Oakhill, Horsham: The 1970s and Now

On the last Saturday of every November, Collyers school stages a reunion for former pupils. Despite moving to Sheffield from Horsham in 1981, I have become a regular attendee at this most enjoyable annual event. My most recent visit prompted me to wonder how my old route to school from my former home on Comptons Lane had changed since the 1970s. My visits for the reunion had never involved travelling any further than the short walk from the Station Hotel down Hurst Road to Collyers.


The Sunday morning after the annual reunion saw me setting off from the Station hotel on my journey, suitably reinvigorated by the hotel’s “Eat as much as you like breakfast”. Dodging the traffic and the persistent drizzle, I entered the station.

I suppose I shouldn’t have been surprised but the station itself had been transformed. Gone was the Henfield Taxi office and in its place was a much larger concourse complete with electronic departure boards and places to eat and drink. The dividing fence and the ticket collector’s office on the bridge had also been removed and it was necessary to negotiate an electronic ticket barrier at the Station Road entrance. Fortunately, this barrier was open as I had no ticket to present to the machine or to any enthusiastic ticket collector.

In the 1970s, a concrete panel wall was sited to the right of the entrance. This prevented any view of the station. It was good to see that this had been removed and replaced with railings which afforded a view of the station and gave the area a much more open appearance. A series of cycle racks were now in evidence - Perhaps indicative of a more health conscious age or a sign that the service on the Horsham - Oakhill circular bus route is even more irregular than it had been thirty five years ago.

The first disappointment of my walk was to see that the old newsagent on Station Road had been converted into a house. Unfortunately, the disappearance of most of the shops that I so fondly remembered from my childhood will become a feature of this story. In the meantime, there was some good news in that the external appearance of the Bedford Hotel was a lot more inviting than the stark and undecorated facade of days gone by.

Trudging on in the rain, I reached the junction of Barrington road and New Street. The delightful bakery on Barrington Road had gone to be replaced by a wine shop. I still have fond memories of the cakes and rolls that I bought in the old bakery during the long summer holidays.

My next port of call was Oakhill Road itself. One of the Baptist chapels had permanently closed its doors and the chemist had been extended into the former sweet shop at the corner of Burford Road. I was beginning to wonder where a boy or indeed a man of 49 years was supposed to buy sweets in Oakhill these days. No worries, I thought - It was not far to Oakhill Stores.

The junction of Elm Grove and Oakhill Road was soon reached but no Oakhill Stores was to be seen. Yet again, I was presented with another residential property. It was almost impossible to believe that this had once had been a popular convenience store. At one time, I recall there was a cigarette machine outside the shop which tempted schoolboys with the delights of ten Piccadilly and ten Number 6.

By this stage, I had become a little downhearted by the loss of so many shops in the area. It came as no great surprise when I found the two former adjoining shops on Highlands Road had also undergone the inevitable conversion to residential properties. Probably all these corner shops could not compete with the supermarkets but it made me a little sad to think that the children of today could not just pop round the corner for a bottle of Corona lemonade or two ounces of chocolate limes.

The final part of my nostalgic journey was the stretch up Highlands road to Comptons Lane. Today, this was a pleasant stroll but back in the 1970s it was bandit country for Collyers school boys. It would be fair to say that there was no much love lost between the pupils of Collyers and the Forest schools. I was regularly on the receiving end of taunts such as the very unoriginal “Collysprout” which appeared to be the favourite cry of some of the Forest lads when a Collyers boy came into sight. For the most part, there was no serious trouble but I was always glad when the two Forest schools were behind me and home was in sight.

Home was in Comptons Lane and I spent a few moments looking at the place which held so many memories. Much had changed but the concrete drive that I had helped my dad lay in the seventies was still there. After all these years it was spalling a little at the edges but then I suppose so am I.