The parish of Nuthurst, (fn. 1) which includes Mannings Heath, lies c. 3 miles (4.8 km.) south-east of Horsham town, but was still remarkably rural, especially in its southern part, in 1981. The ancient parish, nearly 4 miles (6.4 km.) long by 2 miles (3.2 km.) wide at its widest point, comprised 3,305 a., including a detached portion of 121 a. further to the south-east containing High Hurst. (fn. 2) In 1877 it was augmented by the addition of the detached portion of Broadwater parish (205 a.), alternatively known as Little Broadwater, (fn. 3) which lay partly within it and which contained the site of Sedgewick castle. (fn. 4) In 1881 the parish covered 3,510 a. High Hurst was incorporated in Cowfold in 1933, leaving 3,389 a. (1,372 ha.). (fn. 5) In 1971-2 land in the east including Newells Farm House was exchanged with Lower Beeding parish for a small portion of land near Mannings Heath in the north and a larger one near Maplehurst in the south including Old Park farm. (fn. 6) In 1981 the parish comprised 1,466 ha. (3,623 a.). (fn. 7) The present article deals with the ancient parish except High Hurst, which is treated under Cowfold, and also with Little Broadwater.
Much of the northern, western, and southern boundaries of the ancient parish followed streams, while the northern and western boundaries of Little Broadwater followed roads. Part of the eastern boundary of the parish also followed a road. The eastern boundary was also related to the boundaries of St. Leonard's Forest and its bailiwicks: in the north-east Nuthurst formed a salient into Lower Beeding which perhaps represented the bailiwick of Horestock, (fn. 8) while in the south-east the bailiwick of New Park in Lower Beeding (fn. 9) formed a tongue of that parish which separated High Hurst from the rest of Nuthurst.
The parish lies (fn. 10) at the point where the Tunbridge Wells sandstone beds dip under the younger Weald clay beds to the west, the junction between the two formations being very irregular. The sandstone formerly supported open heathland in the north-east quarter of the parish, but it also provided the site of Nuthurst village. The Weald clay contains scattered outcrops of Horsham stone and other sandstones, one of the former providing the site of Sedgewick castle. The Horsham stone beds were quarried commercially in the past. (fn. 11) The soil of the parish has never been considered of high quality, (fn. 12) but was said in the 19th century to be good for wheat (fn. 13) and earlier to be especially good for oak timber. (fn. 14) The relief is very varied, the northern part being generally higher, and reaching c. 350 ft. north of Nuthurst village. From Maplehurst in the south and from the high ground of Sedgewick park there are views of the South Downs and sometimes the sea. (fn. 15) The extreme north end of the parish is drained by the river Arun, to which there is a steep fall from Mannings Heath, the river being dammed to form one hammerpond at Birchen bridge, (fn. 16) while Roosthole pond upstream on a tributary may be another. The soil in the Arun valley is alluvium. The rest of the parish drains southwards to the river Adur.
Woodland has continued to be plentiful in the parish since medieval times. In 1561 Sedgewick manor apparently had timber described as suitable for fortifications or shipbuilding, (fn. 47) though it does not seem to have been carefully managed at that time, since in 1579 the trees were said to grow 'dispersedly'. (fn. 48) In 1650 there were over 2,500 trees on the farms in Nuthurst, Little Broadwater, and Horsham into which the former Sedgewick park had been divided, principally beech and oak, many of the latter being newly planted. (fn. 49) Sedgewick was still described as a 'woody tract' c. 1715. (fn. 50) In 1724 (fn. 51) and later there was much woodland east and north-east of Nuthurst village, and in 1795 many shaws, or wide strips of woodland between closes, in the same area. (fn. 52) By the 1840s about a quarter of the area of the parish was in woods, in addition to the shaws which at that time, together with rough ground, comprised more than a quarter of the area of some farms; (fn. 53) many shaws survived in 1981. In the 1870s the north part of the parish was markedly more wooded than the south, as was also the case a century later, when further afforestation had taken place north-east of Monk's Gate and east of Nuthurst village.
A new park at Sedgewick was created c. 1717 by Sir John Bennett, who cut straight rides through the woods around the house. (fn. 54) In the 1840s the park lay north and south of the house, (fn. 55) but by 1862 it had expanded to the west as well, comprising in all 186 a. (fn. 56) Over the next 80 years it was further greatly enlarged, reaching almost to Nuthurst village on the east. By 1981, however, much had been converted to pasture closes or to arable. From the later 19th century other new parks were created for more modern houses in the parish. In the north, the park of Coolhurst house in Horsham extended southwards into Nuthurst, in 1909 almost as far as Mannings Heath. There was a park at Swallowfield, south of Mannings Heath, in 1874, which was later enlarged. In the south Elliotts and Gaveston Hall each had attached parkland by 1896, and Copsale Court by 1909. Since 1945, however, the amount of parkland has been reduced.
A medieval hamlet at Sedgewick may be suggested by the existence of tenants of the manor possibly as early as 1222 (fn. 57) and certainly by 1326. (fn. 58) A person 'dwelling in Sedgewick' was mentioned in 1594, (fn. 59) perhaps indicating a hamlet rather than an area of jurisdiction.
Nuthurst church existed before 1200, (fn. 63) but there need not have been a village there so early, though the site, on sloping land by a stream, was suitable. A village seems to be indicated by the mention of a trespass at (apud) Nuthurst in 1328. (fn. 64) The oldest surviving buildings are of the 17th century: nos. 1-2 Black Horse Cottages, which are timber-framed and partly faced in brick, and a house opposite faced with brick and hung tiles. There were several buildings in 1724, both north and south of the church, besides more scattered dwellings further south. (fn. 65) In 1841 there were c. 12 dwellings, including the rectory house and an inn, those north of the church being much closer together than any other groups of buildings in the parish. (fn. 66) Several new single houses were built in the village in the 20th century, and in the 1970s a close of houses south of the church.
The history of settlement elsewhere in the parish after 1700 is of the growth of hamlets, three of which occupied sites on the edges of commons. Maplehurst was named as a place where land was held in 1401-2. (fn. 67) Some existing houses there are 17thcentury or earlier, for instance Maplehurst Farm (fn. 68) and Tudor Cottage. In 1724 there were a few houses grouped around Maplehurst common, (fn. 69) and encroachments on the waste were recorded there in the 18th century. (fn. 70) By 1841 there were c. 12 houses there, including an inn. (fn. 71) Most of the existing buildings, however, are 20th-century, including a red brick terrace of 1904, a small estate of council houses, and a large group of houses and bungalows to the east.
The name Monk's Gate was recorded as a farm name in the 17th century, (fn. 82) apparently deriving from a family named in 1450 (fn. 83) and alluding to a gate into St. Leonard's Forest. (fn. 84) Two or three 17th-century houses survive. An encroachment was recorded on the uninclosed common in 1756, (fn. 85) and by 1794 there were at least six houses there. (fn. 86) By 1841 there were c. 10, (fn. 87) all in the southern part, and in 1875 there was a police station. More houses were built before 1909, notably some large villas to the south-east, and others were built later in the 20th century, including a close of large detached houses in the centre c. 1975.
The place name Copsale is recorded from the late 15th century, (fn. 88) but the hamlet there did not develop until the late 18th. (fn. 89) In 1841 there were seven buildings including a mill, (fn. 90) and in 1859 Copsale was considered sufficiently important for a mission chapel to be built there to serve the south-west part of the parish. (fn. 91) The hamlet thereafter remained about the same size; in 1981 it had an inn and a general stores.
In the 19th and 20th centuries many houses, especially larger ones, have been built outside the nucleated settlements. A new house at Swallowfield near Mannings Heath was built of grey stone on the site of the one recorded in 1574, and in 1876 land in the parish was being offered for building similar houses. (fn. 92) Gaveston Hall and Copsale Court, occupying south-facing sites in the south end of the parish, were built, in the revived vernacular style, between 1876 and 1896, and the Grange, in similar style, by 1909. (fn. 93) The number of 'private residents' listed in the parish rose from 7, including the rector, in 1882, to 19 in 1895. In the 20th century it continued to increase, to 26 in 1909 and 37 in 1938. (fn. 94) The opening of the golf course at Mannings Heath before 1913 provided one stimulus, (fn. 95) and another may have been the proximity of St. Leonard's Forest with its sporting opportunities. (fn. 96) Smaller houses too were built in the 20th century outside the nucleated settlements of the parish, for instance north of Copsale and along the Nuthurst-Maplehurst road, where many bungalows were erected in the 1930s.
The northern portion of the parish was served after 1848 by Horsham railway station. The Horsham-Shoreham railway line was opened in 1861 through the south-west corner, with stations nearby at Southwater and West Grinstead; (fn. 117) after closure in 1966 (fn. 118) the Nuthurst portion of the line had been converted by 1981 into a bridle way.
The Dun Horse inn at Mannings Heath was the White Horse in 1794 (fn. 119) but had its present name soon afterwards; (fn. 120) it was presumably the residence of the innkeeper John Chart recorded in the parish in 1819. (fn. 121) His successor in 1845, apparently his son, was also a butcher. (fn. 122) The Shortsfield and Nutham manor courts were held at the inn in 1853 and 1910. (fn. 123) In the early 20th century the old weatherboarded building (fn. 124) was rebuilt as a large brick and stucco roadhouse. The Black Horse at Nuthurst and the White Horse at Maplehurst both existed in 1845 (fn. 125) and survived in 1981. There was a beerhouse at Copsale called the Nuthurst Arms in 1896; before 1909 it was replaced by another public house, which by 1938 was called the Bridge House (fn. 126) and which also survived in 1981.
In 1939 Micklepage Farm south of the village became a country retreat of the Community of St. Hilda in Camberwell, London, the rector being its leader from 1940 to 1957. The community, which survived in 1982, ran a school at Gaveston Hall from 1945 to 1958; another school succeeded it there, (fn. 146) and in 1973 the building was used as an international youth holiday centre. (fn. 147) By c. 1957 (fn. 148) Forest House east of Mannings Heath was a children's home, as it remained in 1981.
1. This article was written in 1981 and revised in 1985. Topographical details in introductory section based mainly on O.S. Maps 1/25,000, TQ 02/12, 22/32 (1975-83 edn.); 6", Suss. XIV, XXIV, XXV (1879 and later edns.). Much help was received from Messrs. G. and D. Tittensor, Nuthurst.
2. O.S. Map 6", Suss. XXV (1879 edn.).
3. Census, 1881; V.C.H. Suss. vi (1), 66.
5. Census, 1881, 1931 (pt. ii), 1971.
9. Above, Lower Beeding, forest.
10. Para. based mainly on Geol. Surv. Map 1", solid and drift, sheet 302 (1972 edn.); Nuthurst, 1977 (Nuthurst par. council), 10-14 (copy in W.S.R.O. libr.).
11. Below, econ. hist. (trade and ind.).
12. Cf. Cal. Inq. p. m. ix, p. 270.
13. Lewis, Topog. Dict. Eng. (1849).
14. Edwards, Brighton Rd. 80.
15. Above, frontispiece. The view from Sedgewick park was already remarked on in the 1720s: B.L. Lansd. MS. 918, f. 20v.
16. Below, econ. hist. (trade and ind.).
17. Budgen, Suss. Map (1724).
18. Gardner, Suss. Map (1795); cf. Edwards, Brighton Rd. 81.
19. Budgen, Suss. Map (1724), which, however, places the name further S., near the modern Monk's Gate.
20. S.A.C. xxiii. 290; cf. W.S.R.O., Par. 143/30/1, f. 1a.
21. W.S.R.O., Hurst MSS., Shortsfield man. rental, 1715, and list of encroachments, 1756; ibid. TD/W 92.
22. Budgen, Suss. Map (1724); W.S.R.O., Hurst MSS., Shortsfield man. rental, 1715, and list of encroachments, 1756; ibid. TD/W 92.
23. W.S.R.O., QDD/6/W 39; for the recreation ground, below.
24. P. N. Suss. (E.P.N.S.), i. 231-2.
25. V.C.H. Suss. vi (1), 73.
26. Above, Lower Beeding, forest.
27. S.R.S. ii, p. 121.
28. Cal. Inq. p. m. vi, p. 436.
29. Cal. Pat. 1446-52, 340, presumably referring to Sedgewick; Arundel Cast. MS. M 815.
30. Arundel Cast. MS. A 1852, rot. 1.
34. Cal. Pat. 1572-5, p. 104.
35. Below, econ. hist. (agric.).
37. Arundel Cast. MS. M 815; B.L. Add. Ch. 18876 (MS. cal.).
38. Above, Lower Beeding, forest; for Swallowfield, below.
39. O.S. Nat. Grid 203284-203280, 208287-213287, 208275-210277.
40. Cal. Doc. France, ed. Round, p. 37; Reg. Regum AngloNorm. i, no. 220. A Home wood was recorded NE. of Sedgewick Park ho. in the mid 20th cent. but not earlier: O.S. Map 1/25,000, TQ 12 (1958 edn.); W.S.R.O., TD/W 92.
41. Cur. Reg. R. xiii, pp. 306-7.
42. Close R. 1231-4, 484; cf. V.C.H. Suss. vi (1), 4.
43. Cur. Reg. R. xiii, pp. 306-7.
44. P.R.O., E 106/11/2, rot. 2, m. 1.
45. Arundel Cast. MS. A 430, rot. 4.
46. P.R.O., SC 6/1033/18, rot. 5d.; SC 6/1035/16, rot. 2.
47. Cal. S. P. Dom. 1601-3, 527.
48. P.R.O., E 310/25/143, rot. 28.
50. B.L. Lansd. MS. 918, f. 20.
51. Budgen, Suss. Map (1724).
52. W.S.R.O., Add. MS. 1999; cf. P.R.O., MPHH 132 (WO 78/1534); 250 Yrs. of Mapmaking in Suss. ed. H. Margary, pl. 20.
54. B.L. Lansd. MS. 918, f. 21; S.N.Q. xv. 222-4.
56. Ibid. TD/W 21; Horsham Mus. MS. SP 133.
57. S.R.S. ii, p. 44.
58. Cal. Inq. p. m. vi, p. 436.
59. S.R.S. xxi. 182; cf. ibid. 343, 354.
61. S.R.S. x. 155; Cat. Anct. D. vi, C 5257; but for Botting's fm. cf. below, econ. hist. (agric.). Shuckers fm. may allude to John le Schokere recorded in W. Grinstead hund. in 1296: S.R.S. x. 64.
62. Tudor Ch. Music, v (1926), p. xvii.
64. P.R.O., CP 40/273, m. 40d.
65. Budgen, Suss. Map (1724).
67. Westm. Abbey Mun. 4021; a Rob. of Maplehurst had been recorded in W. Grinstead hund. in 1296: S.R.S. x. 64.
68. W.S.R.O., MP 846, ff. [11v.-12v.].
69. Budgen, Suss. Map (1724).
70. W.S.R.O., Hurst MSS., Shortsfield man. rental, 1715, and list of encroachments, 1756; cf. Gardner, Suss. Map (1795); P.R.O., MPHH 132 (WO 78/1534).
72. Cf. Budgen, Suss. Map (1724).
73. W.S.R.O., Hurst MSS., Shortsfield man. rental, 1715, and list of encroachments, 1756; cf. Gardner, Suss. Map (1795); P.R.O., MPHH 132 (WO 78/1534).
75. P.R.O., MPHH 132 (WO 78/1534).
76. Census, 1801-41; cf. e.g. E.S.R.O., SAS/WH 309 (TS. cat.); Horsham Mus. MS. SP 47.
78. Horsham Mus. MSS. SP 203, 212, 234; W.S.R.O., SP 380.
79. Nuthurst, 1977 (Nuthurst par. council), 16, 54 (copy in W.S.R.O. libr.).
80. W. Suss. Gaz. 13 Dec. 1979.
81. Inf. from Mr. G. Tittensor, Nuthurst.
82. W.S.R.O., Par. 143/30/1, f. 1a.
83. Cal. Pat. 1446-52, 339.
84. For the possible site of the gate cf. the field name Monk's Gate mead recorded in 1845: W.S.R.O., TD/W 92.
85. Ibid. Hurst MSS., list of encroachments at Shortsfield man. 1756.
86. P.R.O., MPHH 132 (WO 78/1534).
89. 250 Yrs. of Mapmaking in Suss. ed. H. Margary, pls. 16, 20.
93. Cf. W. Goodliffe, Horsham and St. Leonard's Forest, 63.
94. Kelly's Dir. Suss. (1882 and later edns.).
96. Above, Lower Beeding, intro.
97. S.R.S. x. 155, 277-8. There is almost no correspondence between names in the two lists; some names from the Nuthurst list occur under Shortsfield in 1332: ibid. 270.
98. P.R.O., E 179/189/42, rot. 2.
99. S.R.S. lvi. 79; at least two lived outside the par., in Itchingfield and at Roffey in Horsham.
100. e.g. John Sexten, apparently of Saxtons fm. in Nuthurst, under Shortsfield: ibid. 65.
102. W.S.R.O., Ep. I/26/3, p. 15.
103. Census, 1801-1981; W. Suss. Gaz. 13 Dec. 1979.
104. Arundel Cast. MS. M 279, m. 2.
105. W.S.R.O., Add. MS. 5247 (TS. cat.).
106. V.C.H. Suss. vi (2), 149.
107. W.S.R.O., Ep. I/25/3 (1635); cf. ibid. (1615).
108. Budgen, Suss. Map (1724).
110. Cat. Anct. D. iii, B 4044.
111. Horsham Mus. MS. 1775 (MS. cat.); Greenwood, Suss. Map (1825).
112. V.C.H. Suss. vi (2), 87.
113. Above, Lower Beeding, intro.
114. Cf. Gardner, Suss. Map (1795).
116. Inf. from Mr. Tittensor.
117. Southern Region Rec. comp. R. H. Clark, 77, 87, 91.
119. Horsham Mus. MS. SP 7.
120. Edwards, Brighton Rd. 80.
122. Kelly's Dir. Suss. (1845).
123. W.S.R.O., Hurst MSS., notices advertising cts. to be held.
124. Worthing Ref. Libr., Mannings Heath cuttings file, photo. of inn.
126. O.S. Map 6", Suss. XXIV. NE. (1898 and later edns.); Kelly's Dir. Suss. (1903 and later edns.); Nuthurst, 1977, 57.
127. Albery, Parl. Hist. 348.
130. Ibid. MP 846, ff. [34-5]; inf. from Mr. Tittensor.
132. Kelly's Dir. Suss. (1909); O.S. Map 6", Suss. XIV. SW. (1912 edn.).
133. Nuthurst, 1977, 56, 63, 71, 75-6.
134. Ibid. 59, 72; O.S. Map 6", Suss. XXIV. NE. (1912 edn.); W.S.R.O., MP 846, f. [25v.].
136. O.S. Map 6", TQ 22 NW. (1962 edn.); inf. from Mr. J. D. Coutts, Mannings Heath golf club; cf. E. Straker, Wealden Iron, 440.
137. W.S.R.O., SP 380; inf. from Mr. Coutts.
138. Horsham: Official Guide , 36.
139. W. Suss. Gaz. 13 Dec. 1979.
140. S.A.C. viii. 40; W.S.R.O., Add. MS. 29709; W. Suss. C.C. planning dept., arch. sites and mons. rec., TQ 12 NE 2. The date 1707 seems more likely than 1701 for the map at W.S.R.O., Add. MS. 29709 since Sir John Bennett is named as owner: cf. below, manor.
142. Horsham Electricity (Extension) Spec. Order, 1930; Horsham: Official Guide (1933-5), 8.
143. Cal. Pat. 1446-52, 339-40.
145. Hurst, Horsham (1868), 22.
146. Nuthurst, 1977, 69-70; W.S.R.O., MP 846, f. [20v.]; Crockford (1965-6), s.v G. H. Gibson.
147. W. Suss. Gaz. 30 Aug. 1973.
148. O.S. Map 6", TQ 22 NW. (1962 edn.).
149. Tudor Ch. Music, v (1926), pp. xvi-xvii.
150. U. Vaughan Williams, R.V.W. 67-8.