East Grinstead was founded during or before the 13th century: little is known of its early history. It officially became a
market town in 1247 when it was granted a charter, but a market existed before this. Standing on an isolated hilltop site in the
Weald, away from the main timber-producing and ironworking areas which drove the local economy in the medieval period, it grew slowly over the next few centuries. The north of Sussex developed a strong tradition of
Nonconformism and
Protestant dissent in the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries. In 1676, 27% of the population of
Ifield, a few miles west of East Grinstead, worshipped outside the
communion of the
Established Church of England; one of the world's first
Quaker meeting houses was founded there in that year.
Baptist worship was prevalent in nearby
Horsham, and members of the town's congregation travelled to
Turners Hill,
West Hoathly and other villages around East Grinstead to minister. In 1676, 28 Nonconformists (representing 3.5% of the adult population) were recorded in East Grinstead, although no Baptist meetings were documented. The completion in 1770 of the London–Brighton
turnpike stimulated rapid growth in parts of Sussex in the late 18th century. Although East Grinstead was not on the road, its population grew steadily and it became increasingly important economically. By 1801, more than 2,600 people lived in the town. Nonconformist religious views continued to prosper locally, and in 1810 the town's first non-Anglican church was established. Zion Chapel was linked to the
Countess of Huntingdon's Connexion, a small
evangelical Calvinist denomination started in 1783 by
Selina Hastings, Countess of Huntingdon. John Burt, a rich merchant from nearby
Forest Row, founded the church: he provided the money to build it, and on 2 July 1810 his sons laid the
foundation stone. Construction work continued until the following year, and the church was officially opened on 23 April 1811. Prominent preacher
Rowland Hill spoke at the inaugural service. In May 1811, a
Sunday school was started at the church. It was the first in the area and catered for more than 100 children. By the following year, four times this number attended, and the church itself was also expanding: galleries were added inside to accommodate 200 more worshippers. A tiny burial ground stood in front of the church in its early years; the last burial was in 1846. In April 1847, a schism occurred in Zion Chapel's congregation: some members left and founded a new
Congregational church. After worshipping in hired rooms around East Grinstead, they built Rocks Chapel as their permanent place of worship; the building held its first service on
Good Friday 1850. The building was later used by
Methodists, but it was demolished after they opened a permanent church of their own. Rocks Chapel stood on Old Road in East Grinstead. Under its present name of West Street Baptist Church, It is one of a wide range of religious buildings in East Grinstead, which has a reputation for unusual diversity in respect of both Protestant Nonconformity and alternative religions. As well as Anglican, Roman Catholic, Methodist, Jehovah's Witnesses, Mormon, Baptist and United Reformed churches (and former Quaker, Christian Scientist and Salvation Army buildings), there are several
Charismatic evangelical groups in the town;
Rosicrucianism and
Opus Dei have a presence; and the
Church of Scientology's United Kingdom headquarters is at
Saint Hill Manor. ==Architecture==