The coastal town of Shoreham-by-Sea in West Sussex dates back to pre-Roman times, with its town and port established by Norman conquerors. in the eleventh century. In 1153 Muslim scholar Muhammad al-Idrisi descibed it as "a fine and cultivated city containing buildings and flourishing activity". The area expanded during the following centuries, particularly the nineteenth. Hollar's view of the seventeenth century town looks out at the sea, on which several boats are sailing; in the foreground is a hill with riders descending. In the mid-distance there is a church on the coast, but overall there is little evidence of the "flourishing activity" described by al-Idrisi.