From 1979 until now…

The Burgess Hill History Society was founded in 1979 out of the fact that there were a number of different people researching various aspects of the town’s history at that time.  They were mainly unknown to each other but the town’s Librarian, Ann Phillips, who had built up an excellent Local Studies section, knew who they were. She decided to bring them all together at a meeting at her house and from that meeting the Society was born. The motives were very similar to those of today – to promote an awareness of our town’s past. They felt that with its rapid growth and the disappearance of so many older buildings and other, landmarks, it was essential to try and recapture the town’s history, in whatever ways were possible. From the start we held public meetings for members and visitors, with refreshments, as we still do.   

First image:  (the late) Eileen Hallett,  (the late) Rose Powell, Jean Poulson and (the late) Ann Phillips manning a stall at a Local History fair in Horsham.

Second image: A flowery stall outside to  draw attention to our Local History Exhibition in one of the new shops, when the new Market Hall was first opened in the 1990s.

Since 1979 several members have published books and articles and held events. In the inaugural year, Fred Avery published a short typescript history on The development of Burgess Hill and its Potteries in that year. In 1983 he produced Burgess Hill past and present, in old and recent photographs with captions and, in 1988 in the same mode, Burgess Hill in old picture postcards, followed by vol. 2 in 2001. Meanwhile Ann Phillips, as town librarian, had arranged for the Library to host an Adult Education class, funded by Sussex University and tutored by humanities lecturer, Dr. Brian Short (now Emeritus Professor). This resulted in 1984 in a thorough and reliable book on the growth of Burgess Hill entitled A very improving neighbourhood, Burgess Hill 1840-1914, encapsulating the research of class members.

In 1985 Heather Warne published an article on The early place-names of Burgess Hill in Sussex Archaeological Collections, vol. 123. The content of these volumes which have been produced each year for the past 155 years, relates to the history and archaeology of the whole of Sussex, but each article usually relates to one theme or one place in the county. They are now available on line from the Archaeology Data Service – page 27. They are also available to view, upon request at Burgess Hill Library.

Around 1980, Hugh Matthews and Heather Warne discovered they were both researching the earlier, rural, history of Burgess Hill from the original manor court books of Clayton and Keymer. So they pooled their efforts and in 1979 Hugh Matthews produced a hard-back book entitled Burgess Hill, published by Phillimore in 1989. Since then, Heather has also been researching the early beginnings of brick and tile production within the present area of Burgess Hill, from around 1520 onwards. It is a fascinating story in which the industry was kick-started and supported by local lords and gentry – because they were usually the first to want, indeed, to strongly desire a brick-built house, a fashionable new concept at the time. She hopes to get it into shape for publication before too long.

First image: The late Hugh Matthews, author of ‘Burgess Hill’; photo taken by Heather in 1989. We were both standing on, and investigating the site of a late-16^th century cottage on the south side of Leylands Road, in the field just east of Wivelsfield Station.

Second image: Front cover of Fred Avery’s publication of old postcards, published in 1988.

In 1984 and 1989 Chairman Bob Chimley master-minded two massive exhibitions entitled Reflections, in the main Martlets Hall. They each ran for a day and filled the space with stalls on every conceivable aspect of the Town’s history. The hall was packed with visitors at each event, from early morning to closing time.

From 1985 to 1993, mainly under the successive chairmanships of Bob Chimley, Gwyn Treharne and Jean Poulson (the two latter being former teachers, of history and English respectively, at Oakmeeds School), we published 6 volumes of a ‘Journal’, each containing a medley of articles produced by the ‘publication sub-committee (Heather Warne, Peggy Peyton and Rose Powell), and various other contributors. A subsequent chairman, Mark Dudeney, collaborated in 1997 with founder member Eileen Hallett to produce, Edwin Street and The Victoria Pleasure Gardens. The grandfather of both authors, Edwin Street, was the owner and organiser of this much-loved attraction which once occupied land now under part of the town’s Industrial Estate. Mark and Eileen then went on to publish four further titles between 1999 and 2003 about Burgess Hill and its surrounds, From Pyecombe to Cuckfield, Albourne to Ditchling, along the Greensand Ridge, The Pleasure Grounds of Sussex and Bygone Days in Burgess Hill. They were all published by Mark himself as Mid Sussex Books.

First image: An exhibition at the launch of Eileen Hallet’s and Mark Dudeney’s book on the Victoria Pleasure Gardens.

Second image: At the Pleasure Gardens- very popular with groups from the town and elsewhere, especially from Brighton Sunday Schools. The Southern Railway offered excursion tickets at special rates.

Also in the early 1990s, groups of members went out around the town to produce a snapshot record (as slides) of the town’s Victorian streets and terraces at that date. This has now been digitised and is part of our photographic collections.

First image: A group of  members on Fairplace Hill.
Second image: ‘Pixieland Pets’: formerly a butcher’s shop known as Hyde’s, this ‘stand out’ building in Newport Road was popular with local children. Since converted into flats, it is now tastefully presented in dove grey.

Chairman Shirley Penny‘s spell of office was marked by some ambitious week-long exhibitions in Cyprus Hall during Town Festival week in June, which were popular with the townsfolk. She also brought to fruition the publication of three A-4 ‘Occasional Papers’ on persons and businesses of importance to the town’s history: Emily Temple a Burgess Hill benefactress, by Pat Farrell and Shirley Penny (2005); Norman and Burt, builders of renown, by Fred Avery, also researched by Leon Figg (2007) and A History of the Keymer Brick and Tile Works. by Fred Avery (2011). A few copies are still available for sale.

For more information on Emily Temple and the firm of Norman and Burt – go to Notable People.

For more about the Keymer Brick and Tile Co. – go to The Brick and Tile Heyday.