NEWS RELEASES
Horsham's History Further Explored
17 November 2008
Did you know that a Horsham doctor once said that “The back was made on purpose for the cane,” that “Horsham town hall is not Victorian but Georgian” or that the “Town Grammar school was built to make the area middle class”? Did you also know that in Horsham “Street battles were fought with flower petals instead of cudgels” or that the “man who helped transform global economics” was born in Horsham? All these and many other stories are told in the third volume of Horsham’s Town History, published on Saturday 22 November 2008. As for the cane, Horsham schools were at the centre of a national debate back in October 1880 over caning children, and Horsham, believe it or not, was against such harsh punishments, though a Horsham doctor did say the back was made for such a purpose.
The third volume of the Town’s history covers the momentous years from 1880 to 1913 and took two years to research and write, besides drawing on 20 years knowledge of the town. Jeremy Knight, Curator of Horsham Museum, has used the full range of sources for his history, including Victorian documents, diaries, scrapbooks, newspaper accounts, parish magazines, old postcards, photographs and directories to weave a picture of the town. During this period Horsham underwent dramatic change, with new homes, new schools, water works, electricity works (which were the first in the world to burn household rubbish, back in 1902), it also saw the arrival on its doorstep of Christ’s Hospital School and a number of large homes for the rich who used the area for hunting and shooting. The book also explores other more unusual aspects of the town, how the town saw itself, the growth of telecommunications, cinema, and photography, of brick making and the end of tanning in Horsham. With biographies of famous artists and writers, Walter Crane who died in Horsham and Robert Blatchford who moved here, to Scawen Blunt whose works on the Middle East are finding new readers today and Millais who was one of the Countries great naturalists.
With nearly 100 illustrations and 150,000 words the book reveals many new stories and breaks the myths of old. At present Horsham’s Town Hall is in the news, and the book tells the true story behind its purchase and rebuild, describing how legally the Town Hall had to stay a Town Hall, but only for 100 years. It turns out that the grand scheme for a complete rebuild had to be scaled back due to lack of funds, so only the west wall and new offices were created.
The book continues the story of Horsham from where volume 2 left off, and like the earlier volumes all the profits from the book are going to the Museum’s Purchase fund. The volumes have been written by the curator because he felt that Horsham needed a true history, rather than one written on hearsay, and this period has never been covered in such depth before: a period when Rhinoceros hunting was encouraged in the Parish Magazine; where the fear of the foreigner was preached but the Empire was praised; a culture where new clubs and societies were formed; where male bonds became very strong and where women formed a type of flying picket to join demonstrations.
Horsham’s history has never been richer and Horsham’s History Volume 3 explores it fully. The volume will appeal to everyone interested in the history of Horsham. Cost £12.50 but if bought by 24th December £10.
For further information please contact Jeremy Knight, Curator.
Horsham Museum
9 Causeway, Horsham, West Sussex RH12 1HE
Tel: (01403) 254959 Fax: (01403) 282594
Email: museum@horsham.gov.uk
www.horshammuseum.org