Popular Borde Hill Garden gallery set to close: award-winning Haywards Heath business says farewell after 15 years

Chestnut Tree House launched its For The Now campaign at The Green Tree Gallery in Borde Hill Gardens in 2018

An award-winning Haywards Heath gallery has announced that it will shut its doors for the final time this month.

The Green Tree Gallery in Borde Hill Garden is set to close on Saturday, April 15, after 15 years of showcasing the work of artists from across Sussex.

The business is now inviting supporters to say farewell on its last day.

Textile artists Jill Housby and Sam Phillips, who run the gallery, said: “We are immensely grateful for the support of the local community and for that of our artists. The Gallery has always run on a shoestring, but we have always managed to keep going despite some serious challenges.

“We have been buoyed up over the years by the frequent kind comments from visitors about what a beautiful and diverse gallery it is and were thrilled that our customers voted for us to win the 2022/23 Muddy Stilettos ‘Best Art Space in Sussex’ Award.”

The Green Tree Gallery was founded in 2008 by Sussex artists Jules Middleton and Julie Janvrin to provide a platform for the work of other Sussex creators. Since then, it has represented hundreds of makers and raised thousands for both local and national charities.

The gallery celebrated its 10th birthday in 2018 by collaborating with Chestnut Tree House children’s hospice throughout the year to help raise the charity’s profile. In 2018 the then Mid Sussex MP Sir Nicholas Soames visited to officially open an exhibition and the gallery had a Christmas visit from Raymond Briggs’ Snowman. There was also a ground-breaking photographic exhibition by Sophie Mitchell that captured life inside the hospice. This was covered by the BBC and the Gallery won Chestnut Tree House’s Outstanding Small Business Award that year.

Over the past eight years the Green Tree Gallery raised almost £20,000 for Macmillan Cancer Support by auctioning artwork donated by its artists and by running ‘All-Day Coffee Mornings’.

The gallery said it is closing due to the reclamation of the building by landlord Borde Hill for conversion into office space.

Jill and Sam said: “It has been a huge joy and privilege to be at the helm of this treasured local business over the years, so please do join us to celebrate our little gem of a Gallery and help us see it out with a bang.”

Visit www.greentreegallery.co.uk.