Horsham lies above sea level. It is in the centre of
the Weald in the Low Weald, at the western edge of the
High Weald, with the
Surrey Hills of the
North Downs to the north and the Sussex Downs of the
South Downs National Park to the south. The
River Arun rising from
ghylls in the
St Leonard's Forest area, to the east of Horsham, cuts through the south of the town then makes its way through
Broadbridge Heath. The Arun is joined by a number of streams flowing down from the north, which rises around
Rusper.
Town centre The name
Carfax is likely of Norman origin – a corruption of 'Quatre Voies' (four ways) or 'Carrefour', a place where four roads meet. The Carfax was formerly known as "Scarfoulkes", the derivation of which is uncertain. Two other places in England share the name: the
Carfax in Oxford and the Carfax in Winchester. The town centre's south is the Causeway. This street consists of houses erected in the 17th, 18th, and early 19th century and is lined with ancient
London Plane trees. The
Horsham Museum is at the north end opposite to the recently developed former headquarters of the
RSPCA. At the south end of the Causeway is the
Church of England parish church of St. Mary:
Norman in origin, rebuilt in the 13th century and restored in 1864–65 by the
Gothic revival architect S.S. Teulon. The area immediately to the south east of the parish church is known as Normandy. It was formerly an area of artisans cottages and an ancient well. A short walk along the banks of the Arun in a south-easterly direction is Chesworth Farm, an area of open public access. Swan Walk is a shopping centre which opened in 1976 and was enclosed with a glass roof in 1989 with the addition of Springfield Court. It takes its name from the
Swan Inn that once stood where the pedestrian area now enters West Street, the old name being honoured by the bronze swan statues to the back of the centre and a mosaic in the middle. The shopping centre once enclosed the Capital Theatre which was built in the 1930s and was sandwiched between shops and a multi-storey car park from 1976 until its demolition in early 1983 when Marks & Spencer bought the site to build their store that opened in 1984. A shopping area and public square, the Forum, opened in 2003 to the south of West Street. Fifty metres south is the River Arun. On the northern bank is Prewett's Mill and on the south side is the town's cricket field. East Street joins the A281 and passes under a railway bridge (the line from to ). The road becomes Queen Street and the area becomes Iron Bridge (named after the railway bridge). The area consists of mainly Victorian and
Edwardian houses to the north of Brighton Road, whilst to the south, there are areas of inter- and post-war housing. This area is known as the East Side. Horsham Park, a remnant of the former Hurst Park Estate, is in the northern end of the centre. The park has football pitches, a wildlife pond and tennis courts. Leisure facilities, including a swimming complex and a gymnastic centre, have been built on land around the park.
Suburbs Horsham has developed beyond the original boundaries to incorporate some of the smaller hamlets which now form part of the outer districts. Oakhill was originally known as Grub Street, and developed south of Depot Road in the 19th century.
Needles South-west of the town, the Needles estate was laid out from c. 1955, with a mixture of privately owned and council-built houses and bungalows. The land around Hills Farm nearby was sold for development in 1972 and further development took place in the 1980s.
Roffey at Roffey Roffey is north east of the centre of Horsham and as a hamlet dates back to at least the 13th century, with taxation records of 1296 showing 18 liable people in the area. Maps of the 1880s show Roffey Corner (still spelt Roughey), but appear to label the hamlet as Star Row, with Roffey in use again by the start of the 20th century. A railway station opened as
Roffey Road Halt in 1907, closing in 1937; it is shown in the location now known as Wimland Road.
Roffey Park Institute is based just outside of Horsham, near
Colgate.
Tower Hill Tower Hill is a hamlet that lies one mile south from Horsham on a ridge of land containing a sandstone known as
Horsham Stone rising above the town. A quarry existed here from 1830 to 1876. == Economy ==