How well do you know the West Sussex town? - Test your knowledge and find out...
1 The end of the world
The area around Wivelsfield railway station is known as World’s End. It has been this way since 1899, when a serious train accident occurred after a red signal was obscured by thick fog and two trains collided.
2 What’s in a name?
The Burgeys family gave the town its name, when John Burgeys, from the area, appeared in the tax rolls – by Elizabethan times a community had established itself around the Burgeys family. It is believed that the hill on which the train station currently stands is the one referred to in the name.
3 All’s fair…
Burgess Hill used to host a Midsummer Fair – the first was in medieval times, and the last was held in 1913. Before this time it was the first sheep and lamb fair of the year in the area, and people travelled across the county to buy and sell over 9,000 sheep each year.
4 East or west?
Burgess Hill has always been listed as being in the historic county of Sussex, but in 1974, it swapped from being part of the administrative county of East Sussex to the shire county of West Sussex, where it has remained ever since.
5 Green and pleasant
There are two nature reserves in Burgess Hill – Batchelors Farm and Bedelands. Ditchling Common Country Park lies just to the east of the town, and St John’s Park is in the town centre.
6 All the town’s a stage
Burgess Hill is one of the few towns to retain an independent cinema. The Orion Cinema, opened in 1928, has two screens and shows a mixture of mainstream and Arthouse films. There is also a local theatre, which puts on productions quarterly, the most popular of these being a pantomime, which is performed at Christmas in the Martlets Hall. Musical theatre productions are also staged by Burgess Hill Musical Theatre Society at the Martlets Hall.
7 The right notes
The town is home to the Mid Sussex Brass Band. As well as supporting local fetes and concerts, the band plays at concerts throughout the year in venues Horsham to Hever Castle, and travels to Schmallenberg, Burgess Hill’s German twin town, for the Schmallenberger Woche.
8 Concerted effort
Burgess Hill has a Symphony Orchestra, which puts on two classical concerts each year, normally in May and November. Burgess Hill Choral Society also perform two concerts every year, shortly before Christmas and in April or May.
9 A sporting chance
Burgess Hill Town Football Club plays in Division One of the Isthmian League, the eighth tier of English football. Their home ground is called Leylands Park. The rugby team is known as the Sussex All Blacks, and Burgess Hill also has a baseball team, which plays in the British AAA league.
10 The Triangle
Mid Sussex Hockey Club play their home games at The Triangle Leisure Centre, where the Mid Sussex Youth Netball Club also train. The Triangle was one of the venues in the South East supporting the London Olympic Games 2012, and served as a base and training centre for teams from around the world.
