durrington belonged to West Tarring rectory and
vicarage, except for a share of tithes, later defined
as half the great tithes of most of the parish, which
belonged to Sele priory and later to Magdalen
College, Oxford. (fn. 52) In the late 12th century it was
agreed to build a barn in the churchyard in which
to store both the priory's and the rector's shares. (fn. 53)
In 1918 the new benefice was said to be worth £150
a year. (fn. 54) A vicarage house was built in 1951–2. (fn. 55)
In the Middle Ages Durrington chapel was
presumably served by chaplains, as stipulated in
the ordination of West Tarring vicarage in 1287. (fn. 56)
Burials at least were performed there, since a graveyard was mentioned c. 1180. (fn. 57)
In the early 16th century services were still held
at Durrington, (fn. 58) but testators there were buried at
West Tarring. (fn. 59) In 1563 and later the chapel was
served by curates. (fn. 60) In return for the modus for
which the small tithes of Durrington were commuted in 1617, the then vicar undertook to celebrate
communion there three times a year, read evening
prayer every Sunday at one o'clock, preach at his
discretion, and baptise and marry as required. (fn. 61)
His successor carried out at least the first two heads
of the agreement either by himself or through
curates, but the next incumbent, William Stanley,
served only intermittently at Durrington, and
moreover sometimes read the services unintelligibly.
The inhabitants for their part withheld their payments in lieu of tithe, and on one occasion Stanley
refused to hold a communion service at Durrington
as announced until he had received his dues. In
1652, after he had left the parish, Stanley sued the
inhabitants of Durrington for dues unpaid. (fn. 62) Meanwhile the chapel was severely damaged during the
Civil War and never repaired afterwards. In 1680
in response to a petition the inhabitants were
excused rebuilding it and given leave to attend West
Tarring church instead. (fn. 63) By 1777, (fn. 64) and perhaps
long before, the chapel lay in ruins.
In 1890 an iron mission room was built at the
expense of the rector of West Tarring next to the
east wall of the old chapel. Services were held there
at first every Sunday afternoon, with communion
once a month, (fn. 65) and in the following year the
building was also being used for evening services,
mothers' meetings, and night school in winter. (fn. 66) In
1900 communion was celebrated monthly in the
summer. In 1915 there were four services every
Sunday. (fn. 67)
The old chapel at Durrington, originally it seems
dedicated to St. Nicholas, and from c. 1260 to St.
Thomas Becket, (fn. 68) comprised a nave and chancel
apparently of the mid 13th century. (fn. 69) A steeple and
bells were mentioned in the 16th and 17th centuries. (fn. 70) Parts of the walls of the chapel, which
survived up to c. 12 ft. high, were incorporated in
the church of ST. SYMPHORIAN, of flint and
stone, which was built in 1915–16. A chancel was
added in 1941. (fn. 71) The silver communion cup
belonging to the old chapel, dated 1568, survives. (fn. 72)
A daughter church of ST. PETER, High
Salvington, of corrugated iron, was built in 1928
at the expense of the vicar, and was sold to the
parish by his executors in 1951. Services were held
fortnightly at first, but later more often; in 1967
congregations averaged 33. (fn. 73)
There are registers of baptisms, marriages, and
burials for Durrington from 1626 to 1752, but
burials throughout that period, and after the mid
17th century baptisms and marriages too, were
evidently performed at West Tarring. (fn. 74) In the late
18th and early 19th centuries Durrington entries
were sometimes listed separately in the West
Tarring registers. (fn. 75) Separate registers began again
in 1914. (fn. 76)
NONCONFORMITY.
One protestant nonconformist was recorded at Durrington in 1676. (fn. 77) A
room was licensed for an unnamed sect in 1840, (fn. 78)
and between 1876 and 1880 there was a preaching
station of Worthing Congregational church. (fn. 79)
EDUCATION.
In 1818 (fn. 80) and perhaps earlier the
children of Durrington attended the West Tarring
parish school. A day school was founded in 1819,
at which 4 boys and 6 girls were educated at their
parents' expense in 1833. (fn. 81) Margaret Bushby by
will proved 1840 left a bequest for the educational
benefit of the children of Goring and Durrington,
which produced a gross income of £73 6s. 8d. in
1894, and £67 in 1964. (fn. 82) There was a dame school
from 1860, (fn. 83) and a private school attended by 8
boys and girls on the return day in 1871. (fn. 84) Other
children then and later, however, attended schools
in Goring and West Tarring. (fn. 85)
CHARITIES FOR THE POOR.
None known.