The Middle Ages

THE TOWN AND HARBOUR IN THE MIDDLE AGES-CHANGES IN COASTLINE-THE ORIGIN OF NEW SHOREHAM-HAVOC WROUGHT BY THE SEA--SITUATION OF THE MEDIAEVAL HARBOUR-DECLINE OF THE TOWN-EXCUSED FROM TAXATION-REVIVAL OF ITS INDUSTRY-OLD ROADS INTO THE TOWN.

Documents of early date present several variants of the name of our town. Domesday Book (1086) gives Soresham and later we find Soreham, Scoreham, Schorham, Sorham, Shoram and Shorham, but not until late in the 13th century is either " Old " or " New " used as a prefix to distinguish the one place from the other.

In an Assize Roll of 1263 the situation of certain property is described as in " Great Schorham " and a few years later there is a reference to a messuage in "parva Schorham " (Little Schorham). These terms doubtless refer to acreage and not to the relative importance of the two places. The area of New Shorehameven at that time a considerable town-was decidedly " little " in comparison with that of Old Shoreham, of which, indeed, it was formerly part. In the 7th year of Edward I. and again in the 15th of Edward II. we find the more ancient place described as " Eldesorham."

* Old Shoreham Parish has an area of 1,923 acres, but Now Shoreham has only 135 acres.
(" Victoria History of Sussex.")

The new town usually appears as " Nova Shorham," but we find it written "Neushorham " for the first time in an Assize Roll dated 16th Edward I. (1288).
In 1324 Roger de Stratton was summoned by writ to answer the charge of having unjustly disseised Isabel, daughter of Walter Randolph of Horsham, of her free tenement " in Shorham." Roger de Stratton appeared and actually contended that " the writ need not be responded to, because." said he," the tenement named is in New Shorham and there is no town in this county called Shorham without an adjunct." The same individual, with a desire for accuracy of spelling not usually associated with those early times, says that " he is called Roger de Stretton and not de Stratton as it is put in the writ."

The jurors in the above case said on oath that the tenement in question was in New Shorham, " there being in the county towns called Old and New Shorham and no town called Shorham without one or other of these adjuncts." They also declared that Isabel was seised of the said tenement until Roger unjustly disseised her, to her damage 40 shillings.

While the obverse of the ancient borough seal informs us that the town is " Nova Shorham Brewes " (New Shorham, Braose) a free translation of the legend on the reverse tells us that " this sign of a hulk is worthy of my name, for I am called Hulkesmouth." And so it appears in a deed of 1302 relating to the ferry "across the water of Hulkesmouth with appurtenances in New Shorham," and again in 1457, when John Wody and Robert Oxenbrigge, executors of the will of Richard Wakehurst, and the Prior and Convent of Lewes answer for the profits of 60 acres of land "in the port of Hulkesmouth alias Shorham.". The maps showing the outline of the coast and the plan showing the probable arrangement of the town itself during the Middle Ages should perhaps be accompanied by a few words of explanation. At first sight it may appear that there can be very little data to go upon in attempting to re-construct the mediaeval town or in forming an idea of the coast outline in that far-off time. 'More closely considered, however, certain documentary evidence, combined with existing appearances, seems likely to enable us to form conjectures which may not be far from the truth.

With reference to the maps showing the coast-line. It will be noticed that two lines are drawn through and cross each other in the churchyard of New Shoreham ; one runs north and south, the other west and east, and the latter continues slightly south of Kingston Church.

These are intended as datum lines from which the amount of coast alteration may be estimated, being drawn in identically the same places on all the maps. It is not contended, of course, that these maps show all the fluctuations that have taken place, nor do they exhaust the number of different river-mouths that have been formed from time to time. Indeed, almost every few hundred yards between Shoreham and Portslade seems to have provided the site for a mouth at one time or another,and once more at least (in 1760) the river again found its way straight out to sea at Shoreham for a while. The most easterly mouth ever formed seems to have been very nearly three-quarters of the entire distance east from old Aldrington Church to old Hove Church.

The earlier maps of this series are founded on documentary and inferential evidence. The 16th century one is based on the Armada map of that period, while the later ones are based on 17th and 18th century maps, one of the former being a very rare map in the Admiralty Library.