of 55 per cent of stations and 30per
cent of track to stem the large losses
being incurred because of increasing
competition from road transportation.
Henfield station was closed in 1966
and is the third largest place in Sussex
without its own railway station. Now
there is nothing of the station remaining.
The road names Upper Station Road,
Lower Station Road and Station Road
do remain. Ironically the homes that were
built on the site of the station are in a
street called Beechings.
Not many villages can boast having their
own museum but Henfield can. It started
in 1948 and the exhibits take you through
time from the Stone Age through the
Middle Ages into Edwardian times and
beyond. There are many local paintings
and photographs of the village and its
surroundings and it is worth a visit if you
are interested in the county’s history.
No article about the village would be
complete without mentioning the famous
Cat House which is decorated with cutout metal cats just under the roof line,
each with a bird in its paws. The house
which is situated on a path to the church
was once owned by local man, Robert
Ward. The story goes that a cat belonging
to Nathaniel Woodard (mentioned earlier)
killed one of Ward’s cherished pet
canaries, which upset him so much that
he planned a bizarre revenge.
Ward bought a number of metal bird
scarers and positioned them all round his
house at ground level, threading a long
string through them on which he also
tied a large number of bells. Whenever
Woodward passed on his way to or from
Henfield Church, Ward would pull the
string to jangle the metalwork and bells
to remind Woodard of the crime his cat
committed. The metal bird scarers now
adorn the building’s upper floor. There
is also a pub called the Cat & Canary in
Upper Station Road which gives a nod to
this piece of village history.
are also environmentally conscious and
Henfield went plastic bag free on 3rd
May 2008. Campaigners in the village
reckon that in the first 18 months they
stopped more than one million singleuse carrier bags being issued, which in
addition to the benefit to wildlife, saved
209 tons of CO2. Henfield was the first
plastic bag free place in Sussex and this
was greatly helped by having our local
Budgens firmly on board.
We also used to have our own fire
brigade which was founded by
Henfield Parish Council in 1904 with
a horse-drawn fire engine which was
replaced with a motorised one in 1937.
Chanctonbury Rural District Council took
over the brigade in 1942 and on 1st April
1948 it became part of West Sussex
Fire Brigade. It is currently staffed by 12
retained firefighters, who live or work
within four minutes of the station by car.
Henfield has almost everything you
need on one street; butcher, baker,
greengrocer, chemists, café, newsagents,
takeaways, dentist, opticians, charity
shops, hardware store, garage, antique
shops, post office, hairdressers, pubs
and importantly an off licence. But
despite its size Henfield still has a very
villagey, friendly feel. We even have the
benefit of our own leisure centre which
is handy when it comes to addressing
the results of fraternising in our fine
hostelries.
Ward would pull the
string to jangle the
metalwork and bells to
remind Woodard of the
crime his cat committed.
If you find yourself in my neck of the
county on 13th & 14th June, stop off,
park up and have a mooch around the
annual Festival of Gardens and Arts.
You can pick up a map from most of the
retailers and wander round our very own
open house style event.
Saturday 18th July sees the biannual
Henfield Summer Show return to the
Common. This is a proper village fair
with rides, stalls, displays, shows,
competitions and of course a beer tent.
I have been roped in to the inter-pub
tug-o-war in the past (pun intended) and
the display by the ‘Red Barrows’ in 2013
was hilarious.
I hope to bump in to yo in Henfield soon.
By Jason Edge
Talking of pubs…….Henfield, until
fairly recently, had five pubs but sadly
the Gardener’s Arms in Nep Town has
been converted into a private home and
The Bell Inn (formerly Henfield Tavern)
has just been converted to a funeral
directors, I kid you not!
As someone who enjoys the occasional
pint of Harveys, I can sometimes be
found in The Plough in the dead centre of
the High Street. The pub is full of friendly
faces and is run by landlady Karen and
her daughter Mia who offer a warm
welcome and a decent pint.
As well as being a hospitable bunch we
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