If you’ve been on the Facebook site “Memories of Horsham” you will have seen the wonderful pictures of North Horsham parish in times gone by.
As part of Horsham District Council’s Year of Culture (2019), North Horsham Parish Council decided to make a pictorial , historical record of our Parish. The pictures, taken on 6th July 2019 can be found below and can be used for future generations to understand what the Parish was like in 2019.
On September 7th 2019, the Parish Council held an event titled “North Horsham Now and Then”. This was an opportunity to bring along photographs of North Horsham and reminisce with other people in the community.
Here are some recollections:-
“I lived on Crawley Road where the road to Manor Fields is now with my Mum, Dad and sisters. Our garden backed on to Manor Farm, which was a pig farm run by Mr Cripps the farmer. Mr Cripps would give us girls the runt of the litter to look after and our Dad built a pig sty in our garden. We looked after the piglets until they were old enough to be used as bacon. Dad would take them to the slaughterhouse across the road on the corner of Littlehaven Lane. Cows and pigs were brought up from Horsham market to be slaughtered. Horsham Market sold rabbits, horses, cattle and pigs.”
“Northolmes School was originally All Saints. School dinners were provided by the Roffey Institute and school children would go from the school to the Institute every day. Children went to the Leechpool Lane clinic which was a lovely building, built as a circle and all rooms connected. Many people in Roffey were really upset when the clinic was pulled down at least 30 years ago.”
“Roffey Millennium Hall used to be where Harold Lines had his Peugot garage. Opposite the Millennium Hall site was Mr Lyons butchers on Crawley Road. He used to have two big porcelain pigs in front of the shop. There was a separate desk to pay.”
“The Texaco garage was on the right hand side going up Crawley Road towards Carwley. It’s all housing now.”
“There have been lots of different shops on Fitzalan Road, the Post Office has occupied its current space for a while, but it has been where the pet shop is and where the carpet shop is on the other side of Crawley Road. Fitzalan Parade has always had a fish and chip shop, but there was a newsagent, greengrocers, launderette, and until the last two years a Lloyds Bank. The big Co-op used to be called ‘The Challenge’ and I think it was opened by Ronnie Corbett in 1971. I also recall a music shop around that time.”
“The large ‘Base Hospital’ on Crawley Road was filled with Canadians in the Second World War. My sister was the Patient Liaison Officer. It then became a mental hospital with a large incinerator chimney. The land at Roffey hospital was originally donated for the people of Roffey and Mr Innes donated the cricket field for the people of Roffey too.”
“The WW1 army camp spread out on land opposite All Saints Church. You can still see the outlines of the huts.”
“I remember lots of cars coming round the very steep Roffey Corner and some of them hitting the wall opposite, especially in bad weather!”
Thank you to all of those who have shared their memories.
Photographs taken on 6th July 2019
North Horsham Parish Council 