3 May 2011

Please note: this news article is in our archive. Articles were correct at time of publication, but should not be relied on for accuracy after the passage of time.

TOWN tourist office staff Dawn Spalding and Simon Kerr have produced The Great Time Machine, a new booklet about East Grinstead.

Available at the library, it features a host of fascinating facts about the town’s history and architecture, as well as forgotten anecdotes about some of the famous people who have lived in or visited the town.

• East Grinstead stands on a sandstone ridge 400 feet above sea level
• The Greenwich Meridian passes through East Grinstead and Danehill, before exiting England at Peacehaven
• In 1955 a charity cricket match of Actors versus Politicians was composed of teams featuring among others Harold MacMillan, John Mills, Richard Attenborough and Rex Harrison
• The last public execution in East Grinstead took place in 1794 of a man found guilty of horse theft