Hassocks
Hassocks is a large village in West Sussex, England.
It can be found about 7 miles (11.3 km) north of Brighton, and nearly 7000 people live there.[1] Hassocks has grown since the 19th century, when work started on the London to Brighton railway.
The village became better known after 2 April 1839 when the first railway line was laid between London and Brighton. Over 6,000 workmen were hired for up to two years building, blasting and clearing rubble beneath the South Downs to create Clayton Tunnel. It is the second longest tunnel on the London to Brighton Line, some 1¼ miles long and 270 feet (82 m) below ground. The opening of Hassocks Gate as the railway station in 1841 saw the beginning of the village that is known today. In 1861 there was a collision between two trains, which killed 23 people and injured 176 others.
Recent history
Today Hassocks has lots of shops and a well-used community centre called Adastra Hall. It is quite expensive to buy a house in Hassocks, though it is not quite as expensive as neighbouring Ditchling and Hurstpierpoint. These villages have many nice, older buildings whereas Hassocks village centre was mainly built after World War Two.
Railway station
Hassocks railway station serves the village. There are regular train services to London and Brighton.
Education
Hassocks Infant School is a maintained infant school for pupils aged 4 to 7. It currently caters for around 180 pupils. The school is centrally located in the village.
- 2003 Ofsted report Archived 2007-10-13 at the Wayback Machine
- 2007 Ofsted report[dead link]
After leaving the Infant School children in the main go onto Windmills School in Dale Avenue which caters for years 3–6.
- Ofsted reports Archived 2010-02-24 at the Wayback Machine
Secondary education for the village and surrounding areas is looked after by Downlands Community School.
Downlands Community School Sports Hall
A sports hall and AstroTurf football pitch were constructed at Downlands Community School once.
Oldland Mill
There is a windmill being worked on by lots of local volunteers to try and get it back to working condition again as it was completely ruined. The windmill made flour for the first time in 100 years in October 2008.
Twin towns
Hassocks's twin towns are:
Hassocks Media
Clayton Tunnel to the south of Hassocks, takes the main London to Brighton railway line under the South Downs
Jill, Clayton Windmills
St John the Baptist parish church, Clayton, West Sussex, seen from the south
Field between Butcher's Wood and Lagwood
Butchers Wood is a small area of ancient woodland lying to the south of Hassocks. It is maintained by the Woodland Trust and is popular with dog walkers.
Butcher's Wood in Spring 2007
Lag Wood Following the footpath from Cinder Path as it heads towards the wood across an open stretch of ground that separated Lag Wood from Butchers Wood.
Herrings Stream A tributary of the eastern branch of the River Adur that has its spring at Clayton to the south.
Clayton Down, looking east towards Clayton Holt and beyond Ditching Beacon
References
- ↑ United Kingdom Census 2001. "Hassocks CP (Parish)". neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 2011-05-15. Retrieved 2007-08-06.
Other websites
- Hassocks Village information website Archived 2008-07-25 at the Wayback Machine
- Hassocks Football Club
- Hassocks Parish Council
- Overview of Hassocks, Keymer and Ditchling Archived 2008-07-04 at the Wayback Machine
- Hassocks Infant School
- Windmills School
- Downlands School
- Hassocks Ladies Football Club
- Clayton Tunnel Accident Archived 2006-12-31 at the Wayback Machine