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| West Tarring | |
|---|---|
 Tarring High Street |
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| West Tarring shown within West Sussex | |
| Population | 8,646 (2011.Ward) |
| OS grid reference | TQ132040 |
| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | WORTHING |
| Postcode district | BN13 0, BN14 0 |
| Dialling code | 01903 |
| Police | Sussex |
| Fire | West Sussex |
| Ambulance | South East Coast |
| EU Parliament | South East England |
| UK Parliament |
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West Tarring is a neighbourhood of the Borough of Worthing in West Sussex, England. It lies on the A2031 road 1.2 miles (1.9 km) northwest of the town centre. It is officially called West Tarring or, less commonly, Tarring Peverell, to differentiate it from Tarring Neville near Lewes, but is usually called just "Tarring" (pronounced "Ta-ring", not "Tar-ring").
During the time of the Domesday Book in 1086, the village was known as Terringes. It is thought that the place name means 'Teorra's people', with Teorra being a Saxon settler.
Tarring was given by King Athelstan of England to the archbishops of Canterbury in the 10th century, and there is a tradition that the village was visited by Thomas Becket, the martyred archbishop, in the 12th century and also St Richard of Chichester, patron saint of Sussex, in the 13th century.
West Tarring is noted for its 13th-century parish church of St Andrew, 13th-century Archbishop's Palace, numerous old houses including the 15th-century timber-framed Parsonage Row, and two pubs: The Vine and the George and Dragon.
Despite Tarring High Street being a relatively short and very narrow road, it was once home to five pubs and was also the route for double decker buses. This is the reason for the "George and Dragon"'s unusually high pub sign. A lamp case bearing the legend "Castle Inn" is still present outside one of the former public houses.
West Tarring had an ancient fig garden, dating from 1745 or earlier. This garden survived for nearly 250 years but most of it was destroyed in the late 20th century to make way for property development.
West Tarring sub-post office was closed in 2004 and is now a tea room. There are three other shops: a small general stores, another tea room and a ladies' hairdresser. Once a village, Tarring has now become a commuter feeder area and suburban enclave.
The nearest railway station is West Worthing, 0.8 km (0.50 mi) away.
