West Sussex
A Visitor Guide to West Sussex

East Grinstead

• Location
  7 miles east of Crawley on A264

East Grinstead, a town which goes back many hundreds of years (there is evidence of iron working from the Roman days),  is on the edges of Kent, Surrey and Sussex - it sits on a sandstone ridge beside the Ashdown Forest. Its most attractive feature is the wealth of medieval houses in the wide High Street. Housing development in the last half of the 20th century have down the wider town no favours, but if you stick to the High Street area, there is much to see and enjoy.

The town developed in the Middle Ages as an important market town serving the local area.  For centuries it acted as an assize town - London judges were deemed not to be able to travel further south than here in the inclement winter weather!

The old Judges House can still be seen in the High Street. The decline of East Grinstead was partly due to the decline of the iron industry and partly due to the growing importance of Lewes..

 The most important building in the town is Sackville College which was built as an alms house in 1609 and still fulfils that function today! It is arguably one of the finest almshouses in the country.   It has a splendid quadrangle and the public rooms, well worth seeing, are open to the public.

The most obvious examples of local stone buildings are the College and the church, St. Swithun's. This was built in the late 18th century when the tower of the previous church fell down and destroyed the building. It is hidden away behind the High Street and is a delight inside.  There are three tombstones in remembrance of the three Protestant martyrs who were burned at the stake in the High Street in 1556.

Standen

A National Trust property, Standen lies two miles south of East Grinstead and is one of the finest Victorian country houses in the county. It was built by Philip Webb, a friend of William Morris, at the end of the 19th century and is full of William Morris wallpapers and textiles.  The house itself was built to very traditional standards using local materials.

Within the house the furniture and paintings are all contemporary. Many of the original electrical features are still in place. It is considered to be a showpiece for the Arts and Crafts Movement.

The garden is built on a hillside and has lovely views.  There are a number of woodland walks, delightful when it is dry!

[an error occurred while processing this directive]