Hurst Gardens, Hurstpierpoint

Image: © Simon Carey Taken: 7 Aug 2014

Originally the site of a field called Marl Pit Field according to Hurstpierpoint's 1842 tithe map. The field was purchased by one Adam Adams in the same year and landscaped into the Chinese Gardens, a pleasure ground built to cater for day trippers using the newly opened London-Brighton railway. The gardens opened in 1843 containing parkland, a cricket ground and a boating lake, along with a hotel at the southern end. It remained a popular attraction until the 1930s when it was reported that the wrong type of people were visiting and their drunken aggressive behaviour put others off and as a consequence visiting figures began to fall. The gardens limped on until the 1950s when they were finally closed. During the 1960s the lake was drained and the former grounds developed into Hurst Gardens and Chestnut Grove. The hotel survived as a pub and was renamed the Pierpoint, see Image

Images are licensed for reuse under creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0