Hidden Horsham - Ironbridge

This is one end of a wall tie. It is going through the iron railway bridge in East Street. The clue to it being an addition is the different coloured bricks on the right hand side of the circle. It would seem that the original bricks could not be matched

The railway arrived in Horsham in 1848 but Horsham Station remained a terminus until the connection with Petworth was opened in 1859. The bridge would have been built between these years

When the bridge was built the road underneath was lowered to make room for taller vehicles to pass through. Evidence of this is the elevated pavement between Park Terrace East and Barttelot Road. Alternative routes for high vehicles are signposted

Clicking on the thumbnail below will open a window revealing the full iron bridge as it is today. The white building behind once had advertising painted on the side but this has long since been removed

The third, and last, Horsham gaol was adjacent to this bridge and laid claim to being the first in the world to offer individual cells to prisoners. It was closed in 1845 just one year after the last public execution in Horsham

The building was sold to Henry Michell for £2560 who made a considerable profit by selling on the recovered materials. Some 2.5 million bricks and 15,000 square feet of Horsham stone was removed. The iron was re-used to build the railway bridge over the river Ouse in Lewes whilst much of the rubble was used in the railworks between Horsham and Three Bridges. Over 100 doors and 150 windows were also reclaimed and re-used locally. Some of the doors were used in the Barttelot Road Police Station. Henry Michell is buried in the Denne Road Graveyard in Horsham

The Olympia Skating Rink was opened on the north side of the street in 1876, to the rear of number 3. It was replaced in 1910 with a new aircraft hanger style building on the south side of the road