In 1896 the remains of Clump Square in Heene Road were razed to the ground. In its place was to be built the new Heene Parish Rooms and a Police Station.
The description of Clump Square in many of the local journals was “a collection of mean little houses” and “a dirty square building with a court in the centre which was inhabited by the roughs and drunks of the village”. Not a nice description of a group of houses which provided homes for some of the poorest in the area.
It was originally thought that Clump Square was a barracks built during the Napoleonic War to house soldiers. By the 1860’s, there were seven buildings which were more or less habitable but could still be described as slums. In the 1871 census, there were three families living in the square. They were Joseph Curtiss, a labourer at the local sewage works and his family, John Joyce, an agricultural labourer and Fanny Willard, a charwoman and her family
In the 1881 census, seven of the buildings were inhabited. the seven families comprised of the following: Joseph Andrews, a labourer; Matilda Middlebrook, a retired dealer; George Ede, an unemployed labourer; Emily Smith, a charwoman; Harry Budd, a labourer; George Oliver, a painter and Fanny Miles, a laundress.
Four children buried at Heene died whilst living in Clump Square, the youngest was 4 and the eldest 24. Sadly the whereabouts of their graves is not known.
Alma Smith was the daughter of Samuel and Emily Smith. As a young girl, she worked as a house servant for Edward Snewin and his family in Ann Street. Her mother Emily was widowed when her father a coastguard and labourer died in 1875. After Samuel’s death, Emily found work as a charwoman and moved her family to 4 Clump Square where Alma died of consumption in 1880 aged 24.
Alma’s brother Windsor George Smith (known as George) was described in the 1881 census as “an imbecile from birth”. Sadly he too died of consumption in 1887 aged 22. Emily Smith moved to Gloster (later spelt Gloucester) Place in town to live with her surviving daughter and husband.
Sarah Budd was the daughter of Harry and Sarah Jane Budd who lived at 5 Clump Square. She died of convulsions just short of her fifth birthday. The family moved to Clifton Road after her death.
Alfred Curtiss was the son of Joseph and Ann Curtiss. Joseph worked at the local sewage works. The family lived at 2 Clump Square and stayed there the longest. Alfred died of apoplexy aged just 12 in 1881. After his death and before the census was taken in April, the family had moved away from Sussex.
By the 1891 census, the square was no longer listed so presumed abandoned.
In 1896, plans were drawn up for a new Parish Rooms and a police station. These were completed in 1898 by George Hewer a local builder who built many of the houses between Eriswell Road and Heene Road.