In local Horsham historian Dr Maggie Weir-Wilson's latest book, we learn about her passion for allotmenteering and about the history and endurance which has ensured allotments continue to be available across our nation for its people to grow fresh, healthy food for their families, and increase their wellbeing.
Maggie has been an allotment holder in Horsham for more than ten years and has spent much of the last two years researching the fascinating history of Horsham town's allotment sites, set in the context of our nations battle for the right to establish and hold allotments. From Gerrard Winstanley's initial determination, through to the Swing Riots and Mary Ann Gilbert's experimentation, Sussex, Kent and Surrey have been among the forerunners of the battle to ensure, in the words of Winstanley, "... the earth should be set free from the entanglements of priests and landlords and become a common treasury." In the 17
th century Winstanley was determined that local communities would share land, growing their own food so no one went hungry. An equal society invested in their local land and community. In some circles, Winstanley is still seen as the earliest activist in the international allotment movement.
Maggie has delved into local archives to uncover the history of each of Horsham's allotment sites, and spoken to many of the committees and plot holders. Her book looks at a history of the establishment of allotments in England, but most importantly it is a celebration of Horsham's allotments. In addition to the local history it uncovers, the book considers the important social activities and exciting new environmentally friendly developments which take these allotment sites into the future.
Cottrell, Simon: - Simon qualified with a BA in Illustration and has since worked as a graphic designer and is a very capable typesetter and Lesley Hart's right hand man when it comes to the technical side of book design and creation. He has a can-do positive attitude and embraces new challenges.
Hart, Lesley: - "Lesley Hart has worked as an editor and publisher since August 2020 and as a creative writing teacher since 2017. Prior to this she worked in primary education for eight years and in her local sixth-form college library for eight years - so she's passionate about children's literacy and books. She launched her complete author service called Author's Pen UK in August 2020. In November 2018, having graduated with an MA in creative writing from Lancaster University she discovered that publishing can be a minefield. Authors are understandably desperate to avoid vanity publishers and other scams - who can blame them! Using knowledge gleaned from hundreds of online and face-to-face courses, she decided to help authors from initial idea to published author; Author's Pen UK was born."
Weir-Wilson, Maggie: - Maggie moved to Horsham, West Sussex in 2000. She began evening classes studying for a BA Landscape Studies at University of Sussex. Maggie was aware that retirement was approaching fast, and so was keen to continue her studies with a six-year part time DPhil Landscape Studies and was awarded her doctorate in 2014. Since then she has focussed on writing; fiction, non-fiction and poetry. She published St Leonard's Forest, West Sussex: A Landscape History, in 2020 through local publishing company Author's Pen.
