Head Office
To contact our centralised support
desk please contact +44 (0) 1403 891112
Our office
is located in the beautiful Leonardslee
Gardens estate
near Horsham, West Sussex. Both Gatwick and the M23
are conveniently close by.
The History
of the Round House
When people first visit our office,
they often comment on the buildings unusual shape
and general quirkiness. We researched into the background
of the house and learned how it came to be at Leonardslee:
The southern portion of the St Leonard's
Forest estate (now Leonardslee Gardens) was bought
by Charles Beauclerk in 1802. Charles built a house
called St Leonard's Lodge on the site, and lived there
with his wife and 8 children.
In 1803, Charles was given the important
role of organising the Sussex Volunteers Army, with
the rank of Captain. With the collapse of the Treaty
of Amiens, and the fresh scare of invasion by the
French, under the leadership of Napoleon, The Duke
of Richmond (Charles' wife's uncle) presided at a
county meeting in Brighton in July 1803, at which
it was decided to "defend all hazards our liberties
and properties against the invader". Practically everyman
in Sussex joined up for service in some form or other
as a result of this declaration.
By 1812, Charles Beauclerk had been
promoted to Major, and he commanded the Northern Division
until the Sussex Volunteers were finally disbanded
at the end of the war in 1815. Doubtless it was due
to his senior position in the Sussex military that
Charles was able to buy two of the cookhouses when
Horsham Barracks were sold at auction in September
1815.
One of these octagonal buildings
was re-erected as a lodge on Charles' estate. It is
known locally as 'The Round
House' and since 2004 has been the home of
the Finapps office.
