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It is perhaps hard to believe the bustling, successful and ever-expanding
town we know today was, for most of its existence, rather small-scale
and decidedly rural. Even the small country town of 150 years ago,
with its fledgling tile and brick making industry, was a far cry
from today’s Burgess Hill with its high-tech business centre,
commercial centre and modern communication links.
The actual origins of Burgess Hill are hard to piece together from
existing records. The Romans passed this way, (evidenced by traces
of a Roman Road which ran in a vaguely northerly direction cutting
up from the present Queen Elizabeth Avenue through St. John’s
Park), but apparently didn’t stop for any length of time.
There were certainly local ancient settlements such as Clayton and
Ditchling, detailed in the Doomsday Book, which probably saw little
change in their farming way of life from the post-Roman Saxon period
to Tudor times.
The actual name of Burgess Hill seems to link to the ‘Burgeys’
family who made their way into tax records in the late 13th and
early 14th centuries. More than that we cannot say for sure; a farm
known as Burgeshill Land in the 16th century is now the site of
Oakmeeds Community College and the Chanctonbury estate. Some buildings
from this era still remain, such as Walnut Tree Cottages on Fairplace
Hill.
Until the 19th century, much of our present town was open common
land, used for grazing animals, as well as a source of fuel, animal
fodder and bedding. The common was also the location for the annual
Midsummer Fair, from as far back as the 14th century or beyond.
This took place on 24 June, the feast of the nativity of Saint John
the Baptist. Although the last such sheep and lamb fair was held
in 1912, a link to the past remains in the naming of St. John’s
Park.
By the early 1600s, a small scale brick and tile industry was flourishing,
and this increased in the coming decades, leading to a scatter of
shops and alehouses on the common. Burgess Hill also gained from
Brighton’s rise to royal – and thus, general - notice.
Increased traffic led to the Cuckfield to Brighton road being improved
in 1770, which led to increased accessibility, and thus to development.
The real impetus to change was the coming of the railway: the London
to Brighton line opened in 1841 and Burgess Hill soon grew from
an insignificant rural settlement to a country town of 4,500 people.
Many of the Victorian detached houses and workmen’s terraced
cottages have survived from this period, a time in which Burgess
Hill was also renowned as a health resort! Burgess Hill Urban District
Council was established in 1894, taking over the reins of authority
from the Local Board.
Steady growth continued from the turn of the twentieth century to
the outbreak of World War II, but it was in the post-war years that
the town saw its greatest expansion. The population almost doubled
to 14,000 between 1951 and 1961. Much of Burgess Hill’s residential
housing dates from this time, with the Martlets Shopping Centre
added in 1972.
Until 1974 Burgess Hill actually lay in East Sussex, when it was
incorporated across the county line in a local government reorganisation.
Another change saw the creation of Burgess Hill Town Council, from
the old Urban District.
More major redevelopment followed in the 1990s, with the creation
of the indoor Market Place Shopping Centre, the construction of
Jane Murray Way and the A2300 Link Road to the A23/M23 to the west
of the town, and Olympos at The Triangle Burgess Hill opened by
Her Majesty the Queen in 1999, not to mention fifteen hundred new
homes.
The town has truly come a long way from its farming origins, although
a few hints of its long history remain. It is now vigorous and thriving,
boasting a population of almost 29,000. Burgess Hill is well set
to move with the times, as it always has done – with great
success.
HOW TO FIND OUT MORE:
Pick up a copy of the Town Centre Heritage Walk from Burgess Hill
Town Council’s
Help Point, 96 Church Walk, Burgess Hill. The Help Point also has
information on the Burgess Hill Local History Society.
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