Our market house - in the middle of our street

Sussex historian Dr Janet Pennington, who lives in the town, has researched the original "lost" market house for the Sussex Archaeological Collections (SAC) journal.

Steyning's iconic clock tower stands on top of a building described as the Old Market House.

Dr Pennington found this had been built from materials recovered from the original market house, which had stood in the road near the crossroads by the White Horse inn, until 1771, when it was demolished.

A sketch map of Steyning High Street dated 1763, from the West Sussex Record Office, in Chichester, shows the approximate location of the original building.

Dr Pennington said: "It stood right in the middle of the road. It was causing an obstruction '“ it was in the way."

Market halls similar to the one Steyning would have boasted can still be found in many country towns. Titchfield market hall can be seen at the Weald and Downland Museum, after it was moved from Hampshire.

For full story and pictures, read this week's Steyning Herald.

Sussex Archaeological Collections is the journal of the Sussex Archaeological Society, and Dr Pennington's full article can be read in volume 144. For more information about the society, log on to www.sussexpast.co.uk