New Heritage Trails for Bramber and Steyning

Three new heritage trails – A Walk through Steyning’s Past, Upper Beeding and A walk in the Adur valley are attractive fully illustrated leaflets that takes you on a tour of the villages and countryside, past sites hidden in plain sight.

Created by local people as part of a district wide initiative, funded by the National Heritage Lottery Fund and Horsham District Council, with help from Community Partnerships Forum and Horsham Museum, it encourages you to explore places we all think we know.

Upper Beeding leaflet uses the stunning photography of Frank Bull to draw you to sites that you pass daily, without ever really seeing. It then adds to the viewing by including fascinating snippets such as the causeway was built in the 11th century and the same road connected Brighton to London during the age of coaches, whose passengers were stopped from being nosy by a very high wall. Just as the

Upper Beeding trail explores buildings on the main streets, so does Steyning trail. Here the authors have highlighted buildings you would just walk by, rather than focus on the obvious. Be it Chanctonbury cottage where oxen were shod from shoes made in the smithy opposite, or the circular hole at the bottom of a wall, for steam engines to top up their boilers from the stream below, or a shop that has been a butchers for centuries.

Talking of long standing trade, the walk in the Adur Valley focuses on the industries that made the village; medieval salt making, 19th century wharves and the more modern cement works, connecting the three is a delightful walk along the river with its ruined castle, medieval houses and modern day nature reserves. All three trails provide a great way to explore and discover your local areas.

The two yearlong project has seen 17 other trails of the district created by volunteer heritage groups and individuals along with a fully illustrated training manual so you can if you wish, create your own trails and share them with friends, family and groups.

On your walks you may well come across one or more of the 32 Millennium plaques many of which have been refurbished as part of the project.

The trail can be picked up from local libraries, venues or download it from:
 https://www.horshammuseum.org/heritagetrails where you will also find trails around Henfield, Storrington and further afield including a trail of local churches.

Rachel Weller Administration Assistant. Telephone:01403 282591. Email: Rachel.Weller@horsham.gov.uk