The manor of New Shoreham was owned by the dukes of Norfolk. The borough, which formed part of the manor, was governed by a constable chosen at the court leet of the lord of the manor.3

Before his attainder, elections at New Shoreham were dominated by the 4th Duke of Norfolk. Richard Fulmerston (1559), Nicholas Mynn (1563), William Dix (1571) and John Bowles (1571) were all servants of the Duke. Henry Knollys I (1563) was brother of Sir Francis Knollys, and his return at New Shoreham was no doubt due to his brother’s court connexions with Norfolk. John Hussey I (1559) came from a Sussex family with a long tradition of parliamentary service, and was known to Norfolk.

In 1572, just after the Duke of Norfolk’s fall, New Shoreham returned two local gentlemen, but its period of independence from the Howards was short-lived. In 1584 William Necton, receiver general to Norfolk’s son, the 13th Earl of Arundel, was returned through his master’s influence, and continued to represent the borough until 1597, some time after Arundel’s disgrace. It may be that Necton had other powerful connexions at court, and Lord Burghley’s name has been suggested. The remaining identified MPs were all local gentlemen: Thomas Fenner (1584), Herbert Morley (1593) and John Morley II (1601). John Young III (1586, 1589) was probably also a Sussex gentleman, but it has proved impossible to distinguish the MP from numerous namesakes. Robert Booth (1601) has not been identified, neither is it known how he came to sit for New Shoreham.