Those who thought this would be a talk on gardening were literally in for a bumpy ride, because this was the tale of an Edwardian theme park, as told to us by Mark Dudeney, grandson of Edwin Street (the proprietor of Victoria Pleasure Gardens).

The story starts in Hurstpierpoint village in the early part of the 19th century at a butcher's shop in the High Street. Edwin Street was the owner's second child, and by the time he reached 11 or 12, after his father's death, his mother had him apprenticed to a butcher's in Shoreham, where he first came across the Swiss Gardens, which made a great impression upon him. By the time he was 19 he qualified as a master butcher and slaughterer and returned to his mother in Hurstpierpoint. They were both ambitious and wanted to improve themselves, and decided to move to Burgess Hill.

Originally Burgess Hill was a bleak and inhospitable village with little more than one or two farms and a road with a couple of inns. But then it was discovered that Burgess Hill was on a field of good quality clay, and when the railway opened up the area, things started to change. People came to the area to dig this clay and it became a pottery town: with bricks and pipes and smoky kilns. But it was also a growing place, and somewhere that the Street family could prosper.

Edwin had a good eye for profit, and was soon able to purchase and rent several farms in the area, as well as his butchering and slaughtering business. He married Amelia Standing, and together they looked for new schemes to spend his money on! By 1895 Swiss Gardens had become rather a rough establishment, but Edwin thought that he could succeed and turn his St. John's Lodge Farm, which was about 15 minutes walk from Burgess Hill railway station, into something bigger and better than Swiss Gardens had been. The gardens, which covered seven-and-a-half acres, opened in 1897, the year of Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee.

The most essential part of a pleasure garden was the lake, and all the unemployed of the area were given the opportunity to help dig out the huge 3 acre site, which took 3 months to complete, and a stream was diverted to fill  the hole with water. The lake at Swiss Gardens had a small paddle steamer which carried 5 people, but Mr. Street's paddle steamer (constructed in Shoreham and called "The Victoria") was considered one of the modern marvels of the world because it was big enough to accommodate 25 people! There were also many rowing boats on the lake, some of which would take 30 people.

Indoor amusements also had to be available in case the weather turned nasty. The large restaurant would seat 1000 people in one go, on long tables and benches, and the hall also contained a theatre, a dance floor, a roller skating rink, and 2 play rooms, as well as a shop full of trinkets and momentos. This large hall cost in the region of £25,000, it was constructed in London in pre-fabricated sections and sent down by train to Burgess Hill for assembly on site.

Other outdoor amusements included a steam-powered roundabout (which attracted complaints about the noise from nearby residents), swingboats, shooting gallery, tricycles and bicycles (for a halfpenny they could ride 3 times around the track), donkey rides, as well as refreshments such as Italian icecream. However, the most impressive attraction at the Gardens was built in the winter of 1900 and this was the gravity railway. Customers would climb  to the top of the wooden platform where they would sit on a 'car' with 5 double seats, the only thing to hold on to was a little brass handle in front. The cars flew down the slopes, just skimming the surface of the lake. Manual help was needed to get the cars  up at  the other end, where the passengers got off and the cars were turned around to go back the other way.

The Gardens were open all year and although not so busy in the winter months,  there was roller skating and dancing in the Grand Hall. Winters were colder than now, and you could more or less depend upon the large lake icing over and so ice-skating was also a very popular pastime.

Most of the people who came to the Gardens came from Brighton and Hove, but there is evidence that the Sunday School from Henfield also visited. Because a large number of the visitors to the Gardens were from Church societies, the Gardens were run on temperance principles.

After the turn of the century, these were the premier gardens in Sussex, but with the outbreak of WW1 in 1914 the Gardens were commandeered by the military: first the London Rifle Brigade, and then a Lancashire Regiment. At the end of the war there was a feast and celebration in the grounds, but sadly they were virtually ruined by the occupation of the soldiers and the family decided that it was not viable to restore the Garden to its former glory.