Hidden Horsham

A very tall tea lady working in West Street during the Diamond Jubilee celebrations June 2012

Hidden Horsham was conceived as an idea in the summer of 2001 but it wasn't until 2006 that it emerged as a web site. The site is based on the premise that the architectural heritage above the shop fronts in the town centre is being missed as a result of the shop windows drawing the attention of passers-by

A collection of photographs were taken and put on this site, together with related information, links and history. Pages and features became interlinked as the site grew. Gradually the focus has stretched beyond the town centre and looks at our heritage within the boundaries of the town. One major article also looks at the more recent architecture and considers how that will be regarded in the next century

As well as still images a new addition for 2010 was the introduction of high definition video footage, using YouTube but with the films embedded on these pages

People orientated events are now being recorded, for example the various festivals, fairs and Christmas shopping evenings. Visit the events sitemap to view what is on offer. In 2008 the site started to record the wide range of Working Vehicles that can be seen around the town, and this has grown in time

Visitors and new arrivals in the town may not be aware that Horsham has been recognised as having the third best quality of life in Great Britain, as judged by the annual Halifax Quality of Life Survey. It also scored a creditable ninth position as the best place to live in the UK by TV Channel Four's Location, Location, Location beating near neighbours Guildford and mid Sussex region. Horsham also picked up the gold award in the 2007 Britain in Bloom competition

There are nearly 100 features with 500 new and over 125 historic photographs of Horsham on this site. Browse the site from the gallery page or use the search page and, next time you visit Horsham, check out the features for yourselves. Most pages have a link to Google maps to help you to locate the item. An addition to many features is a link to Visit Horsham, the web site of Horsham Traders’ Guild. There are also aerial views on most pages to put the feature into its geographical context

Hidden Horsham is always looking for new ideas to feature and is open to suggestions for features. Please use the contact page below to make your suggestions. Previews of new ideas and work in progress can be seen on the 'coming soon' page

Where possible the images have been linked with original photographs from the Francis Frith collection. If you click on the images you will be directed to the Francis Frith site where you may purchase their photographs. There is also a full then and now comparison between all of the Frith photographs - but only where it is possible to do so in the context of redevelopments

On some of the images there is some history or background to the item. If you have anything to add or correct then please contact us. To see the images start on the gallery page or use the buttons below to step through the pages. Each page also has a 'next' button to take you onto the next page as shown below

Contributions, comments and suggestions are welcomed. Please use the contact page to let us know your thoughts. More information on the images is always welcomed