(archaically spelt ''Grimstead''
{Link without Title} ) is a town and
Civil Parish in the northeastern corner of
West Sussex in
England near the
East Sussex ,
Surrey , and
Kent borders. The large civil parish covers an area of 2443.45ha and had a population of 23,942 persons (2001 census).
It is located on the
Greenwich Meridian . The
Weald and
Ashdown Forest lie to the south of the town.
The High Street contains the longest continuous run of
14th-century timber-framed buildings in England.
Other notable buildings in the town include
Sackville College , the
Sandstone Almshouse built in
1609 where the
Christmas Carol "
Good King Wenceslas " was written.
On the outskirts of the town is
Standen , a
Country House containing one of the best collections of
Arts And Crafts Movement furnishings and fabrics.
Local attractions include Ashdown Forest (where the
Winnie The Pooh stories are set) and the
Bluebell Railway , a preserved heritage line with steam locomotives. T
he town is also the site of
Queen Victoria Hospital , where famed
Plastic Surgeon Archibald McIndoe treated burn victims of
World War II and formed the
Guinea Pig Club .
A number of important religious sites are located in East Grinstead.
The strange co-incidence of such a number of religious organisations being headquartered in the town prompted a documentary in 1994,
Why East Grinstead?, which was produced for
Channel 4 by Zed Productions and directed by Ian Sellar. The documentary didn't come to any definite conclusions: the explanations ranging from the fact that East Grinstead sat on the convergence of ley lines to the more prosaic idea that the various reglious inquirers had settled there because they liked the views.
One of the most impressive buildings in the town is
St. Swithun 's church which has been on its present site since the
11th Century . The building was struck by
Lightning in
1772 and rebuilt to designs by
Wyatt . It was opened in
1789 . There are also three other
Anglican churches (St Barnabas, St Luke and St Mary); West Street
Baptist chapel; Our Lady and St Peter
Roman Catholic church; Trinity
Methodist church; and a
United Reformed Church in the town.
The town is within commuting distance of
London by road (the
A22 and
A264 Road s pass through it)
It has been a
Rail Terminus , since the 1960's after the lines to Lewes, Three Bridges and Forest Row were following Dr.
Beeching 's report into the future of
British Rail ways. In the late 1970's the town's inner relief road was built on the line of one of the closed railways and named Beeching Way, after the author of the report that closed so many railways and happened to live in the town. Suggestions that he only kept the
London line open to ease his commute are unfounded.
A part of the
Lewes line will soon be reinstated by the
Bluebell Railway , the first preserved
Standard Gauge Railway in the world, with its line of steam locomotives. Work has now actively started on the final push to the north towards East Grinstead where the line will once again join to the national rail network. A New Station is to be built just south of the main-line Station.
The town is
Twinned with the towns of:
East Grinstead is the destination of the adulterous lovers Norman and Annie in
Alan Ayckbourn 's trilogy of plays entitled ''The Norman Conquests''. It was chosen because of the dubious impression that no reasonable person would consider vacationing there and therefore they would not be discovered. In the
1978 film version of the trilogy, Norman and Annie were portrayed by
Tom Conti and
Penelope Wilton .
East Grinstead also features in
Christopher Fowler 's novel, Psychoville (1996), in which the town features as harbouring the fictional Invicta Cross, as well as the eventual New Invicta.
East Grinstead is well served by local sports clubs. These include the:
- East Grinstead Ex-servicemen and Women's Club. ( C&IU )Affiliate.
- East Grinstead Athletics Club,
- East Grinstead Wasps football club,
- East Grinstead Hockey Club who now compete in the Premier 1 Division of the National League.
In 2004 the East Grinstead Lacrosse Club was formed making it the only
Lacrosse club in Sussex.
