Henfield

infobox UK place
country = England
static_

static_image_caption= Henfield from the Air
latitude= 50.93248
longitude= -0.27221
official_name = Henfield
population = 5,012 (2001)
civil_parish= Henfield
shire_district= Horsham
shire_county= West Sussex
region= South East England
constituency_westminster= Arundel and South Downs
post_town=
postcode_district =
postcode_area=
dial_code=
os_grid_reference= TQ215162

Henfield is a large village and civil parish in the Horsham District of West Sussex, England. It lies eight 18 kilometres (12 miles) north west of Brighton at the junction of the A281 with the A2037.

The parish has a land area of 1734.8 hectares (4285 acres). In the 2001 census 5012 people lived in 2153 households, of whom 2361 were economically active.

Just west of the town, the two branches of the River Adur, the western Adur and the eastern Adur, meet. From Henfield the Adur flows on into the English Channel at Shoreham-by-Sea. [http://www.waterscape.com/canals-and-rivers/river-adur]

Facilities

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.

Henfield is also thought to have the oldest Scout group in the country (1st Henfield) dating from 1907.

To the south is [http://sussexwt.org.uk/about/index.htm Woods Mill] , a restored mill, now the headquarters of the Sussex Wildlife Trust, its attractions including an extensive nature trail.

Sports facilities

Henfield Leisure Centre at Northcroft has a sports hall and fitness suite. There is a skate park located next to the sports centre where users like to build their own dirt jumps.

The Cat House

The Cat House is at Pinchnose Green, so called because there used to be a tannery nearby and tanning is a very smelly process. 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.clear

External links

* [http://www.henfield.gov.uk/ Henfield Parish Council]
* [http://www.invectis.co.uk/henfield/ Henfield Virtual Tour]
* [http://www.100megsfree.com/hhg/ Henfield History Group]
* [http://members.lycos.co.uk/henfieldjoggers/ Henfield Joggers]
* [http://www.henfieldvillage.co.uk/ Henfield Village]
* [http://www.mjra.net/Henfield/ Henfield in photos old & new]
* [http://www.henfieldcricketclub.com/ Henfield Cricket Club]