Our next talk will be held at the Steyning Centre on Friday, 15th May 2026 at 7.30pm, when Dr Janet Pennington will tell us about Celia Fiennes’ travels round England on horseback between 1682 and 1712, including her travels in Sussex. Celia Fiennes usually travelled with a maid or two and always took her own sheets with her. Was she ‘the fine lady upon a white horse’ of Banbury Cross?
Please note that since our programme of talks was printed, we have had to reverse the order of the talks on 15 May and 19 June so that Dr Janet Pennington talks to us on 15 May and Chris Hare talks to us on 19 June.
Annual General Meeting 2026, Steyning Bowl Awards 2026 and Talk about Steyning
This year’s Steyning Bowl Awards were presented by Neil Jenkins, the internationally acclaimed tenor, on 17th April after the Society’s Annual General Meeting. The awards were focused on those who have made significant contributions to the musical life of Steyning, which produced some outstanding nominations. The Bowl was presented to Zoe Peate and Gary Prior for their lifetime commitment to music, and especially for their work with Cantatrice Voices and Kaleidoscope Singers. Each of the five runners up received Highly Commended Certificates. They were Siobhan Denning, for her work with Chanctonbury Chorus, Diane Gargano for her work with Strummers and Singers, Janet Gawn for her work with Steyning Jazz Club, Christabel Heasman-Cossins for her work with Sing Out Sister and Brian and Marion Sawyer for their contribution to music at Steyning Parish Church.
Before presenting the awards, Neil Jenkins told us briefly about how he and his wife decided to retire to Bramber and their experience of making music in and around Steyning. The evening concluded with a short talk by Maddie Blackburn and Paul Dennison entitled Discovering Steyning, when they told us about how they came to live in Steyning and their love for the town.
Click on this link to see pictures of the evening. After following the link, you can click on an image to see a high quality picture which you can save and print as a souvenir of the evening.
Trip to Chichester Festival Theatre
Members of the Society visited Chichester Festival Theatre on 2 April 2026 where they made a tour of the theatre and stayed on for a matinee performance of BFG by Roald Dahl. Carole Powell has very kindly written a review of the trip which can be found by using the link Chichester Theatre Outing April 2026
Guide to the Conservation Area
A new edition of Harry Ford’s illustrated Guide to the Conservation is now available and can be bought at our meetings for £7.50 a copy. It can also be bought from the the Bookshop and the Museum. The text has been updated to reflect changes which have occurred since the last edition was produced, as well as recent research which has been done on some of the Town’s ancient buildings.
Glebe Farm
Applications have been made to Horsham District Council (“HDC”) for approval of the matters which were reserved when outline planning permission was granted last autumn for 265 new homes to be built on part of Glebe Farm. The applications and the supporting documents are now available on HDC’s planning website. Some of these applications have now been granted, while others remain pending.
Christmas Supper
We held our annual Christmas supper on 19th December 2025. Eighty members and guests sat down to a delicious supper which was prepared by Normandy Dining. This was followed by music from the Sea Jam Jazz Quintet. The evening included a raffle with a number of prizes very generously provided by Steyning traders. We hope that everyone enjoyed the evening.
Trip to Tangmere Military Aviation Museum
A group of our members visited the Tangmere Military Aviation Museum on 3rd November. The visit started with a talk about the Special Operations Executive (S.O.E.), which operated out of Tangmere during the Second World War, and was followed by a tour of the Museum. The group then moved on to the Anglesey Arms for a pub lunch before visiting Boxgrove Church and Priory. Jill Wellings and Val Stringer have both written lovely accounts of the trip which can be found in the Events Section of the website, along with Brian Lavery’s informative briefing note for the trip, or by using the links: Tangmere Trip – Jill Wellings’ account, Tangmere Trip – Val Stringer’s account and Tangmere Trip.
Cruising on the Waverley
Earlier in the autumn, another group joined a cruise in September on the Waverley, the world’s last seagoing paddle steamer, from Southampton to Yarmouth, the Needles and finally Portsmouth. The cruise was originally due to start and end in Shoreham but this had to be changed because of the weather the day before, which meant that the Waverely was moored for the night at Southampton. Wendy Francis has written a wonderful account of the voyage, which can be found by following the link Cruising on the Waverley. Wendy explains how they experienced the nostalgia of bygone days with wooden benches on the viewing decks, wooden rails everywhere and the wooden interiors of the tea room and the observation lounge and how, despite the weather, they enjoyed the trip, including a delicious lunch. Brian Lavery’s information sheet about the Waverley and the cruise, which is well worth a read, can be found by following the link Paddle steamer Waverley.
Al Fresco Jazz Party
We held a garden party at the beautiful gardens of Tim Melton and Bernardean Carey in Holland Road on 16th July 2025 to raise funds for the grants we make to local organisations, with background music provided by The Riverboat Shuffle. The event raised over £1,700. Many thanks to everyone who attended for your support and company. A full account of the evening can be found in the Events Section and pictures of the evening can be found by following the link Al Fresco Jazz | Steyning Society
Winchester Trip
In conjunction with the Friends of Steyning Parish Church, we arranged a coach trip to Winchester on 20th May 2025 to see the Hospital of St Cross and the Cathedral. The Hospital of St Cross is a medieval alms house which has a fine Norman church. The masons who carved in the church are thought to have carved in our church as well. A financial scandal at the Hospital provided the idea for the plot of The Warden in Trollope’s Barchester novels. We also had a tour of the Cathedral, which included the 12th Century Winchester Bible and the Kings and Scribes Exhibition about the Wessex Royal Family. A full account of the trip can be found in the Events Section or by following this link Winchester trip.
Annual General Meeting for 2025
The Society’s Annual General Meeting for 2025 was held at the Steyning Centre on 16th April 2025. The formal AGM was followed by this year’s Steyning Bowl Awards, which were presented by Nigel Hartley. The Bowl was won by Vintage Years, which also received a certificate. There were six runners up, who all received certificates. Catherine Mant and Nick Bennett ended the evening by sharing their memories of Steyning in the 50s and 60s. A full account of the evening, including photographs, can be found at this link.
The Local Heritage List
The Local Heritage List has been adopted by Steyning Parish Council and by Horsham District Council. A limited number of copies of the list has been printed and are available at £10 each. They can be bought at the Society’s meetings or copies can be ordered by contacting the Society on cmantsteyningsoc@gmail.com.
For the latest newsletter, please click: February 2026-1
