Henfield

Looking north along the High Street

One of the largest village communities in the Horsham district, Henfield has an old and attractive centre.

It has a modern and intensely used village hall just off the High Street, the 13th-century St Peter's church, old inns, a wide and attractive common, and many interesting houses in private ownership.

There is a fire station, part of the West Sussex Fire Brigade, equipped with a single fire engine.

Henfield has one of the oldest cricket clubs in the world, dating back to 1771. A womens team was formed from 2006.[6]

Henfield also officially has the oldest Scout group in the country (1st Henfield), dating from 1907. When officially registered in 1908 there were 36 scouts in the group. The group was started in winter 1907-8 by Audrey Wade, whose brother, A. G. Wade, had met Baden-Powell when both were travelling to the UK from Africa when they were in the army. A. G. Wade later had several administrative roles in the developing Scout movement.[7]

To the south is Woods Mill, a restored mill, now the headquarters of the Sussex Wildlife Trust, its attractions including an extensive nature trail.

There is also a theatre company which is held in the village hall.

The Cat House

The Cat House

The Cat House is at Pinchnose Green, so called because there used to be a tannery nearby and the process of tanning produces unpleasant odours. This house was once owned by George Ward who had a canary. This bird was killed by a cat belonging to the Anglican Canon Nathaniel Woodard who lived at nearby Martyn Lodge. So incensed was Ward that he painted his house with pictures of a cat holding a bird that would be seen by the canon every time he walked past on his way to the church. He also rigged up strings of sea shells to rattle, and a black figure would appear at a small window called the zulu hole when the hapless canon was seen approaching.

Henfield was the home of Colonel Henry Bishop, who was appointed Postmaster General by King Charles II in January 1660–61. Bishop devised the first type of postmark used in England, which is known to collectors as a Bishop mark. His invention was commemorated in 1963, on the occasion of an exhibition by Henfield Stamp Club. A special date stamp, which included the wording HENRY BISHOP'S VILLAGE, was used. Bishop is buried in Henfield churchyard.

The eighteenth century botanist William Borrer, who specialised in the flora of the British Isles, was born and died in Henfield.[10]

When the British government introduced the Cat and Mouse Act in 1913, local Suffragette Elizabeth Robins used her 15th century farmhouse at Backsettown, near Henfield, that she shared with Octavia Wilberforce, as a retreat for suffragettes recovering from hunger strike.[11]

Media related to Henfield at Wikimedia Commons