Mid Sussex Times - Tuesday 09 October 1934

GOLDINGS’ HOTEL, HAYWARDS HEATH.

SOLD AFTER BEING IN THE SAME FAMILY FOR NEARLY SEVENTY YEARS.

MESSRS. NALDER & COLLYER, OF CROYDON, PAY £13,500 FOR IT.

Goldings’ Hotel at Haywards Heath, which has been under the personal management of the Golding family for nearly seventy years, came under the auctioneer's hammer Wednesday afternoon .

The sale took place in the Corn Exchange, which is part of the hotel premises and which held memories for many of the older residents present.

In the early days of Haywards Heath’s development, the Corn Exchange was practically the only meeting place of any size in the town, and it became the recognised social centre. Famous politicians and other celebrities have spoken there, and Charles Dickens, who was very friendly with a Dr. Tapper at Lindfield. lectured there in order to raise funds to build a school at Lindfield.

The Foresters’ dinners held in the Corn Exchange were much looked forward to, and there must still be many people in and around Haywards Heath who hold pleasurable recollections of these.

Adjoining “Goldings,” which is well known throughout the Home and Southern Counties, is the cattle market, and the farmers and others who gather the market Tuesdays naturally use the hotel.

NOT ONLY WAS THE HOTEL OFFERED

for sale but also the adjacent properties, comprising the block of garage buildings, accommodating about fifty cars, with showroom and filling station: the shop and office premises known as Bank Buildings; the ground landlord's interest in Boltro Chambers, with reversion in about 29 years; part of the Cattle Market, which has a long frontage to Market Place; and a vacant frontage suitable for shops or business premises in Paddockhall Road, and four cottages. The whole formed a comer site of over 2 and a half acres in extent.

Messrs. Knight. Frank and Rutley, of Hanover Square, London, were the auctioneers, the senior partner, Mr. Alfred J. Burrows, F. S.I., P.P.A.I., a genial personality with pronounced powers of persuasion, occupying the rostrum. Speaking to the prospective buyers, he made it clear that he regarded it as a great privilege to put before them the properly concerned. He explained that the reason it had come into the market was owing to the death of Mr. Fred Golding and the retirement of Miss Golding and to the fact that there were no younger members of the family to take the business over. “I think the situation of it is wonderful,” Mr. Burrows observed, as he pointed out that it was in one of the most beautiful districts in Sussex, was opposite the Railway Station, where something like 150 trains were in and out every day, and fronted a road used by a lot of traffic. He described it as one of the most compact properties with which he had ever had to deal in England. Commenting on the fact that there was one bank on the premises and another just opposite, while some of the best shops and the Police Station were in the immediate vicinity, Mr. Burrows remarked, “I think I may say we are in the midst of good company.” He explained that in the first place he was going to offer the property us a whole, and if did not sell it he would offer it in lots. He added that the total rents received were actually £577 18s.

When Mr. Burrows offered the property as a whole there was

SILENCE FOR MINUTE OR TWO,

and then Mr. H. V. Vaughan, F.A.I. of Messrs. Bradley and Vaughan, bid £18,000 tentatively.

Mr. Burrows looked pained. “I asked for a reasonable bid.” he said plaintively. “i am rather hardened, otherwise I might collapse straight away!”

Mr. Vaughan, however, had set the ball rolling, and bids came along slowly. Mr. Vaughan dropped out at £26,000, and when £35,000 was reached not even Mr. Burrows’ eloquence could induce anybody to make a higher offer. “You don’t expect we can take £35,000 for the whole property! ” he murmured in tones of gentle reproof, and he announced that would have to sell the property in lots.

Lot 1 was the hotel, a two-storey building, with garage and stable premises adjoining, outside offices (used in connection with the off licence and car hire departments as well as the coal business), the Corn Exchange, secluded pleasure grounds, large vegetable garden and a coal yard, covering total area of about 51,000 square feet. Bidding began at £10,000, and went up to £13,500, when the bidder of this figure, through a misapprehension, offered £13,750 against himself! Mr. Burrows, however, did not take advantage of the misunderstanding, and the hotel was sold to Messrs. Nalder and Collyer, the Croydon brewers, for £13.500.

Lot 1a, the coal and coke business, was withdrawn at £223.

Lot 2, comprising the block of garage premises adjoining the hotel on the south side, was sold for £2,000. the successful bidder being

MR. VAUGHAN

Lot 3 consisted of a shop frontage of about 155 feet to Paddockhall Road. The hammer fell at £1,800, this bid also coming from Mr. Vaughan.

Lot 4, the garage and filling station premises known as Goldings' Motor Works, was withdrawn at £950. It has since been disposed of.

Lot 5, a freehold ground rent of £18 per annum upon the premises known as Boltro Chambers, was withdrawn at £575.

Lot 6, comprising the business premises known as Nos. 1 and 2 Bank Buildings, providing a total rental of £230 per annum, was withdrawn at £4,750.

Lot 7, the adjoining shop premises, with living accommodation, comprising No. 3 Bank Buildings, producing a rent of £80 per annum, was sold for £1,625, the successful bidder being Mr. M. G. Scott Pitcher.

Lot 8 part of the Cattle Market with frontage of about 142 feet to Market Place and covering an area of about 27,000 square feet, let on lease to Mr. M. D. Bannister for term of 9 and a half years expiring on September 25th, 1938, at a rent of £150 per annum, was withdrawn at £2,500.

Lot 9, consisting of the adjoining site for shops or business premises, having a frontage of about 74ft. 6in. to Market Place and covering an area of about 11,400 square feet, and with a block of four cottages—Nos.1 to 4 Market Place -occupying the back portion of the site and producing rent of £81 18s. per annum, was sold to Caffyns Ltd., of Eastbourne, for £1.500.

Mr. Burrows stated that the lots unsold could be treated for privately. The solicitors were Messrs. W. W. Young, Sons and Ward, of Holborn Circus, London.

Thank you to Daniel Gibbons for the photograph