Horsham - Landmarks

Landmarks

In the commercial centre of Horsham is an open square known as the Carfax. This area contains the Town's Memorial to the dead of the two world wars, a substantial, well used bandstand and a Saturday market. The name Carfax is likely of Norman origin - a corruption of 'Quatre Voies'(four faces) or 'Carrefour', a place where four roads meet. The Carfax was also formerly Known as "Scarfoulkes" The derivation of which is uncertain.(See Nameplate on building at North east corner of area). Two other places share the name in England 1/ 2/ Carfax, Winchester. The Carfax area of Pedestrianisation it provides a centre to the town and contains commercial shops and two public houses.

At the west end of the town centre stands a controversial water sculpture known as the 'Rising Universe' fountain, more commonly known locally as 'The Shelley Fountain'. It was designed by Angela Connor, and erected to commemorate the poet Percy Bysshe Shelley who was born at Field Place in Broadbridge Heath, near Warnham, not far from Horsham. The design is based on a fountain planned for the city of Cambridge which was rejected due to public protest. The County Times wrote "Its appearance and quality as a public work of art has attracted widespread derision and distress. Just how long it will survive is the burning question of the moment.". At its opening the mayor of Lerici, Horsham's twin town where the poet drowned, described the memorial as "very brave". The fountain is designed to release a torrent of six and a half tons of water periodically, it is 45 ft across at its base, standing 28 ft high. It carries a plaque bearing one of his poems.

The fountain was turned off in the spring of 2006 to save water. Despite recycling it used 180 gallons a day to cover evaporation and filtration losses. However, the council has made water saving efficiencies elsewhere and the fountain was turned on again on November 13, 2006, its tenth birthday but was turned off again after that Christmas. In May 2008 the fountain was turned off again due to the failure of its main hydraulic cylinder. On 19 January 2009 the fountain was fenced off for repairs. It was reopened without the fountain functioning. The fountain was due to be repaired at the start of March 2011 at a cost of more than £30,000. As of November 2011 the fountain is functioning fully.

The Parish Church of St. Mary the Virgin is the oldest building in Horsham. It has been associated with the life and worship of the community and in continuous use for nearly eight centuries. It is located at the end of the Causeway in Normandy, the oldest extant part of Horsham. It has a peal of ten bells. The present structure is largely of Mid Victorian design.

The earthworks of the eleventh century Horsham Castle can be found near Chennells Brook.

The Town Hall in the Market Square is a much adapted and restructured building dating from c 1648 when it was referred to as a 'Market House'. In 1721 a new construction of Portland Stone was built containing a poultry and butter market. The building fell into disrepair and was substantially rebuilt around 1812.It was only as late as 1888 that it became the property of Horsham Council.The building was again largely rebuilt and is essentially of late Victorian origin with a Norman facade preserving some aspects of the older buildings.It has been used as council offices and as a magistrates court in the proceeding years, and more recently housed the Horsham Registry Office on the upper floor. The ground floor was still used as an occasional market place until the Town Hall was closed by the Council to be let as a restaurant.