Storrington

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Storrington is a village in 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. The village has a population of around 4,500. [1] 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. It was for a long time the local market place. With tanners and blacksmiths. Only in the 20th century did this role fade away. This working/small industry background has left architecturally little to show. Nikolaus Pevsner, noted only the small door in Browns lane, the Church, and the Dominican convent known as The Abbey. Storrington has expanded greatly since 1945, with a variety of housing projects enlarging the village. 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. The is also the Edwin Lutyens built Little Thakeham nearby.

The are a variety of places of worship. St Mary's, on Church St, which is the main Church of England place of worship. The Priory of Our Lady of England on Monastery Lane is the Roman Catholic parish church of Storrington. The Roman Catholic bishops of Arundel lived nearby for a while. Other Christian dominations have places as well, Methodist and Jehovahs Witnesses among them.

Storrington has most 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, delicatesans, charity shops, butchers, clothes shops, three pubs, coffee shops, hard ware stores, estate agencies, all the main banks, variety of restaurants and Post office.

The nearest large towns are Horsham, approximately 12 miles 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.