Lower Beeding

LOWER BEEDING is an extensive parish, 8 miles in length, in the Western Division of the county, union and county court district of Horsham, rape of Bramber, hundred of Burbench, diocese of Chichester, archdeaconry of Lewes, 40 miles from London, and 4 south-east from Horsham. A great portion of St. Leonard's Forest is in this district, which was constituted a district chapelry by Act of Parliament in 1838 and supports its own poor. The church, named after the Holy Trinity, has been enlarged, at the expense of the patron, and affords accommodation to nearly 400 persons. The register dates from 1840. The living is now a vicarage, yearly value £150, with residence, in the gift of William Egerton Hubbard, Esq., J.P., and held by the Rev. James Hoare Masters, M.A., of Emmanuel College, Cambridge. St. John the Baptist's is a chapel of ease in St. Leonard's Forest. The National school-room, for boys and girls, with residence attached for master and mistress, is a neat structure: it was enlarged and considerably improved in 1861, at the sole expense of W. E. Hubbard, Esq.: on an average there are 90 scholars: it is supported by voluntary contributions and a small weekly payment from the scholars.
At COLGATE, in this parish, 4 miles north-east from Horsham, there is a Parochial school for boys and girls, supported by voluntary contributions; there is also a chapel, in which divine service is performed, according to the rites of the Established Church, every Sunday. The chief landowners are Robert Aldridge, Esq., J.P.; Major John Aldridge, J.P.; W. E. Hubbard, Esq., J.P.; John Vans Agnew, Esq.; John Broadwood, Esq. and Thomas Broadwood, Esq. The soil varies much, from light sand to heavy clays, and is suitable for all kinds of crops. Holmbush Beacon Tower is a handsome square building, 106 feet high, and 570 feet above high tide at London Bridge: it is visible for many miles around, and from the top an extensive view is obtained and the sea is clearly visible: the spot whereon it is erected is said to be within a few yards of that on which was set up one of the fire beacons used at the time of the threatened invasion of this country by the French during the reign of the First Napoleon, and it is no doubt the highest eminence that could be found in the forest. Buchan Hill, 2 miles south from Crawley, is the residence of John Jervis Broadwood, Esq. Holmbush House is the seat of John Vans Agnew, Esq.: it is a castellated mansion of the Tudor period, on an elevated plain, with extensive views in all directions. St. Leonard's is the seat of Robert Aldridge, Esq., J.P. St. Leonard's Lodge is the seat of William Egerton Hubbard, Esq., J.P.: it is situated on an eminence, with commanding and pleasant views of the surrounding country, and of a great portion of the Weald of Sussex. In the neighbourhood of Holmbush and near Faygate railway station, Messrs. Thomas and Jesse Norman have an extensive ornamental brick, tile, drain pipe and brown ware pottery manufactory. The population in 1861 was 1,149; area, 9,675 acres. [Kelly's Post Office Directory of Essex, Herts, Middlesex, Kent, Surrey and Sussex, 1867.]