[woodcote]

Special Stage 2 - Martyrs' Mile

The Rally-Sprint has re-located to Goring-by-Sea for the next 2-3 weeks. Goring is another ancient village that has been subsumed into a larger town. The first written record of the village of Goring dates back to the sixth century, when it was part of the kingdom of the South Saxons (or Sussex). It is mentioned in the Domesday Book at the parish of Garinges. A grand country house, Castle Goring, was built in the 1790s by Sir Bysshe Shelley, 1st Baronet of Castle Goring and grandfather of the poet Percy Shelley. Some residential development began in the 19th century, encouraged by the new south coast railway line and a station at Goring. The population of Goring only started to grow significantly in 1929, when the village became a borough of Worthing - and again after 1938, when the railway was electrified. Goring is now the western suburb of Worthing.

   

Although Goring was once home to the teenage Bill Idol, the main tourist attractions are the beach and the English Martyrs' Church, which - in normal times - greets coachloads of visitors to view the replica of the Sistine Chapel ceiling painted by local sign-writer Gary Bevans. The church hall is The Barn - the home of Worthing HO Racing. The Barn was built in 1771 for farmer George Jupp and is now a Grade II listed building. It was also the original church, used for services from 1937 to 1970.

   

Stages 2 and 3 will take place a few hundred yards (as the crow flies) from the Barn - hence the names Simon has given his two stages.