Lancing is a village in West Sussex, England, on the western edge of the Adur Valley. It is on the coastal plain between Sompting to the west, Shoreham-by-Sea to the east and the parish of Coombes to the north. It is sometimes credited as being the largest village in England, covering around 8.9 km². A village is a human settlement commonly found in rural areas. ... West Sussex is a county in the south of England, bordering onto East Sussex (with Brighton and Hove), Hampshire and Surrey. ... Royal motto (French): Dieu et mon droit (Translated: God and my right) Englands location within the UK Official language English de facto Capital London de facto Largest city London Area - Total Ranked 1st UK 130,395 km² Population - Total (mid-2004) - Density Ranked 1st UK 50. ... Adur is a local government district of West Sussex in England. ... Sompting is a village in West Sussex, England, located between Lancing and Worthing, at the foot of the southern slope of the South Downs. ... Shoreham-by-Sea, West Sussex, England, is bordered on the north by the South Downs, on the west by the Adur valley and on the south by the River Adur and Shoreham Beach. ... Several villages claim to be the largest village in England. ...

It is a mix of coastal urban dwelling and rural chalk downland landscape. The oldest non-religious buildings date to around 1500 CE. The 2002 population was around 19,000. The Needles, part of the extensive Southern England Chalk Formation Chalk is a soft, white, porous form of limestone composed of the mineral calcium carbonate. ... A downland is an area of open chalk upland. ...

The town was a popular seaside resort in the mid-19th century, gaining favour from the gentry of the time for its secluded atmosphere. Lancing today no longer has a notable tourist trade although there are a number of small guest houses, most of them on the coast road.

There is a shingle beach with good stretches of clean sand at low water. South of the A259 coast road is Widewater, an internationally rare brackish (slightly saline) lagoon. Immediately north of the developed area is Lancing Ring, a Nature Reserve, part of the designated Sussex Downland Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). To the north of that is farmed agricultural downland connected to Lancing College Farm. On its eastern side is Shoreham Airport, the world's oldest continually-operational airport which also served as an RAF base during World War II. The A259 is a major road in England, running along the south coast parallel to the A27 road. ... A nature reserve (natural reserve, nature preserve, natural preserve) is an area of importance for wildlife, flora, fauna or features of geological or other special interest, which is reserved and managed for conservation and to provide special opportunities for study or research. ... Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) is a United Kingdom. ... Lancing College is a co-educational English Public School founded in 1848 by the Rev. ... The 1930s control tower Shoreham Airport is a British ariport near to Brighton. ... World War II was a truly global conflict with many facets: immense human suffering, fierce indoctrination, and the use of new, extremely devastating weapons such as the atom bomb. ...

Much of the land now covered with housing was formerly taken by a number of family-run market gardening businesses growing fruit or flowers for the Brighton Market or Covent Garden in London. Sparks Nursery was growing fruit such as tomatoes and Young's produced Carnations. Chrysanthemums were grown by Frank Lisher on his land south of The Finches, the house he built. The Nash family were fruit growers, producing grapes under huge glass cloches that could be rolled into place on a rail track. 'Mr Marshall's Nursery' was also notable. In agriculture, market gardening is the relatively small-scale production of fruits, vegetables and flowers as cash crops, frequently sold directly to consumers and restaurants. ... Brighton on the southern Sussex coast is one of the largest and most famous seaside resorts in England. ... Covent Garden is a shopping and entertainment complex in central London. ...

In the early part of the 20th century Lancing developed a railway carriage building industry in the area that is now the Churchill industrial estate at the western edge of town.

See also

• Sompting