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The name of the village is almost certainly derived from the German word Storch, meaning stork and it is possibly connected with the Saxon word 'Stor' meaning strong. The bird was a very common visitor to our shores centuries ago. It's meaning could also be loosely connected to the herons which still nest in Parham Park on the western border of Storrington - one of the few heronries still existing in England. The name of the stream, the Stor or Storr came from the village and not as so often happens the other way round.
Besides the three spellings in the Domesday Book, Storrington has had considerable name changes through the centuries. For example Storghton (1334 and 1411) Sterington, Steryngton (153) Sorrington (16th century) Storynton (1842). It isn't until 1735 that the name changes to Storrington. Other names over the years have been Estorchestone, Estochetone, Stoechestone - the list goes on. The
church of St Mary the Virgin was built in the 11th century, at the end
of the 19th century, around 1882, the lower part of the churchyard was
known as the Old Pillery Gardens. The house was known locally as the
Pills Factory, or the Pillery, due to a Mr Dixon who made and sold 'pink
pills for all ills'. Later in the century the Post Office was run by John Battcock and daughters. The post was delivered to the majority of the houses within the village by one of the daughters, but people living in the outlying areas had to collect theirs from the Post Office. By 1875 the Post Office moved to Church Street to the shop of E W Hammond, adjacent to the Old Forge where Mr Hammond's daughter ran the office. At the turn of the century the Post Office moved to Georgian House and in 1929 it moved to the back of a store in the High Street where people had to walk through the shop to reach the Post Office counter. It moved again in 1952 to a house that had been known as The Dawes, (originally an inn called 'The Swan and Daws' - the house itself was converted into the post office. Unfortunately, the building was not in the best of repair and maintenance costs were quite high. Later on there was a fire in the building after which a new public counter had to be installed in another part of the building, whilst the original part was demonolished in 1958. The temporary Post Office in the back of the building remained in use until 1964 when a purpose built Post Office was opened. Having it's own Internet Connection and web site, the current Storrington Post Office has come a long way since 1812 !
The Village Hall was built in 1894 by public subscription after the site was given by the Rev. George Faithfull. The villagers of Storrington started a library and formed a 'Social Society'. Two years later rooms were added behind the stage and a room used as a billiard room was built above them. One of the rooms behind the stage was later used as the library which started its life in the lobby of the hall. The library collection was built up by local families donating books, however, in 1898 Mr James Constable kindly gave the library a gift of £500. The library room became very overcrowded with books and a new library at the back of the extension building was discussed. In 1923, the building was extended to include a reading room and a caretaker's flat, but the new library was delayed until 1929. By 1972 it was apparent the old library was just not sufficient and a new County Library was built in North Street. This itself was extended in 1978 to give more space for improved facilities. There are excellent leaflets available from the library, produced by the Storrington Conservation Society, to take you through an informative walk through Storrington offering an insight into the history of some of the buildings, many of which will be included here.
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