Capturing Old Shoreham: A landscape of time and connection
Capturing Old Shoreham is a community-led exhibition that reveals the long and layered story of one of Sussex’s historically rich – but often overlooked – places.
Through archaeology, maps, social history, wildlife and community memory, the exhibition reveals how land, water and people have shaped Old Shoreham over thousands of years.
A changing landscape
At its heart is the idea of connection. The River Adur once created a tidal landscape of marsh, meadow and crossing points, linking communities, trade routes and settlements.
From Saxon times to modern transport networks, geography has continued to shape everyday life here.
The exhibition traces a landscape constantly changing: ancient routes across the Downs, shifting river channels, farming, estates, wartime transformation, railways and roads all leaving their mark on the valley.
People and place
Just as important are the people who lived here – landowners and labourers, reformers, artists, villagers and volunteers – whose stories turn landscape history into human history.
Environmental themes also run throughout the exhibition, highlighting both the fragility of local habitats and the growing community effort to understand, restore and protect them.
More than a record of local history, Capturing Old Shoreham is an invitation to look again at the place around us — and to help uncover the many stories still waiting to be explored.
Visiting the exhibition
Capturing Old Shoreham is upstairs in the Marlipins Gallery until 25 July, open from Thursday to Saturday between 11am and 3pm.
The exhibition includes interpretation panels, trail guides, albums, reports, a ‘cabinet of curiosities’ and a pop-up art show. It also features three major community artworks: a giant Village Map, the Old Shoreham Banner project and Echoes of Old Shoreham, a new soundscape created from local recordings, reflections and music.
There are evening talks, Saturday drop-in sessions and family activities including a children’s trail and dress-up clothes.
Only a beginning
We see this as only a beginning. There are still many questions unanswered and discoveries to make, and FOldS members will usually be on hand to share knowledge, hear memories and help visitors begin their own journey of discovery.
The exhibition runs throughout the Adur Festival and the Adur Arts Trail, so if you are planning a visit to Shoreham town centre, please add us to your itinerary.
Capturing Old Shoreham is upstairs in the Marlipins Gallery until 25 July, open from Thursday to Saturday between 11am and 3pm.
You can find out more about the Capturing Old Shoreham project in this report prepared last year.
