Welcome to East Grinstead
On a sandstone ridge beside the Ashdown Forest, East Grinstead is capital of the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). Come and explore our ancient market town with its Medieval High Street, discover its fascinating history and the people who shaped it.
The town has something for every visitor – the ancient buildings are now home to a variety of friendly independent shops, cafes, bars and restaurants – including a historic coaching inn. For lovers of the great outdoors, the town has a wealth of waymarked paths and a national long distance trail runs through the town on the Greenwich Meridian.
We can’t wait to welcome you to our special town…
Latest News
Introduction of flexible season ticket offer and changes to parking charges to come into effect
From 28 March Mid Sussex District Council will implement a new flexible season ticket offer and increase car parking charges in line with inflation. Changes to car park season tickets, which are mainly used by [...]
Flying Scotsman to ‘fly south’ to the Bluebell Railway this August
World-famous locomotive No. 60103 Flying Scotsman, will return to Sussex this summer. Bluebell Railway, a heritage railway operating steam-hauled trains between Sheffield Park and East Grinstead, will welcome the locomotive in August 2022. It will [...]
Love East Grinstead – A Change of Date
We had to take the very difficult decision to postpone the Love East Grinstead event on February 13th due to the adverse weather conditions and have re-scheduled the event for Sunday, March 13th. The event [...]
Mid Sussex District Council is delighted to announce that ShopAppy.com is coming to Mid Sussex
Mid Sussex District Council has partnered with ShopAppy.com to provide local businesses with access to the platform free of charge for the first 12 months. This initiative has been made possible by the Government’s Welcome [...]
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POPULAR TOURIST HOT SPOTS
Bluebell Railway
Since March 2013, East Grinstead has become the northern terminus of the prestigious Bluebell Railway, the UK’s premier restored railway...
Sackville College
The College has been a functioning almshouse for almost 400 years, built with a bequest from the will of Robert Sackville, Earl of Dorset...
Hammerwood Park
Located 3½ miles east of East Grinstead, Hammerwood Park was built in 1792 by Benjamin Henry Latrobe (1764 – 1820), architect of the White House and US Capitol Building in Washington D.C...
Weir Wood Reservoir Nature Reserve
WEIR WOOD RESERVOIR Weir Wood Reservoir in the Ashdown Forest is mostly water, surrounded by strips of open grassland, scrub and woodland. Low lying meadows also form part of [...]
THE TOWN’S HISTORY
East Grinstead has a long tradition of weekly markets. It’s broad High Street is testimony to this. Even before a town existed, several ancient tracks converged on this area and people would probably have met to transact their business. Possibly in goods and animals.
The town was given a charter by Henry III in 1247 to have a weekly Monday market and an annual fair. In 1655 the market moved from Monday to Thursday predominately for the sales of corn, but joined in 1703 by cattle sales. Thursday has remained the day of the popular farmer’s market ever since. The cattle market thrived until December 1970 when the last ‘Fat Stock Show’ was held.
