Littlehampton

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Littlehampton

Littlehampton is a town and civil parish in the Arun district of West Sussex on the south coast of England. The parish covers an area of 11.35 km² and has a population of 25,593 persons (2001 census). It is located on the east bank at the mouth of the River Arun.

As with other larger communities along the West Sussex coast, the conurbation includes other settlements: Wick in the north west; Lyminster and Angmering to the north; East Preston and Rustington to the east. Wick and Toddington became part of the town in 1901.

Population

In the seventeenth century Littlehampton had a population of only 100-150 people though it did have a ferry, smithy and alehouse. This had grown to 584 people by 1801, and by 1911 the population was 8351. In the 1930's the town was receiving 250,000 holidaymakers and day trippers every year. The town continued to expand: there were over 12,000 inhabitants by 1945, and 25,000 by 1996. The additional population was housed in the large Wickbourne and Beaumont estates.

History

The town began as the Anglo-Saxon village of Hampton, in the kingdom of Sussex, and Roman remains have been found here. The name Little Hampton was given to it in the fourteenth century by sailors in order to differentiate it from the larger Southampton.

The forces of Empress Matilda landed at Littlehampton in 1139 when she began the civil war with King Stephen.

The manor was given by Henry V to Syon Abbey in Middlesex in whose hands it remained until the dissolution of the monasteries in the 1530s. The port was a royal dockyard of Henry VIII; a quay was built here in the 1670s. The manor passed through various hands until it became part of the estate of Arundel Castle in 1610: the Duke of Norfolk continued to own much of Littlehampton until the 1930's.

Littlehampton Redoubt was built to guard the town in the 1750's. Littlehampton used to be a resort of artists and writers, attracted by its peaceful atmosphere compared to larger towns such as Brighton. In particular Percy Bysshe Shelley and Samuel Taylor Coleridge spent a lot of time there, as well as Lord Byron who often swam in the river.

In the 1820's Littlehampton overtook Arundel, the oldest port on the Arun as the river's main harbour. Littlehampton officially became a town in 1853, under the Littlehampton Board of Health. The motto "Progress" was chosen.

The arrival of the railway in 1863, by a branch line from today's main West Coastway Line at Arundel Junction (now Ford railway station) changed the character of the town making the harbour less important but beginning the holiday trade. A cross-channel ferry was run from the port from the opening of the railway until 1882 when it was lost to Newhaven.

The town's first lifeboat was captained by Charles Pelham (1885-1940). In 1967 the RNLI station was opened having been funded by an appeal by the television programme Blue Peter. This was the first Blue Peter lifeboat.

Churches

Among Littlehampton's churches is the parish church of St Catherine, wherein lies the grave of Katherine O'Shea ("Kitty O'Shea") (1845-1921), the wife of Charles Stewart Parnell.

Economic activity

The headquarters of The Body Shop is located in Littlehampton.

Political

Littlehampton lies within the constituency of Bognor Regis and Littlehampton, the MP for which is Nick Gibb (Conservative).

Twinning

Littlehampton is currently twinned with:

Durmersheim, Germany
Chennevières-sur-Marne, France

Culture

The town newspaper is the Littlehampton Gazette.

An important annual event is the parade organised by the Bonfire Society. Littlehampton supports a wide range of performance groups including the Musical Comedy Society and Players Operatic Society who perform regularly throughout the year. It also holds a very popular 'Last Night of the Proms' concert performed annually by the Littlehampton Concert Band who also play regularly in the town throughout the year.

The Christian rock band Delirious? are from Littlehampton,

Crap Towns

In 2004, Littlehampton was voted as being the 18th Worst Place to live in the United Kingdom by visitors to the Idler website. The results were published in the book Crap Towns II.

External links

Seaside resorts in England | Towns in West Sussex

Littlehampton | Littlehampton

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