Designed and engineered by John Urpeth Rastrick (1780–1856) in consultation with the talented architect David Mocatta, it was completed in 1842.

Balcombe was the birthplace of Colour Sergeant (later Lieutenant Colonel) Frank Bourne DCM, who fought at the battle of Rorke's Drift in the Zulu War.

Balcombe railway station helped expand a predominantly farming community into one of the popular London commuter villages.

Cuadrilla Resources, the company that proposes to drill the well, engaged in public relations efforts attempting to convince villagers that the project was both useful and safe.

[19] In July 2013 a licence to drill the well was granted by the Environment Agency and Cuadrilla began transporting equipment and supplies to the test site.

As of August 2013, Balcombe had emerged as a focus of opposition to fracking in the Weald Basin of southeast England and vigorous protests were in progress.

[20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28] In March 2014, a group of residents set up a renewable energy co-operative called REPOWERBalcombe, with a view to healing the rifts that emerged during the protests.

[30] Balcombe was used as the location for Arthur Dent's house in the first episode of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (TV series) in May 1980.

The show's producers said they spent two months searching for the ideal location, before finding the farmhouse at Edmonds Farm in Balcombe.