ECONOMIC HISTORY
Agriculture
In 1086
Steyning manor included a large demesne farm
with 7 plough-teams and 9 servi. The tenants of
the manor, in other places presumably besides
Steyning, comprised 178 villani and 63 bordars.
Wappingthorn manor had 7 villani and 15 bordars,
and a demesne farm with 1 plough-team. (fn. 33) In the
early 14th century Steyning manor was held in
demesne; (fn. 34) in the mid 15th century and the mid
16th, however, its successor Charlton manor was
farmed. (fn. 35) In 1338 13 full customary tenants owed
5 works a fortnight, 4 half-customers (semi-pleni) 5
works every four weeks, 6 cottagers 2 works weekly,
and another cottager 1 work weekly; tenants of the
manor in Charlton had commuted their service of
carrying wood, and tenants at Shortsfield (in
Horsham) had also commuted some or all of their
services. (fn. 36) Wappingthorn manor in 1350 comprised
a demesne farm with 150 a. of arable, 50 a. of
heathland pasture, and 10 a. of meadow; there were
5 free tenants paying rents of 12s. 6½d. and a
bondman. Other tenants who had brought the rent
up to 60s. had died, presumably of plague, and
their holdings lay empty. (fn. 37) By 1399 Wappingthorn
was at farm. (fn. 38)
In the late 15th century burgage-tenants held at
money rents, and also paid a relief on death or
alienation, together with 12d. 'danger' or 'danger
silver'. (fn. 39) One customary tenant who held of the
borough by rent and services and at the will of the
lady (fn. 40) may be a relic of a time before borough
tenants were distinguished from the other tenants
of Steyning manor. In 1542 there were c. 80
burgages. (fn. 41) The number remained about the same
in the 18th century, (fn. 42) but by 1806, presumably
through subdivision, there were at least 111. (fn. 43)
Some tenants continued to pay quit-rents until
1936. (fn. 44)
Both free and copyhold tenants held land of
Charlton manor between the 15th (fn. 45) and 19th
centuries, though their tenements did not all lie in
Steyning parish. In 1541 there were 32 freehold
tenants with 94 tenements, and 18 copyhold
tenants with 29 tenements. (fn. 46) In 1622 there were
29 freeholders with 60 tenements, but only 7
copyholders, some former copyholds having become
leasehold. (fn. 47) By 1834 no copyholders remained, but
22 freehold tenants held 50 tenements, of which 12
were outside the parish. (fn. 48) Both kinds of tenant
paid money rents together with a heriot, usually in
kind, on death. (fn. 49) Copyholders paid entry fines, (fn. 50)
and freeholders paid a relief, equivalent to a year's
quit-rent, on death or alienation. (fn. 51) Copyholds were
sometimes held for lives, and could be leased for
short periods of years. (fn. 52) Already by 1639 many
tenements had been engrossed by successive lords
of the manor, so that most of the land round Charlton
hamlet belonged to the demesne. (fn. 53) There seem to
have been no tenants of Wappingthorn manor after
the mid 14th century, (fn. 54) but tenants of Wyckham
manor were mentioned between 1549 and 1629. (fn. 55)
In the east and north parts of the parish much land
was held of King's Barns manor in Beeding, including Wyckham Dale and apparently Northover
farm. (fn. 56)
Between the 16th century and the 19th much of
the land in the parish came to be divided between
farms of c. 100 or 200 a. leased for terms usually of
up of 21 years. (fn. 57) Wyckham farm, i.e. the demesne
farm, was recorded c. 1537, (fn. 58) Huddlestone farm,
formerly part of Charlton manor demesne, in 1614, (fn. 59)
Ham farm in 1639, (fn. 60) Calcot farm in 1677, (fn. 61) and
Staplefields farm in 1717. (fn. 62) From architectural
evidence, however, the farm-houses at Calcot and
Staplefields farms existed before the dates mentioned, Calcot Farmhouse being a late medieval
building with later additions. In 1639 Charlton
Court farm with 572 a. (fn. 63) was already the largest in
the parish, as it continued to be later. In 1749 there
were between 15 and 20 farms in the parish, though
some farmers held more than one. (fn. 64) A number of
smaller farmsteads lay within the urban area until
at least the early 19th century, when two of them,
Newham farm and Faggs Barn, shared the bulk of
the land that remained in open fields. (fn. 65) About 1841
there were three large farms, Charlton Court
(672 a.), Wyckham (317 a.), and Wappingthorn
(307 a.), and 14 or 15 smaller ones of between 24 a.
and 166 a. Other lands held with Charlton brought
its total acreage up to 877 a., while the combined
acreage of Wyckham, Ham, and Gatewick farms,
all held by a single farmer, was 510 a. (fn. 66) Thirteen
farms were listed in 1930, though only Charlton
Court and Huddlestone farms were more than 150 a.
in area. (fn. 67) In 1975 there were 16 holdings of which
14 were under 75 a. (fn. 68) Much of the parish, including
Huddlestone and Wyckham farms, then belonged
to the Wappingthorn estate, which also rented
farms from the Wiston estate. (fn. 69)
It seems clear that the parish was intensively
cultivated from an early date, though the large
total of 41 plough-lands recorded under Steyning
manor in 1086 presumably included land in Ashurst
and Warminghurst at least. Fifty-five ploughteams were recorded at the manor in that year,
including 7 on the demesne; the burgesses of the
town had 1½ plough-team. At Wappingthorn there
were 6 plough-lands with 5 teams, including 1 on
the demesne. (fn. 70) The open fields of the parish as
they existed in later times (fn. 71) lay in an arc round the
west side of the town. Three lay towards the downs,
of which the northernmost was known as the Hyde
or the Westfield. It was described as being in
Charlton tithing in 1496, and much of the land in
it was held of Charlton manor. (fn. 72) The other two
were originally known by the names of their
furlongs, of which Rublee, Sheeplands, Perrotts,
Portway, and Dunstalls are recorded between the
15th and 17th centuries. (fn. 73) They may have been
the open fields belonging to the borough mentioned
in 1495. (fn. 74) In later times the more northerly was
called Chequer Laine, perhaps after the Chequer
inn nearby, and the other Brewhouse Laine,
presumably after the brewery in Singwell Street. (fn. 75)
Four others lay around the hamlet of Charlton, the
Great Laine to the south-west, the Bayard to the
east, and Street furlong and the Medlands to the
west and north. Most of the land in them was held
of Charlton manor. (fn. 76) Two smaller open fields, the
Faircroft (fn. 77) and the Howe, alias the Shooting field, (fn. 78)
lay to the north of the town, and another, Jarvis
field, (fn. 79) to the east.
Already in the late 15th century there were consolidated holdings of between 5 a. and 7 a. in the
Bayard and the Hyde besides smaller ones of 1 a.
or 2 a. (fn. 80) Tenants of Charlton manor were presented
in 1550 for inclosing land in those two fields. (fn. 81) By
1639 most of the four open fields around Charlton
had been inclosed. (fn. 82) The Great Laine, which
perhaps comprised the open fields 'Aplake', 'Gravel
Lane', (fn. 83) and 'Holy Land' (fn. 84) mentioned in the 15th
and 16th centuries, were entirely so, and had become part of Charlton Court farm. Street furlong
and the Medlands both contained holdings of 1-2 a.
Both had been inclosed by c. 1835. (fn. 85) In the Bayard
there had been at least five holdings of 3-5 a. in
1622. (fn. 86) By c. 1835 the whole field had become
consolidated holdings of c. 5 a. (fn. 87) The three fields
nearer the town included holdings of 6 a., 8 a., and
11 a. in the 17th century. (fn. 88) Much of the land in
them, however, remained divided into holdings of
1-2 a. until the 19th century. (fn. 89) As late as the 1880s
there were still parcels of uninclosed arable land in
the Brewhouse and Chequer laines of 1 a. or less. (fn. 90)
Wyckham hamlet had its own open fields, holdings in the south furlong of Wyckham being
mentioned in the 16th and 17th centuries. (fn. 91)
The central and northern parts of the parish,
occupying the two clay outcrops, were probably
brought under cultivation later than the parts
already mentioned, and land there was perhaps
never open-field arable. The three farmsteads
lying on the gault clay, Nash, Staplefields, and
Greenfields, all have names which suggest assarting.
In the south-west part of the parish cultivation
seems to have been extended piecemeal into downland pasture. The shape of the fields of Pepperscombe farm c. 1841 may indicate assarting, (fn. 92) as
may a field-name 'Coldwaltham' near by. (fn. 93) The
conversion of downland to arable has been resumed
in more recent times. (fn. 94)
A reference to common pasture belonging to
Steyning at Nuthurst near Horsham in 1228
presumably indicates that transhumance was then
still practised. (fn. 95) In the parish itself pasture-rights
at a place called the Coombe were mentioned in
1248. (fn. 96) The Hurstbrook in the west part of the
parish belonging to Charlton manor (fn. 97) was recorded
in 1374, (fn. 98) and pasture-rights there were mentioned
between 1568 and 1609. (fn. 99) A close in the northern
tip of the parish called 'the common mead' c.
1841 (fn. 1) presumably once formed part of the adjacent
Horsebridge Common in Ashurst, which may once
have been intercommonable between the two
parishes. The downland in the south-west part of
the parish provided common sheep-pasture, rights
of common there being frequently mentioned in
the 16th and 17th centuries. (fn. 2) Those which belonged
to Magdalen College, Oxford, in respect of its
Findon rectory estate in Steyning, were extinguished by a law-suit of c. 1800; (fn. 3) others survived
in the 1820s, (fn. 4) but all had apparently been extin
guished by c. 1841. (fn. 5) Charlton Court farm, however,
retained some pasture-rights over the surviving
open fields in 1884. (fn. 6) Meanwhile the Charlton
manor demesne farm, which had already had 250 a.
of several sheep down in 1639, (fn. 7) acquired more by
1675. (fn. 8) By c. 1835 all the downland in the parish
(475 a.) belonged to that estate. (fn. 9) Wyckham manor
had its own common meadow, mentioned in 1565 (fn. 10)
and perhaps identical with the 'Wychamingbrok'
mentioned in 1374. (fn. 11) Parcels of meadow of 1-5 a.
were recorded there in the 17th century. (fn. 12) In 1800,
when the meadow comprised 10½ a., part was still
being mowed alternately each year by the two
surviving landholders. (fn. 13) Much of the low-lying
pasture land in the north-east of the parish seems
to have been reclaimed piecemeal from former
marsh, and was probably always severally owned.
Medieval crops in Steyning included wheat,
barley, peas, beans, vetches, apples, hemp, and
flax. (fn. 14) Arable farming seems to have dominated; in
1337-8 the sale of corn from the demesne farm of
Steyning manor brought in nearly £60. (fn. 15) At the
same date the demesne farm had at least 75 cattle
and 160 sheep, (fn. 16) and two sheepfolds belonging to
the manor were mentioned in 1405. (fn. 17) Crops
mentioned in the 17th and 18th centuries but not
before were rye, oats, tares, turnips, clover, (fn. 18) hops, (fn. 19)
and saffron. (fn. 20) The country surrounding the town
was said in 1730 to be worth more than 20s. an
acre, and to be capable of producing 30 or 40 bu.
of wheat and 50 of barley per acre, (fn. 21) but the arable
land to the north was described a century later as
mostly cold and poor. (fn. 22) The downland sheep
pasture was highly regarded, (fn. 23) and large flocks of
sheep seem usually to have been kept at Charlton
Court farm: c. 350 in 1531, and twice that number
in 1820. (fn. 24) In 1801 3,000 sheep were recorded in the
parish. (fn. 25) The meadow land in the east part also
had a high reputation. (fn. 26) In 1840 there were 1,640 a.
of arable in the parish, c. 370 a. of meadow, c. 750 a.
of lowland pasture, and 475 a. of down. (fn. 27) Wheat and
oats were said to be the chief crops in 1899. (fn. 28) In
1976 some maize was grown. (fn. 29) Since the late 19th
century the type of farming has been influenced by
the needs of the coastal towns, especially Brighton
and Worthing. The bond between 'consuming
Brighton and producing Steyning' had already
been referred to in 1861. (fn. 30) A dairy farm was
mentioned in 1886, (fn. 31) being succeeded by others in
the 20th century; (fn. 32) in 1976 dairying was the
predominant type of agriculture in the parish. (fn. 33)
Market-gardening was recorded in the parish from
the 1860s, (fn. 34) fruit-growing from the 1920s, (fn. 35) and
poultry farming from c. 1930. (fn. 36)
Mills
Four mills belonged to Fécamp abbey's
Steyning estate in 1086, (fn. 37) but it is likely that not
all of them were in Steyning itself. In the 15th
century there were two water-mills belonging te
Charlton manor on the stream that bounded tho
town on the north, Charlton and Gatewick mills,
then called West mill and East mill. (fn. 38) The second
had been mentioned c. 1200, when it was leased
with the proviso that the wheat of the abbey's
bailiff should be ground there toll-free. (fn. 39) The
'pond of middle mill' mentioned in the late 15th
century (fn. 40) presumably lay between the two mills,
and may have been the site of a third. Gatewick
mill later belonged to Gatewick manor, and was
demolished in 1878. (fn. 41) A steam-engine was added
at Charlton mill apparently in 1852 to supplement
the stream, (fn. 42) and the mill was still working in 1927,
though only to grind animal feed. (fn. 43) The mill was
later converted into a house, and survived in 1976.
A miller recorded in Wyckham tithing in 1332 (fn. 44)
may have worked a windmill at Wappingthorn,
where Mill or Windmill field was mentioned
between 1649 and 1886. (fn. 45) Two other windmills
were mentioned in the 17th century, one belonging
to Jarvis farm in 1609 (fn. 46) and another, recently
erected on a parcel of land in the open fields, in
1668. (fn. 47) There was a horse-mill in the parish in
1569. (fn. 48) A windmill was built by a member of the
Lashmar family on the east side of the Bramber road shortly before 1789, (fn. 49) but had been removed
by 1817. (fn. 50) About 1800 another Lashmar built a
windmill on the downs south of the town, (fn. 51) which
was demolished in 1895. (fn. 52) Members of the family
also held the lease of the two water-mills in the parish in the 19th century. (fn. 53) A miller (steam and
wind) was recorded in the town in 1887. (fn. 54)
Port and river traffic
The port of Steyning, lying well back from the open sea like those of its
rivals Lewes and Arundel, was clearly a chief cause of the town's pre-Conquest importance, though it
was not mentioned in Domesday Book. For a time after its acquisition by Fécamp abbey it seemed
likely to become an important link with Normandy, but soon afterwards it began to decline, through
the cumulative effect of interference to its traffic from the de Braose family at Bramber, the founding
of New Shoreham, also by the de Braoses, and the silting up of the arm of the river on which it stood.
From the late 11th century Steyning was forsaken by Fécamp abbey in favour of their other Sussex
ports, Rye and Winchelsea, the former of which
may have been founded purposely to replace it. (fn. 55)
When Rye and Winchelsea were resumed by the
Crown in 1247 because of the threat they posed to
national defence, (fn. 56) the abbey was allowed to retain
Steyning, a fact that seems symptomatic of the
port's decline. It had perhaps ceased to exist by the
early 14th century, when meat and cider were
transported from Steyning to Shoreham by road,
not by river. (fn. 57)
Nevertheless, traffic continued to use the river
Adur in later times. In the late 17th century there
was a malt-house and brick-works in the north-east
part of the parish with a wharf from which timber,
some of it for the navy, was despatched down river
by barge. (fn. 58) The malt-house still existed two centuries later, (fn. 59) and the wharf survived until c. 1900. (fn. 60)
In the 1720s much timber was being brought
downstream to Shoreham from Steyning and its
surroundings. (fn. 61) A proposal made in 1803, apparently
on behalf of the duke of Norfolk, to revive the
town's river trade by means of a short stretch of
canal came to nothing. (fn. 62) The Adur was improved
after 1807, (fn. 63) however, and remained navigable for
barges until at least 1938. (fn. 64) Coal was still brought
to Steyning by river in the early 19th century. (fn. 65)
Two bargemen were living in the town in 1790, (fn. 66)
and a barge-owner was recorded in the parish in
1882. (fn. 67)
Market and fairs
The existence of a borough and a mint at Steyning before the Norman Conquest implies that there was also then a market.
William de Braose seems to have assumed the profits of the market by 1073, when he gave the
'tithe of the toll at Steyning' to his college at Bramber. (fn. 68) In 1086 the tolls were restored to Fécamp
abbey with the exception apparently of half the toll of the Saturday market. (fn. 69) The sums of 75s. 8d. and
40s. which the Crown received at Steyning in 1210 during forfeiture of the Braose lands (fn. 70) seem to
include market tolls. In 1279 the abbot of Fécamp was confirmed in a market in the town on Wednesday and Saturday, and in two fairs at the Nativity
of the Virgin (8 Sept.) and Michaelmas; but William de Braose claimed to share the same with
him, dividing the tolls equally. (fn. 71) In 1368 William's descendant John de Mowbray apparently still kept
a share of the tolls. (fn. 72) Later lords of Bramber continued to claim half the tolls in the 15th century,
though they apparently received nothing at that time. (fn. 73) The Saturday market at least survived in
1441-2, when the lord of the borough, Sir John Cornwall, complained that its prosperity was being threatened by a new market at Broadwater held on
the same day. (fn. 74) Whether for that reason or another, Steyning's market seems thereafter to have declined.
In 1444-5 the abbess of Syon received 4s. 6d. from
the tolls of fairs and markets in the town, (fn. 75) but three years later the tolls were farmed to the bailiff
and burgesses for 3s. 4d., (fn. 76) and by 1466-7 the farm
had declined to 13½d. (fn. 77) In 1586, however, the
market was apparently held twice a week, and was
said to be very busy. (fn. 78)
In the early 18th century Steyning was once
again a market centre of regional importance. In
1730 there was a market every Friday and on the
second Wednesday of each month. Besides the two
old fairs there was another held on 29 May. The
Michaelmas fair was the largest, being reckoned
one of the chief fairs of the county, where two or
three thousand Welsh cattle were sold in a day. (fn. 79)
At the end of the 18th century and during the 19th
the market was held fortnightly, (fn. 80) the tolls being
usually farmed by the duke of Norfolk. (fn. 81) The three
fairs survived in the early 19th century, their dates
modified by the change in the calendar, (fn. 82) but only
the Michaelmas fair was still held in 1855. (fn. 83) The
importance of Steyning as a market town in the 19th
century was shown by its being made an alternative
meeting-place, with Horsham, in 1820 for shows
of the Bramber Agricultural Society, (fn. 84) and the
meeting-place for regular prize shows of fat stock
in 1840 and c. 1890. (fn. 85) By the end of the century
both market and fair were being run by auctioneers; (fn. 86)
the firm of H. J. Burt (later Churchman, Burt &
Son) took over in 1905 (fn. 87) and continued to manage
both thereafter. In the 1920s the market was held
every Wednesday, chiefly for livestock, of which
c. 27,000 head passed through in a year, making the
market one of the largest in the county. (fn. 88) The market
declined after the closure of the railway in 1966, (fn. 89)
and closed in 1974, (fn. 90) the fair, which was still
'considerable' in 1938, (fn. 91) having ceased some years
earlier.
The site of the market-place mentioned in 1288,
when four shops which had been illegally erected
in the middle of it were ordered to be demolished, (fn. 92)
is not certain. In later times the market was held
in the four main streets of the town, as the original
name of one of them, Sheep Pen Street, indicated. (fn. 93)
About 1890 it was moved to a site by the station. (fn. 94)
The open field called Faircroft lying north of the
town across the stream (fn. 95) may have been the original
site of the fair. In 1792, however, two other sites
were mentioned, the Chequer Laine, where traders paid 'shewpence' to Charlton manor, and High
Street, where the toll was paid to the steward of the borough. (fn. 96) In the late 19th century the fair
was held all over the town. Cattle were sold at the west end, the Welsh beasts having arrived in
adjacent fields the day before, and sheep, horses, and ponies south of the town, while the accompanying pleasure fair occupied a field alongside Newham
Lane and extended into High Street, where a hiring fair was also held. (fn. 97)
An annual horse sale began to be held c. 1890;
during the early 20th century it was said to be the largest of its kind south of London, over 100 horses
changing hands. (fn. 98) In 1976 horse sales were held about once a month.
Trade and industry
Steyning's position by the river Adur and on the border between the contrasting agricultural areas of down and Weald made
it a natural entrepôt. (fn. 99) Two wine merchants were recorded in 1200, (fn. 1) and two cloth merchants and
two who dealt in both cloth and wine in 1248. (fn. 2) Wool merchants were mentioned in 1272 (fn. 3) and
1323. (fn. 4) In 1341 five inhabitants of the town were said to live from the profits of their merchandise. (fn. 5)
The cloth trade may have been carried on at a burgage called Clothhalls in 1477. (fn. 6) Glovers, weavers,
tanners, tailors, and drapers were recorded in the 14th and 15th centuries, (fn. 7) and shoemakers, leatherdressers, and whittawers in the late 15th century; (fn. 8)
the guild of shoemakers and tanners, recorded at the same period, (fn. 9) is the only trade guild known to
have existed in the town. Butchers, bakers, brewers,
and fishmongers were also recorded in the late 15th
century. (fn. 10) At least two men with the surname
Chapman occur in the early 14th century, (fn. 11) and
there was a chapman or mercer in Steyning in
1482. (fn. 12)
The detached part of the parish called Spratt's
Marsh (3½ a.), lying near Bramber castle, (fn. 13) had a
'saltcote' in 1477, (fn. 14) that presumably being the
reason for its inclusion in the parish. Later fieldnames Salt mead and Salt hook (fn. 15) possibly indicate
other sites of salt extraction. Income from saltmaking was also mentioned at Wappingthorn
manor in 1086. (fn. 16) The surname Roper recorded in
the early 14th century may indicate that ropemaking was carried on in the parish then. (fn. 17) Cloth
may have been fulled at a place called Fullersbrook
in 1477, which lay between the town's two watermills. (fn. 18)
The brewery on the south side of Singwell
Street presumably existed by 1692, when Brewhouse Laine was so called. (fn. 19) The leather trades
continued to be prominent between the 16th and
18th centuries, (fn. 20) curriers and fellmongers for
instance being recorded. (fn. 21) Representatives of other
agricultural industries included hempdressers (fn. 22)
and tallow-chandlers. (fn. 23) Numerous representatives
of the clothing trades and industries were recorded,
including a shearman, (fn. 24) a feltmaker, (fn. 25) flaxdressers, (fn. 26)
drapers, (fn. 27) a hatter, (fn. 28) and a 'capper'. (fn. 29) In the early
16th century Steyning was a minor centre of the
cloth industry. (fn. 30) The building trades and related
trades were well represented in the 18th century,
a glazier and plumber, (fn. 31) a turner, and a joiner (fn. 32)
being recorded among others. Several lime-pits
were in use in 1568, (fn. 33) and two brick-works were
recorded in the 17th century. (fn. 34) More unusual
trades included that of brazier mentioned in 1696. (fn. 35)
Specialized retailers in the 18th century included a
clockmaker, a watchmaker, a wig-maker, and a
wine merchant. (fn. 36) Two attorneys were recorded in
the town in the early 17th century, and others occur
regularly thereafter. (fn. 37) A physician, (fn. 38) a doctor, (fn. 39)
and a barber-surgeon (fn. 40) were mentioned in the
17th century, and a surgeon in 1738. (fn. 41) There was
an apothecary in the town in 1669, (fn. 42) and apparently
usually afterwards. (fn. 43) A bank was in existence in
1798. (fn. 44)
A list of inhabitants of Steyning town in 1790, not
necessarily exhaustive, includes 4 brewers and 2
coopers, 3 bakers, 3 butchers, and a grocer; in the
leather industries 4 tanners, 11 shoemakers, 2
saddlers, a collar-maker, and 2 fellmongers, besides
a tallow-chandler; in the clothing trades 4 tailors,
2 weavers, a hatmaker, 2 glovers, 2 staymakers, a
pattenmaker, and 2 flaxdressers; in the building
trades 10 bricklayers, 9 carpenters, 2 sawyers, and
a lath-cleaver; 46 labourers; a chairmaker, 2 turners,
a watchmaker, and a brazier; 4 wheelwrights, 2
blacksmiths, 2 other smiths, and an ironmonger; a
merchant and 3 shopkeepers; 3 surgeons; and 5
persons described as 'gentleman'. (fn. 45) A mason, a
glazier, and a breeches-maker were also recorded
in the parish at about the same time. (fn. 46)
In the 19th and 20th centuries (fn. 47) the proportion
of non-agricultural occupations in the parish greatly
increased. In 1811 119 families were chiefly supported by agriculture and 89 chiefly by trade,
manufacture, or handicraft; in 1831 the corresponding figures were 108 and 130, (fn. 48) and the process
continued, though it could still be stated in 1855
that agriculture was the principal trade. During the
period Steyning supplied agricultural commodities
and services to a wide hinterland. Two manufacturers of agricultural machinery were recorded in
1862, and there was a firm of agricultural engineers
in 1976. There were corn and seed merchants in
the parish in 1844 (fn. 49) and later, a harness-maker in
1887, and veterinary surgeons in 1862 and 1895.
In 1958 there was a firm of power-farming contractors. (fn. 50)
Steyning also supplied a wide variety of retail
goods and services of a general kind. Eight boot or
shoemakers for instance were recorded in 1862.
Other retailers included a druggist and two watchmakers in 1862, a tailor and cartridge manufacturer
in 1887, two antique dealers in 1930, and a china,
glass, and earthenware dealer in 1938. There were
two banks in the town in 1862 and three in 1899
and 1976. A branch of the Worthing and Sussex,
later Henty's, bank which opened in 1827 still
existed in 1976 as a branch of Lloyds Bank. (fn. 51) There
was an auctioneer in 1805 and 1844, (fn. 52) and an
auctioneer and estate agent in 1866. Two new
estate agents' firms were set up in 1974 as a result
of the recent increase in building in the neighbourhood. (fn. 53) A dentist was recorded in 1930. There were
7 insurance agents in the town in 1862 and a firm
of accountants in 1938. The Steyning Permanent
Benefit Building Society was formed in 1878, and
after absorbing four other Sussex building societies
between 1937 and 1970, with consequent changes of
name, amalgamated in 1975 with the Lewes Building
Society to become the Sussex County Building
Society. (fn. 54) Representatives of the building and
decorating trades in the town included a cabinetmaker and upholsterer recorded in 1887. One
builder recorded in 1862 later described himself as
an architect. More specialized services included
those of a piano-tuner in 1895, a printer in 1905 and
1976, a photographer in 1922, and a masseuse in
1930.
By the mid 19th century the manufacturing
industries of the town had resolved themselves into
two main ones: brewing and the processing of skins
and hides. From the early 19th century there were
two large breweries in the town, both in the southeastern quarter, Stovold's (later Michell's) and
Gates's. Each had two tied houses in the town c.
1841. (fn. 55) Michell's brewery had at least five tied
houses in other parts of western Sussex in 1871. (fn. 56)
The two firms had amalgamated by 1899 as Steyning
Breweries Ltd., which by 1927 had been taken over
by the Rock Brewery of Brighton. The business of
G. T. Breach and Sons which gave Tanyard Lane
its name was in existence by 1834. (fn. 57) In 1862 the
firm was described as parchment manufacturers,
fellmongers, glovers, wooldealers, and farmers.
Some new works buildings had been erected c.
1840, (fn. 58) and in 1898 c. 60 men were employed
there. (fn. 59) The business closed shortly after 1939. (fn. 60)
Several lime-kilns were in use in the parish at the
end of the 18th century, (fn. 61) and two lime-burners
were recorded in 1834. (fn. 62) In the 19th and 20th
centuries chalk was extracted on a large scale from
pits above the town. (fn. 63) A Steyning Lime and Brick
Co. flourished in the 1930s. Chalk was still being
extracted from the downs in 1975. (fn. 64) A short-lived
brickmaking business was carried on near Wappingthorn farm in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. (fn. 65)
New industries arrived in the town in that period,
including the manufacture of mineral waters in the
late 19th century, and general engineering and the
manufacture of pianolas after the First World War. (fn. 66)
Since the Second World War the chief employers
in the town have been the firm of F. Duke Ltd.,
builders, decorators, and timber-merchants, founded
in 1902, and employing c. 90 people in 1958, (fn. 67) and
a firm manufacturing precision gramophone equipment, which in 1976 employed c. 140 people. (fn. 68)
Other businesses in 1976 included a firm of motor
engineers founded in 1912. (fn. 69) Tourists and holidaymakers, important in the town since the early 20th
century, were catered for by three teashops.
During the 20th century an increasingly large
proportion of the inhabitants of the parish have
worked outside it, chiefly in the coastal towns and
in Horsham. In addition many retired people from
elsewhere have settled in the parish. (fn. 70)