Horsham

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For other uses, see Horsham (disambiguation).
Horsham

Coordinates: 51.0618° N 0.3246° W

Horsham (United Kingdom)
Horsham
Population 50,000. approx.
OS grid reference TQ175305
District Horsham
Shire county West Sussex
Region South East
Constituent country England
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town Horsham
Postcode district RH12
Dial code 01403
Police Sussex
Fire West Sussex
Ambulance South East Coast
UK Parliament Horsham
European Parliament South East England
List of places: UK • England • West Sussex

Horsham is a market town in West Sussex, England with a population of roughly 50,000. It is the administrative and market centre of the district of Horsham.

Contents

[edit] Administration

Horsham is the largest town in the district of the same name. It is administered by Horsham District Council. The second tier of administration is by West Sussex County Council, based in Chichester. In addition there are various Parish Councils.

North east Horsham is known as Roffey, originally a separate village. It has its own Parish Council.

[edit] History and Development

The Horsham Point - a Mesolithic arrowhead - is sometimes claimed as the birth of distinctly British culture, since it is the earliest known artifact that postdates the separation (due to glacial meltwater filling the Channel) of Britain from the continent.

The first mention of Horsham was in a land charter of AD 947. The town had connections to the sale of horses and the name is believed to be derived from "Horse Ham", a settlement where horses were kept.

An alternative explanation is that "Horsham" is a contraction of "Horsa's Ham" named after the Saxon warrior who was said to have been given lands in the area. However, this is considered unlikely by most local historians.

Despite having been in existence for some 140 years at the time of the survey, Horsham is not mentioned in the Domesday Book[1] either because it was never visited by inspectors, or was simply 'left out' of the final version.

Horsham had two weekly markets in the Middle Ages[2], and was noted locally for its annual fairs.

Despite a local iron industry which stayed until the seventeenth century and a prosperous brewing industry, Horsham remained primarily a market town serving the many farms in the area until the early 20th century, when other industry and residential development began to proliferate.

Horsham prospered during the Victorian era and early 20th century. The town, along with others, has been well documented photographically by Francis Frith. The pictures record many of the landmarks that are still in place today, although some, such the War Memorial, Jubilee Fountain and Carfax Bandstand, have been relocated.

The town has grown steadily over recent years to a population of over 30,000. This has been facilitated by the completion of both an inner and outer town bypass. The location of any new growth is the subject of intense debate. Certainly, the town will fight hard to retain the "strategic housing gap" between itself and its large neighbour Crawley, however the latest plans by the District Council include a large neighbourhood directly adjacent to Crawley potentially eating into that gap.

[edit] Town centre

The Bandstand in the Centre of the Carfax
The Bandstand in the Centre of the Carfax

Horsham has grown up around the Carfax, which is the meeting place of five roads. Part of this has been closed to traffic in recent years. Two shopping centres, Piries Place and Swan Walk, are located close by to the Carfax. There are also two main shopping streets; East Street and the pedestrianised West Street. A new shopping area and public square, the Forum, has recently been completed to the south of West Street, off Blackhorse Way.

To the south of the Carfax is the Causeway. This tranquil, little altered street is lined with ancient houses, and leads to the Norman church of St. Mary. (Anglican) Beyond the church is the River Arun and the town cricket field.

To the north of the Carfax is a large park, the remnant of what was formerly the Hurst Park Estate. The park has numerous football pitches, a wildlife pond and tennis courts. Various leisure facilities, including a modern swimming complex, have been built on land around the park.

At the west end of the town centre at "Lynd Cross" stands a large modern water sculpture known as the "Rising Universe" fountain, more commonly known locally as "The Shelley Fountain". It was designed by Angela Connor, and erected to commemorate the poet Percy Bysshe Shelley who was born near Horsham. It carries a plaque bearing one of his poems. The fountain was turned off in the spring of 2006 to save water. Despite recycling it used 180 gallons a day to cover evaporation and filtration losses. However, the council has made water saving efficiencies elsewhere and the fountain is to be turned on again on November 13th 2006, its tenth birthday.

[edit] Honours

On the 26th October 2006 Horsham was pronounced the second best place to live in the UK, beating off the likes of Epsom and Tunbridge Wells and only beaten by Winchester. This was claimed by a Channel 4 show 'The 10 best and worst places to live in the UK'. The show was statistical and was not of personal opinion. The show mentioned that:

  • Horsham was in the top 15% for low crime
  • About 70% of students gained 5 A* - C grades at GCSE
  • Over 85% of the workforce is economically active
  • Horsham has a high life expectancy of 76 years for men and 83 for women
  • There are no official homeless people living in Horsham

Horsham was certainly proud to be regarded so highly as a leading UK town but it was not unexpected. 7 out the 10 best towns were located in South East England.[3]

[edit] Famous residents

  • Edward Bainbridge Copnall (1903-1973) The Artist and president of the Royal Society of British Sculptors was born and lived in Horsham. One of his works, a sculpture titled 'The Astronomer' was presented to the College of Richard Collyer in the town, by his sister Phyllis Millar and is on display in the upper quadrangle. Other examples of his work are kept by Horsham Museum.
  • Robert Blatchford author and socialist
  • Henry Burstow (1826-1916) singer and bell-ringer, important to early twentieth-century folk-song revival and his Reminiscences of Horsham published in 1911.
  • Harry Enfield attended Collyers sixth form college before becoming a comedian. His famous Kevin the Teenager character made mention of living on Merryfield Drive in Horsham. Also Stavros the Kebab-Shop owner is allegedly based upon owner of the Greek Fish & Chip Shop near the station in the mid 70s.
  • Robin Goodridge - drummer in rock band Bush attended Tanbridge House School.
  • Jamie Hewlett - artist/cartoonist and creator of the comic strip Tank Girl (made into a film in 1995) and co-creator of the band Gorillaz (nominated for five Grammy Awards in December 2005), attended both Tanbridge House School and the recently closed Northbrook Art College, which was located down the road from Collyers on Hurst road.
  • Catherine Howard , one of King Henry VIII's wives, lived in Horsham.
  • Hammond Innes - Author, was born in Clarence Road.
  • Rob Leggatt , creative Director at Blue Source (he was nominated for a Grammy in 2003) attended Tanbridge House School.
  • Douglas Maddon - Novelist and former lecturer at Collyer's sixth form college.
  • John G. Millais, respected painter, naturalist and author, son of the Pre-Raphaelite painter John Everett Millais lived in Horsham in the 1900s.
  • Edward Mote - Writer of he hymn 'My hope is built on nothing less'
  • Simon Nye , writer of Men Behaving Badly, attended Collyers when it was still a Grammar School.
  • Openshaw family, fictional family in the Sherlock Holmes short story "The Five Orange Pips"
  • Percy Bysshe Shelley was born at Field Place, west of Horsham, near Broadbridge Heath.
  • Tim Slade - co-founder of active wear and outdoor clothing fashion label Fat Face attended Tanbridge House School.
  • The Feeling - A band who recorded hit singles such as "Sewn", "Fill My Little World", "Never Be Lonely", "Love It When You Call" and "Rose" (album "Twelve Stop and Home") in a shed down "Guildford Road" - Three of the members attended St. John's Catholic Primary School.

[edit] Literary connections

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle had the fictitious Openshaw family, in the Sherlock Holmes story, The Five Orange Pips residing in the town.

[edit] Location and transport

[edit] Road

Horsham lies at the junction of three routes.

[edit] Railway

The town has one main railway station, Horsham railway station, on the Arun Valley Line from Chichester to Crawley, Gatwick and London Victoria. Sutton & Mole Valley line services continue north to Dorking, Epsom, Sutton and London Bridge. There is also Littlehaven Station, (also referred to on occasion as Littlehaven Halt) in the north east of the town on the Crawley line.

[edit] Other

Cyclists, pedestrians and horseriders can reach Guildford and Shoreham via the Downs Link, a long distance bridleway and cycle route which follows the now disused Horsham-Guildford, and Horsham-Shoreham railway lines and passes through Southwater, just to the south of Horsham.

[edit] Education

The main secondary schools in Horsham are:

Horsham is also home to the well-known:

  • College of Richard Collyer, (sixth form) said to be Sussex's oldest school, founded in 1532, and known more commonly as 'Collyers', on Hurst Road. This road also has on it the Arun House adult education centre (A constituent institution of the Central Sussex College).
  • Christ's Hospital, To the south of the town, is the 'Bluecoat School, a public school founded in 1552, with strong links to the City of London, which moved to the area in 1902.

[edit] Emergency services facilities

Horsham Community Hospital, is open weekdays, and is located on Hurst Road. The town also boasts its own law courts, ambulance station, fire station and police station, again located on Hurst Road.

[edit] Leisure and Culture

Horsham has various facilities for leisure and culture (along with spending one of the highest amounts of money on outdoor artwork, roughly £250,000):

  • The Green baize Snooker Club located at 77 Rusper Road
  • The Pavilions in the Park - a leisure centre with swimming pool, located in Horsham park.
  • Ten pin bowling alley, with an arcade section, also located in Horsham park.
  • Shelleys - a local nightspot, with pool and snooker facilities, beneath the bowling alley.
  • A BMX and Skate park located on the Hurst Road side of the park.
  • Horsham Town Museum is located on the well-preserved Causeway (see section: Town Centre)
  • The district indoor bowls centre and a large leisure complex at nearby Broadbridge Heath with full sized running track and 'Kinetika' Gym, which is the venue for various events and community leisure activities.
  • A two screen cinema and theatre complex, called 'The Capitol'
  • A two story modernised library.
  • A shopping centre called "Swan Walk"
  • A shopping area called "The Forum"
  • A shopping area called "Piries Place"
  • Drill Hall , a Tobacco , Alcohol , Drugs free dance night for U17s at Denne Road , 5 times a year.

[edit] Trivia and legends

  • The last man to die of pressing in the whole of England was John Weekes of Horsham. He was charged with robbery and murder of a woman along with three accomplices, one of which was a small boy used to sneak inside the woman's house and open access for the other three. When police found stolen property in the possession of the men, they easily persuaded the boy into turning King's evidence. Two of the other accomplices were convicted, but when John Weekes had his turn to plead, he refused to say anything. Once the judges brought in eight witness who swore Weekes could talk and was not dumb, they gave him time in the cells. When he refused further to say a single word, the judges were forced to find him not guilty of murder. Instead, he was convicted of 'standing mute through malice'. Weekes was placed under 3 hundredweight boards and a sixteen stone man jumped a top of him. Local folklore continues the story, extending it to include the death of his executioner days later, sometimes in the same spot where the execution was carried out. Some think that he was a mute.
  • Folklore tells of a dragon in the nearby St Leonard’s Forest. St Leonard was a 5th century French hermit who actually never landed on British soil, never mind the forest. He is the patron saint of pregnant women and prisoners of war. He is also thought to protect lost souls at sea. His connection with Horsham is that, legend has it; he fought with a dragon in the forest now bearing his name. A sculpture depicting the dragon, along with a plaque telling the story, is now in Horsham’s Park. It was erected to celebrate the millennium. Photos of the dragon in its protective maze can be found on the Hidden Horsham site.
  • Petworth Drive, a street in the north of Horsham, famously runs a large Christmas lights display annually to raise money.

[edit] Sport

Horsham has a very successful cricket team that has played home to many first class cricketers. It runs four Saturday teams and one Sunday team. The Cockspur Cup 2005 was a huge achievement for the club. They were captained to victory by Luke Marshall in a tight thriller in which Marshall bowled Horsham to victory in the last over.

Robin Martin-Jenkins, Christopher Nash and Carl Hopkinson have represented Horsham Cricket Club and gone on to become first class cricketers for Sussex CCC.

Faye White, Captain of England and Arsenal Women’s Teams played for Horsham Ladies from the age of 13. Regarded as one of the best defenders in female football Faye has more than 50 international caps

Horsham FC are the towns' Senior football club and currently (2006-07) play in the Isthmian Premier Division following promotion the previous season. This is currently the highest division the club have ever played in. Last season also saw the team appear in the Sussex Senior Cup Final for the first time in 3 decades, but unfortunately they lost 3-1 to Lewes after extra time. The team currently play at the Atspeed Stadium, Queen Street (almost opposite the Queens Head) and are renowned for their attractive brand of football. The latest news from the club can be found at the Hornets Review website, link follows [1]

[edit] External links

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  • Horsham District Council - Local Government website
  • Visit Horsham - Horsham Town Centre Shoppers' Guide produced by the Horsham Traders' Guild and backed by Horsham District Council. Includes a fully interactive Horsham Town Centre Map
  • The Horsham Society - A good starting point including photographs of the town
  • Hidden Horsham - A locally generated site with photos of 'hidden' Horsham; features and fixtures that you pass every day but don't have time to notice. Includes some local history relating to each feature
  • horsham.co.uk - Local business community website
  • Francis Frith - Photographs of Horsham from the Victorian era through to the mid 20th Century
  • Derelict Horsham - One resident's unique portrayal of the town's less publicised history
  • Horsham Pub Guide - Guide to country pubs near Horsham.
  • Horshamite - A Gallery of Horsham, Discussion Forum, Links and Blogs
  • Horsham Forum - A Community Forum for Horsham Residents and Businesses
  • inHorsham - An information portal for Horsham with maps, ratings, reviews and information

[edit] References

  1. ^ Albery, W. (1947) A Millennium of Facts in the History of Horsham and Sussex. 947-1947., Horsham, Horsham Museum Society
  2. ^ Interview with Miss M.Page, Horsham resident 1933-2006, for many years Auctioneer's Clerk at the weekly livestock market: Horsham Museum Society Archive
  3. ^ Best and Worst Places to Live 2006, Channel 4, 26 October 2006
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