Copthorne Village website

The Copthorne & District Angling Society

"The Copthorne and District Angling Society is a small club based in Copthorne with a membership of about 200.

Local to Copthorne the society has 5 lakes and another to the west of Crawley. The club also has access to 8 miles of the Sussex Ouse shared with the Ouse Preservation Society. None of this is heavily fished indeed on some sections of the Ouse I’ve never seen another angler. All the lakes are privately located with no access for the general public so have a truly away from it all feeling. This is the same for the Ouse except in a couple of places where there are lightly used public footpaths.

There is also a lively match section with matches most weeks both within the club and with other clubs." Check the website for details.
 

Copthorne Golf Club

The Golf Club, for which Copthorne is rightly famous, has been a part of village life since 14 October 1892. Little is known of that original - probably nine-hole - course. The founding father is generally considered to be Stanley Russell; and by 1897 a 4500 yard course was well established. It is interesting to note that women have always been a part of the Copthorne Golfing scene; Ladies Matches and Competitions are recorded as early as 1894. In 1903/4 a new course was built by Jack Rowe, the professional at Ashdown Golf Club.

The first Club house was established in The Gables, a distinctive Victorian building that had been at the bottom of Newtown, and had been a tea house in a previous incarnation. The site of the old club house now has some sheltered accommodation for the elderly upon it, still going by the name of The Gables.

As the Golf Course was built on what was originally Common land, and as villagers also had right of use of a pond within the Course, and as Club rules came to exclude "applications for membership would be accepted from people in the retail trade." (It would not, after all, be right to have to play golf with one's Grocer or Tailor!) disputes occasionally arose between the Golf Club and the Villagers. However, there is also a separate Copthorne Village Golf Club, one of the very few Artisan Golf Clubs left in the county.
    

World Championship Marbles

After years of championships at the Cherry Tree, and Hunter's Moon (formerly Builder's Arms) Pubs, the British (sometimes World) Marble championships moved to the greyhound Pub in Tinsley Green, Crawley in 1935. However, that was not the last that was heard of Copthorne, as immediately individual and team champions were supplied by Copthorne. In 1946 both Pathe and the BBC sent crews to film the all-Copthorne final between the Copthorne Spitfires and the Copthorne Sharpshooters. The Spitfires won 25-24.

Stoolball

The peculiarly Sussex game played by both men & women with wooden bats a little larger than table tennis paddles is a favourite around Copthorne. For many years there has been a thriving women's team, and the game is still popular in the village with all-day Sunday tournaments proving popular.

For information about the club contact Mrs Emery, her details can be found on the East Grinstead Sports Club Directory (you will need to scroll down a little way)

Cricket Club

"We are a village team affiliated to the North Sussex District Cricket Association. Currently we are playing in the Stoner Mid-Sussex League Division 2. Having finished midway in the 2002 league campaign - a considerable improvement on recent years - we are looking forward to building upon that success.

If you want to get involved there are contact details on the Club's page on the play-cricket.com website.  This page also has the clubs latest news.

The Copthorne Rovers FC

Copthorne's very own football team is currently playing in Division One in the Mid-Sussex League.

Their ground is the King George Playing Field, Copthorne Bank and their colours are All Anthracite (Mid)Grey with Yellow Flash (1st Team); Yellow/Black/Black (2nd Team)

More details are available on the Mid-Sussex League site .