Understand
Horsham is, at heart, a traditional English market town. West Sussex is a relatively rural county in southern England, and Horsham provided a focus for people to gather and trade in times gone by.
Over recent years, Horsham has grown significantly, being a commutable distance from London and Gatwick Airport, while still having the benefits of the countryside.
Horsham is also the site for Novartis-UK Affiliate of the Swiss based company Novartis AG . The R&D here focuses on Metabolic disorders, GI tract diseases and such.
In its recent history Horsham has been one of the main headquaters for the international firm Royal & SunAlliance which still opens and operates in some of the towns largest buildings. The recent Yes! Car Credit which went bankrupt was also based in Horsham.
Get in
By plane
The closest airport to Horsham is London Gatwick (LGW) which is only 20 minutes by car or train (the station is right in the airport). London Heathrow (LHR) is about an hour by car (depending on traffic) or two and a half hours by train via London - change at Hammersmith and London Victoria. London Stansted (STN) is about an hour and a half by car (depending on traffic) or two and a half hours by train - change at Tottenham Hale and London Victoria.
By train
Horsham can be reached easily by train. There are four trains per hour from London. Two trains from London Victoria via Croydon and Crawley. There is an hourly service (not Sundays) from London Victoria via Sutton & Dorking and an hourly stopping service from London Bridge. There are two trains an hour from the Sussex coast; Bognor Regis and Chichester. Be aware that most coastal trains 'divide' en route so listen carefully to the announcements.
By car
Horsham can also be easily reached by car as it lies on the junction of three main routes. Follow the A24 from London (SW) via Dorking, the M23/A264 from London (SE) via Crawley, the A23/A281 from Brighton via Cowfold, the A24 from Worthing, the A29 from Chichester or the A281 from Guildford.
Get around
The town centre is compact and walkable. A small number of bus services are available to the residential areas. All services run via the bus station and the central square, the Carfax.
See
Horsham's town center is its main charm. The town is based around a central square (that isn't square) called the Carfax. This is pedestrianized and often features music on the bandstand in the summer. There is also an element of European cafe culture with a couple of street cafes. The rest of the center is no more than five minutes walk from the Carfax.
To the north is a large park, accessed via an underpass. The park has a small wildlife pond,a leisure complex with indoor/outdoor (heated)pool and a gym. There's an excellent children's playground alongside with slides and swings, very popular at the weekend.
To the South is The Causeway, a conservation area with a real feeling of history about it. At the bottom of The Causeway is St.Marys church and the River Arun. Horsham Museum is also located on The Causeway.
Also, the town's shopping center, Swan Walk, is an attractive area for shopping, and eating in one of the many cafes in the the mall.
Do
Take in a film or show at the small Horsham Arts Centre. The Arts Centre has recently had a face lift and is now known as The Capitol. The Capitol still remains popular for theater productions though the face lift has succeeded in attracting the younger demographic by offering more films.
Eat
Horsham has a range of restaurants covering most of the various styles found in England, with Italian being particularly common. Most town centre restaurants are on East Street, although there are some in the Carfax and West Street. About a mile from the centre of town is the American/Tex/Mex style 'Smith and Western' which has become a definite destination for special events.
There are numerous take-away food outlets near the town centre. Most are located just to the west, in the Bishopric and Springfield Road.
Perhaps one of Horshams best restaurants is the Indian Tree curry house. Located in a traditional tudor style listed building, the Indian Tree, formerly the Nisam, offers excellent cuisine while maintaining a family atmosphere.
Drink
Horsham has a reasonable selection of pubs in the town centre. There is also a small night spot, 'Shelleys'.
Sleep
Horsham itself has relatively few hotels, and none at the higher end of the market. Some of the villages surrounding Horsham do have quality hotels however.
Get out
There are many possible day trips from Horsham, here are some suggestions:
Many other locations are within easy reach, taking about 45 minutes to Arundel, Brighton or Guildford, and an hour to Chichester, Lewes or Tunbridge Wells.
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.
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.
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 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, 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 50,000. 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.
Town centre
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 at Broadbridge Heath 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 was turned on again on November 13th 2006, its tenth birthday. (The Shelley Fountain & the Water Features in the Forum were turned off again after Christmas.)
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 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.
In 2007 a Reader's Digest poll put Horsham as the 25th best place in mainland Britain to bring up a family.
Famous residents
Literary connections
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle had the fictitious Openshaw family, in the Sherlock Holmes story, The Five Orange Pips residing in the town.
Location and transport
Road
Horsham lies at the junction of three routes.
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.
Other
Horsham is twinned with two towns: St Maixent L'Ecole in France and Lage in Germany.
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.
Education
The main secondary schools in Horsham are:
Horsham is also home to the well-known:
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.
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 ):
Trivia and legends
Sport
Horsham is home to Horsham Cricket Club, who were National Champions in 2005.
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 F.C. 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
Horsham YMCA FC are the town's other football team, playing their 2006/7 season in the Isthmian First Division South. As with their friends 'over the fence', YM are playing at the highest level in their history. The team's home ground is at Gorings Mead, Horsham, the team is recognised for consistently playing competitive football on a tiny budget. YM's Manager is the longest serving manager in the south of England, 20 years and counting. The latest news from the club can be found at the Hornets Review website, link follows
External links
