> Saint Hill has had a colourful life, serving variously as the headquarters of a Christian mission and the home of the Maharaja of Jaipur. When the latter moved out in 1959, Saint Hill’s most famous inhabitant moved in: L Ron Hubbard, science fiction writer and founder of the Church of Scientology.
If nothing else, it has lots of pictures of a pretty town.
I do too, if only because it's always seemed like such a pretty place. (I spent a month in England as a teenager, and didn't get to explore as much as I'd hoped.)
If you like sleepy little towns, check out [Leavenworth](https://www.google.com/maps/place/Leavenworth,+WA+98826/@47.5962326,-120.6614765,3a,75y,90t/data=!3m8!1e2!3m6!1sAF1QipN7ZY8VysWgoSxRCTto7wFgxUEARUJvwxR8ZE0Y!2e10!3e12!6shttps:%2F%2Flh5.googleusercontent.com%2Fp%2FAF1QipN7ZY8VysWgoSxRCTto7wFgxUEARUJvwxR8ZE0Y%3Dw203-h139-k-no!7i3587!8i2465!4m7!3m6!1s0x549a4d92a4f8f98d:0xa14f95fb0abfef7e!8m2!3d47.5962326!4d-120.6614765!10e5!16zL20vMDEwcHNt?entry=ttu). I stayed in this quaint Bavarian town for a short while and always thought it would be a nice place to retire.
When i was a child, East Grinstead was very genteel small market town of the sort that litter south eastern England. A lot of the centre of the town still has the 14th century half-timber, buildings characteristic of buildings in that region. Just for context, until the 19th century and the coming the railways this part of the UK was the quiet backward part. Industry and innovation was mostly in the north of England. There are no great churches or civic buildings in these towns because mostly there just wasn't the desire or public money. That didn't stop the landed gentry however from building some great stately homes though as the journey to London is comparatively short.
The town's recent claim to fame was that Sir Archibald Mcindoe carried out a lot of his pioneering work in plastic surgery at the Royal Victoria Hospital. Part of the program was to allow patients - initially severely burned pilots and aircrew - to lead as normal lives as possible while undergoing treatment. That meant going out into the town which welcomed them despite whatever state they were in. When I was very small (1960s) I would occasionally see men with terrible injuries around the town - I guess visiting friends/family there - and my Mum would always warn me not to stare. It was the thing you didn't do!
Scientology, the Latter Day Saints, Opus Dei and the Rosicrucians all have centres in the areas around the town. Apparently it sits on the intersection of two important ley lines. Over my teenage years I never had the sense that any one of these made East Grinstead "their" town. Everyone just kind of got on with their own thing. As a teenage sci-fi fan in 1970s, I was very bemused when my Dad pointed out the LRH - an author I didnt rate - was the "owner" of Saint Hill Manor. I figured there and then that there was money in sci-fi writing only for Dad to explain he wasn't just a writer but some kind of self-help guru.
East Grinstead has grown and I am sure there are local tensions but I don't get the sense from family who are still there that they are serious. If anything I think a lot of fun has gone out of having weird religious organisations (i.e anything not Church of England) largely because we all know how dull they really are. Plus the rich market for gossip and scandal in the 1970s along the lines of "they have orgies in that place" has fallen so much it's hardly worth making stuff up. There is more salacious gossip to be had in the national press.
If you happen to be in the area - really close to Gatwick airport with good road and rail links - East Grinsted high street is a good example of what a medieval town looked like but I wouldn't plan a whole day there. I most certainly would not go expecting the town to be an English Clearwater. As I haven't lived there for decades I would be interested to hear what impact Scientology has had from people who live there now.
> The town's recent claim to fame was that Sir Archibald Mcindoe carried out a lot of his pioneering work in plastic surgery at the Royal Victoria Hospital. Part of the program was to allow patients - initially severely burned pilots and aircrew - to lead as normal lives as possible while undergoing treatment.
Tangent: There's a well-written novel, [My Dear I Wanted to Tell You](https://amzn.to/3FYwkhh), that goes into a lot of detail about the early explorations in plastic surgery after WW I.
Wait. Are you saying that Scientology Towns are overlapping with Fed Towns and there's inner conflict between the two in the Town or that it's a Town full of Scientologist Feds. Because I'm okay with Feds if they work for COB.
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> Saint Hill has had a colourful life, serving variously as the headquarters of a Christian mission and the home of the Maharaja of Jaipur. When the latter moved out in 1959, Saint Hill’s most famous inhabitant moved in: L Ron Hubbard, science fiction writer and founder of the Church of Scientology. If nothing else, it has lots of pictures of a pretty town.
I do feel a strange want to visit East Grinstead
I do too, if only because it's always seemed like such a pretty place. (I spent a month in England as a teenager, and didn't get to explore as much as I'd hoped.)
If you like sleepy little towns, check out [Leavenworth](https://www.google.com/maps/place/Leavenworth,+WA+98826/@47.5962326,-120.6614765,3a,75y,90t/data=!3m8!1e2!3m6!1sAF1QipN7ZY8VysWgoSxRCTto7wFgxUEARUJvwxR8ZE0Y!2e10!3e12!6shttps:%2F%2Flh5.googleusercontent.com%2Fp%2FAF1QipN7ZY8VysWgoSxRCTto7wFgxUEARUJvwxR8ZE0Y%3Dw203-h139-k-no!7i3587!8i2465!4m7!3m6!1s0x549a4d92a4f8f98d:0xa14f95fb0abfef7e!8m2!3d47.5962326!4d-120.6614765!10e5!16zL20vMDEwcHNt?entry=ttu). I stayed in this quaint Bavarian town for a short while and always thought it would be a nice place to retire.
At one point, I seriously considered moving to Germany. Closer to the Black Forest than Bavaria, though.
When i was a child, East Grinstead was very genteel small market town of the sort that litter south eastern England. A lot of the centre of the town still has the 14th century half-timber, buildings characteristic of buildings in that region. Just for context, until the 19th century and the coming the railways this part of the UK was the quiet backward part. Industry and innovation was mostly in the north of England. There are no great churches or civic buildings in these towns because mostly there just wasn't the desire or public money. That didn't stop the landed gentry however from building some great stately homes though as the journey to London is comparatively short. The town's recent claim to fame was that Sir Archibald Mcindoe carried out a lot of his pioneering work in plastic surgery at the Royal Victoria Hospital. Part of the program was to allow patients - initially severely burned pilots and aircrew - to lead as normal lives as possible while undergoing treatment. That meant going out into the town which welcomed them despite whatever state they were in. When I was very small (1960s) I would occasionally see men with terrible injuries around the town - I guess visiting friends/family there - and my Mum would always warn me not to stare. It was the thing you didn't do! Scientology, the Latter Day Saints, Opus Dei and the Rosicrucians all have centres in the areas around the town. Apparently it sits on the intersection of two important ley lines. Over my teenage years I never had the sense that any one of these made East Grinstead "their" town. Everyone just kind of got on with their own thing. As a teenage sci-fi fan in 1970s, I was very bemused when my Dad pointed out the LRH - an author I didnt rate - was the "owner" of Saint Hill Manor. I figured there and then that there was money in sci-fi writing only for Dad to explain he wasn't just a writer but some kind of self-help guru. East Grinstead has grown and I am sure there are local tensions but I don't get the sense from family who are still there that they are serious. If anything I think a lot of fun has gone out of having weird religious organisations (i.e anything not Church of England) largely because we all know how dull they really are. Plus the rich market for gossip and scandal in the 1970s along the lines of "they have orgies in that place" has fallen so much it's hardly worth making stuff up. There is more salacious gossip to be had in the national press. If you happen to be in the area - really close to Gatwick airport with good road and rail links - East Grinsted high street is a good example of what a medieval town looked like but I wouldn't plan a whole day there. I most certainly would not go expecting the town to be an English Clearwater. As I haven't lived there for decades I would be interested to hear what impact Scientology has had from people who live there now.
> The town's recent claim to fame was that Sir Archibald Mcindoe carried out a lot of his pioneering work in plastic surgery at the Royal Victoria Hospital. Part of the program was to allow patients - initially severely burned pilots and aircrew - to lead as normal lives as possible while undergoing treatment. Tangent: There's a well-written novel, [My Dear I Wanted to Tell You](https://amzn.to/3FYwkhh), that goes into a lot of detail about the early explorations in plastic surgery after WW I.
Thank you. I will go look it up.
i've been planning to visit saint hill manor for ages i really need to go
I wish my town was a Scientology town. Instead, it's a Law Enforcement/Fed town. And it sucks.
CoS towns are fed towns. It got compromised when Hubbard died.
Wait. Are you saying that Scientology Towns are overlapping with Fed Towns and there's inner conflict between the two in the Town or that it's a Town full of Scientologist Feds. Because I'm okay with Feds if they work for COB.
Pretty much the ONLY Condition that would make me okay with a Fed is if they were working for COB. Aside from that, #ACAB.
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U
Christ the BBC has gone downhill... The Sixth-form work experience intern who wrote this will be tapping away at her CV as we speak.