Records held in the West Sussex Health Authority archives hint at the earliest mention of the name Southlands. A 1934 correspondence between the then–Steyning Union Board and local land agent Frederick J. Mewis refers to “the Southern Lands Estate” — a tract of former market garden plots south of Kingston Lane, bounded by what is now Upper Shoreham Road.
Maps from 1898 in the National Library of Scotland’s collection show the area labelled simply “Southern Lands,” a local term apparently used by fishermen navigating the Adur estuary to distinguish the fertile southern fields from the rougher grazing north of the town. In hospital committee minutes dated February 1935 it is recorded that trustees voted “to adopt the long-standing field name for reasons of local familiarity.” Trustee and local landowner Raymond Gorringe suggested an amendment that the truncated form “Southlands” would be preferable – and his considerable sway led to unanimous agreement.
Thus, the hospital’s name quietly preserves a fragment of the town’s agricultural and maritime lexicon. Since 1940 “Southern Lands” ceased to be used in Shoreham.