East Grinstead

The soil is generally poor, but the scenery is beautifully wild, open, and extensive. The town is situated, on a considerable eminence, near the borders of Surrey, on the road from Brighton through Lewes, to the metropolis. It is irregularly built, but contains some good modern houses, and respectable inns. It is paved but not lighted, and is supplied with water from wells. The river Medway rises at Turner's Hill, and flows through Forest Row, and onwards to Tunbridge. Several mineral springs are within the boundaries of the parish, but they have been but little noticed, and but seldom used for medical purposes. extract from Horsfield's The County of Sussex published in 1835

East Grinstead is a market town in the East Grinstead division of Sussex, in the hundred of East Grinstead, rape of Pevensey, rural deanery of East Grinstead, archdeaconry of Lewes and diocese of Chichester. East Grinstead was a borough by prescription and returned two members to Parliament from 1307 in the reign of Edward II until the passing of the Reform Act of 1832 in the reign of William IV, when it was disenfranchised. East Grinstead is 30 miles south of London Year 1676 1724 1801 1811 1821 1831 1841 1851 1861 1871 1881 1891 1901 1911 1921 1931 Population c 1,100 c 1,250 2,659 2,804 3,153 3,364 3,586 3,820 4,266 5,390 6,968 5,180 6,059 7,090 7,322 8,728 In 1894 Forest Row was created as a separate parish and 2,137 people were reclassified in the 1891 figures and excluded subsequently

East Grinstead directory of homes, farms, churches, schools, inns, and other places of interest that existed prior to 1900 has been compiled from Post Office directories, Kelly's directories, Trade directories, Census data, Ordnance survey maps and books of the period East Grinstead historical notes has been derived from the same sources to highlight East Grinstead's key events in chronological order

Parish & other records		Before 1500	1500 to 1550	1550 to 1600	1600 to 1650	1650 to 1700	1700 to 1725	1725 to 1750	1750 to 1775	1775 to 1800	1800 to 1825	1825 to 1850	1850 to 1875	1875 to 1900	1900 to 1925	1925 to 1950	1950 to 1975	1975 to 2000	After 2000
10672	Births	1	13	80	105	218	137	165	305	677	1244	2580	2609	2511	15	10	2
2872	Christenings		1	63	100	211	129	156	274	429	541	640	316	12
1346	Marriages			40	112	108	70	58	120	200	214	218	158	24	8	12	2	2
186	Deaths			14	45	19	8	8	7	14	6	11	11	12	9	11	6	4	1
112	Burials			12	24	11	5	9	10	12	7	6	6	3	4	3

Books and other documents

The History of Tunbridge Wells by Thomas Benge Burr in 1766 - Page 268

The History, Antiquities and Topography of the County of Sussex by Thomas Walker Horsfield, F.S.A. in 1835 - Page 385

Directory of Kent, Surrey & Sussex in 1839

New Guide for Tunbridge Wells by John Colbran and edited by James Phippen in 1840 - Page 295

Notes on East Grinstead by J. C. Stenning in 1868 - Page 132

School Inquiry Commision Vol XI South-East Division by C. I. Elton and H. A. Giffard in 1868 - Page 226

A Compendious History of Sussex - Volume I. by Mark Antony Lower, M.A. in 1870 - Page 154

Pelton's Illustrated Guide to Tunbridge Wells by J. Radford Thomson, M.A. in 1883 - Page 188

Sussex by Wilfred Ball in 1906

The History of East Grinstead by Wallace Henry Hills in 1906

English Homes and Villages (Kent & Sussex) by Lady Hope in 1909 - Page 130

The Sussex Highlands in 1927 - Page 64

Lost Mills Around East Grinstead by Ernest Straker, F.S.A. in 1939 - Page 383

East Grinstead's Architecture by R.T. Mason in 1939 - Page 759

The Manor of Duddleswell by Colin J Hobbs in 2004

Extracts from the Maidstone Journal by Lionel Cole in 2010

People of note

Compton, Henry (c1575 - ) Parliamentarian Courthope, George (1616 - 1685) Parliamentarian Cramp, Thomas (1810 - 1891) Founder of the Temperance cause Epps, Dr John (1805 - 1869) Writer and social reformer Germaine (Sackville), Lord George (1715 - 1795) Parliamentarian Hills, Wallace Henry (1832 - 1932) Historian Neale, Reverend John Mason (1818 - 1866) Warden of Sackville College Payne, Edward (1593 - 1660) Landowner and Sheriff of Sussex Rowe, John (1560 - 1639) Lawyer and antiquarian Sackville, Robert (1561 - 1609) Founder of Sackville College Slight, Rev. Benjamin (1800 - 1889) Nonconformist minister Story, John (1510 - 1571) Martyr

East Grinstead pictures	East Grinstead Church 1781	The Old Church 1782	Frampost c 1785	Blackwell Hollow 1795	J.M. Neale and family, Sackville College 1855	Sackville College 1860	East Grinstead Toll 1864
	Opening Day, The 2nd Railway Station 1st Oct 1866	London Road 1890	High Street c 1895	East Grinstead Fair 21st Apr 1896	The Water Rats Swimming Club 1898	The White Lion Inn 1900	Blackwell Hollow 1900

East Grinstead Maps	c 1724	c 1795	c 1825	c 1899

Sussex Maps	1610	1645	1695	1750	1763	1st Sept 1787	1808
	1837	1840