Beyond Brighton
Haywards Heath: the town story
Town guide
About Haywards Heath: the town story
Haywards Heath was open grazing land and woodland until the London to Brighton railway arrived in 1841. Local lobbying won it a station, and the hamlet grew into a market town, with a great cattle market, a county hospital and, from 1894, its own civil parish.
Stand on Muster Green, at the western edge of town, and you are on the site of a Civil War fight; walk ten minutes east and you reach the station that made the town.
Heath and woodland
Flint tools show people here in the Mesolithic. In the Middle Ages this was open land for grazing and woodland, a small farming settlement where life centred on sheep and forestry.
Check opening times and trains on the official sites before you travel.
Muster Green, 1642
In 1642 Parliamentarian and Royalist forces met on Muster Green. The Parliamentarians, though outnumbered, won, keeping Sussex for Parliament; the battle is remembered in the town’s logo and the mayor’s chain of office.
The railway
The London to Brighton line arrived in 1841. It was first planned to pass the town by, but local lobbying won a station, and the village became a thriving market town.
Market town
Thomas Bannister opened his cattle market on Boltro Road in 1868; it grew into one of the largest in the country, handling around 100,000 animals a year, until it closed in 1989. The Priory of Our Lady of Good Counsel, now Grade II listed, was built in 1886, and Haywards Heath became a civil parish separate from Cuckfield in 1894.
The modern town
A boundary change in 1974 moved the town from East to West Sussex, and the Town Hall was completed in 1990. Today the Broadway is the social hub, with restaurants and bars, while the great gardens of the High Weald lie all around.
Our advice: start on Muster Green, walk through the town centre to the Broadway for lunch, and spend the afternoon at Borde Hill on the edge of town.
Why it's on our list
- Heath and woodland
- Muster Green, 1642
- The railway
- Market town
- The modern town
Opening hours, prices and seasonal openings change, so please check with Haywards Heath: the town story before you go.
What’s nearby
Distances from Haywards Heath: the town story are approximate, measured in a straight line (as the crow flies). Times are approximate too: walking at about 80 metres a minute, cycling at about 15 km/h and driving at typical city-traffic speeds. Traffic and routes vary.
Key sights
- Preston Park11 miCar or taxi 51 min
- The North Laine12 miCar or taxi 57 min
- Brighton Dome12 miCar or taxi 58 min
- Royal Pavilion12 miCar or taxi 58 min
- The Lanes12 miCar or taxi 58 min
- Hove Lawns12 miCar or taxi 59 min
- Brighton i36012 miCar or taxi 59 min
- Palace Pier13 miCar or taxi 59 min
Railway stations
- Preston Park station11 miCar or taxi 51 min
- London Road (Brighton) station11 miCar or taxi 54 min
- Hove station12 miCar or taxi 55 min
- Brighton station12 miCar or taxi 56 min
Airports
- Gatwick Airport11 miCar or taxi 53 min