Sussex priest’s accessible new Haywards Heath history book encourages ‘greater sense of belonging’

John Twisleton, 75, will release Celebrating Haywards Heath: Heart of Sussex (with South Downs and London rail trails) this month.

The book will be launched at St Richard’s Church on Sunday, September 8 (12pm-12.30pm) and will be promoted again on Haywards Heath Town Day (Saturday, September 14, 12pm- 2pm). It will be on sale for £9.99 on both dates with John signing copies.

John told the Middy: “I feel Haywards Heath needs an even greater sense of belonging and that more knowledge of local history among young and old will serve this. There’s no short, simple history available at present.”

He said the book is a sequel to Fifty Walks from Haywards Heath, which he wrote during Lockdown while his daughter-in-law Rebecca illustrated it.

John described the new book as an ‘accessible history’, saying: “Haywards Heath grew from an ancient crossroads on the commanding heights of the High Weald now traced by the A272. London’s growing engagement with Brighton fuelled demand for a railway connection and Haywards Heath station opened on the ‘Hayworth’ 1841 at the heart of Sussex.”

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He said the book explores the town’s growth, its cattle market, the asylum for the mentally ill, and its entrepreneurs and philanthropists. It also provides appendices linked to Fifty Walks from Haywards Heath with routes to sights on the South Downs and in London from Haywards Heath station. It celebrates St Wilfrid’s School’s 2024 local history project too and appeals for hosting and volunteers to service a Haywards Heath Museum.

Canon Dr John F Twisleton is an Anglican priest, theologian and pastor ministering across Sussex. He broadcasts regularly on Premier Christian Radio. He was brought up in Yorkshire but has lived in Haywards Heath for 23 years – ‘a Dalesman become a Downsman’.

Celebrating Haywards Heath took John a year to write but it is ‘the fruit of 23 years experience of the town’. While writing and researching, John networked with fellow local historians and Cuckfield Museum and devised a scheme for children at a church school to interview older townspeople about the ways Haywards Heath has changed.

He said: “I’m proud of the book and grateful for those commending it including Stephenie Inglesfield, Mayor of Haywards Heath, and her deputy Duncan Pascoe. I hope the rail trails will be useful to readers and that the book will encourage them to work with me and others to establish a Haywards Heath Museum which is now an aim of the Town Council.”

John thanked his wife Anne for her support, as well as creator of the ‘Haywards Heath in days gone’ Facebook Group Charles Tucker, head of St Wilfrid’s Church of England Primary School Simon Hateley, and his parish priest at St Richard’s Haywards Heath Canon David King.

Haywards Heath Deputy Mayor Duncan Pascoe said: “I feel that the preservation and sharing of local history is critical to establishing the identity and culture of the town, especially for the new residents we welcome here. Thankfully, there are passionate members of our community in Haywards Heath like John that want to preserve its history and share its stories.”

Email [email protected] for advance copies. A Kindle version on Amazon costs £8.99.