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Brief History (By kind permission of HDC)
Horsham Park was private property until the early to mid 20
th Century. From an agricultural beginning, the land, in different plots, passed through various ownerships to the Hurst family by the end of the 18th Century.
While the history of the Park is not
well documented, records do provide occasional glimpses of the use of the area.
For example, in the early 19th
Century, the owners held a huge party on the
grounds, with a sit-down meal for 3000 guests, to celebrate the end of
hostilities with France. The Hurst family also
began to allow some public use of the
land for sports such as bowls and archery (and Horsham Football Club is known to
have held a match on the land in 1892). A watercolour in Horsham Museum from
this period suggests that the public were able to freely access anduse much of
the land.
The Council (Horsham Urban District Council at the time) purchased the land in
several different lots between 1923 and 1950, and during this time the land was
described as the ‘Pleasure Grounds’. The Council subsequently made improvements
and started to add facilities: A putting green in 1932, swimming pool in 1934
and tennis courts in 1937. Events were also organised and in 1965 the Sussex
County Agricultural Society held their annual show inthe Park.
Park House also has an interesting history, dating back to the 16th
Century when it was built as a timber-framed
house of a style common in the town at the time. In the 1720s the house was
remodelled as a fashionable residence for the wealthy landowner and M.P. John
Wicker (Member of Parliament 1701 -1713) but passed in time with the surrounding
land to the Hurst family.