West Grinstead () is a village and

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

in the Horsham District of

West Sussex West Sussex is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Surrey to the north, East Sussex to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Hampshire to the west. The largest settlement is Cr ...

, England. It lies just off the B2135 road four miles (6.3 km) northwest from

Henfield Henfield is a large village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Horsham (district), Horsham District of West Sussex, England. It lies south of London, northwest of Brighton, and east northeast of the county town of Chichester at ...

. It is within the ancient division of the Rape of Bramber. The western River Adur flows through the village. The parish of West Grinstead covers an area of 2584 hectares (6382 acres) and consists of the villages of West Grinstead, Littleworth, Partridge Green and Dial Post. In the 2001 census 2934 people lived in 1099 households, of whom 1547 were economically active. At the 2011 Census the population was 3,054 The village should not be confused with the much larger town of

East Grinstead East Grinstead () is a town in West Sussex, England, near the East Sussex, Surrey, and Kent borders, south of London, northeast of Brighton, and northeast of the county town of Chichester. Situated in the northeast corner of the county, bord ...

which lies 17.5 miles (28 km) to the north-east.

Churches

The Shrine of Our Lady of Consolation dates from 1876 and is the

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

parish church. It is an important centre of Catholic pilgrimage in England. Two notable figures are buried in its grounds: Anglo-French writer and poet Hilaire Belloc (friend of fellow Catholic, G. K. Chesterton) and English writer Antonia White. St George's Church is the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

parish church. Its mission is shared with St Michael and All Angels Church, Partridge Green.

History

Knepp Castle is located to the west of the village near the A24. It was a motte castle and founded in the 12th century by William de Braose. Some remains of the keep still stand. The modern Knepp Castle nearby is a castellated mansion by John Nash.

Leisure

The Downs Link long-distance path runs through the parish and can be used for walking or cycling.

References

{{authority control Horsham District Villages in West Sussex