BILLINGSHURST is a parish and village, pleasantly situated on the old Roman road from London to Chichester, in the Western division of the county, hundred of West Easwrith, rape of Arundel, diocese and archdeaconry of Chichester, rural deanery of Storrington, Petworth union, and county court district of Horsham, 6 and a half miles south-west from Horsham, 9 north-east from Petworth, and 41 from London by road, and 45 by rail. The Mid-Sussex Railway passes through the parish, half a mile southeast of the village, where there is a neat station. The church of St. Mary is a good specimen of the small village churches of Sussex consisting of a nave, two aisles, and a chancel with a small south chapel: the tower, at the west end, is surmounted by a shingle spire 129 feet high... The church will seat about 520. The register dates from 1630. There is a National school for boys and girls, supported by voluntary contributions. There are chapels for Independents and Unitarians. The soil is chiefly strong clay, the property of various owners. A considerable business is carried on in the manufacture of wood hoops; and a corn market is held at the 'King's Arms' every other Tuesday evening. There are two good commercial inns; the 'King's Arms' situate in the centre of the village; and the Station Inn adjoining the railway station. About a mile from the village, on the London-road, is Somers, the delightful residence of Henry Carnsew, Esq,: it is an extensive mansion in the Domestic Gothic style, with mullioned windows. Area of the parish, 675 acres; the population in 1861 was 1,495.
ADVERSANE is a small hamlet, a mile and a half south; FIVE OAKS is a hamlet, a mile and a half north. [Kelly's Post Office Directory of Essex, Herts, Middlesex, Kent, Surrey and Sussex, 1867.]
