In recent years, Broadbridge Heath has attracted more than its fair share of headlines, much if it negative. The village has seen the closure of its two prominent car dealerships, fought the proposed destruction of its leisure centre, and of course new housing developments now underway will dramatically change its landscape

But one resident has written a book, reminding us that Broadbridge Heath is a village with a colourful past, as well as a controversial present.

Jonathan England’s book ‘There’s More There Than You Think - A Detailed History of Broadbridge Heath’ goes back to the days of William the Conqueror, highlights the characters who established a village community, and covers the major developments and events of the 20th century.

Jonathan said: “My interest in Broadbridge Heath history and local affairs began when I moved from Horsham into an old house in the village in 2002. Annabelle Hughes, a well-respected local historian, had compiled a brief account of the house’s construction and history for previous owners and this piqued my interest and posed questions which I wanted to find out about. 

“I could not find a book in Horsham Library specifically about Broadbridge Heath, so I realised that I would have to do the research myself. This journey led me to join the Local History Group of Horsham Museum Society, and eventually to become Chairman of the Friends of Horsham Museum.”

Jonathan discovered that the first occupants of his house had been significant local landowners, which inspired him to dig deeper to discover all he could about the village. During a ten year period, when not working for a
firm in Boston, Massachusetts, Jonathan devoted his spare time to the book. Much of the writing has taken place at 38,000 feet during trans-Atlantic flights.

Far from being an nondescript village occupied by simple country folk, digging into the archives has uncovered some fascinating stories and links to influential people; hence the title of the book.

The first recorded owners were Norman knights who came over with William the Conqueror, before the Covert family owned the village for nearly half a millennium. In Elizabethan times, Sir Walter Covert fought with Roger Gratwick, his tenant at Broadbridge Farm, over the local rights to operate in the lucrative iron industry. 

Later, the village was sold to the Onslows, a Surrey-based family which supplied two speakers of the House of Commons. Their tenant, Matthew Caffyn, became the leader of the Baptist Church, led non-conformist worship at Broadbridge Farm and held baptisms in its mill pond.

William Stanford married Elizabeth Caffyn and their grandson ultimately earned enough money from farming and milling so that he could buy the Broadbridge Farm Estate, which included most of today’s village, from the Onslows.

It was Matthew Stanford who built Jonathan’s house in the then isolated part of the village in the 1840s. Broadbridge Farm became the Sewage Farm when Horsham needed to improve its sanitation in the late 19th century.

Broadbridge Heath is also associated with the Shelley Family of Field Place, although technically it is just inside the neighbouring parish of Warnham. The poet Percy Bysshe Shelley grew up there but his brother, John, had stronger village links as he owned land in the village, including The Shelley Arms. 

Percy Bysshe did take moonlit walks to visit his grandfather at Arun House in Horsham and he was said to have sheltered in a Broadbridge Heath barn, which was later to become the club house for the golf club, which later relocated to Mannings Heath.

In 1752, Broadbridge Heath was the location for an execution by burning at the stake when Anne Whale was executed on the Heath after she had murdered her husband in the village. Her accomplice and cousin, Sarah Pledge, was hanged nearby.

Surprisingly, the golf links were used for early aircraft flights, and there were a few notable aircraft crashes, including an RAF bomber in the 1920s and a German Focke Wulf that had been shot down over Horsham in 1943. The Army Camp (located where Tesco is today) certainly attracted attention from the Luftwaffe, and a doodlebug blew up in nearby fields. 

The book also highlights the importance of iron working during the Elizabethan period. Large ‘sows’ and smaller ‘pigs’ of iron were extracted from local ironstone in furnaces fanned by air fed by water wheel driven bellows and fuelled by charcoal produced in the extensive local forests. The iron was then hardened in forges using huge, water powered hammers.

At the time of the Spanish Armada in 1588, Roger Gratwick, Edward Caryll, and Sir Walter Covert each contributed £100 for the Armada defences. They were engaged in multiple legal fights in the highest courts of the land and violent confrontations over iron business rights in the Horsham district. Two of these protagonists are strongly linked to Broadbridge Heath. The Gratwick Family included many yeoman farmers located throughout Sussex, and records suggest that part of the family moved from Cowfold to Broadbridge Farm in Broadbridge Heath sometime before 1552. Roger Gratwick made his fortune in the iron industry, owning a forge at Ifield and leasing two forges at Hawkin’s and Hammer Ponds in St Leonards Forest.

When he died in 1570 the business was passed down to his son, also Roger of Broadbridge Farm. Roger Gratwick’s landlord was Sir Walter Covert, who owned Broadbridge Manor along with Slaugham, Ashington and
Twineham Benfield. 

Covert co-tenanted St Leonard’s Forest with Gratwick, and the two went to court in a dispute over rent. Edward Caryll, a rival iron master in the Horsham area, also started a fierce, sometimes violent, confrontation with Gratwick just as several new furnaces were being built and the local iron ore started to become scarce.  This strife appears to have been too much for Gratwick.  He left the iron industry to Caryll and Covert and moved away from Broadbridge Farm.

Jonathan said: “As well as finding out about notable historic events, analysing census and directory records, people’s reminiscences allowed me to build up a picture of how the village developed, when houses were built, who lived in them, who ran the various shops and businesses and how the clubs and societies evolved. 

“I have had the opportunity to talk with many people associated with Broadbridge Heath who have kindly shared their knowledge, pictures and newspaper cuttings with me, especially during meetings of the Broadbridge Heath History Club which I held for several years.

“In particular, Charles Weston has collected information about Broadbridge Heath all his life, and kindly gave me access to all of his archive, including a huge collection of pictures and recorded interviews of residents, which he has now donated to Horsham Museum.

“One Sunday morning, a lady visiting from Devon knocked on my door and said that she was looking into the history of her family, which are related to the Stanfords. She later shared her research notes and previously unseen pictures of my house and Broadbridge Mill which are reproduced in the book.

“Robert Hull, whose relatives rented Broadbridge Farm from Horsham Urban District Council around World War Two, also shared his research about the Farm and Mill. Of course, history continues to be made, and as a
Parish Councillor I get insights into some of it, so if this book is popular enough perhaps there will be a second edition in a few years. 

“More could be recounted about the prelude to the massive new development, which is now underway. The future of the District Sports Centre, which is in Broadbridge Heath, has recently caused major controversy and the Broadbridge Heath Quadrangle development proposals have yet to be fully disclosed.

“I have not yet included the 1911 census records or transcripts of the oral histories, and I am sure lots of people will tell me where I have made mistakes and be able to add facts. Finding out about the local history of the village in which I live has certainly helped my feeling of well-being by giving me a sense of place.  I hope that this book will help others in the district find theirs.”

There’s More There Than You Think - A Detailed History of Broadbridge Heath, published by The Friends of Horsham Museum is available for purchase at Horsham Museum.