Hidden Horsham - Denne Road Graveyard

Lych Gate

Denne Road graveyard is located in Denne Road, opposite the arrow shown in the Google Map link

The graveyard is now full and Hills Cemetery is used for burials but this graveyard is maintained to allow visitors to explore the graves still in place. The area to the left of the lych gate is owned and managed by the town council whereas the area to the right is the responsibility of the church. There are a number of graves significant to the history of Horsham as the thumbnails below reveal

In February 2009 a book documenting the location of the graves with a guide was published by Horsham Museum. Entitled 'Waking the Dead, A Pocket Guide to Denne Road Cemetery' it is available from the museum for £5.00

The lych gate was restored in 1980 and the inscription above it reads:

The Hurst family have a family plot on the eastern side. The family are notable for providing Horsham with MPs and mayors and for donating key land for municipal use. Park House and its land was once owned by the Hursts as was the land on which the hospital, fire station, police station and courts are now built, hence the name Hurst Road. For a number of years the Black Jug was known as the Hurst Arms

Henry Michell is buried nearby, noted for owning a number of breweries. He also purchased the last Horsham gaol, sited where Park Terrace East and Park Terrace West are now. The building was demolished and salvaged as detailed here

Close to the above plots is the family stone for Thomas Oliver and his family. Oliver built the current Tanbridge House just off the Worthing Road and made his money building Victorian railway lines and tunnels

The Denne Road graveyard was created when the graveyard surrounding the nearby St Mary's Church was full. In 2006 the Horsham Museum Society began the process of mapping the graves against a list of the people buried there

There is one war grave in this cemetery. This has been featured with the war graves in the Hills Cemetery feature

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