Billingshurst is a village and civil parish in the Horsham District of West Sussex, England. The village lies on the

A29 road A, or a, is the first letter and the first vowel of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''a'' (pronounced ), plural ''aes'' ...

(the Roman Stane Street) at its crossroads with the A272, south-west of

Horsham Horsham is a market town on the upper reaches of the River Arun on the fringe of the Weald in West Sussex, England. The town is south south-west of London, north-west of Brighton and north-east of the county town of Chichester. Nearby to ...

and north-east of

Pulborough Pulborough is a large village and civil parish in the Horsham district of West Sussex, England, with some 5,000 inhabitants. It is located almost centrally within West Sussex and is south west of London. It is at the junction of the north–south ...

. The civil parish has a land area of and at the 2001 Census had 2,677 households and a population of 6,531 people, which increased to 8,232 at the 2011 Census. High Street, Billingshurst

Toponymy

The village's name derives from

Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons were a Cultural identity, cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo- ...

and means 'a wooded hill of Billa's people', most likely referring to the sandstone hillock that St Mary's Church is sited on in the historical centre of the village. 'Bill' is the head of a family, 'ing' means of the people, and 'hurst' means wooded hill. It is most likely that it was a small family settlement, not yet being a large community or a parish, headed by one 'Billa' – someone of unestablished origin, and not by a populous

Saxon The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic * * * * peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country (Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the Nor ...

tribe.

Community facilities

The village has a secondary school and a sixth form college, known together as The Weald School. Billingshurst Primary School (formerly separate infant and junior schools, amalgamated in 2010) is situated near The Weald. New housing development on the eastern side of the village will include a spine road linking the A29 road north of the village with the A272 road to the east. 550 new homes will be built along with a school, dentists' surgery, play areas and improvements to the railway station.

Transport

Billingshurst is at the junction of the A29 and the A272 which are routes to

Petworth Petworth is a small town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Chichester (district), Chichester District of West Sussex, England. It is located at the junction of the A272 road, A272 east–west road from Heathfield, East Sussex ...

, Petersfield,

Haywards Heath Haywards Heath is a town in West Sussex, England, south of London, north of Brighton, south of Gatwick Airport and northeast of the county town, Chichester. Nearby towns include Burgess Hill to the southwest, Horsham to the northwest, Crawl ...

and Bognor Regis.

Billingshurst railway station Billingshurst railway station serves the market town of Billingshurst, in West Sussex, England. It is on the Arun Valley Line down the line from via . The station is operated by Southern. The signalbox was believed to be the oldest operationa ...

on Station Road is on the mainline from London Victoria to Bognor Regis and Chichester between

Christ's Hospital railway station Christ's Hospital railway station is near Horsham in West Sussex, England. It is down the line from via . It was opened in 1902 by the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway and was intended primarily to serve Christ's Hospital, a large Inde ...

and Pulborough railway station. The village is to the east of a remaining section of the

Wey and Arun Canal The Wey and Arun Canal is a partially open, 23-mile-long (37 km) canal in the southeast of England. It runs southwards from the River Wey at Gunsmouth in Shalford, Surrey to the River Arun at Pallingham, in West Sussex. The canal compri ...

; the canal has not been fully navigable since the 1890s.

Religious sites

Billingshurst has four churches. St Mary's Church ( Church of England) is the oldest, with a mix of service styles, ranging from Book of Common Prayer communion services to informal family worship. Other churches are St Gabriel's Church ( Catholic), Billingshurst Family Church ( Evangelical; part of the Commission family of churches) and Trinity Church (

United Reformed The United Reformed Church (URC) is a Protestant Christian church in the United Kingdom. As of 2022 it has approximately 40,000 members in 1,284 congregations with 334 stipendiary ministers. Origins and history The United Reformed Church resulte ...

Billingshurst Unitarian Chapel Billingshurst Unitarian Chapel is a place of worship in Billingshurst in the English county of West Sussex. The cottage-like building was erected in 1754 for General Baptists, hence its original name of the Billingshurst General Baptist Chapel, ...

, set back behind the High Street, was founded in 1754 and is one of south-east England's oldest

Nonconformist Nonconformity or nonconformism may refer to: Culture and society * Insubordination, the act of willfully disobeying an order of one's superior *Dissent, a sentiment or philosophy of non-agreement or opposition to a prevailing idea or entity ** ...

places of worship.

Sport

The local football team is Billingshurst FC based at Jubilee Fields on the western junction of the A29 and A272. The club was established in 1891 and is running senior sides and a youth section with teams running from Under 8's through to U16s.

Second World War

Kingsfold Camp, a

prisoner-of-war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of w ...

camp, was set up in Billingshurst during the Second World War (see

List of World War II prisoner-of-war camps in the United Kingdom This is an incomplete list of Prisoner of War (POW) Camps located in the United Kingdom during World War II. German POWs in England were graded as follows: "Grade A (white) were considered anti-Nazi; Grade B (grey) had less clear feelings and we ...

Notable people

* Paul Darrow (1941–2019), actor and author, lived in Billingshurst *

Edward Enfield Edward Richard Enfield (3 September 1929 – 21 February 2019) was an English television and radio presenter and newspaper journalist. He was also the father of comedian Harry Enfield and novelist Lizzie Enfield. Biography The son of Sir Ralph R ...

(1929–2019), television and radio presenter, newspaper journalist, and educational administrator, lived in Billingshurst * Harry Enfield (1961–), comedian, lived in Billingshurst *

Janet Lees-Price Janet Lees Price (19 April 1943 – 22 May 2012) was a British actress who appeared in television programmes including: ''Emergency – Ward 10'', ''Z-Cars'', ''The First Lady (UK TV series), The First Lady'', ''Softly, Softly (TV series), S ...

(1943–2012), actress, lived in Billingshurst *

Pom Oliver Pom Oliver (full name Rosamund Cherry Jane Oliver) is a British Arctic exploration, polar explorer and former film producer,Frank Patterson Frank Patterson (5 October 1938 – 10 June 2000) was an internationally renowned Irish tenor following in the tradition of singers such as Count John McCormack and Josef Locke. He was known as "Ireland's Golden Tenor". Early life Patterson wa ...

(1871–1952), illustrator, lived in Billingshurst *

Connor Swindells Connor Ryan Swindells (born 19 September 1996) is an English actor and model. He gained prominence through his role as Adam Groff in the Netflix comedy-drama ''Sex Education'' (2019–present). He has since starred in the BBC One historical dram ...

(1996–), actor, lived in Billingshurt * James Tilley (1998–), footballer, born and lived in Billingshurst and went to school in Billingshurst at The Weald School

Film and cultural appearances

* Billingshurst's Dell Lane was the location for the BBC sitcom ''

Ever Decreasing Circles ''Ever Decreasing Circles'' is a British sitcom which ran on BBC1 between 1984 and 1989, consisting of four series and one feature-length special. It was written by John Esmonde and Bob Larbey, and it reunited them with Richard Briers, who ha ...

'' starring Richard Briers. * Michael Lugg (1956) in

British Pathé British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

"Boy's Traction Engine" * Paul Adorian (1965) in British Pathé "Vintage Fire Brigade"

References

Citations

Bibliography

External links

Billingshurst Parish CouncilFurther information and sources on GENUKI
{{authority control Villages in West Sussex