IMAGES TAKEN NEAR TO
America Lane, HAYWARDS HEATH, RH16 3QJ

Named after a small colony set up by Quaker, William Allen in the 1830s, to enable the Lindfield poor to be self sufficient and not live off the poor rates or emigrate across the Atlantic Ocean, hence the name which Allen originally called The Colony but became known by the 1850s as the American Colony and is marked on the 1870s OS map as just America. Allen died in 1843 and a fair few cottages remained until the 1930s when his descendants had to sell the estate to pay debts. Purchased by a local builder, the old cottages were demolished and the first new houses were constructed in 1937 with the remainder from 1951. Whilst nothing remains of Allen's original estate the road names are a reminder; America Lane, New England Road, Boston Road, Quakers Lane, Pilgrims Court, Mayflower Road and Allen Road

The original course of America Lane which ran up the hill then turned south down Barn Cottage Lane before heading west again along its current course. The development of the area after the Second World War saw America Lane rerouted to the south and its former route given its current name. The boarded fence to the right marks the former location of Wilmington Way which is being redeveloped.

The road was formerly Haylind Road and has been renamed for the new development, see Image and Image, for a former view from the south. Beyond the junction with Plymouth Way is Image Originally an open field called Furze Field on Lindfield's 1845 tithe map that was transferred to Haywards Heath during the 1930s. To the north is what is now the Scrase Valley Nature Reserve, to the south was the original course of America Lane, see Image, whilst to the west was Bent's Wood. During the Second World War the field was turned into allotments and after the conflict the southern end adjacent to the lane was developed with prefabs. This remained the case until the end of the 1960s when a new estate was built. Wilmington Way was another temporary measure designed to last twenty years but ending up being in place for nearly forty, the exception being a set of flats at the northern end that have remained. In 2008 a decision was taken to demolish the estate and rebuild again with the new estate roughly following the old road routes as well as a green strip that has been retained running north-south through the estate. For the former Wilmington Way, taken in 2007, see: Image Image Image For the site after demolition, taken in 2011, see: Image Image Image For the current estate, taken in 2015, see: Image Image Image Image Image Image

Located between Image and an unnamed tributary of Scrase Stream which currently forms the parish boundary between Haywards Heath and Lindfield. Originally a small meadow called Lower Bottom on Lindfield's 1845 tithe map.

Viewed through the gate on Haylind Road. The area was an open field until after the Second World War when a series of prefabs was constructed on the northern side of the lane. This lasted until the late 1960s when the council built Wilmington Way as a stopgap measure to ease the housing crisis. These houses were also prefabricated and designed to last twenty years though in the end they hung around for over forty. A total of 185 new homes and flats will be built on the site with the estate to be renamed expunging Wilmington Way to history. The houses on the left are on Hanbury Lane whilst the trees to the right mark the location of Scrase Valley Nature Reserve. See Image, Image and Image for an old view. For an updated views taken four years later, see: Image Image Image Image Image Image

Once the original course of America Lane which left Gravelye Lane in the east ran down the hill across the unnamed stream then followed this direction until turning south down what is now Barn Cottage Lane then west again along America Lane to the small hamlet of America. The latter was set up in the 1820s by William Allen as a small settlement of self sufficient smallholders who were given a cottage and a plot of land. Allen was an industrialist who ran a pharmaceutical company that later became Allen & Hanbury which was swallowed up by Glaxo in 1958 and whose name only disappeared from products in 2013. To the right are new houses built on the old Wilmington Way estate, see Image, for a view during redevelopment.

A small cul de sac off the main America Lane that was built in the late 1940s on a former field called Barn Field according to Lindfield's 1845 tithe map. There is a path at the end of the close that links to Image

Built as part of the late 1960s Wilmington Way estate which has now been demolished and is currently in the process of redevelopment beyond the grey board fences on the left. The road is still in use as the flats at the northern end of the estate, see Image, are being kept. Whether the road retains the name is a moot point as the name plate has been removed from the sign at the junction with Hanbury Lane. The small green area to the right was often used as a play area and may still be kept as such.

The residential road runs from Woodvale Lane to Woodstock Place with this section formerly an access road to a car park located to the immediate east of a playground. Originally an open field called Furze Field on Lindfield's 1845 tithe map that was transferred to Haywards Heath during the 1930s. To the north is what is now the Scrase Valley Nature Reserve, to the south was the original course of America Lane, see Image, whilst to the west was Bent's Wood. During the Second World War the field was turned into allotments and after the conflict the southern end adjacent to the lane was developed with prefabs. This remained the case until the end of the 1960s when a new estate was built. Wilmington Way was another temporary measure designed to last twenty years but ending up being in place for nearly forty, the exception being a set of flats at the northern end that have remained. In 2008 a decision was taken to demolish the estate and rebuild again with the new estate roughly following the old road routes as well as a green strip that has been retained running north-south through the estate. For the former Wilmington Way, taken in 2007, see: Image Image Image For the site after demolition, taken in 2011, see: Image Image Image For the current estate, taken in 2015, see: Image Image Image Image Image Image

Consisting of a playground in the north west corner and a fully sized football pitch with a pavilion out of shot to the left but visible on Image On Lindfield's 1845 tithe map this was a field called Barn Field.