Building on the experience of the Redicovering America local history project and the nationally renowned St Francis hospital collection a bid is being prepared to help Haywards Heath develop a town museum. The museum will include artifacts from the early days of mental treatments including a straight jacket and padded cell! It also will show how St Francis hospital, formerly the Brighton Asylum,

A recent community event at Heyworth school launched the Bentswood community project and Pilgrim Local Action Team. Various organisations and groups of Bentswood residents were there including the PCT, Sussex Police Mobile unit, MSDC, Neighbourhood Watch, HH healthcheck, the credit union etc. The Pilgrim Local Action Team are looking at the community's worries about crime and disorder. It is also

It is now possible to download copies of the Rediscovering America series booklets by clicking on the title on the right side of the page. It may not look like the printed version, copies of which are available in the public library or Heyworth School may still have copies of book 3 for sale. The booklets came from people's memories and photos of living in or growing up in Bentswood. All thanks

The IMPACT project located in Western Road is running a new food and gardening project based in the Bentswood area. Through the project local volunteers offer to act as mentors for people hoping to improve their growing skills, providing tools for hire and sharing seeds and cuttings. Gardening demonstrations on using natural methods and fun activites for children are also now possible using

The story of Anna Sewell, author of Black Beauty who lived at Petland House, top of New England Road, is told in a new book called Dark Horse: a life of Anna Sewell by Adrienne E Gavin. The books shows how Anna, who was disabled and used a horse and trap to get around lived briefly with her parents Isaac and Mary Sewell in the 1840s in Haywards Heath. Heyworth schol is close to the site of where

Full list of exhibition panels. 1. William Allen and the Birth of an idea - why the “America” cottages were built, the memories of the last owner of the estate The growth of Bentswood - describing how Bentswood Cresent was built to house the people leaving the cottages 2. Why America? - How the area got called its name and hence America Lane which in on the site now 3. Remembering the cottages

As the history project was aimed at marking the Millennium, having received Millennium funding from the Scarman Trust to set it up, it now feels time to move the project onto a more permanent home. It has been proposed to offer the project to Heyworth School for safekeeping and to use with the school children for local studies work. This will also mark the success of the local campaign to keep