The Woolven Family of Sussex
Sussex is a historic county in South East England. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent and south by the English Channel. The southwest of Sussex is the fertile and densely populated coastal plains, to the north are the rolling chalk hills of the South Downs and the wooded Sussex Weald.
It was in Sussex that the Battle of Hastings took place during the Norman conquest of England in 1066. The last Anglo-Saxon king of England, Harold II, was defeated by the forces of William the Conqueror, changing the course of history and establishing the Normans as the rulers of England.
Four years later, William commissioned an abbey to be built on the site of the battle; parts of Battle Abbey are still visible today and the site is operated by English Heritage. In about 1888, it became practical for administrative purposes, to divide the county into two separate councils, East Sussex and West Sussex. |
Ashington is a village in the Horsham district in the South Downs of West Sussex. The village of Washington lies to the south at the foot of the South Downs escarpment. The Village of West Grinstead, on the River Adur, lies to the north.
Ashington itself was for centuries little more than a struggling hamlet that abutted Ashington Common. In 1816 the Common was enclosed and new roads were built crossing the common. The main road formed an important route from London to the resort town of Worthing. Around this road began the slow development of the village of Ashington.
Washington village lies at the crossing of two turnpike roads. Above the village stands Chanctonbury Ring, the site of an Iron Age hill fort.
Ashington itself was for centuries little more than a struggling hamlet that abutted Ashington Common. In 1816 the Common was enclosed and new roads were built crossing the common. The main road formed an important route from London to the resort town of Worthing. Around this road began the slow development of the village of Ashington.
Washington village lies at the crossing of two turnpike roads. Above the village stands Chanctonbury Ring, the site of an Iron Age hill fort.
Railways spread quickly across Sussex in the 19th century. The railways arrived in West Grinstead in 1861 connecting the market town of Horsham with the south-coast port of Shoreham-by-Sea.
The West Grinstead railway station had a goods yard with a cattle loading bay. The station also saw substantial horse traffic with hunt kennels and a national horse stud in the vicinity. The Adur Valley line was closed in 1966 and the route is now a link path used by walkers, cyclists and horse riders connecting the North and South Downs. |