Broadbridge Heath

Broadbridge Heath
St John's Church
Broadbridge Heath  Broadbridge Heath shown within West Sussex
Area	2.16 km^2 (0.83 sq mi) [1]
Population	3,021 [1] 2001 Census
– density	1,401/km^2 (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

Coordinates: 51°04′17″N 0°21′33″W / 51.07137°N 0.35909°W

Broadbridge Heath is a village and civil parish in the Horsham district of West Sussex, England. It is about two miles (3 km) west from the historic centre of Horsham and is a suburb of Horsham. The population of Broadbridge Heath has increased considerably in the first two decades of the twenty-first century because of large scale housing development. It lies to the east side of the A24 road.

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 was an amount of quarrying for Horsham Stone and in 2014 one working quarry exists to south west of the centre of the suburb. In spite of the enclosure of the heath in the 1850s, there was little further 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 new large housing estates were built to the south of the village. This trend has continued into the 2010s. The opening of the Horsham by-pass in the late 1950s, reduced 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.In 2014 Broadbridge Heath has increased considerably in size with the building of a new estate of fifteen hundred houses under the marketing name of Wickhurst Green.

In 1964, a sculpture of Jesus Christ, created by Edward Bainbridge Copnall was placed on the church. In December 2008 it was removed and was put in Horsham Museum. It has since been replaced with a glass cross.

In March 2014, West Sussex County Council proposed a new 'Quadrant' area south of the village, that would include a new leisure centre and other recreational services to serve Horsham but to be built in Broadbridge Heath.^[3]

Facilities

Shops & Businesses

• A post office and convenience store (One Stop)
• Barber's, Hairdresser's and tattoo parlour
• A dry cleaners
• A Shell petrol station and shop
• 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)
• A quarry company quarrying Horsham Stone & Reclamation.
• A Škoda dealership
• The Lawson-Hunt industrial estate
• Newbridge Nurseries, a retail garden centre on the A264, which is to the south west of the village.
• Stook's Cafe, part of the aforementioned Newbridge Nurseries, which opened as an extension to the centre in 2012.

Social

• A village centre and social club.
• A scout hall, home to several Scouting organisations, but also used for charity and social functions.
• Several playground areas in Findon Way, Charrington Way and the Village Green; a large recreation ground with a pond known locally as "The Ducky"
• Horsham Sea Cadets unit is located towards the back of the Social Club

War Memorial, Broadbridge Heath

Brethren's Meeting Room^[4]

Religion

• St John's Church (Anglican) - a modern church built in the 1960s.
• The Brethren's Meeting Room.

Education

Shelley County Primary School, located on Wickhurst Lane provides mainstream education for boys and girls aged between 4 and 11 years.

Sport and leisure

Broadbridge Heath has a Non-League football club Broadbridge Heath F.C. who play at Broadbridge Heath Leisure Centre. The Centre consists of a full size running track, athletic facilities and football pitch as well as the District's Indoor bowls Centre. The Grenadian Olympic Team trained at the Centre in the weeks preceding the London 2012 Olympic Games, at which Kirani James won Grenada's first Olympic gold medal in the men's 400m.

Broadbridge Heath also has a cricket club whose teams play in the West Sussex Invitation Cricket League. They also have a junior section. Closely linked with the cricket club is the Broadbridge Heath Stoolball Club. On the same site, Broadbridge Heath Tennis Club have two courts. All these three clubs are situated at the 'Top Common' in the village.

Horsham Amateur Operatic and Dramatic Society (HAODS) are also based at Broadbridge Heath Leisure Centre.

Transport

The village is situated at the junction of the A24 and the A264 road. The village is served hourly by public transport by the Metrobus, Compass Travel and Arriva bus companies. The nearest railway station is at Christ's Hospital although Horsham has more frequent services. The nearest airport is London Gatwick.

Geography

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.

References

1. "2001 Census: West Sussex – Population by Parish" (PDF). West Sussex County Council. Retrieved 12 April 2009.
2. Hudson, T. P. (editor) (1986) A History of the County of Sussex: Volume 6. (Part 2 Bramber Rape (North-Western Part) including Horsham.)
4. Brethren's Meeting Room Built in 1908 as a daughter church of 382506 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"