History of Horsham

Prehistory

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

Middle Ages

de Braose monument in St Mary's Church, Horsham, Samuel Hieronymus Grimm, 1781.

The first mention of Horsham was in King Eadred's 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 Anglo-Saxon warrior who was said to have been given lands in the area.

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. It lies within the ancient Norman administrative division of the Rape of Bramber and the Hundred of Singlecross.

In ancient times Horsham was controlled by the powerful de Braose family.[2] Later the Eversfield family, which had risen from Surrey County obscurity into a powerhouse of ironmasters and landowners, built Denne Park House, their seat.[3] The family later represented Horsham in Parliament, and controlled the Eversfield Estate in St. Leonards-on-Sea, where the seaside promenade is named for the family.[4]

Horsham Castle, built by William de Braose in the late eleventh century, was abandoned around 1154. The castle earthworks can be found near Chennells Brook.[5][6]

Horsham had two weekly markets in the Middle Ages,[7] and was noted locally for its annual fairs.

Modern era

Despite a local iron industry which stayed until the 17th 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. One of the most important of these was the manufacture of bricks from the Wealden clay on which Horsham sits. Warnham and Wealden Brickworks still operate two miles north of Horsham and there are disused workings throughout the area, notably at Southwater which is now developed as an education centre and leisure park.

Register of birth from St. Mary's in Horsham. This records refers to Samuel Carpenter, born 1649, who emigrated to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and was a prominent citizen and leader.

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 moved.

Horsham remained a prominent brewery town until 2000, when the King and Barnes Brewery was closed on merger with Hall & Woodhouse, brewers of Dorset. King & Barnes was formed in 1906 from the merger of King & Sons, maltsters existing from 1850 and G H Barnes & Co., brewers whose origins date back to 1800. The brewery remained in the King family hands until the merger in 2000 when production ceased permanently. Their most famous brews included: Sussex Ale, Wealden Ale, Broadwood, Festive and the seasonal Old and Christmas Ales. The last member of the King family involved in the company brewed in Horsham at W J King & Co (Brewers) and now brews at Firebird Brewery in Rudgwick. There are three other small brewers currently operating in Horsham: Hepworth's is run by a former head brewer at King & Barnes, and Welton's, a company who were formed in Capel, Surrey, about fifteen years ago, and have been in Horsham since 2004, and Kissingate Brewery (http://www.kissingate.co.uk/Welcome.html).

The town has grown steadily over recent years to a population of 55,657. 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.

There has also been fires in Horsham. One at Millais School on Thursday 20 March 2014 and the other one was Fish and Chip shop on Friday 3 April 2015.

Legal history

The last man to die by 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 whom 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 witnesses 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 three hundredweight boards, and the sixteen stone gaoler jumped on 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.

Public executions generally took place at a place called North Heath, now a suburb of Horsham. The road to the execution site was known for many years as Gibbet's Road but was later renamed Giblet's Road with an extension now called Giblet's Way. The last man to be put to death for homosexuality in England was in Horsham in 1834.

Timeline

Major housing developments to the South-West and North-East of the town have been progressing in recent years.

References

  1. ↑ Albery, W. (1947) A Millennium of Facts in the History of Horsham and Sussex. 947-1947., Horsham, Horsham Museum Society
  2. ↑ A Compendious History of Sussex, Vol. I, Mark Antony Lower, George P. Bacon, Lewes, 1870
  3. ↑ A Handbook for Travellers in Sussex and Kent, R.J. King, John Murray, London, 1858
  4. ↑ Eversfield Family of Denne Park, Horsham, Manorial Records and Deeds, 1430-1903, Hastings Museum and Art Gallery, National Register of Archives, The National Archives, nationalarchives.gov.uk
  5. ↑ Motte and Bailey Castle North of Chennells Brook Farm
  6. ↑ Chennells Brook Castle
  7. ↑ Interview with Miss M. Page, Horsham resident 1933-2006, for many years Auctioneer's Clerk at the weekly livestock market: Horsham Museum Society Archive
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