Bibliography - River Arun
Bibliography Home

Journal of a short excursion up the river Arun, with an account of Batworth Park, Warningcamp, and Burpham, by S. Shaw, published 1790 in Topgrapher (vol. 3, article, pp.201-209)

Rambles by Rivers: The Duddon, the Mole; the Adur, Arun & Wey; the Leas; the Dove, by James Thorne, published 1844 (London: Charles Knight & Co.) accessible at: West Sussex Libraries   View Online

Report on the Condition of the Rivers Arun and Adur, by C. H. J. Clayton, published 1917 (pamphlet) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 5416]

The Passage of the Arun at North Stoke , by A. Hadrian Allcroft, M.A., published February 1926 in Sussex Notes & Queries (vol. I no. 1, article, pp.5-7) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 8950] & The Keep [LIB/500203] & S.A.S. library

Changes in the Arun Estuary , by S. E. Winbolt, M.A., published May 1926 in Sussex Notes & Queries (vol. I no. 2, note, pp.42-43) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 8950] & The Keep [LIB/500203] & S.A.S. library

The Passage of the Arun at North Stoke 1927 , by C. J. Gilbert, F.G.S., published February 1927 in Sussex Notes & Queries (vol. I no. 5, article, pp.133-134) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 8950] & The Keep [LIB/500203] & S.A.S. library

The Passage of the Arun at North Stoke , by A. Hadrian Allcroft, M.A., published May 1927 in Sussex Notes & Queries (vol. I no. 6, article, pp.167-168) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 8950] & The Keep [LIB/500203] & S.A.S. library

Description of the high Stream of Arundel, The Heads and Rising Thereof, The Sundry Kinds of Fishes Therein in their several Haunts, The Fishermen, Their Care & Service in Preserving Fish, etc , by William Barttelot and Joseph Fowler, M.A., published 1929 (Nature and Archaeology Circle, Littlehampton Extra Publications) accessible at: West Sussex Libraries

This is one of those books, unfortunately only to rare, in which one of the men of old has set down, not only his traditions and inferences about the past, but also much about what was the present to him. It will be indispensable to future workers on the topography of the Arun Valley; and part, at least, will appeal to those who, whether they are interested in archaeology or no, find pleasure in the writings of men like Gilbert White. We may regret that this seventeenth century Water Bailiff, who wrote a description of his duties and the scene of them for the guidance of his successors, has not recorded his own name; but, nameless as he is, he is a more living figure to us than most of the country squires he mentions can ever be. If his archaeology, and particularly his etymology, are not up to modern standards, we have Mr. Fowler's very adequate notes to correct them ; if we seek more information, about the contemporaries he talks of, we find his passing references amplified by a quantity of genealogical notes supplied by Mr. John Comber; if he has once been guilty of a piece of " fine writing " which resembles bad blank verse, it serves to remind us that he was human. The get-up of the book deserves a word of praise. Paper and typography are excellent, and the indispensable map combines something of the picturesqueness of the seventeenth century with the accuracy of the twentieth. Both Mr. Fowler and the Nature and Archaeology Circle are to be congratulated on this fresh source-book of our local topography.

Waters of Arun. I - The Ford at North Stoke, by A. Hadrian Allcroft, M.A., published 1930 in Sussex County Magazine (vol. IV no. 2, article, pp.105-111) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 2308][Lib 2309] & The Keep [LIB/500172]

Waters of Arun. II - The Wild Brooks, by A. Hadrian Allcroft, M.A., published 1930 in Sussex County Magazine (vol. IV no. 3, article, pp.223-231) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 2308][Lib 2309] & The Keep [LIB/500172]

Waters of Arun. III - The Manor of North Stoke, by A. Hadrian Allcroft, M.A., published 1930 in Sussex County Magazine (vol. IV no. 4, article, pp.320-324) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 2308][Lib 2309] & The Keep [LIB/500172]

Waters of Arun. IV - Shallow Waters, by A. Hadrian Allcroft, M.A., published 1930 in Sussex County Magazine (vol. IV no. 5, article, pp.422-426) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 2308][Lib 2309] & The Keep [LIB/500172]

Waters of Arun. V - Arundel Bridge, by A. Hadrian Allcroft, M.A., published 1930 in Sussex County Magazine (vol. IV no. 6, article, pp.468-472) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 2308][Lib 2309] & The Keep [LIB/500172]

Waters of Arun. VI - The Port of Arundel, by A. Hadrian Allcroft, M.A., published 1930 in Sussex County Magazine (vol. IV no. 7, article, pp.609-615) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 2308][Lib 2309] & The Keep [LIB/500173]

Waters of Arun. VII - The Keepers of the Keys, by A. Hadrian Allcroft, M.A., published 1930 in Sussex County Magazine (vol. IV no. 8, article, pp.691-697) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 2308][Lib 2309] & The Keep [LIB/500173]

Waters of Arun. VIII - The Manor of Nonneminstre, by A. Hadrian Allcroft, M.A., published 1930 in Sussex County Magazine (vol. IV no. 9, article, pp.763-767) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 2308][Lib 2309] & The Keep [LIB/500173]

Waters of Arun. IX - Flood, by A. Hadrian Allcroft, M.A., published 1930 in Sussex County Magazine (vol. IV no. 10, article, pp.883-892) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 2308][Lib 2309] & The Keep [LIB/500173]

Waters of Arun. X - High Water, by A. Hadrian Allcroft, M.A., published 1930 in Sussex County Magazine (vol. IV no. 11, article, pp.960-965) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 2308][Lib 2309] & The Keep [LIB/500173]

The Waters of Arun, by A. Hadrian Allcroft, published 1931 (London: Methuen Publishing Ltd.) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 2757] & West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries

This interesting book has been published in instalments in the Sussex County Magazine during 1930 and is now issued in one volume. The lamented death of its gifted author took place before it was in print and the duty of seeing it through the press has been a labour of love by his friend Dr. Eliot Curwen.
It is a most careful study of the river and its shifting course and is an excellent example of the right combination of documentary history and of what may be called Field-Work although applied to a river.

An Analysis of Some of the Interactions of Geography and History in the Arun and Adur Valleys, by Alice F. A. Mutton, 1931 at University of London (M.A. thesis)

The zones of the Chalk of the Arun Gap, Sussex: With description of new species of Bicavea, by Christopher T. A. Gaster, F.G.S., published 1932 in The Proceedings of the Geologists' Association London (no. 43 issue 3, article, pp.212-223)   View Online

The southward dip of the Chalk of the Arun Gap enables one to ascertain in sequence the zones present, which are exposed chiefly in old quarries and sections on either bank of the river. The Chalk is quarried at Amberley and in the pit by the Black Rabbit Inn, near Arundel. The old quarries at Houghton and the Burpham River Cliff add to the picturesque scenery of this beauty spot of West Sussex.
The Geologists' Association visited the area during their Whitsuntide field meeting in May, 1929, when some of the zonal details were pointed out. Since that date additional evidence has been obtained, and the results of the zoning of the Chalk in the gap are given, in th e schedule below.
Palaeontological evidence has resulted in a number of corrections being made in previous zonal records. Attention is drawn to the abundance of foraminifera in the zone of Actinocamax quadratus.

Note on the geomorphology of the Arun Gap: Weald Research Committee Report, No. 16, by A. J. Bull, M.Sc., F.G.S., published 1932 in The Proceedings of the Geologists' Association London (no. 43 issue 3, article, pp.274-276)   View Online

The object of this note is to give an outline of the geomorphological features of the Arun Gap which has been zoned by Mr. C. T. A. Gaster, and to give a preliminary account of the work which the Weald Research Committee has in progress on the South Downs and the river gaps.

Waters of Arun , by Allen Mawer, published May 1933 in Sussex Notes & Queries (vol. IV no. 6, note, p.183) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 2203][Lib 8222][Lib 8861] & The Keep [LIB/500206] & S.A.S. library

A Bygone Bargeway - Wey and Arun Canal, by F. S. Blomfield, published 1934 in Sussex County Magazine (vol. VIII no. 4, article, pp.233-236) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 9329] & The Keep [LIB/500177]

Studies in the geomorphology of the South Downs: Eastbourne to the Arun Gap, by A. J. Bull, M.Sc., F.G.S., published 1936 in The Proceedings of the Geologists' Association London (no. 47 issue 2, article, pp.99-129)   View Online

The South Downs are the southern outcrop of the Chalk in the Wealden dome. They consist of a range of rounded hills rarely exceeding 700 ft. O.D. in height, and extend from Eastbourne to Petersfield, a distance of about 55 miles. Seen from any point such as Beachy Head or Seaford Head that affords an extensive view, the Downs present the appearance of a dissected peneplain which has been tilted to the south. So extreme is the dissection that little if any of the original peneplained surface remains, and most of the area is occupied by dry valleys whose interfluves have gently rounded crosssections. Most of the higher ground, especially that which tends to be flat, is covered with the well-known Clay-with-Flints. The northern face is an abrupt escarpment, which, except for the four river gaps and some wind gaps, is not breached, although the heads of the dry valleys often come close to it, as at Ratton and Willingdon, north of Eastbourne. The effect of the proximity of the dry valleys is usually to lower the escarpment slightly, but the amount is often surprisingly small, and the skyline as seen from the lower ground from the north is only gently undulating.

The Stratigraphy of the Chalk of Sussex: Part I. West Central area - Arun Gap to Valley of the Adur, with zonal map, by Christopher T. A. Gaster, F.G.S., published 1937 in The Proceedings of the Geologists' Association London (no. 48 issue 4, article, pp.356-373)   View Online

In this paper are recorded the results of a Survey of the Chalk of the portion of the Sussex Downs that extends from the Valley of the Adur to the Arun Gap, a distance of 13½ miles.This is intended to be the fIrst part of a comprehensive Survey of the Chalk of Sussex, between Eastbourne and the Hampshire boundary, a work on which the author has been engaged for many years. The area dealt with is included in the western portion of Sheet 318 (Brighton) and the eastern part of Sheet 317 (Chichester) of the Geological Survey. These sheets show in distinct colours the three major divisions of Lower, Middle and Upper Chalk, with lines indicating the position of the Melbourn Rock, and the Chalk Rock. In the present work more detailed results are indicated by the accompanying zonal map.

Branches and Bridges of the Arun. I - Bridges in General and the Head of the Arun, by S. E. Winbolt, M.A., published 1937 in Sussex County Magazine (vol. XI no. 5, article, pp.311-316) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 2316][Lib 9332] & The Keep [LIB/500182]

Branches and Bridges of the Arun. II - The Arun through Horsham, by S. E. Winbolt, M.A., published 1937 in Sussex County Magazine (vol. XI no. 6, article, pp.375-380) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 2316][Lib 9332] & The Keep [LIB/500182]

Branches and Bridges of the Arun. III - The River Oak, by S. E. Winbolt, M.A., published 1937 in Sussex County Magazine (vol. XI no. 7, article, pp.435-438) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 2316][Lib 9332] & The Keep [LIB/500182]

Branches and Bridges of the Arun. IV - The Hindhead and Haslemere Sources, by S. E. Winbolt, M.A., published 1937 in Sussex County Magazine (vol. XI no. 8, article, pp.514-520) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 2316][Lib 9332] & The Keep [LIB/500182]

Branches and Bridges of the Arun. V - Arun in Mid-Weald and the Blackdown Branch, by S. E. Winbolt, M.A., published 1937 in Sussex County Magazine (vol. XI no. 9, article, pp.577-584) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 2316][Lib 9332] & The Keep [LIB/500182]

Branches and Bridges of the Arun. VI - The High Stream to the Sea, by S. E. Winbolt, M.A., published 1937 in Sussex County Magazine (vol. XI no. 10, article, pp.649-656) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 2316][Lib 9332] & The Keep [LIB/500182]

Arundel Rape Bridges, by G. D. Johnston, published February 1938 in Sussex Notes & Queries (vol. VII no. 1, note, pp.25-26) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 12536][Lib 8864][Lib 2206] & The Keep [LIB/500209] & S.A.S. library

River Arun Navigation, by G. D. Johnston, published February 1938 in Sussex Notes & Queries (vol. VII no. 1, note, pp.26-27) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 12536][Lib 8864][Lib 2206] & The Keep [LIB/500209] & S.A.S. library

Arundel Rape Bridges, by G. D. Johnston, published August 1938 in Sussex Notes & Queries (vol. VII no. 3, reply, p.96) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 12536][Lib 8864][Lib 2206] & The Keep [LIB/500209] & S.A.S. library

The Stratigraphy of the Chalk of Sussex: Part III. Western Area. Arun Gap to the Hampshire Boundary, with zonal map, by Christopher T. A. Gaster, F.G.S., published 1944 in The Proceedings of the Geologists' Association London (no. 55 issue 3, article, pp.173-188)   View Online

This paper comprises the third part of an extensive survey of the Chalk of Sussex. It records the result of a survey of the Chalk in the area extending from the Arun Gap to the Hampshire boundary, a distance of 16½ miles. The width of the outcrop from the main escarpment on the north to the Coastal Plain on the south ranges from 4 to 7 miles.
The area dealt with is included in parts of Sheets 316 (Fareham) and 317 (Chichester) of the Geological Survey. The three major divisions of Lower, Middle and Upper Chalk shown on those Sheets are replaced in the present work by detailed zonal results as recorded on the accompanying Map (Pl. 9). Reference to the Survey Memoirs indicate that research on the Chalk of this part of the county has been scanty. This is probably due to the many large estates and tracts of woodland covering the Downs, and to the limited means of access in the past to this purely rural area.

The Chichester-Brighton Roman Rad, by Ivan D. Margary, F.S.A., published August 1947 in Sussex Notes & Queries (vol. XI no. 7, article, pp.141-146) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 8229][Lib 2210] & The Keep [LIB/500213] & S.A.S. library

Romance of a river [Arun]: [Stopham, Bignor, Burphem, Arundel, Houghton], by Country Life contributor(s), published 13 July 1951 in Country Life (article, pp.106-108) accessible at: R.I.B.A. Library

Map of Rother and Arun, by G. D. J. [G. D. Johnston], published November 1951 in Sussex Notes & Queries (vol. XIII no. 8, note, p.186) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 8231] & The Keep [LIB/500215] & S.A.S. library

The Meeting of Rother and Arun, by G. D. Johnston, published May 1953 in Sussex Notes & Queries (vol. XIII nos. 13 & 14, article, pp.272-275) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 8231] & The Keep [LIB/500215] & S.A.S. library

The Arun Bridge at Ford, by J. M. Dunn, published August 1955 in Railway Magazine (article, pp.517-521)   Download PDF

The Sussex Rivers, by David L. Linton, published November 1956 in Geography (vol. 41, no. 4, article, pp.233-247, Geographical Association) accessible at: The Keep [LIB/507956]   View Online

Towing Paths in Sussex, by G. D. Johnston, published May 1958 in Sussex Notes & Queries (vol. XV no. 1, article, pp.7-13) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 8233] & The Keep [LIB/500217] & S.A.S. library

The Mouth of the Arun, by G. D. Johnston, published May 1960 in Sussex Notes & Queries (vol. XV no. 5, article, pp.149-154) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 8233] & The Keep [LIB/500217] & S.A.S. library

Gibbons' Bridges, by Paul Adorian and G. D. Johnston, published May 1960 in Sussex Notes & Queries (vol. XV no. 5, note, pp.167-168) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 8233] & The Keep [LIB/500217] & S.A.S. library

The Arun and Western Rother, by Robert H. Goodsall, published 1962 (196 pp., London: Constable) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 10237] & West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries

The author says in his "Foreword" that the inevitable wind of change may well have rendered certain statements not now completely accurate: a similar condition can be applied to parts of the historic narrative. The text is to a considerable extent based on the Water Bailiff's MS. of 1638 (edited by Thomas Fowler) and on Hadrian Allcroft's Waters of Arun omitting later new light and criticism: in particular Sussex Notes and Queries does not seem to have been consulted.
The statements (p. 151) that the Town of Arundel has derived its name from the river and (p. 96) that the Rotherbridge took its name from the farm are no doubt mere slips but the reader is warned to receive many other statements with caution or doubt - for instance (p. 42) Affleden alias Dedisham Bridge still exists considerably above the Roman and later Alfoldean Bridges, bears the date 1710, and the road over it is given as an alternative route by the older road guides and the author mentions it at p. 43 without name; (p. 180) the towpath below Arundel was on the right (not left) bank; (p. 21) Tan Bridge, Horsham - which probably took its name from a tanyard - was only a clapper bridge until the Turnpike Trustees in 1764 rebuilt it to take the turnpike road to Steyning (not Worthing until 1802); (p. 49) the Wey and Arun Canal was wound up compulsorily (see the report in L.R. 4. Eq. 197) and not voluntarily; and why is Easebourne (the Mother Parish of Midhurst) described (p. 91) as its suburb?
Lodge Bridge or Lodsbridge is a very old name for the bridge over the Rother which the author calls Selham Bridge (correctly the name of the bridge over the tributary just east of the church): Lodsbridge and Lodsbridge Mill have always been in the parish of Lodsworth and not Selham, and the mill has not been demolished but converted into living accommodation.
Reference to the Society's Collections and Notes and Queries would no doubt have altered the Author's accounts of many of the bridges and of the various and shifting mouths of the Arun.
The illustrations however are excellent.

London's Lost Route to the Sea, by P. A. L. Vine, published 1965 (London: David & Charles, Dawlish & Macdonald) accessible at: East Sussex Libraries

It gives great pleasure to read a book concerning Sussex which has clearly involved much research by the Author both in written records and on the ground and which carries assurance of its accuracy. Every inhabitant of Sussex (especially in the Rape of Arundel) should possess a copy. As may be surmised the book deals at length and mainly with finance and local conditions. Details of the original and later shareholders of the various companies (surprisingly few in number) and of the traffic carried and the opposition and support of landowners and traders, is fully and clearly set out and there are useful appendices of traffic returns, barge-owners and officials. So far as Sussex is concerned and apart from abortive schemes the Author deals with the Wey and Arun canal, the Arun Navigation and the Portsmouth and Arundel canal.

Rowner Mill, by G. D. Johnston, published May 1965 in Sussex Notes & Queries (vol. XVI no. 5, article, pp.147-149) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 8234] & The Keep [LIB/500218] & S.A.S. library

Dugout Canoes found in the River Arun, by K. Jane Evans, published November 1965 in Sussex Notes & Queries (vol. XVI no. 6, article, pp.184-187) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 8234] & The Keep [LIB/500218] & S.A.S. library

Rowner Mill, by Frank W. Gregory, published November 1965 in Sussex Notes & Queries (vol. XVI no. 6, note, pp.202-203) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 8234] & The Keep [LIB/500218] & S.A.S. library

Clements Bridge, by G. D. Johnston, published May 1966 in Sussex Notes & Queries (vol. XVI no. 7, article, pp.233-234) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 8234] & The Keep [LIB/500218] & S.A.S. library

Ferries in Sussex, by G. D. Johnston, published May 1966 in Sussex Notes & Queries (vol. XVI no. 7, article, pp.237-244) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 8234] & The Keep [LIB/500218] & S.A.S. library

North Stoke Fords, by I. D. Margary, published November 1966 in Sussex Notes & Queries (vol. XVI no. 8, note, p.280) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 8234] & The Keep [LIB/500218] & S.A.S. library

North Stoke Fords, by H. R. Phillips, published November 1966 in Sussex Notes & Queries (vol. XVI no. 8, note, p.280) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 8234] & The Keep [LIB/500218] & S.A.S. library

Pende, by G. D. Johnston, published November 1968 in Sussex Notes & Queries (vol. XVII no. 2, article, pp.46-49) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 8235] & The Keep [LIB/500219] & S.A.S. library

Coast Erosion and the Port of Pende, by H. C. P. Smail, published May 1969 in Sussex Notes & Queries (vol. XVII no. 3, article, pp.93-99) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 8235] & The Keep [LIB/500219] & S.A.S. library

Arun Mouth Ford, by G. D. Johnston, published November 1970 in Sussex Notes & Queries (vol. XVII no. 6, note, pp.198-199) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 8235] & The Keep [LIB/500219] & S.A.S. library

Inscriptions on Sussex Bridges, by G. D. Johnston, published May 1971 in Sussex Notes & Queries (vol. XVII no. 7 and last, article, pp.209-233) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 8235] & The Keep [LIB/500219] & S.A.S. library

A Bridge for Littlehampton 1821-2, by John H. Farrant, published December 1972 in Sussex Industrial History (No. 5, article, pp.31-33) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 16389/5] & The Keep [LIB/506524]   Download PDF

The Arun was the last of the rivers through the South Downs to be bridged below the natural and ancient bridging point, at the gap in the Downs. At Newhaven, on the Ouse, a drawbridge was built in 1784, while Old Shoreham bridge over the Adur was built in 1782; but it was the railway which first bridged the Arun, at Ford in 1846, and not until 1908 did Littlehampton acquire a road bridge. With the Iatter's replacement under construction half a mile up stream, it is particularly appropriate to recall the earliest plans for a bridge at Littlehampton, the design for which appears on the cover of this number of S.I.H.

Twenty Walks, West of Arun, by Charles Shippam, published 1973 (48 pp., Chichester: Phillimore & Co., ISBN-10: 0850331056 & ISBN-13: 9780850331059) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 11814] & West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries

James Stone of Pallingham: Barge Building in Sussex, by R. D. Hull, published 1985 (article) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 9667]

West Sussex Waterways, by P. A. L. Vine, published 9 November 1985 (96 pp., Midhurst: Middleton Press, ISBN-10: 090652024X & ISBN-13: 9780906520246) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 12550][Lib 9458] & East Sussex Libraries

Arundel and the Arun Valley in Old Photographs, by John Godfrey, published 25 October 1990 (160 pp., Stroud: Sutton Publishing Ltd., ISBN-10: 0862997038 & ISBN-13: 9780862997038) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 10719] & West Sussex Libraries

The Story of Restoring London's Lost Route to the Sea, by Wey & Arun Canal Trust, published 1993 (pamphlet) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 13165]

Sincerely Arun, published 1994 (Arun District Council) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 14307]

Along the Arun, by John William Adamson and illustrated by Andrew Bucknall and Kate Wilson, published 5 September 1994 (109 pp., The Alexius Press Ltd., ISBN-10: 0951988611 & ISBN-13: 9780951988619) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 12820] & West Sussex Libraries

London's Lost Route to Midhurst: The Earl of Egremont's Navigation and the Building of the Petworth Canal, by P. A. L. Vine, published 29 June 1995 (160 pp., Stroud: Sutton Publishing Ltd., ISBN-10: 0750909684 & ISBN-13: 9780750909686) accessible at: West Sussex Libraries

London's Lost Route to the Sea, by P. A. L. Vine, published 1 July 1996 (5th revised edition, 280 pp., Midhurst: Middleton Press, ISBN-10: 1873793782 & ISBN-13: 9781873793787) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 14513][Lib 14514] & West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries

The development of the Arun navigation as early as 1545 and the Wey a hundred years later, made a canal link between the London and Portsmouth an attractive commercial concept. Sponsored by the 3rd Earl of Egremont and opened in 1816, the canal's trade fell below expectations. The Portsmouth and Arun Canal, opened in 1823, did increase trade but the need for transhipment and cargoes restricted to 30 tons meant it was easier and more economical to use Channel coasters to London. Like the Basingstoke, trade relied on local developments and the Wey & Arun enjoyed a period of prosperity in the 1830s but, as with the Basingstoke, it suffered water shortages on the summit pound and competition from better roads and then railways so that it finally closed in 1871. This book is a full length detailed study, written with the interest of the general reader in mind, but fully documented for the historian. The Appendices are of special note. The book is profusely illustrated with 135 plates and line drawings, of which 90 are new to this edition, and 16 maps.

The ownership, occupation and use of land on the South Downs between the rivers Arun and Adur in West Sussex, c1840-c1940., by John Douglas Godfrey, 1999 at Sussex University (Ph.D. thesis) accessible at: West Sussex Libraries

This thesis reports on a study of land ownership, land occupation and land use in an area of about 100 square miles on the South Downs in Sussex at three points in time. The thesis is based on a study of three principal sets of records, occasionally supplemented by other material. The study area comprises the area covered by 16 contiguous modern parishes between the rivers Arun and Adur. The study covers the period c.1840-1940 and the three principal sets of records examined are the Tithe Surveys of 1834-47, the Valuation Office Survey of 1910-15 and the National Farm Survey of 1941-43. The study, which focuses on medium and large holdings, describes the structure of land ownership, land occupation and land use in the selected area, making use of significant material which has only recently become available and has not previously been studied, and enables trends to be identified relating to such issues as the changing fortunes of landowning families, the balance between owner-occupation and tenant farming, farm size, the balance between pasture and arable, agricultural improvement and the progress and efficiency of measures such as the wartime plough-up campaigns. These trends are discussed in a regional and national context, referring to research undertaken elsewhere and to available national material. The study also identifies problems which may arise from the inter-relating of the three documentary sources, all of which were designed for separate purposes (tithe commutation, taxing of land values, Second World War food production campaign and post-war planning), and it proposes solutions to these problems which may be of value to future researchers.

The Wey & Arun Canal Trust, published 2000 (pamphlet) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 16580]

The Arun Navigation, by P. A. L. Vine, published 1 October 2000 (128 pp., NPI Media Group, ISBN-10: 0752421034 & ISBN-13: 9780752421032) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 14655] & West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries

River terrace sequences: templates for Quaternary geochronology and marine-terrestrial correlation, by David Bridgland, Darrel Maddy and Martin Bates, published February 2004 in Journal of Quaternary Science (vol. 19, issue 2, article, pp.203-218)   View Online

Fluvial sequences, particularly terrace staircases, represent archives of Quaternary palaeoclimatic fluctuation and can serve as stratigraphical frameworks for geochronology and for correlation with other depositional environments, in particular, the global marine oxygen isotope record. Fluvial lithostratigraphical frameworks also provide contexts for records, from fossils and artefacts, of faunal evolution and human occupation; conversely, both records can be means of relative dating of riverine sequences.
Three fluvial sequences are examined as case studies. First is the Severn-Avon system in the English Midlands, which has biostratgraphical evidence and an amino acid geochronology, together with marker inputs from three different glaciations. The Somme sequence of northern France, famous for its Palaeolithic artefact assemblages, again has biostratigraphy and an amino acid geochronology and has also been dated with reference to overlying loess/palaeosols sequences. The fluvial terraces of the River Arun, the final case study, lack dating evidence but are interspersed within the Sussex raised beach staircase. Although various lines of evidence suggest that the rivers discussed have formed terraces in response to climatic fluctuation, an intriguing difference is that interglacial sediments occur at the bases of terrace formations in the Severn-Avon, whereas in the Somme they occur at the tops of sequences, beneath loessic overburden. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Wey and Arun Junction Canal, by P. A. L. Vine, published 1 April 2007 (128 pp., Tempus Publishing Ltd., ISBN-10: 0752442708 & ISBN-13: 9780752442709) accessible at: West Sussex Libraries

Largely as a result of substantial investment by the 3rd Earl of Egremont, a keen patron of the arts and perhaps the richest man in Britain at the time, the Wey & Arun Junction Canal opened in 1816. To contemporary commentators, it seemed set for success as part of a new navigable route from London to Portsmouth and the Sussex coast. Sadly, though the countryside remained 'beautiful and picturesque', the canal, after fifty-five years of modest trading, fell victim to competition from railways and problems with its own water supply. The order for closure came in 1871, and for the best part of a century the Wey & Arun lay abandoned. The derelict state of the canal as it lingered forgotten and crumbling, as well as the attempts being made since 1970 to reinstate it, are vividly evoked here by illustrations from the author's collection and those of the Wey & Arun Canal Trust.

The Arun Navigation, by P. A. L. Vine, published 1 November 2007 (revised edition, 128 pp., The History Press, ISBN-10: 0752443232 & ISBN-13: 9780752443232) accessible at: West Sussex Libraries

The Arun is the longest river in Sussex, running from St Leonards Forest to the English Channel and covering some thirty-seven miles. For many centuries the waterway assumed an important role as one of the main arteries of commerce in Sussex. In use since the Norman Conquest, it was improved by landowners in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, with improvements at Palingham and canals built near Newbridge and Pulborough. In this section can be found the only tunnel in Britain to link two parts of a river navigation. The construction of the Wey and Arun Junction Canal in 1816 eventually linked the Arun with the Thames. Today the river is a haven for pleasure boaters. This updated and revised edition covers changes to the navigation over recent years and a selection of new illustrations.

The River Arun, published 2008 (leaflet, Environment Agency) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 16565]

The Historical Ecology of the River Arun and Its Beaches at Littlehampton, West Sussex: v. 169: 1000 Years of Change, by Brian Morton, published 29 February 2008 (iv + 198 pp., Oxfordshire: Ray Society, Bloxham, ISBN-10: 0903874407 & ISBN-13: 9780903874403) accessible at: British Library & West Sussex Libraries

The Arun Navigation and Hardham Canal Tunnel, by P. A. L. Vine, published 2011 in Sussex Industrial History (issue no. 41, article, pp.2-14, ISSN: 0263-5151) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 16389/41] & The Keep [LIB/506538]   Download PDF

The River Arun has for centuries been the most important of the Sussex waterways. There seems little doubt that the river was partly navigable at the time of the Norman Conquest. While authorities are at variance upon whether Arundel boasted any river traffic before this date, the town is referred to as a port in Domesday Book time ('portum aquae et consuetudinem navium'). It is reported by various chroniclers that in about 1070, Roger de Montgomery, a Norman nobleman, created Earl of Arundel by William I for his help at Hastings, imported small square blocks of Caen stone from Normandy for refacing the castle keep. Hadrian Allcroft presents a strong case for accepting Ford as the then port of Arundel, since the tide probably flowed no higher than this point before 1300 and the crossing-point would have hindered the passage of boats which were heavily laden. Furthermore, the river would at that time have flowed an inconvenient half a mile east of where Arundel Bridge now stands.

Along the Arun, by John Adamson, published 3 December 2014 (revised edition, 112 pp., The Alexius Press Ltd., ISBN-10: 0951988689 & ISBN-13: 9780951988688) accessible at: West Sussex Libraries

Twenty years after its first publication, Along the Arun has been republished in a fully revised edition with new photographs. The book provides a guide for walkers based on the course of the River Arun from Littlehampton to Pulbrough. While detailed information about the route is given, Along the Arun provides more than a conventional walkers' guide, for it has a wealth of information about towns and villages on the way and on the river itself. It has appeal, therefore, to visitors by car or public transport who do not wish to embark on ambitious walks and indeed to residents of the area wanting to know more about it. Even the armchair explorer will find much of interest. The area covered has beautiful scenery and much of historical interest. To do justice to the subject, the book ranges in time from the geological origins of the Arun and the evidence of early man in Sussex right up to the very contemporary East Beach Cafe in Littlehampton designed by Thomas Heatherwick, taking in Roman, Saxon, Norman and later phases of history along the way. The book includes thirteen maps and thirty-one photographs closely related to the text.

West of the Arun, edited by Margery Lillywhite, published (no date) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 13030]