Horsham

Horsham is a traditional English market town in West Sussex. 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 recent ideas suggest the name might be derived from "Horse Ham", meaning "a settlement where horses are kept".

Today, Horsham is best known or it's bi-weekly markets, as well as for it's small breweries, and restaurants.

Understand

Horsham is a market town where people gather for festivities and trade goods in the Carfax on Thursdays and Saturdays in the town's, not-at-all-square, square.

Surprisingly, there is evidence that Horsham's bi-weekly markets have been a feature since the middle ages - These now take place on Thursdays and Saturdays

Horsham has grown significantly in it's residential areas, mainly due to its train station and roads allowing for commuting to London and Brighton relatively easily, but still having good access to green areas and woodlands. For this reason it's known as a "commuter town" - a town where people buy or rent property and commute out to London.

Horsham is also a prominent brewery town. King and Barnes Brewery, which was in the town's centre, was closed on merger with Hall & Woodhouse in 2000. King & Barnes was formed in 1906 from the merger of King & Sons, 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. However, smaller brewers still operate in the town to this day, of which there are four: Hepworth's is run by a former head brewer at King & Barnes, and Welton's, a company formed in Capel, Surrey have been in Horsham since 2004. Kissingate Brewery just out of town since 2009, and Brolly Brewing formed in 2017.

Horsham is also associated with quite a few grim legal milestones for modern English society:

• The last man to be put to death by pressing in the whole of England was John Weekes of Horsham. He was charged with robbing and murdering a woman, along with three accomplices.
• The last man to be put to death for homosexuality in England was John Sparshott in Horsham in 1835.
• Horsham is one of the last places on Earth to still display its stocks in the town centre. You can see these in the Carfax.
• John Lawrence became the last man to be executed in Horsham after he bludgeoned Chief Constable Henry Solomon over the head with a poker causing him a head injury from which he later died. He was hanged in 1844.
• In 1852, a cemetery was founded in Horsham for the first time — not sure what they were doing with all these bodies beforehand?

Get in

By plane

The closest airport to Horsham is London Gatwick (LGW ^IATA) which is only 20 minutes by car or train (the station is right in the airport). London Heathrow (LHR ^IATA) is about an hour by car (depending on traffic) or two and a half hours by train via London, change at Hammersmith and London Victoria. London Stansted (STN ^IATA) is about an hour and a half by car (depending on traffic) or 2½ hours by train, change at Tottenham Hale and London Victoria.

By train

Horsham can be reached easily by train. There are four trains per hour from London. Two trains from London Victoria via Croydon and Crawley. There is an hourly service (not Sundays) from London Victoria via Sutton & Dorking and an hourly stopping service from London Bridge. There are two trains an hour from the Sussex coast; Bognor Regis and Chichester. Most coastal trains divide en route so listen carefully to the announcements.

By car

Horsham can also be easily reached by car as it lies on the junction of three main routes. Follow the A24 from London (SW) via Dorking, the M23/A264 from London (SE) via Crawley, the A23/A281 from Brighton via Cowfold, the A24 from Worthing, the A29 from Chichester or the A281 from Guildford.

Get around

The town centre is compact and walkable. A small number of bus services are available to the residential areas. All services run via the bus station, the train station and the central square, the Carfax.

See

Horsham Museum - geograph.org.uk

The town is based around a central square (that isn't square) called the Carfax (said to mean 'where four roads meet'). It is pedestrianised and often features music on the bandstand in the summer. There is also an element of European cafe culture with street cafes and alfresco bars on the square and the historic alleyways running from it. The rest of the centre is no more than five minutes walk from the Carfax.

• The Causeway (Nearby, to the South). A conservation area with a real feeling of history about it. Horsham Museum is also on The Causeway. At the bottom of The Causeway is St. Marys church and the River Arun. 
• 1 Site of the former Shelley Fountain. The fountain has been replaced by a small grove of trees.  

To the north is a large park, which has a small wildlife pond, a leisure complex with indoor/outdoor (heated) pool and a gym. There's an excellent children's playground alongside with slides and swings: it's very popular at the weekend.

• 2 Horsham Museum. Comprising a few rooms about Horsham's history, from dinosaurs through to the present day, although, its opening times appear to be decided by a random number generator. Free entry. (updated Dec 2024)

Do

Park House, Horsham Park - geograph.org.uk

• 1 Huxley's, Sedgwick Lane, RH13 6QA, ☏ +44 1403 273458, huxleys@hotmail.co.uk. Birds of Prey Centre (updated May 2021)
• Major Mindgames (Horsham Escape Room), Swan Walk, Unit 48, Horsham, GB RH12 5PT, ☏ +44 7380 493931. 10AM-6PM. Escape the Room! Packed with puzzles, clues, mysteries, surprises and intrigue, escape rooms transport teams of two-to-eight players into immersive adventures; making them the heroes (or in some cases villains) of cleverly-crafted plots. Teams are given an hour (or a bit more if the games host is feeling generous), to solve a set of apparently random clues and ‘complete’ the room – although they’re never actually locked in. Price depends on amount of players. (updated Dec 2024)
• 2 Upper Rapeland Wood (on the north-western fringes of Old Holbrook, 1.2 miles (1.94 km) north of the A264 dual carriageway). A mixed mature woodland in Old Holbrook, a hamlet close to Horsham. It lies on Rapeland Hill, opposite Northlands Copse, an area of ancient woodland and a partially managed plantation in the neighbouring hamlet of Graylands. As the area lies on a steep hill, Upper Rapeland Wood has a relatively high elevation, 350 feet above sea level. Broadleaf trees are prevalent in the moss-covered northern and southern areas of the woodland, with large pine trees and shallow ravines dominating the central areas. Notably, three channels of Northlands Gill flow through the width of Upper Rapeland Wood. The area hosts a network of tracks with varying degrees of accessibility. Although unmaintained, the tracks guide walkers in cardinal directions through the woodland. (updated Jul 2020)

Buy

The town's main shopping street, the pedestrian only West Street, connects the Carfax to the former Shelley Fountain square. The Swan Walk shopping centre runs off this street.

The Post Office is in the town's 1980s shopping centre Swan Walk.

There are numerous supermarkets dotted around the town centre's edges, including Sainsbury's, Waitrose and Aldi.

Eat

Horsham has a range of restaurants covering most of the various styles found in England, with Italian being particularly common. Most town centre restaurants are on East Street, although there are some in the Carfax, on West Street, and further along. There are numerous take-away food outlets near the town centre. Most are just to the west, in the Bishopric and Springfield Road.

Drink

Town Centre pubs

Anchor Tap

Horsham is basically known for its selection of pubs in the town centre. Some are tied to the Hall and Woodhouse brewery, a UK-wide chain that offers good prices. The Anchor Tap and The Malt Shovel are independent pubs, the former focusing on a small-town vibe, and the latter on rock music events during weekends, but a similar vibe during the week.

• 1 Anchor Hotel, 3 Market Square, RH12 1EU (just off the Carfax), ☏ +44 1403 250640. A Greene King gastropub that plays sports, has live music some Fridays, and always packed with sports fans on major football and rugby game nights when England are playing. Sometimes plays F1 when the races don't clash with Football. (updated Nov 2024)
• 2 Black Jug, North Street, ☏ +44 1403 253526. Proper English pub, serving great food with a relaxed atmosphere. Generally frequented by families and older gents looking for a good whiskey. (updated Nov 2024)
• 3 The Lynd Cross, St Johns House, 1 Springfield Rd, RH12 2PG, ☏ +44 1403 272393. A Wetherspoons pub serving families during the day, and typically a younger clientele later at night, especially on weekends. Moderately priced and moderately enjoyable. (updated Nov 2024)
• 4 The Malt Shovel, 15 Springfield Road, The Malt Shovel, GB RH12 2PG, ☏ +44 1403252302. 4-11PM. A large red-bricked pub with a car park and outdoor seating area. Usually serving local ales from Surrey Hills Brewery, Downlands Brewery, and Long Man Brewery. Live music on Saturday nights, and regular open mic nights. LGBT-friendly. (updated Dec 2024)

Local pubs

• 5 Dog & Bacon, North Parade, RH12 2QR, ☏ +44 1403 252176. A drinker's pub that does serve food, roughly 10-15 min walk from the town centre. Has a food van outside and an outdoor seating area which is rather nice on a good day, despite being next to a busy road. (updated Dec 2024)

Bars

• 6 Ye Olde Stout House, 29 Carfax, RH12 1EE. Sports bar and drinkers pub. Not for families. Great for a pint. (updated Dec 2024)

Some bars also stay open late.

• 7 Piries bar, 15 Piries Place, Horsham RH12 1NY, ☏ +44 1403 267846. A small bar in an alleyway, hosting quiz and karaoke nights, worth a visit for the unusual arrangement of the gents facilities (updated Dec 2024)

Sleep

Horsham has few hotels, and none at the higher end of the market. Some of the villages surrounding Horsham do have quality hotels however.

• 1 Premier Travel Inn, 57 North Street, Oakhill, New Town, RH12 1RB (opposite the Station). 
• 2 Premier Travel Inn, Piries Place, RH12 1EH. 

Connect

Horsham and its approach roads have 4G from all UK carriers. As of Feb 2023, town centre has 5G from Three, and EE.

Go next

There are many possible day trips from Horsham, here are some suggestions:

• Leith Hill and the Surrey Hills, 20 minutes north-northwest via the A24 and B2126, one of the most beautiful stretches of the North Downs, with the highest point in south east England. There is a lot of good mountain biking to be found here.
• Leonardslee Gardens, Lower Beeding, via the A281
• Wakehurst Place, 25 minutes east at Ardingly on the B2028, a nationally important garden maintained by Kew
• Petworth House, 30 minutes southwest at Petworth, a large country house set in acres of parkland

Many other locations are within easy reach, taking about 45 minutes to Arundel, Brighton or Guildford, and an hour to Chichester, Lewes or Tunbridge Wells.

Routes through Horsham

London ← Dorking ←

N  S

→ South Downs National Park → Worthing