Rustington, West Sussex, England, United Kingdom

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Rustington is a large village and civil parish in the Arun District of West Sussex. Rustington is approximately at the midpoint of the West Sussex coast and midway between the county town of Chichester and Brighton. The A259 runs along the north of Rustington, westward to Littlehampton, Bognor Regis and Chichester, and east to Worthing and Brighton. The area forms part of the Brighton and Hove built-up area. Rustington has the facilities of a small town, including a shopping area with a mix of independent and chain stores. The parish of Rustington includes the neighbourhood of West Preston. Rustington has independent shops such as butchers, greengrocers and bakers. It has some major banks and a post office. Pedestrianised areas benefit the Churchill Court Shopping Courtyard. Rustington also has a retail park on the A259 road. Rustington shares Angmering railway station with Angmering and East Preston. Trains from this station go to Brighton and Portsmouth/Southampton, as well as regular services to London.

History Rustington was in World War I home to a planned American aerodrome, to the east of the High Street. Intended to launch bombing raids against Germany, the airfield was incomplete when the war ended.

Conservation area Rustington contains a conservation area which extends from the south end of North Lane to The Lamb in The Street. Here, where trees are protected, are the largest number of pre-1850 listed buildings in the post town, with The Street and surrounding roads containing some of the finest 17th and 18th century Sussex flint cottages in West Sussex, some of which are thatched.

There is a village information centre at the Broadmark Lane car park, housed in the recently renovated WRVS building in the Waitrose car park. It also houses Rustington Museum, exploring the village's history from the Stone Age to the modern day with artefacts from throughout time.

Annual events Rustington competes annually in the South-East in Bloom competition. It holds an annual carnival and fête in August. Close to Christmas Eve, Rustington has a village carol concert which is free for local residents and features local school children accompanied by the Littlehampton Concert Band.

Geography Rustington adjoins the English Channel, and is up to 7 metres (23 ft) above Ordnance Datum. It has three main recreation grounds and neither woodland nor fields.

In music, literature and the media "Rustington" is a well-known hymn tune by Hubert Parry, who lived and died in Rustington.

Rustington achieved national fame in 1956 with the launch of Flanders and Swann's show At the Drop of a Hat, in which "The Gnu Song" contains the lines: I had taken furnished lodgings down at Rustington-on-Sea

Whence I travelled on to Ashton-Under-Lyne…

Shopping facilities Rustington has independent shops such as butchers, greengrocers and bakers. It has some major banks and a post office serving a population of 40,000. Pedestrianised areas benefit the Churchill Court Shopping Courtyard. On display in the high street is a large Late Ice Age erratic boulder; this was brought to Rustington on ice during the last Ice Age. It was re-discovered in a local field named Stonefield having been used as a boundary marker for many years. Rustington also has a retail park on the A259 road.

Sport and leisure Rustington has an amateur football club Rustington F.C. who play at the Recreation Ground. Also a cricket club based on the same ground and play throughout the summer with two teams on Saturdays and one on Sundays. In 2006, they didn't lose a single match, earning them a mention on Sky Sports News on New Year's Eve. In 2017 the club celebrated its 125 Anniversary. The Saturday teams play in the West Sussex Invitation League and in 2016 the first eleven won the Division 4 title. There is also a thriving table tennis club, Woodlands TTC who are based at The Woodlands Centre who meet on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Transport Rustington shares Angmering railway station with Angmering and East Preston. Trains from this station go to Brighton and Portsmouth/Southampton, as well as regular services to London.

Bus services to Brighton and Portsmouth are provided by the Coastliner 700 with many stops within the village itself.