East Grinstead is a town and civil parish in the northeastern corner of Mid Sussex, West Sussex in England near the East Sussex, Surrey, and Kent borders. In fact until 1974 East Grinstead was in the county of East Sussex but was moved, along with Haywards Heath and Burgess Hill during a boundary re-organisation. The large civil parish covers an area of 2443.45ha and had a population of 23,942 persons (2001 census). It is located on the Greenwich Meridian. The Weald and Ashdown Forest lie to the south of the town. The High Street contains the longest continuous run of 14th-century timber-framed buildings in England. Other notable buildings in the town include Sackville College, the sandstone almshouse built in 1609 where the Christmas carol "Good King Wenceslas" was written by John Mason Neale. On the A264 to Tunbridge Wells, there is a historic house called Hammerwood Park. On the outskirts of the town is Standen, a country house containing one of the best collections of arts and crafts movement furnishings and fabrics. East Grinstead House is the headquarters of the (UK and Ireland) Caravan Club. Local attractions include Ashdown Forest (where the Winnie-the-Pooh stories are set) and the Bluebell Railway, a preserved heritage line with steam locomotives. The town is also the site of Queen Victoria Hospital, where famed plastic surgeon Archibald McIndoe treated burns victims of World War II and formed the Guinea Pig Club. During the Second World War, the town was a secondary target for German bombers who failed to make their primary target in London. During the evening of July 9, 1943, a Luftwaffe bomber became separated from his squadron, and made an attack on the town. One of his bombs fell on the Whitehall Cinema in the High Street. 108 people were killed, including many children who were watching the matinee. This was the largest loss of life of any single air raid in Sussex. In 2006, the East Grinstead Town Museum was moved to new custom built premises located in the historic centre of the town, and successfully re-opened to the public. Chequer Mead Arts Centre includes a modern 349-seat purpose-built theatre, which stages professional and amateur plays and music (local rock groups to chamber music orchestras), opera, ballet, folk music, tribute bands, and talks. The centre has a large art gallery for temporary exhibitions. More on East Grinstead