Hurstpierpoint
Encyclopedia
Hurstpierpoint is a village in the Mid Sussex
district of West Sussex
, England
. Together with Sayers Common
it forms one of the Mid Sussex civil parishes, with an area of 2029.88 ha and a population of 6,264 persons.
It is located 4 miles (6.4 km) southwest of Burgess Hill
, and 1.5 miles (2.4 km) west of the nearest railway station at Hassocks
, from where Brighton and London are approximately 10 minutes and one hour away respectively. There is also an hourly bus service to Haywards Heath
.
. Throughout the centuries there have been several variants on the Hurstpierpoint name e.g. Herst (11th century); Herstperpunt (14th century); Perpondesherst (15th century).
The village is chiefly one long street running east and west and most of the buildings in it are of the 18th century or later.
, when it was an estate assessed at 41 hides, of which 3½ hides in the Rape of Pevensey
and 19 hides in the Rape of Bramber
were detached. After the Conquest, the remaining 18½ hides were held in 1086 by Robert de Pierpoint of William de Warenne
. There was a church and 3 mills. The overlordship descended with the rape until the division after the death of Beatrice, Countess of Arundel
, in 1439, when the 10 fees late of Robert de Pierpoint passed to the Duke of Norfolk
. Subsequently the overlordship of Hurstpierpoint came into the hands of the Lords Bergavenny, and the manor was said in 1602 to have been held of their manor of Ditchling
.
ridge, 145 feet (44.2 m) above sea level, running east and west across the parish, on the road from Lewes
to Albourne
, and this is crossed in the centre of the village by Cuckfield Road which goes north to Cuckfield
. The village is well known for the public school Hurstpierpoint College
, situated to the north east of the village.
an Elizabethan Mansion at the foot of Wolstonbury Hill
which forms part of the South Downs
The church was completely rebuilt from the designs of Sir Charles Barry in 1843–5,who most famously designed the Houses of Parliament
In 1854 the north chapel was added, and in 1874 the south chapel; the last has a dated foundation-stone in the east wall. The north transept has been fitted up as a chapel in memory of those who died in the War of 1914–18. The church which it replaced consisted of a chancel with a south chapel (the Danny chapel - see Danny House
) of approximately equal dimensions, a nave with south aisle and north porch, and a west tower with a shingled spire. It had been almost rebuilt by a rector, John Urry, about 1420, but the tracery of the windows and most other ancient features had vanished under 'churchwarden improvements' before 1835.
A number of funeral monuments and fittings were preserved from the old church. The font is probably of c. 1200, but the heavy round bowl has been reworked and painted; the stem is plain; the base has a late 12th or early 13th century mould. Nearby, a broken mortar, brought from a local farmyard, has been set on a stem and base as if to represent a font. The enclosure around the font has turned balusters and moulded handrail of the 18th century and may have been the former communion rails.
In the east window of the south chapel are set fifteen medallions of German or Flemish glass of the 16th and 17th centuries; five are circular, the others oval; they mostly depict scenes from the Old and New Testaments and include a Nativity, and the placing of our Lord in the sepulchre. There are also four similar oval cartouches in the west window of the tower-porch, all collected and placed here by Canon Borrer in 1845.
In the south chapel is a much weathered recumbent effigy, 6 in 8 in (2.03 m) long, of a cross-legged knight in chain armour, of c. 1260; he bears his heater-shaped shield on his left arm and his right hand grasps the hilt of his sword. The feet rest against a lion.
At the west end of the north aisle is a much mutilated effigy of a knight of c. 1340 wearing a bascinet, mail gorget, close-fitting gypon with scalloped lower edge, a baudrick, and plate armour with knee-caps to the legs. The head rests on his helm, which has a lion crest; the feet also rest against a recumbent lion. The figure now rests on an altar-tomb against the north wall; the exposed south side has four quatrefoil panels each enclosing a plain shield, and the east end a single panel. The tomb is enclosed by an iron railing, 4 in 10 in (1.47 m) high, which has three diagonal standards treated with buttresses and with moulded and embattled caps and spikes for candles; these are of early 16th century date.
In the churchyard by the west wall are five tapering coffin lids of the 12th or 13th century with hollow chamfered edges. One shows faint traces of a raised cross.
Relaid in the pavement outside the west doorway are about 150 inlaid slip tiles, 6 inches (15.2 cm) square; of two patterns, one has a fish in a vesica piscis, four of the tiles forming a complete circular design, the other has a whorl of foliage forming part, probably, of a border pattern: late 13th or early 14th century, they are suffering from wear in their present position.
There are eight bells, of which three date from 1775, and the others from 1846. The church registers date from 1558.
who currently play in Sussex County League Division 3. The village also has a thriving youth system, with children aged 5 through to 16 able to play for Hurstpierpoint F.C. Colts. The Colts also have a growing link with the Sussex County League side.
There is also a society in the form of a community cinema, the Hurstpierpoint Film Society, which aims to show a diverse range of films to suit all tastes and expand the exposure of the local population to brilliant films from around the world.
, who is generous of his time for local events, clubs and societies. Greta Scacchi
also lived in the village until 2011 when a dispute with a neighbour led her to leave.
Mid Sussex
Mid Sussex is a local government district in the English county of West Sussex. It contains the towns of East Grinstead, Haywards Heath and Burgess Hill....
district of West Sussex
West Sussex
West Sussex is a county in the south of England, bordering onto East Sussex , Hampshire and Surrey. The county of Sussex has been divided into East and West since the 12th century, and obtained separate county councils in 1888, but it remained a single ceremonial county until 1974 and the coming...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. Together with Sayers Common
Sayers Common
Sayers Common is a village in the Mid Sussex District of West Sussex, England. With Hurstpierpoint it forms one of the Mid Sussex parishes. It is located two miles west of Hurstpierpoint. Situated until the 1990s on the main London to Brighton A23 road it has become a more popular residential...
it forms one of the Mid Sussex civil parishes, with an area of 2029.88 ha and a population of 6,264 persons.
It is located 4 miles (6.4 km) southwest of Burgess Hill
Burgess Hill
Burgess Hill is a civil parish and a town primarily located in the Mid Sussex district of West Sussex, England, close to the border with East Sussex, on the edge of the South Downs National Park...
, and 1.5 miles (2.4 km) west of the nearest railway station at Hassocks
Hassocks railway station
Hassocks railway station serves Hassocks in West Sussex. It is on the Brighton Main Line and Thameslink 12 km north of Brighton railway station, and train services are provided by Southern and First Capital Connect.-History:...
, from where Brighton and London are approximately 10 minutes and one hour away respectively. There is also an hourly bus service to Haywards Heath
Haywards Heath
-Climate:Haywards Heath experiences an oceanic climate similar to almost all of the United Kingdom.-Rail:Haywards Heath railway station is a major station on the Brighton Main Line...
.
Toponymy
The name derives from 'Hurst', the Saxon name for a wood, and 'Pierpoint' after the de Pierpoint family who arrived with William the Conqueror in 1066. The settlement was mentioned in the Domesday BookDomesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
. Throughout the centuries there have been several variants on the Hurstpierpoint name e.g. Herst (11th century); Herstperpunt (14th century); Perpondesherst (15th century).
The village is chiefly one long street running east and west and most of the buildings in it are of the 18th century or later.
Manors
The manor of Hurstpierpoint was held before the Norman Conquest by Earl GodwinGodwin, Earl of Wessex
Godwin of Wessex , was one of the most powerful lords in England under the Danish king Cnut the Great and his successors. Cnut made him the first Earl of Wessex...
, when it was an estate assessed at 41 hides, of which 3½ hides in the Rape of Pevensey
Pevensey
Pevensey is a village and civil parish in the Wealden district of East Sussex, England. The main village is located 5 miles north-east of Eastbourne, one mile inland from Pevensey Bay. The settlement of Pevensey Bay forms part of the parish.-Geography:The village of Pevensey is located on...
and 19 hides in the Rape of Bramber
Bramber
Bramber is a village and civil parish in the Horsham District of West Sussex, England. It is located on the northern edge of the South Downs and on the west side of the River Adur. Nearby are the communities of Steyning to the west and Upper Beeding to the east, and the other side of the river....
were detached. After the Conquest, the remaining 18½ hides were held in 1086 by Robert de Pierpoint of William de Warenne
William de Warenne, 1st Earl of Surrey
William de Warenne, 1st Earl of Surrey, Seigneur de Varennes is one of the very few proven Companions of William the Conqueror known to have fought at the Battle of Hastings in 1066...
. There was a church and 3 mills. The overlordship descended with the rape until the division after the death of Beatrice, Countess of Arundel
Arundel
Arundel is a market town and civil parish in the South Downs of West Sussex in the south of England. It lies south southwest of London, west of Brighton, and east of the county town of Chichester. Other nearby towns include Worthing east southeast, Littlehampton to the south and Bognor Regis to...
, in 1439, when the 10 fees late of Robert de Pierpoint passed to the Duke of Norfolk
Duke of Norfolk
The Duke of Norfolk is the premier duke in the peerage of England, and also, as Earl of Arundel, the premier earl. The Duke of Norfolk is, moreover, the Earl Marshal and hereditary Marshal of England. The seat of the Duke of Norfolk is Arundel Castle in Sussex, although the title refers to the...
. Subsequently the overlordship of Hurstpierpoint came into the hands of the Lords Bergavenny, and the manor was said in 1602 to have been held of their manor of Ditchling
Ditchling
Ditchling is a village and civil parish in the Lewes District of East Sussex, England. The village is contained within the boundaries of the South Downs National Park; the order confirming the establishment of the park was signed in Ditchling....
.
Geography
The village is built on a slight sandstoneSandstone
Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...
ridge, 145 feet (44.2 m) above sea level, running east and west across the parish, on the road from Lewes
Lewes
Lewes is the county town of East Sussex, England and historically of all of Sussex. It is a civil parish and is the centre of the Lewes local government district. The settlement has a history as a bridging point and as a market town, and today as a communications hub and tourist-oriented town...
to Albourne
Albourne
Albourne is a village and civil parish in the Mid Sussex district of West Sussex, England. It lies just off the A23 road three miles east of Henfield. The parish has a land area of 772.9 hectares...
, and this is crossed in the centre of the village by Cuckfield Road which goes north to Cuckfield
Cuckfield
Cuckfield is a large village and civil parish in the Mid Sussex District of West Sussex, England, on the southern slopes of the Weald. It lies south of London, north of Brighton, and east northeast of the county town of Chichester. Nearby towns include Haywards Heath to the southeast and Burgess...
. The village is well known for the public school Hurstpierpoint College
Hurstpierpoint College
Hurstpierpoint College is an independent, co-educational, day and boarding school for pupils aged 4–18, located just to the north of the village of Hurstpierpoint, West Sussex in the lee of the South Downs...
, situated to the north east of the village.
Landmarks
To the south of Hurstpierpoint is Danny HouseDanny House
Danny is an impressive Grade I listed Elizabethan red brick Mansion near Hurstpierpoint in West Sussex, England. It lies at the northern foot of Wolstonbury Hill and one of the finest stately houses in Sussex, with 56 bedrooms and 28 apartments. The present house was built 1593-95 by George...
an Elizabethan Mansion at the foot of Wolstonbury Hill
Wolstonbury Hill
Wolstonbury Hill is a chalk prominence in the South Downs National Park, approximately north of Brighton and west of Clayton, in the parish of Pyecombe, West Sussex, England...
which forms part of the South Downs
South Downs
The South Downs is a range of chalk hills that extends for about across the south-eastern coastal counties of England from the Itchen Valley of Hampshire in the west to Beachy Head, near Eastbourne, East Sussex, in the east. It is bounded on its northern side by a steep escarpment, from whose...
Holy Trinity
The parish church consists of a chancel with arcades of two bays, north chapel, south chapel (now organ chamber and vestry), nave, north and south transepts, north arcade and aisle of four bays, south arcade and aisle of five bays, and a north-west tower with an octagonal spire of stone. The base of the tower serves as a porch and there is a small porch to the north chapel. The nave has a clearstory.The church was completely rebuilt from the designs of Sir Charles Barry in 1843–5,who most famously designed the Houses of Parliament
In 1854 the north chapel was added, and in 1874 the south chapel; the last has a dated foundation-stone in the east wall. The north transept has been fitted up as a chapel in memory of those who died in the War of 1914–18. The church which it replaced consisted of a chancel with a south chapel (the Danny chapel - see Danny House
Danny House
Danny is an impressive Grade I listed Elizabethan red brick Mansion near Hurstpierpoint in West Sussex, England. It lies at the northern foot of Wolstonbury Hill and one of the finest stately houses in Sussex, with 56 bedrooms and 28 apartments. The present house was built 1593-95 by George...
) of approximately equal dimensions, a nave with south aisle and north porch, and a west tower with a shingled spire. It had been almost rebuilt by a rector, John Urry, about 1420, but the tracery of the windows and most other ancient features had vanished under 'churchwarden improvements' before 1835.
A number of funeral monuments and fittings were preserved from the old church. The font is probably of c. 1200, but the heavy round bowl has been reworked and painted; the stem is plain; the base has a late 12th or early 13th century mould. Nearby, a broken mortar, brought from a local farmyard, has been set on a stem and base as if to represent a font. The enclosure around the font has turned balusters and moulded handrail of the 18th century and may have been the former communion rails.
In the east window of the south chapel are set fifteen medallions of German or Flemish glass of the 16th and 17th centuries; five are circular, the others oval; they mostly depict scenes from the Old and New Testaments and include a Nativity, and the placing of our Lord in the sepulchre. There are also four similar oval cartouches in the west window of the tower-porch, all collected and placed here by Canon Borrer in 1845.
In the south chapel is a much weathered recumbent effigy, 6 in 8 in (2.03 m) long, of a cross-legged knight in chain armour, of c. 1260; he bears his heater-shaped shield on his left arm and his right hand grasps the hilt of his sword. The feet rest against a lion.
At the west end of the north aisle is a much mutilated effigy of a knight of c. 1340 wearing a bascinet, mail gorget, close-fitting gypon with scalloped lower edge, a baudrick, and plate armour with knee-caps to the legs. The head rests on his helm, which has a lion crest; the feet also rest against a recumbent lion. The figure now rests on an altar-tomb against the north wall; the exposed south side has four quatrefoil panels each enclosing a plain shield, and the east end a single panel. The tomb is enclosed by an iron railing, 4 in 10 in (1.47 m) high, which has three diagonal standards treated with buttresses and with moulded and embattled caps and spikes for candles; these are of early 16th century date.
In the churchyard by the west wall are five tapering coffin lids of the 12th or 13th century with hollow chamfered edges. One shows faint traces of a raised cross.
Relaid in the pavement outside the west doorway are about 150 inlaid slip tiles, 6 inches (15.2 cm) square; of two patterns, one has a fish in a vesica piscis, four of the tiles forming a complete circular design, the other has a whorl of foliage forming part, probably, of a border pattern: late 13th or early 14th century, they are suffering from wear in their present position.
There are eight bells, of which three date from 1775, and the others from 1846. The church registers date from 1558.
St Lawrence Fair
Every July the St Lawrence Fair takes place in Hurstpierpoint. The fair was granted a royal charter in 1313 and is still an important event in the life of the village. The fair takes place on the first Saturday in July and begins with a procession of floats through the high street. These are made by groups such as playschools, primary schools, scouts and brownies and have a different theme each year. Other popular events of the day are the family fun run and the tug-o-war where the local pubs battle it out for a barrel of beer. In 2007 and 2008 it was won by the White Horse of Albourne Road. The fair is home to Harris fun fair and usually has a chair-o-plane amongst its rides as well as different stalls such as a coconut shy. Charities and businesses from around the area place stalls, tombolas and raffles around the centre, and on the other side is the beer tent and pig roast.Football team
Hurstpierpoint is the home of Hurstpierpoint F.C.Hurstpierpoint F.C.
Hurstpierpoint F.C. is a football club based in Hurstpierpoint, near Burgess Hill, West Sussex, England. The club was formed in 1888 and joined the Sussex County League in 1983. They are currently members of Sussex County League Division Three, and have been since the league...
who currently play in Sussex County League Division 3. The village also has a thriving youth system, with children aged 5 through to 16 able to play for Hurstpierpoint F.C. Colts. The Colts also have a growing link with the Sussex County League side.
Local societies
Hurstpierpoint is the home of Shine, a theatre group and Top Hats & Tutus performance school . It also has a thriving music scene with local bands such as Apocalypse Cow, The Boogaloo Dudes, The Hurstpierpointer Sisters and Franclassic gigging regularly, and a weekly 'Acousticlub' held on Wednesdays at the White Horse Inn, on Albourne Road.There is also a society in the form of a community cinema, the Hurstpierpoint Film Society, which aims to show a diverse range of films to suit all tastes and expand the exposure of the local population to brilliant films from around the world.
Notable people
A notable local resident is Jimmy HillJimmy Hill
James William Thomas "Jimmy" Hill OBE is an English association football personality. His career has taken in virtually every role in football, including player, union leader, coach, manager, director, chairman, television executive, presenter, analyst and match official.-Early life:Hill was born...
, who is generous of his time for local events, clubs and societies. Greta Scacchi
Greta Scacchi
Greta Scacchi is an Italian-Australian actor.-Early life:Scacchi was born Greta Gracco in Milan, Italy, on 18 February 1960, the daughter of Luca Scacchi Gracco, an Italian art dealer and painter, and Pamela Carsaniga, an English dancer and antiques dealer...
also lived in the village until 2011 when a dispute with a neighbour led her to leave.