Broadbridge Heath
Coordinates: 51°04′17″N 0°21′33″W / 51.07137°N 0.35909°W
| Broadbridge Heath | |
 St John's Church |
|
 Broadbridge Heath
Broadbridge Heath shown within West Sussex |
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| Area | 2.16 km2 (0.83 sq mi) [1] |
|---|---|
| Population | 3,021 [1] 2001 Census |
| - Density | 1,401 /km2 (3,630 /sq mi) |
| OS grid reference | TQ150315 |
| - London | 31 miles (50 km) NNE |
| Civil parish | Broadbridge Heath |
| District | Horsham |
| Shire county | West Sussex |
| Region | South East |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | HORSHAM |
| Postcode district | RH12 |
| Dialling code | 01403 |
| Police | Sussex |
| Fire | West Sussex |
| Ambulance | South East Coast |
| EU Parliament | South East England |
| UK Parliament | Horsham |
| Website | Parish Council |
| List of places: UK • England • West Sussex | |
Broadbridge Heath is a village and civil parish in the Horsham district of West Sussex, England. It is about two miles (3 km) west of Horsham itself, being just on the other side of the A24 road
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[edit] History
The village began life as a scattered group of houses around an unenclosed common before the 19th century, and by 1844 there were about twelve houses and an inn there. However, despite the enclosure of the heath in the 1850s, there was little development until the late 1880s when land along the main Horsham to Five Oaks Road was offered for sale and large numbers of semi-detached houses were built there over the next 13 years.[2]
After the Second World War, the pace of development increased and many large housing estates were built to the south of the village between then and the 1980s. At about this time, bypasses were built to the south and west of the village, reducing traffic congestion in the village, and a supermarket and leisure centre were built on the land left vacant by the closure of an army camp (formerly the UK Bomb Disposal Unit Headquarters) on Wickhurst Lane.
[edit] Facilities
[edit] Shops & Businesses
- A Post office and convenience store.
- Barber's and Hairdresser's shops.
- A Smithy.
- Dealerships for new and used Vauxhall and Peugeot cars, the latter with its own petrol station
- A large Tesco supermarket with its own petrol station and car wash to the south of the village on the other side of A264.
- A retail park with branches of Halfords, Homebase and Carpet Right, also to the south of the village.
- A public house (The Shelley Arms)
- The Lawson-Hunt industrial estate.
- Newbridge Nurseries, a retail garden centre on the Five Oaks Road, which is to the south west of the village.
[edit] Leisure and Social
- A large leisure centre with full size running track, athletic facilities and football pitches, and the District's Indoor bowls centre.
- A cricket ground.
- A village centre and social club.
- A scout hall, home to several Scouting organisations, but also used for charity and social functions.
[edit] Religion
- St John's Church (Anglican) - a modern church built in the 1960s.
- The Brethren's Meeting Room.
[edit] Education
Shelley County Primary School, located on Wickhurst Lane provides mainstream education for boys and girls aged between 4 and 11 years.
[edit] Geography
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Cranleigh | Dorking | Warnham, Crawley | |
| Slinfold |  |
Horsham | ||
 Broadbridge Heath  |
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| Billingshurst | Christ's Hospital, Southwater | Burgess Hill, Haywards Heath |
[edit] Notable residents
The poet Percy Bysshe Shelley, was born at Field Place, which stands about a mile to the north of the village.
The bestselling novelist Georgette Heyer lived at the Swan Ken, Broadbridge Heath, for several months in 1931.
[edit] References
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Broadbridge Heath |
- ^ a b "2001 Census: West Sussex – Population by Parish". West Sussex County Council. http://www.westsussex.gov.uk/communityandliving/census2001/pop_parish_summary.pdf. Retrieved 12 April 2009.
- ^ Hudson, T. P. (editor) (1986) A History of the County of Sussex: Volume 6. (Part 2 Bramber Rape (North-Western Part) including Horsham.)
- ^ Brethren's Meeting Room Built in 1908 as a daughter church of 382506[clarification needed] it was known as Broadbridge Heath Free Church until the late 1990s/early 2000s when its congregation had dissipated. It was the home of Busy Bees pre-school until the Unitarian church sold the property to its current owners. Under the left-hand window is a commemorative stone made almost illegible by countless layers of paint. It reads, "This stone was laid by Mr Samuel Barrow of Burningfold Hall July 16th 1908"
