The Haywards Heath Building Society was founded in 1890 as the Haywards Heath & District Permanent Benefit Building Society, abbreviating its name in 1962. It merged with the Yorkshire Building Society in 1992.The merger provided the core of

Yorkshire Building Society Yorkshire Building Society is the third largest building society in the UK, with its headquarters in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. It is a member of the Building Societies Association. The society also owns the Chelsea Building Society a ...

's expansion outside of

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other English counties, functions have ...

History

The Haywards Heath & District Permanent Benefit Building Society was formed in 1860 by local Haywards Heath tradesmen. Its first Secretary was dismissed after five years following losses but 1897 saw the appointment of Charles Mackenzie, an accountant, as Secretary, a position he was to hold for over forty years. The Society was run from an office in his home and it was a measure of the small size of the Society that it was not until the eve of Mackenzie's retirement that an independent building was acquired.Wyn K Ford, ''The Story of the Haywards Heath Building Society 1890-1990, 1990'', Haywards Heath The Society expanded over the years in line with the growth of Haywards Heath but its expansion outside the town relied largely on agents and solicitors; only a year after its formation, agencies were opened in four local villages. It was not until 1933 that the first branch was opened in East Grinstead, having developed out of an earlier agency. The 1930s was a boom period for the private housebuilding industry; the Society's mortgages trebled between 1933 and 1939 and loans were being granted across the south coast. After

WWII World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

a branch was considered for

Reigate Reigate ( ) is a town in Surrey, England, around south of central London. The settlement is recorded in Domesday Book in 1086 as ''Cherchefelle'' and first appears with its modern name in the 1190s. The earliest archaeological evidence for huma ...

but rejected in favour of the agency approach. In 1955 a panel of solicitors was appointed giving coverage from Brighton to

Croydon Croydon is a large town in south London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a local government district of Greater London. It is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater London, with an extensi ...

. Finally, in 1970, another branch was opened, Burgess Hill. At long intervals, Crowborough followed in 1979 and

Tunbridge Wells Royal Tunbridge Wells is a town in Kent, England, southeast of central London. It lies close to the border with East Sussex on the northern edge of the High Weald, whose sandstone geology is exemplified by the rock formation High Rocks. T ...

in 1885 – the first branch outside Sussex. In 1988, assets reached £100m. The coverage of the Haywards Heath Society proved attractive to the Yorkshire Building Society which was seeking to expand its coverage in the south, and it duly acquired the Society in 1992.

References

External links

Yorkshire Building Society website
Haywards Heath Banks established in 1890 Banks disestablished in 1992 Companies based in West Sussex 1890 establishments in England 1992 disestablishments in England {{UK-bsoc-stub

History

See also

References

External links