Copthorne, West Sussex

Copthorne is a village outside Crawley on the northern boundaries of West Sussex, England, close to Gatwick Airport. It is the most northerly ecclesiastical parish in the Diocese of Chichester in the Church of England, and together with Crawley Down makes up the civil parish of Worth.

The name Copthorne probably comes from copped or coppiced (pollarded) thorn, meaning a cut thorn tree.

[edit] Border Country

Copthorne - The Story So Far, the village Millennium Book

Lying as it does, on the borders between the counties West Sussex & Surrey, spices up Copthorne's history. There are stories of smugglers from the south coast stashing their goods in the woods around the village, conscious that it was easy to step across the county boundary, and escape any pursuing constabulary.

Similarly, a number of significant boxing prize fights took place in Copthorne Common in the early 1800s. A significant one was in 1810 between Tom Cribb of Bristol, and Tom Molineaux from Virginia, USA, with the Prince Regent, the Czar Alexander I of Russia, and Lord Byron amongst the 10,000 spectators.

A Copthorner is traditionally known as a Yellowbelly, and there are a number of stories told as to why this might be. Some talk of villagers wearing their gold strapped around their bellies, but the most likely reason is probably tied to the traditional local trade of charcoal burning, where some of those working stripped to the waist found their skin turned yellow with the smoke.

As part of a village Millennium project, a history of the village Copthorne - The Story So Far was published by the community in 1999/2000.