Findon is a semi-rural clustered village and

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

in the Arun District of

West Sussex West Sussex is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Surrey to the north, East Sussex to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Hampshire to the west. The largest settlement is Cr ...

, England, 4 miles (6.4 km) north of

Worthing Worthing ( ) is a seaside town and borough in West Sussex, England, at the foot of the South Downs, west of Brighton, and east of Chichester. With a population of 113,094 and an area of , the borough is the second largest component of the Br ...

Governance

electoral ward A ward is a local authority area, typically used for electoral purposes. In some countries, wards are usually named after neighbourhoods, thoroughfares, parishes, landmarks, geographical features and in some cases historical figures connected t ...

in the same name. This ward stretches south west to Patching with a total ward population as at the 2011 census of 2,557.

Geography

The parish is on the slopes of and between two hills:

Cissbury Cissbury Ring is an biological Site of Special Scientific Interest north of Worthing in West Sussex. It is owned by the National Trust and is designated a Scheduled monument for its Neolithic flint mine and Iron Age hillfort. Cissbury Ring is ...

with its

Iron Age The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...

hill fort to the east and a steep knoll Church Hill to the west. A further escarpment to the West and North stretches along the borders of the area. On the two named hills are remains of prehistoric flint mines where shafts were sunk about to reach the best seams of flint which were mined from radiating galleries. Near Muntham Court to the west of the village can be found a late Iron Age and Romano-British settlement site designated as a scheduled monument. The village is now bypassed by the

A24 A24 Films LLC, commonly referred to as A24, is an American Privately held company, independent entertainment company that specializes in film and television production, as well as film distribution. The studio is based in Manhattan. The company ...

as it crosses the

South Downs The South Downs are a range of chalk hills in the south-eastern coastal counties of England that extends for about across the south-eastern coastal counties of England from the Itchen valley of Hampshire in the west to Beachy Head, in the ...

: the bypass was constructed in 1938. A modern settlement to the south of the village, inside the boundary of the Borough of Worthing is called Findon Valley. The parish is settled as a

nucleated village A nucleated village, or clustered settlement, is one of the main types of settlement pattern. It is one of the terms used by geographers and landscape historians to classify settlements. It is most accurate with regard to planned settlements: its ...

at between and above sea level (Ordnance Datum) and the South Downs rise to and to west and east respectively.

Amenities

The parish church, dedicated to

St John the Baptist John the Baptist ( – ) was a Jewish preacher active in the area of the Jordan River in the early first century AD. He is also known as Saint John the Forerunner in Eastern Orthodoxy and Oriental Orthodoxy, John the Immerser in some Baptist ...

, stands to the west of the village and the A24 road near the 18th-century mansion Findon Place. The church is built of flint to an unusual design, the

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

and north aisle having been given a single-span roof with king-posts resting on the arcade, probably in the 15th century. The screen is a rare 13th-century example, but heavily restored. There are four public houses, the ''Gun Inn'', the ''Black Horse'', the ''Village House'', the ''Snooty Fox'' (part of the Findon Manor Hotel), all of which are located along the High Street. The High Street also accommodates an Indian takeaway, a post office and corner shop, and the high-end restaurant the ''Sylvan Oak''. The village has a small primary

school A school is the educational institution (and, in the case of in-person learning, the Educational architecture, building) designed to provide learning environments for the teaching of students, usually under the direction of teachers. Most co ...

, situated on School Hill, dedicated to

Saint John the Baptist John the Baptist ( – ) was a Jewish preacher active in the area of the Jordan River in the early first century AD. He is also known as Saint John the Forerunner in Eastern Orthodoxy and Oriental Orthodoxy, John the Immerser in some Baptist ...

. It boasts many annual events, including a

fireworks Fireworks are Explosive, low explosive Pyrotechnics, pyrotechnic devices used for aesthetic and entertainment purposes. They are most commonly used in fireworks displays (also called a fireworks show or pyrotechnics), combining a large numbe ...

display and

May Day May Day is a European festival of ancient origins marking the beginning of summer, usually celebrated on 1 May, around halfway between the Northern Hemisphere's March equinox, spring equinox and midsummer June solstice, solstice. Festivities ma ...

celebrations.

Sport and recreation

The Monarch's Way long-distance footpath crosses the village. It is the only significant settlement on the route between

Arundel Arundel ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the Arun District of the South Downs, West Sussex, England. The much-conserved town has a medieval castle and Roman Catholic cathedral. Arundel has a museum and comes second behind much la ...

and Bramber.

Culture

Nationally famous stage and screen actress, Nancy Price, lived with her husband for many years in 'Arcana', a house in Heather Lane, till her death in 1970. The village is the host of the Findon Sheep Fair, an annual event held on the second weekend of every September, with a history dating back to approximately 1785. The event was historically used for the commercial trading of livestock, though this is no longer practised due to both risk of foot and mouth disease and the main road into the village, Long Furlong, becoming unsuitable for livestock herding since the widespread adoption of motor vehicles. At its peak, the fair saw livestock herded in from London, Brighton, Sussex and Surrey of 300 different breeds. Despite changes in its nature, the fair is still a popular event, seeing approximately 7000 visitors each year.

References

External links

{{authority control Villages in West Sussex Arun District