Bibliography - Dr. Janet Pennington M.A., Ph.D.
Bibliography Home

Things Unseen and Forgotten, Farming Life in Two Sussex Downland Hamlets: Botolphs and Coombes, 1614-1757, by Janet Pennington, published 1983 (published by the author) accessible at: West Sussex Libraries

Written for the Diploma in English Local History 1982-1983 at Portsmouth Polytechnic, Department of Historical and Literary Studies

The Whitebread Family of Jessops, Daylands and Muggeridges, 17th & 18th century farmers of Ashurst & Wiston, West Sussex, by Janet Pennington and Joyce Sleight, published 1983 in S.A.S. Newsletter (vol. 40, article, pp.333-335) accessible at: S.A.S. library

The Whitebread Family of Jessops, Daylands & Muggeridges - Part 2, Farmhouses, Stock & Possessions in 17th & 18th Century Wiston & Ashurst, by Janet Pennington and Joyce Sleight, published 1984 in S.A.S. Newsletter (vol. 42, article, p.377) accessible at: S.A.S. library

Botolphs and Coombes in the Adur Valley, by Janet Pennington, published January 1984 in West Sussex History, the Journal of West Sussex Archives Society (no. 27, article, pp.8-15) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 16404/27] & The Keep [LIB/500480]

The Turner Family of Steyning - Seventeenth Century Clothiers of Sussex, by Janet Pennington, published June 1985 in Sussex Family Historian (vol. 6 no. 6, article, pp.203-211) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 9788] & The Keep [LIB/501258] & CD SFH40 from S.F.H.G.

Discussion of occupation of clothier, inventories, and description of house. John Turner alias Edwards and his wife Alice had three sons, James, John and Phillip. Included is part of the inventory of Phillip Turners goods. Article covers the years 1587 - 1637 in the parish of Steyning

St Cuthman of Steyning. New Ed, A Journey through time, by Janet Pennington, published 1986 (published by the author) accessible at: West Sussex Libraries

St. Cuthman of Steyning - a journey through time, by Janet Pennington, published 1986 in St. Andrews, Steyning, Parish Magazine (article, pp.15-19)

St Cuthman of Steyning, by Janet Pennington, published September 1986 in West Sussex History, the Journal of West Sussex Archives Society (no. 35, article, pp.1-7) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 16404/35] & The Keep [LIB/500481]

Furniture in Steyning, a Sussex Parish, 1587-1706: a Study of Documentary Sources, by Janet Pennington and Joyce Sleight, published 1987 in Regional Furniture (vol. 1, article, pp.41-49) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 9837]

Red Herrings: Some 17th Century Prescriptions, by Janet Pennington, published May 1987 in West Sussex History, the Journal of West Sussex Archives Society (no. 37, article, pp.9-17) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 16404/37] & The Keep [LIB/500482]

Bearded Faces on Bellarmines, by Janet Pennington, published September 1987 in West Sussex History, the Journal of West Sussex Archives Society (no. 38, article, pp.12-15) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 16404/38] & The Keep [LIB/500482]

St. Cuthman of Steyning - a journey through time, by Janet Pennington, published 1988 (Steyning: The Friends of St. Andrews) accessible at: West Sussex Libraries

Botolphs and Coombes in the Adur Valley: an incomplete history, by Janet Pennington, published 1988 (pamphlet) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 10055]

Wiston Estate, Sussex, Crown Sequestration and its Effects 1596-1634, by Janet Pennington, published 1989 (published by the author) accessible at: West Sussex Libraries

A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in Regional History (Humanities Department, Brighton Polytechnic), December 1989

Wiston Estate Study Group, by Janet Pennington, published September 1989 in West Sussex History, the Journal of West Sussex Archives Society (no. 44, article, p.30) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 16404/44] & The Keep [LIB/500482]

The Chequer Inn, Steyning: Five Centuries of Innkeeping in a Sussex Market Town, by Janet Pennington, published 1990 (Lancing: Lancing Press) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 10665] & West Sussex Libraries

An 'Image of Lust' on Steyning Church?, by Janet Pennington, published 1991 in Sussex Archæological Collections (vol. 129, article, pp.251-252) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 11694] & The Keep [LIB/500295] & S.A.S. library

Steyning Town and its Trades 1559-1787, by Janet Pennington and Joyce Sleight, published 1992 in Sussex Archæological Collections (vol. 130, article, pp.164-188) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 11918] & The Keep [LIB/500289] & S.A.S. library

Bellarmines and Witch-bottles in Sussex, by Janet Pennington, published 1992 in Sussex Archæological Collections (vol. 130, article, pp.201-203) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 11918] & The Keep [LIB/500289] & S.A.S. library

Matthew Coombe, by Janet Pennington, published October 1992 in West Sussex History, the Journal of West Sussex Archives Society (no. 50, article, p.17) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 16404/50] & The Keep [LIB/500483]

King Edward VII Hospital, a Brief History, by Janet Pennington, published October 1992 in West Sussex History, the Journal of West Sussex Archives Society (no. 50, article, p.21) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 16404/50] & The Keep [LIB/500483]

St Cuthman of Steyning. New Ed, A Journey through time, by Janet Pennington, published 1993 (Steyning: Steyning Museum Trust) accessible at: West Sussex Libraries

Steyning Town, by Janet Pennington and Joyce Sleight, published 1995 (Steyning: Steyning Museum Trust) accessible at: West Sussex Libraries

Sussex Chairs, by Janet Pennington, published 1995 in Regional Furniture (vol. 9, article, pp.81-87) accessible at: The Keep [LIB/500036]

Bramber Castle Hotel or the White Lion Rediscovered, by Janet Pennington, published 1996 in Glimpses of a Village, Bramber (article, pp.28-33, Beeding and Bamber Local History Society)

The Mill's Tale, by Janet Pennington and Joyce Sleight, published 1997 in Sussex Past & Present (no. 81, article, p.10) accessible at: S.A.S. library

The Gunn Inn, Findon, West Sussex, by Janet Pennington, published October 1997 in West Sussex History, the Journal of West Sussex Archives Society (no. 60, article, pp.25-29) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 16404/60] & The Keep [LIB/500484]

The Public Houses of Upper Beeding, by Janet Pennington, published 1998 in History of a Village, Beeding (article, Beeding and Bamber Local History Society)

Stone Heads from East and West Sussex, by Janet Pennington, published 1998 in Sussex Archæological Collections (vol. 136, shorter article, pp.201-203) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 13921] & The Keep [LIB/500297] & S.A.S. library

The Persecution of William Penn and his Wife, by Janet Pennington, published 1998 in Sussex Archæological Collections (vol. 136, shorter article, pp.203-204) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 13921] & The Keep [LIB/500297] & S.A.S. library

St Mary of The Harbour, New Shoreham, by Janet Pennington, published October 1998 in West Sussex History, the Journal of West Sussex Archives Society (no. 62, article, p.29) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 16404/62] & The Keep [LIB/500486]

Piffard and Shoreham Airport, by Janet Pennington, published 1999 in Lancing College Magazine (vol 80. no 603, article)

Deserted Settlements 1066-1500, by Janet Pennington and Pamela Platt, published 1 January 1999 in An Historical Atlas of Sussex (pp.48-49, Chichester: Phillimore & Co. Ltd, ISBN-10: 1860771122 & ISBN-13: 9781860771125) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 14026][Lib 18777] & The Keep [LIB/501686][LIB/508903] & West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries

Inns and Alehouses in 1686, by Janet Pennington, published 1 January 1999 in An Historical Atlas of Sussex (pp.68-69, Chichester: Phillimore & Co. Ltd, ISBN-10: 1860771122 & ISBN-13: 9781860771125) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 14026][Lib 18777] & The Keep [LIB/501686][LIB/508903] & West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries

Dog Lane, Steyning, by Janet Pennington, published 2000 in Locus Focus, forum of the Sussex Place-Names Net, 4, no. 1 (article, pp.24-25, University of Sussex)

St Cuthman's book?, by Janet Pennington, published 2000 in Sussex Archæological Collections (vol. 138, shorter article, p.231) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 14509] & The Keep [LIB/500298] & S.A.S. library   View Online

Noah Mann of Northchapel (1756-1789): a local hero, by Janet Pennington, published Autumn 2000 in West Sussex History, the Journal of West Sussex Archives Society (no. 66, article, pp.2-6) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 16404/66] & The Keep [LIB/500490]

Inns and Taverns of Western Sussex, 1550-1700: A Documentary and Architectural Investigation, by Janet Pennington, published 2002 in Public Houses in Early Modern Europe, The World of the Tavern (article, pp.116-135, Aldershot: Ashgate Publishing)

The inns and taverns of western Sussex, 1550-1700 : a regional study of their architectural and social history , by Janet Pennington, 2003 at University of Chichester (Ph.D. thesis) accessible at: West Sussex Libraries   View Online

This is a regional study, providing a detailed examination of the inns and taverns situated in the western part of the county of Sussex in the south-east of England. At the beginning of the period the English inn and tavern was entering an era of expansion and proliferation, though numbers grew only slowly in the region; by its end communications had worsened and there had been no great improvement to standards of paid hospitality. There were c.40 inns in 1550, increasing to c.120 by 1700; two-thirds were urban, some of which may have been taverns, either individually or more usually functioning as inns .that sold wine. Problems of definition are examined in some detail. The period sees some inns growing in architectural as well as social terms, while others decline, disappearing from the written and physical record. Reasons for their rise and fall are discussed.

Aunt Lizzie's Story - a description of Annington, Kingston Buci and Steyning in the nineteenth Century, by Janet Pennington and W. A. Heasman, published Autumn 2004 in West Sussex History, the Journal of West Sussex Archives Society (no. 73, article, pp.32-37) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 16404/73] & The Keep [LIB/500497]

A stone head at Kingston-near-Lewes, by Janet Pennington and Margaret Thorburn, published 2005 in Sussex Archæological Collections (vol. 143, shorter article, p.267) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 15610] & The Keep [LIB/500361] & S.A.S. library   View Online

George Holleyman FSA 1910-2004: Archaeologist and antiquarian bookseller, by Janet Pennington and P. Platt, published 2005 in Sussex Past & Present (no. 105, article, pp.4-5) accessible at: S.A.S. library

Woodard, Nathaniel, 1811-1891, founder of the Woodard schools, by Janet Pennington, published 2006 in New Dictionary of National Biography (article, Oxford University Press)

Sherley (Shirley), Sir Thomas, c.1542-1612, politician and courtier, by Janet Pennington, published 2006 in New Dictionary of National Biography (article, Oxford University Press)

A Corrugated Iron Tub Chair, by Janet Pennington, published 2006 in Regional Furniture Society Newsletter (vol. 45, article, p.21)

The market-houses of Steyning, by Janet Pennington, published 2006 in Sussex Archæological Collections (vol. 144, article, pp.169-176) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 15759] & The Keep [LIB/500362] & S.A.S. library   View Online

For some time Steyning's missing market-house posed a problem: it seemed strange that a town with a market history that reached back before the Norman Conquest had no apparent trace, in physical or documentary terms, of the centrally-placed market hall so typical of other English towns. A Catalogue of the Horsham Museum Mss., however, intriguingly contained a reference to late-eighteenth-century papers containing 'much detail about Steyning Town Hall'. Since a Town Hall at 38 High Street was built in 1886, in the late-nineteenth century it was not clear what this other building could be. Thus Steyning's 'lost' market-house or 'Town Hall' was revealed. Anna Butler had referred to it briefly in her book on Steyning published c. 1913 with no sources listed, but her statement had later been discounted as an error.

The windmill 'betweene the Bridges of Bramber', by Janet Pennington, published 2006 in Sussex Archæological Collections (vol. 144, short article, pp.213-215) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 15759] & The Keep [LIB/500362] & S.A.S. library   View Online

Local History in Lancing College Archives, by Janet Pennington, published Autumn 2006 in West Sussex History, the Journal of West Sussex Archives Society (no. 75, article, pp.56-58) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 16404/75] & The Keep [LIB/500499]

Steyning Scandals: Secrets of a Sussex Market Town, 1547-1947, by Janet Pennington, published 2007 (Seaford: S. B. Publications, ISBN-10: 0955570301 & ISBN-13: 9780955570308) accessible at: West Sussex Libraries

Beeding and Bramber, Two Sussex Villages: A Study of the Probate Inventories, Wills and Accounts, 1613-1775, edited by Janet Pennington, A. Noble and Joyce Sleight, published 2007 (52 pp., Beeding and Bamber Local History Society, ISBN-10: 0952829428 & ISBN-13: 9780952829423) accessible at: Steyning Museum & West Sussex Libraries

Inns and Taverns in western Sussex, by Janet Pennington, published 2007 in Sussex Past & Present (no. 113, article) accessible at: S.A.S. library

The Sussex Pub Lady, by Janet Pennington, published 2007 in Sussex Past & Present (no. 113, article, p.10) accessible at: S.A.S. library

Steyning Scandals: Secrets of a Sussex Market Town, 1547-1947, by Janet Pennington, published 2009 (revised edition, 79 pp., published by the author, ISBN-10: 095557031X & ISBN-13: 9780955570315) accessible at: West Sussex Libraries

The title of this book beckons the reader to turn the pages in anticipation of what these Steyning scandals could possibly be and which Janet Pennington has so thoroughly researched.
It is the sort of book that anyone who enjoys exploring villages should have on their bookshelf to take with them on a walking trail and use to guide them round the historic town of Steyning. The trail that the author describes is fascinating, visiting all the haunts of various past scandals associated with the residents. If we think certain areas of Brighton should be avoided in 2010 then think again - with accounts of fights, stabbings and murder taking place in a quiet little Sussex town in the past, we are protected by police patrols and really shouldn't worry!
The illustrations of landmarks with graphic accounts of the scandal or event that took place there are interesting and sometimes amusing, some of which nowadays would (as the author points out) probably not cause more than a short prison sentence or a ripple in a local newspaper, especially with changing moral and other values. As she says, if readers feel that research on accidental death, adultery, assault, bestiality, black magic, drunkenness, imprisonment, libel, martyrdom, references to sexuality of whatever kind, smuggling and suicide will be upsetting, then do not turn the pages!
I did, however, and found a comprehensive index and a bibliography of sources used, and really enjoyed reading the case histories, personally hoping to find some scandal on my ancestors who lived in Steyning between 1882 to about 1912 but found nothing - they must have been 'squeaky clean'!
I cannot complete this review without recommending a visit to the excellent Steyning Museum where documents and books referred to in the book can be found, as well as many interesting exhibits of life in Steyning.

A few Fullers of Waldron and East Dean, by Janet Pennington, published June 2010 in Sussex Family Historian (vol. 19 no. 2, article, pp.88-93) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 15860] & The Keep [LIB/508843] & CD SFH40 from S.F.H.G.

The photograph below is displayed in On Foot in Sussex, (A A Evans, Methuen. 1933), opposite page 154, captioned 'Old Mark Fuller: A Rural Worker, of East Dean, in his 85th year'.
The photograph is acknowledged by Evans to a Miss May BAXTER, though I have not been able to discover anything about her. She must have taken the photograph some 11 years before publication as FULLER died from bronchitis on 21 April 1925, aged 88, at The Green, East Dean. Evans uses the photograph to illustrate his chapter on 'The Rural Worker', though he makes no mention of him in the text.
Mark FULLER (c1837-1925), born at Little London, Waldron, was my great-great-uncle.

Chanctonbury Ring; The Story of a Sussex Landmark, by Janet Pennington, published 2011 (138 pp., Downland History Publishing, ISBN-10: 0955570328 & ISBN-13: 9780955570322) accessible at: West Sussex Libraries

Janet Pennington is an indefatigable researcher who writes on a wide range of historical subjects concerning Sussex, and she has lifelong connections with Chanctonbury as this book makes clear. She became interested in Charles Goring 1744 - 1829, former owner of Wiston Estate near Steyning, West Sussex, who in 1760 planted the ring of trees around the prehistoric bank and ditch of Chanctonbury Hill. The author explores his motives and methods including the traditional story that he daily carried bottles of water for the saplings, which led her to investigate wells and dew ponds on the Downs that could have been used. She touches on geology and landscape, and the use of Chanctonbury as a beacon site both official and informally.
One chapter is assigned to archaeology, from early antiquarian efforts to more recent excavations in the 20th century especially following the Great Storm of October 1987, when over 75% of the trees were damaged or fell. This revealed extensive damage to two Roman temple sites within the Ring and many archaeologists called for the Hill to remain treeless to preserve these remains. However public opinion favoured replanting, carried out with great care in 1990, and by 2011 the Ring was showing promise of its former glory.
A selection of literary references to the Ring is quoted in Chapter 5 as witness to its status as landmark and icon for writers. The book has many historic and modern illustrations; the colour reproduction of a few older paintings is rather dull, and some maps and plans are so reduced that you need a magnifying glass to decipher the notation. Details on the site's location could be helpful to non-local visitors, and the story is told thematically so I would have liked to see a chronology of the Ring and its history. This is a meaningful story to anyone familiar with the South Downs in West Sussex, and knowledge of the context and history will surely enhance the visitor's experience of Chanctonbury Ring and its special atmosphere.

Fine Dining at Earlier AGMs?: Old journal reveals accusations of neglect and excess!, by Janet Pennington, published August 2011 in Sussex Past & Present (no. 124, article, pp.6-7, ISSN: 1357-7417) accessible at: The Keep [LIB/500475] & S.A.S. library   View Online

Mr Leslie Stevens of Upper Beeding contacted me in January 2011. He owns a bound copy of The Building News, 22, (Jan-June 1872), and on page 152 of the 23 February 1872 issue there is a drawing of an 'Oak Bench, Steyning, Sussex'.
. . .
A further search in The Building News reveals an indignant reply in the March 1st issue, page 184, the writer berating the Sussex Archaeological Society in fulsome terms:-Ancient Oak Furniture.
Sir, I quite agree with your correspondent, Mr M. B. Adams, in his remarks on the Oak Bench, Steyning, Sussex, accompanying his illustration in your last week's number, that "it is worthy of a better place" than being stored away in the church tower. Sussex, I believe, boasts of an Archaeological Society, but the chief use of it seems to consist in occasionally going to look at antiquities and eating a good dinner. Sussex is rich in antiquities - no county is more so - and to this circumstance we must account the fact that familiarity breeds its contempt for them, for no county in England treats its ancient treasures with more indifference and neglect than does Sussex - Hastings Castle to-wit.

The South Downs Conference: The shaping of a landscape, by Janet Pennington, published December 2011 in Sussex Past & Present (no. 125, article, pp.10-11, ISSN: 1357-7417) accessible at: The Keep [LIB/500475] & S.A.S. library   View Online

Steyning Bench Update, by Janet Pennington, published December 2011 in Sussex Past & Present (no. 125, article, p.16, ISSN: 1357-7417) accessible at: The Keep [LIB/500475] & S.A.S. library   View Online

Oak Leaves and Acorns, by Janet Pennington, published December 2012 in Sussex Family Historian (vol. 20 no. 4, article, p.194) accessible at: The Keep [LIB/508975] & CD SFH40 from S.F.H.G.

Perforated Oyster Shells at Hangleton, Hove, East Sussex, by Janet Pennington, published 2013 in Mollusc World (issue 31, article, p.26)

Wiston House and its Ponds, by Janet Pennington, published 2013 in The Sussex Piscator (issue 4, article)