Burgess Hill

Burgess Hill is a town and civil parish in the Mid Sussex District of West Sussex, England, close to the border with East Sussex. It is located 10 miles (16km) north of Brighton. The civil parish had a population of 28,803 (2001 census) and occupies an area of 946.79ha. Burgess Hill is twinned with Schmallenberg in Germany and Abbeville in France. It has recently achieved the status of being a Fairtrade Town.

1 History
2 Historic buildings
3 Business
4 Transport
5 Education
6 Recreation
7 Sport
8 Famous Residents
9 External links
10 References

[edit] History

Although a Roman road was built connecting London to the South coast and passing through what is now Burgess Hill, there is no evidence that they settled.

Burgess Hill originated in the parishes of Clayton, Keymer and Ditchling - all of them mentioned in the Domesday Book. The town's name comes from the Burgeys family when the name John Burgeys appeared in the tax rolls. The name of Burgeys stood for 'bourgeois', the inhabitant of a borough. By the Elizabethan period a community had established itself and many buildings dating from this era still stand.

The "Hill" part of the name is a reference to one of the central features of Burgess Hill during its early growth - the train station is built upon a large hill.

Until the nineteenth century much of what is now the town centre was common land used by the tenants of the manors of Clayton and Keymer for grazing and as a source of fuel. From the fourteenth century or earlier the annual Midsummer Fair was held on this common land on the 24th June: the feast of the birth of St John the Baptist. The last such sheep and lamb fair was held in 1913.

By the early seventeenth century small scale brick and tile manufacture was flourishing and during this time parcels of common land were allocated for house building and small businesses. By the early eighteenth century brick making had been extended and four shops and one or two alehouses established on the common. Craftsmen such as smiths, shoemakers and weavers also worked there. Brickmaking by hand still operates with the Keymer Brick and Tile company (Now Keymer Tiles) - whose tiles can be found in buildings such as St. James Church, Piccadilly and Manchester Central Station (now G-Mex).

The growth of Brighton in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries brought an influx of professional people looking for places to live. With accessibility, the common was ripe for development with the result that the Keymer and Clayton portion were enclosed in 1828 and 1855 respectively. Between 1850 and 1880 the area changed from an insignificant rural settlement to a town of 4,500 residents.

In 1897 the Victoria Pleasure Gardens were opened by local household name Edwin Street, a well-known farmer and butcher. The gardens were opened in honour of Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee, and contained a large lake, which covered three acres, and what can only be described as a small early version of a roller coaster, named Switchback. The lake was used for boating in the summer, and skating in the winter. The frozen lake was always tested by Mr Street, a man of 23 stone, before being used in the winter. This area is now the Victoria Industrial Estate.

The town gradually enlarged, having its largest population increase between the years of 1951 and 1961, when the population of approximately 7,000 residents almost doubled. This earned Burgess Hill the title of fastest growing town in the south-east. By 1956, the Victoria Industrial Estate was completed, and has since expanded. It now contains the local headquarters of two substantial international companies. In 1986 a smaller industrial estate to in the north of the town developed, known as Sheddingdean Industrial Estate.

[edit] Historic buildings

Hammonds Place, to the west of London Road as it leaves the town to the south, is a handsome Elizabethan residence which was substantially re-built by the Michelbourne family in 1565, the date engraved on its porch. Part of a structure dating from about 1500 was retained with the house. Grove Farm House, just south of Station Road, can be dated to about 1600 and was built about the same time as Farthings in Keymer Road. Chapel Farm House and Walnut Tree Cottages on Fairplace Hill are on medieval sites and the present buildings date from the late Tudor period, as do Pollards Farm and Freckborough Manor House on the eastern boundary of the town.

High Chimneys in Keymer Road (a handsome farmhouse once called Woodwards), and West End Farm (now known as Old Timbers) were all built or, more correctly rebuilt in the 17th and early 18th centuries. The farm from which the town derives its name - referred to as Burgeshill Land in the 16th century - is now the site of Oakmeeds School and the Chanctonbury Estate. The farmhouse itself is long demolished.

Almost all the Victorian detached houses and workmen's terraced cottages built in the second half of the nineteenth century (when the town was renowned as a health resort) have survived.

[edit] Business

National and International: The UK finance giant American Express had its UK headquarters located in Burgess Hill, before relocating to Guildford. Previously, telecom company Ericsson were also located here. The site where Ericsson once stood is soon to be occupied by Hoffmann-La Roche - more commonly known as Roche - who are a major Swiss pharmaceutical firm. There is also Porsche Mid Sussex Headquarters located in the town, one of 33 in the UK and Ireland.

Burgess Hill is home to many superstores; Tesco, situated in the south west of the town, and a Waitrose, along with branches of Lidl, Iceland, and Somerfield, which are all in the town centre.

Local: The town is home to Bright FM, a popular local radio station based in the Martlets which broadcasts on 106.4 for Burgess Hill, Haywards Heath and the surrounding area, and 106.8 for Lewes and the surrounding area. Two free newspapers operate in the area, The Mid Sussex Citizen and The Leader. There is also The Mid Sussex Times (The Middy), which costs 35p and is released every Thursday.

The town has two major shopping centres, the Market Place and the Martlets.

Burgess Hill may be recognised from the Channel 4 television program, Risking It All, in which local men Lee Saunders and Paul Ground went about setting up a Cafe Bar in the town centre called Mooch@76. Since the airing of the program, in which many inhabitants of Burgess Hill spotted themselves, Mooch@76 became a thriving business and is still operating today. It went on to win a local business award.

[edit] Transport

Road: In 1770 the road from Cuckfield to Brighton across St John's Common was turnpiked. The A23 bypasses the town to the west, and joins up with the south end of the A273. The A273 follows the course of Jane Murray Way, directing traffic around the town centre and north on Isaac's Lane to Haywards Heath, or south through Hassocks on London Road. The A272 runs north of Burgess Hill, from Winchester to near Uckfield. The B2112 runs east of Burgess Hill, going north-south, and both the B2036 and the B2113 pass through the town heading north-south and west-east respectively.

There is a taxi rank outside Burgess Hill railway station. Regular buses serving Burgess Hill and Mid Sussex are operated by Compass Travel.

Railway: The opening of the London to Brighton railway in 1841 triggered a further expansion of the town, although Burgess Hill railway station was for many years a request stop and not a regular station. In 1877 the present station replaced the original one; some of the former buildings remain, however. Wivelsfield railway station serves the north end of Burgess Hill and was opened in 1886. First Capital Connect and Southern provide regular train services to London and Brighton.

[edit] Education

[edit] Primary Education

Birchwood Grove Community Primary School
Burgess Hill School For Girls
The Gattons Infant School
London Meed Community Primary School
Manor Field Primary School
Newick House School
Sheddingdean Primary School
Southway Junior School
St Peter's School
St Wilfrid's Catholic Primary School

[edit] Secondary Education

Burgess Hill Pupil Referral Unit
Burgess Hill School For Girls
Oakmeeds Community College
St Paul's Catholic College

[edit] Further Education

Burgess Hill Adult Education Centre
Burgess Hill School For Girls (Sixth Form)
St Paul's Catholic College (Sixth Form)
Central Sussex College Campus

[edit] Recreation

Burgess Hill contains two nature reserves, Bedelands and Batchelors Farm. In the town centre there is a large park (St. Johns), and many other smaller recreation grounds spread across the town. There is a substantial leisure centre on the northern edge of Burgess Hill named the Triangle. Replacing the lido (swimming pool) in St. Johns Park, the Triangle is also used for conferencing. The Triangle was opened by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II in 1999.

Burgess Hill is one of the few towns to retain an independent cinema. The Orion Cinema, opened in 1928, has two screens and shows a mixture of mainstream and arthouse films. There is also a local Theatre, which puts on productions quarter-yearly, the most popular of these being a pantomime, performed in the Martlets Hall.

In 2004 Mid Sussex District Council announced the Burgess Hill Master Plan, a scheme arranged with Thornfield Properties plc to massively redevelop Burgess Hill Town Centre. The Master Plan is part of a larger scheme which will also see the redevelopment of Haywards Heath and East Grinstead town centres.

[edit] Sport

Burgess Hill Town Football Club plays football (soccer) in Division One of the Isthmian League, the eighth tier of English football. The club plays its home games at Leylands Park. Burgess Hill Rugby Football Club, or The Sussex All Blacks, are the local Rugby Football club, playing their home games close to Southway Primary School.

Several local pubs and social clubs enter teams into the Mid Sussex Pool League [1] , although any venue with 10 miles of "The Duck" in Haywards Heath can apply to join. The league plays World Eight Ball Rules.

[edit] Famous Residents

Colin Griffiths - TV Presenter

[edit] External links

[edit] References

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Category: Towns in West Sussex

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