c43 Romans invade
c410 Roman army leaves
c645 First Saxon landing in Sussex
c681 Start of conversion to Christianity
c850 Earliest parts of St Nicolas’ Church
990s Viking raids cause havoc
1066 Norman conquest
c1096 St Mary’s Church and New Shoreham founded
c1130 Work begins on the Marlipins (now museum)
1199 King John lands at Shoreham on return to England to be crowned
1208 New Shoreham made a Royal Port
1295 First MPs for New Shoreham sent to Parliament
1305 Edward 1 visits Shoreham
1346 Shoreham, now a major shipping centre, sends more ships to Crecy campaign than Dover, Bristol, Southampton or London
1347/8 The Black Death hits local population
1404 Much destruction by sea storms
1432 Population reduced to 200
1545 French marauders attack – Battle of Shoreham Bay
1608 James I grants Market Charter to Shoreham
1651 Charles II escapes to France from Shoreham Harbour
1703/5 Huge storms bring more destruction
1718 Restoration of St Mary’s Church completed
1760 New harbour entrance opened
1781 Wooden bridge built over the Adur
1821 New harbour entrance re-opened
1830 New Customs House built (later Town Hall)
1833 First Norfolk bridge (A259) built
1836 Workhouse built in Ham Road
1838 Swiss Gardens opened
1840 Opening of Brighton to Shoreham railway line
1841-4 St Nicolas Church restored
1845 First train service from Shoreham to Worthing
1847 The Rev Nathaniel Woodard opens his first school
1851 Shoreham Cement Works opened
1852 Shoreham Grammar School founded
1854 New lock and canal transform Shoreham harbour
1857 Shoreham Redoubt (Old Fort) completed
1861 Railway line to Steyning and Horsham completed
1868 Work starts on Lancing College Chapel
1876-9 St Mary’s Church restored
1884 Shoreham to Hove tramway opened
1887 Cemetery opened in Mill Lane
1901 Union Workhouse opened (later Southlands Hospital)
1908 Harry Ricardo builds his first cars in High St works
1911 First plane takes off from Shoreham Airport
1912 Swiss Gardens closed (lake area incorporated in pub grounds)
1914 Huge army camp on Downs as Great War starts
1917 Old Shoreham toll bridge rebuilt
1921 Shoreham Beach footbridge built
1923 Norfolk Suspension Bridge replaced by new steel bridge
1926 Museum opens at the historic Marlipins
1931 Buckingham Park opens as council-owned park
1933 Norfolk Cinema (later Ritz) opens in High Street
1936 Shoreham Airport’s art deco terminal built
1938 Demolition of each end of High St for road widening
1940 Demolition of much of Bungalow Town (Shoreham Beach) anticipating German invasion
1953 Coronation Green constructed
1957 Shoreham Preservation Society formed
1966 Shoreham railway branch line to Horsham closed
1968 Shoreham toll bridge closes to motor traffic
1970 Adur Flyover opens
1971 Saltings Bridge scheme abandoned
1973 Police station moves from Tarmount Lane to Ham Road
1974 Adur District Council formed, combining previous urban district councils
1979 Ritz cinema closes
1979-80 New Civic Centre built in Ham Road
1985 Shoreham Society formed
1987 Hurricane destroys many trees
1987 Norfolk Bridge reconstructed (2nd time)
1991 Shoreham Cement Works ceases operation
2000 Work starts on Ropetackle development
2008 Old Toll Bridge restoration completed
2011 Pedestrianisation of East Street
2012 Shoreham Beach footbridge replacement started
2013 Adur Ferry Bridge opens replacing old footbridge
2015 Shoreham airshow crash kills 11 onlookers and passers-by
2016 Adur Council moves to the extended Shoreham Centre, leaving the old Civic Centre for redevelopment
2020-21 Covid-19 virus pandemic affects entire community.