Publications
A walkabout guide to Shoreham, by Michael Norman, published 1984 (pamphlet, 30 pp. & illus., Shoreham: Marlipins Museum) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 10669] & West Sussex Libraries
A History of Marlipins and its Museum, New Shoreham, Sussex, by Michael Norman, published 1989 (pamphlet, Shoreham: Marlipins Museum) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 10668] & West Sussex Libraries
Biagio and John Biagio Rebecca: a sketch towards a biography. Part 1, Text, and Part 2..., by Michael W. D. Norman, published 2001 (pamphlet, published by the author) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 14678] & The Keep [LIB/502312][Lib/502313] & West Sussex Libraries
Tenement History of Shoreham: Researching rental lists of New Shoreham Borough and Manor, by Michael Norman, published December 2010 in Sussex Past & Present (no. 122, article, p.10, ISSN: 1357-7417) accessible at: The Keep [LIB/500475] & S.A.S. library View Online
Preview:In 1782, while he was superintending the construction of the new timber bridge at Old Shoreham, Joseph Hodskinson produced a map and up-to-date Rental of the 160+ tenements in the Duke of Norfolk's Borough and Manor of New Shoreham. This is an excellent resource for the study of each before and after this date.
The Borough and Manor of New Shoreham: Some Records of its People & Places - The 1782 Manor Survey Annotated, by Michael W. D. Norman, published 2011 (published by the author) accessible at: The Keep [LIB/501569] & West Sussex Libraries
Review by Jeffery Leigh in Sussex Past & Present no. 128, December 2012:Nearly one hundred years ago, in 1921, Henry Cheal first published his pioneering The Story of Shoreham. He died in 1954, but left extensive notes which Michael Norman, a long-time resident of Shoreham and former honorary curator of Marlipins Museum, has been using, editing and adding to since 1951.
This new book is an edited and organised version of a survey of the Manor of New Shoreham which was undertaken in 1782 by the surveyor Joseph Hodgkinson for the Duke of Norfolk, the then Lord of the Manor. Subsequently the original survey was annotated by the Duke's steward. This survey is now the property of the current Duke, who retains the copyright, but the publication in this volume of the Survey's contents, together with notes and suggestions of the author/editor, allows the historian and also the more casual reader to gain an insight into the development of the historic core of New Shoreham. The book also contains maps, some annotated, including copies of Hodgkinson's of 1782, to show the situations of the extensive number of properties which are listed in the Manorial rolls. The long-lost shipyards along the river bank, like the one where the Ropetackle Centre now stands, are clearly shown and discussed, with added information concerning developments after 1782.
A cursory study reveals fascinating aspects of Shoreham. For example, the book reproduces a memorandum which mentions an Act 'passed in the Thirty third Year of His late Majesty' (probably 1771) which state that all ships and vessels entering Shoreham Harbour were obliged to pay Duty in order to maintain the harbour. In the same memorandum it is stated that the Lord of the Manor also received £20 per annum for allowing a toll bridge to replace his income from the ferry which it displaced. The Memorandum lists the ferry tolls, ranging from one shilling for any four-wheeled carriage to six pence for twenty sheep or cows.
In another example, there was an area described in 1782 as 'A Tenement, Black Smiths Shp Buildg. Yard & Premises' which was situated on the river bank on the High Street, westward from West Street. This area was cut in half when the new bridge was built in 1833. The Fountain Inn stood on this site, and this was succeeded by the Bridge Inn. The Sussex Archaeological Society apparently met at the Bridge Inn on occasion. This Bridge Inn was demolished when the High Street was widened in 1938/9, and replaced by the current manifestation of the Inn.
The material in the book relates principally, but not exclusively, to Shoreham. For example, a dispute concerning a piece of land two acres in extent in the Parish of Southwick is described. This dispute between a Nathal. Hall [apparently a brewer] and Colvill Bridger Esq. [of Buckingham House] was current in 1782, and no rent had been paid for 9 years. Rents and lessees for this land are listed back to 1660. This matter is of current interest because it was apparently a descendant of this Nathaniel Hall, a landowner also called Nathaniel Hall, who undertook the first excavation of Southwick Roman Villa in the 1840s.
The survey reveals that the Hannington family, later proprietors of the late-lamented Hannington's department store in Brighton, were also Shoreham landholders.
This book is an absolute goldmine, and will be invaluable to researchers of Shoreham's places and personalities. I hope that Michael Norman will receive the recognition and gratitude of all who benefit from his work, which is a fitting and welcome accompaniment and extension to Cheal's History.
This new book is an edited and organised version of a survey of the Manor of New Shoreham which was undertaken in 1782 by the surveyor Joseph Hodgkinson for the Duke of Norfolk, the then Lord of the Manor. Subsequently the original survey was annotated by the Duke's steward. This survey is now the property of the current Duke, who retains the copyright, but the publication in this volume of the Survey's contents, together with notes and suggestions of the author/editor, allows the historian and also the more casual reader to gain an insight into the development of the historic core of New Shoreham. The book also contains maps, some annotated, including copies of Hodgkinson's of 1782, to show the situations of the extensive number of properties which are listed in the Manorial rolls. The long-lost shipyards along the river bank, like the one where the Ropetackle Centre now stands, are clearly shown and discussed, with added information concerning developments after 1782.
A cursory study reveals fascinating aspects of Shoreham. For example, the book reproduces a memorandum which mentions an Act 'passed in the Thirty third Year of His late Majesty' (probably 1771) which state that all ships and vessels entering Shoreham Harbour were obliged to pay Duty in order to maintain the harbour. In the same memorandum it is stated that the Lord of the Manor also received £20 per annum for allowing a toll bridge to replace his income from the ferry which it displaced. The Memorandum lists the ferry tolls, ranging from one shilling for any four-wheeled carriage to six pence for twenty sheep or cows.
In another example, there was an area described in 1782 as 'A Tenement, Black Smiths Shp Buildg. Yard & Premises' which was situated on the river bank on the High Street, westward from West Street. This area was cut in half when the new bridge was built in 1833. The Fountain Inn stood on this site, and this was succeeded by the Bridge Inn. The Sussex Archaeological Society apparently met at the Bridge Inn on occasion. This Bridge Inn was demolished when the High Street was widened in 1938/9, and replaced by the current manifestation of the Inn.
The material in the book relates principally, but not exclusively, to Shoreham. For example, a dispute concerning a piece of land two acres in extent in the Parish of Southwick is described. This dispute between a Nathal. Hall [apparently a brewer] and Colvill Bridger Esq. [of Buckingham House] was current in 1782, and no rent had been paid for 9 years. Rents and lessees for this land are listed back to 1660. This matter is of current interest because it was apparently a descendant of this Nathaniel Hall, a landowner also called Nathaniel Hall, who undertook the first excavation of Southwick Roman Villa in the 1840s.
The survey reveals that the Hannington family, later proprietors of the late-lamented Hannington's department store in Brighton, were also Shoreham landholders.
This book is an absolute goldmine, and will be invaluable to researchers of Shoreham's places and personalities. I hope that Michael Norman will receive the recognition and gratitude of all who benefit from his work, which is a fitting and welcome accompaniment and extension to Cheal's History.