Steyning woman’s book on Chanctonbury Ring

A STEYNING woman has written a book about Chanctonbury Ring which she hopes will appeal to all.

Janet Pennington, College Hill wanted to write a book about the hillfort and ring of tree encompassing it, when she realised that no-one had published a ‘well-researched book’ that appealed to a wide audience.

She told the County Times: “Although there are excavation and other reports in Sussex Archaeological Collections, they may not be of interest to the general reader.”

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Janet added that although there are many books about the myths and legends in Sussex, and some stories, ‘mostly rather fanciful, about the Ring’ she felt that it had ‘its own fascinating story to tell’.

She said: “As a Sussex historian, with a good knowledge of the history of the Wiston Estate in which the landmark is set, I felt that I could fill the gap and write something of interest for the general Sussex reader that covered all aspects of Chanctonbury’s long history.

“I particularly wanted to write about the tree-planting in 1760 by sixteen-year-old Charles Goring, the landowner’s son, and the influences upon him.”

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