132 



in that parish worth lo marks a year, and at Aldrington and Middle- 

 ton 40 acres were inundated. Early in the 14th century (Dallaway) 

 in his "History of Chichester," says not many years before 1345. 

 Pagham Harbour was fomied by a sudden irruption of the sea by which 

 2,700 acres of land were devastated. In the year 1432 the inhabitants 

 of Shoreham petitioned the King for a reduction of their taxes, " for- 

 asmuch as by the encroachment of the sea, &c., the number of in- 

 habitants was reduced from 500 to 36.'' "A sudden incursion of the 

 sea at Rye, in which the water rose 8 or 9 feet in men's houses at mid- 

 night" was recorded in 1570. Elliott's manuscript says : — 



" In Elizabeth's reign the sea in a storm broke through the beach 

 bank at Bishopstone and fomied what is now called the Old Harbour 

 which was in use till the Newhaven one was made a safer exit. This 

 may have been the same storm as deepened so materially Rye 

 Harbour." 



This was the second instance of the course of a Sussex river being 

 diverted by a storm. Formerly, it might, however, be mentioned, the 

 mouth of the river Adur shifted from jear to year, going gradually 

 farther eastward towards Brighton, and then back again towards 

 Shoreham. The following interesting account of a storm on Novem- 

 ber 1st, 1597, was from the Hastings Corporation Records. The pier 

 there was destroyed by the sea, and in 1 595 the work of re-building it 

 was begun, but all the works were washed away and a second attempt 

 made, which, it would be seen, also failed. 



" This woorke was with singular Industrie and arte brought above 

 the full, and by all Hollantyde, 1 597, were nere finished, viz., XXX foote 

 high, and C foote at least long, bewtyful to behold, huge, invincible, 

 and unremovable in the judgment of all the beholders, amounting to a 

 great charge, whereunto the whole shire and div's beholders were con- 

 tributoryes of benevolence, besides the townes great expences. But 

 behold when men were most secure, and thought the woorke to be per- 

 petual, on All Saints' daie, 1597, appeared the mighty force of God, 

 who with the finger of His hand, at one great and exceeding high 

 spring tyde, with a south-est wynd, overthrow this huge woorke in less 

 than a hower to the great terror and adasmt of all beholders, to the 

 great discredit of the lyke woorke hereafter with the countr)', and to 

 he manifest undoing of the town." 



In the following century Brighton suffered severely from the en- 



