Hidden Horsham - Horsham Heritage Sundial

The Sundial in the Forum

The bronze sundial in The Forum is the artistic centrepiece of the area. The £150,000 project was announced in September of 2002 and promised a time capsule visible through a glass window. The capsule is said to be in place but there is no window. Erected in 2003 the sundial was unveiled by the Her Majesty, the Queen on the 24^th October. It not only shows the time when sunny but has representations of over thirty segments of history in the Horsham District

This is part three of the six part feature that investigates each part of the detail.
See also parts 1 2 (3) 4 5 6

Saxon Mint

Saxon Coin

During Saxon and into early Norman times the importance of Steyning and Bramber was indicated by the local royal mints and their ability to issues coinage. The Sussex Saxon Mint was later moved from where the Stone House is now to the Cissbury Hillside near to Findon

A Saxon coin found in the area is shown on the sundial together with nine soldiers on horseback

Bramber Castle and the Great Storm

Bramber Castle

In 1280 AD a great storm occurred and it had a significant effect on the Bramber area with the River Adur finding a new course. The Bramber Port eventually silted up and this, in turn, led to the decline of its sea trade. At the time there was a great castle there but all that remains today of the c1070 edifice is the Keep and the remains of the Gatehouse Tower. Some of the walls are still evident and so it is possible to imagine the original layout. The castle motte rises some 30 ft above the grassy bailey providing a perfect picnic and play area when the weather permits

Knights Templar

The Knights Templar have their connection to the Horsham District through the funding for their crusades from local estates. Both Shipley and Woodmancote paid for the fighting monks to 'defend the true faith' in Palestine.

The Knights Templar

In Shipley around 1125 the Knights built a Norman church; St Mary the Virgin. It is on the site of a much earlier one and was extensively remodelled in 1830 when in a state of disrepair. In Woodmancote the Church of St Peter was built by the Knights Templar in the mid 1220s, The advowson was given by Simon le Count and it passed into the hands of the Knights Hospitaller in the early 14^th century

The Knights Templar were banished from England in disgrace in 1308 but remain a rich source for use in modern films such as The Da Vinci Code and National Treasure plus the Indiana Jones films Raiders of the Lost Ark & The Last Crusade

Amberley Castle

In around the year 1103 Luffa built a hunting lodge at Amberley and in 1140 Seffrid I built the first stone hall on the site. Over the next 200 years further improvements were made and between 1370 and 1385 Bishop Reede (Rede on the sundial plaque) built a new Great Hall. What was the hunting ground in those days has been turned into a conservation area today

The grand entrance illustrated on the sundial is still the main entrance today and visitors can see down the hole that is a prison. Those visitors on site at midnight can witness the two tonne oak portcullis being lowered

In 1893 Henry Fitzalan-Howard, 15th Duke of Norfolk, whose family has connections with Horsham over the years, purchased the castle. Following a number of changes in ownership the castle is part of the von Essen collection

Amberley Castle

Mock Bridge

In Shermanbury there is a crossing over the River Adur known as Mock Bridge. It is a real bridge but the word 'mock' is a corruption of the old English word 'moke' meaning donkey

The bridge is a road crossing on the A281 London Road, Horsham to Brighton route near to the Bull Inn and the current one was built in the 1930s. The Bull Inn gives its address as Mock Bridge. The crossing is sometimes impassable due to spring tides and flooding

Mock Bridge

Iron Industry

Iron Industry

St Leonard's Forest still bears the scars of the iron industry that dominated the area in the 15^th century. At the time the landscape suffered as rivers were dammed to form the now extensive hammer ponds. The water power was harnessed to drive the bellows and hammers used to work the iron ore. Trees were felled to burn in the iron making process but the greater cause of fighting the French was the motivation behind the environmental damage. Today we see a different picture; the hammer ponds are placid havens for fishermen and the forest has recovered to become a place popular with walkers, cyclists and horse riders alike

The sundial shows two men shovelling fuel into a furnace with a large chimney billowing smoke

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