Highdown Hill

Highdown Hill is a prominent hill in the South Downs, as its name suggests, reaching a height of 81 metres . The summit of the hill and its western slopes lie in the parish of Ferring in the Arun district, while its eastern slopes lie in the borough of Worthing. It is a popular spot for picnickers, dog-walkers and local riders. It overlooks Littlehampton, Angmering, Ferring and Worthing with views, when the weather is good, east as far as the Seven Sisters and west to the Isle of Wight. It is the property of the National Trust. To the north the ancient hill forts of Cissbury Ring and Chanctonbury Ring can be seen, and the remains of an ancient hill fort exist on the summit of Highdown Hill. Highdown Hill is the traditional burial-place of the kings of Sussex.
Human occupation of the hill seems to have started in the Late Bronze Age when an enclosure was built. By the Early Iron Age this had been replaced by a hill fort composed of a single rampart and ditch. An Anglo-Saxon cemetery was created on the site around 450 AD which has produced an unusual number of glass objects, which can now be seen in Worthing Museum. This cemetery was discovered by accident in the 1890s when local landowner Edwin Henty undertook tree planting inside the hillfort. His workmen had unfortunately discarded or stolen much material before a full excavation could begin.

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