Sharpthorne is a village in the Mid Sussex District of West Sussex, South-East England. It lies on the West Hoathly to Forest Row road 3.8 miles (6.2 km) south of East Grinstead.

Sharpthorne
Sharpthorne is located in West Sussex
Sharpthorne
Sharpthorne
Location within West Sussex
OS grid referenceTQ373324
Civil parish
District
Shire county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townEAST GRINSTEAD
Postcode districtRH19
Dialling code01342
PoliceSussex
FireWest Sussex
AmbulanceSouth East Coast
UK Parliament
List of places
UK
England
West Sussex
51°04′29″N 0°02′29″W / 51.07478°N 0.04136°W / 51.07478; -0.04136

The Bluebell Railway runs through the 731 yards (668 m) long Sharpthorne Tunnel underneath the village, the longest tunnel on a UK heritage railway. Prior to its closure in 1958, the village was served by West Hoathly railway station at the north end of the tunnel. The railway tracks were lifted in 1964/5 and the main station building demolished in 1967. When the Bluebell Railway reinstated the line in 1992 the station was not restored due to local residents' concerns about a likely increase in local road traffic.[1] Now that the railway has been extended to East Grinstead, the line could provide a useful public transport facility for the residents of Sharpthorne, but it would not be possible to build a new station on the original site because current HMRI regulations do not permit a "new build" on a gradient. Any future station would most likely be located on the level stretch further north towards New Coombe Bridge which is further from the village.[2]

References

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  1. ^ "West Hoathly/New Coombe Bridge Track Layout". Bluebell-railway.co.uk. Retrieved 30 August 2017.
  2. ^ "West Hoathly Station Site". Bluebell-railway.co.uk. Retrieved 25 September 2023.
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  Media related to Sharpthorne at Wikimedia Commons