Crawley has its origins in Stone Age settlements some 7,000 years ago. Evidence of habitation in the region includes Neolithic tools, Roman ironworks and even a Bronze Age sword. There is some evidence that the area was settled in the Mesolithic period, with examples of locally-manufactured flints of the Horsham Culture type found to the south-west of the town.
Evidence also exists of Bronze Age burial mounds just to the south of the town, suggesting some habitation in that period. Other finds suggest continued habitation through Roman times. In the 5th century, Saxon settlers gave the area its name of Crow's Leah — meaning a crow-infested clearing, or Crow's Wood — although the name changed considerably over time, with the present spelling arriving by the early 14th century.
By this time, nearby settlements were more established, with the Saxon church at Worth dating from around 1000. In the Doomsday Book, while the town itself is not mentioned, both Ifield and Worth are recorded. The first written record of Crawley is found in the granting of a right to hold a market in the town in 1202. Issued by King John, this allowed for a weekly market on Wednesdays.
As time passed, the importance of the town grew slowly, boosted in the 18th century by the popularity of Brighton; Crawley prospered as a coaching halt offering an almost hourly service to Brighton and London. The George, a timber-framed house dating from the 15th century, expanded over the years to take over adjacent buildings and become a large coaching inn.
The increase in Brighton's popularity, and Crawley's location halfway between it and London, meant that an annex had to be built in the middle of the wide High Street; this survived until the 1930s. Now known as the George Hotel, it retains many original features, including an iron fireback, and has conference facilities and 84 bedrooms.
Crawley's oldest church is St John the Baptist, between the High Street and the Broadway. It has 13th century origins, but there has been much rebuilding (especially in the 19th century) and the oldest part now remaining is the south wall of the nave, which is believed to be 14th century. The church has a tower (originally 15th century, but rebuilt in 1804) containing two bells cast in 1742.
The railways first came to Crawley by way of the Brighton Main Line passing through a station at Three Bridges in the summer of 1841. At first this station was known as East Crawley, but the opening of the Horsham branch in 1848 allowed a new Crawley railway station to be built more centrally, at the southern end of the High Street. A line to East Grinstead was opened in 1855.
By this stage, Three Bridges was becoming the hub of transport in the area, with one-quarter of its population being employed in railway jobs by 1861 (mainly at the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway's railway works near the station); but once the line reached Crawley itself, transport for both people and commodities was much improved.
The locally-famous Longley family set up business alongside the line in 1881; at this time, the town experienced a major expansion in house building, including the creation of an area known as "New Town" (unrelated to the post war developments) around the railway level crossing and down the Brighton Road. During the Victorian period the town continued to grow, with considerable building in the West Green area and some development south of the railway in what is now Southgate.
In 1891, a racecourse was opened at Gatwick, with the Grand National being held there during the years of the First World War. As the 20th century arrived, considerable development continued around the town centre. Additionally, land near the racecourse was developed as an airfield, opening in 1930. The airport continued as a private concern until the Second World War when it was claimed by the Royal Air Force.
Around this time, many of the large 19th century country estates in the area, with their mansions and associated grounds and outbuildings, were split up into smaller plots of land which attracted haphazard housing development and small farms. By the First World War, Crawley had matured into a small but prosperous town, serving a wide rural area as well as its own population and those passing through on the A23 London-Brighton road; three-quarters of the population had piped water supplies, all businesses and homes had electricity, and piped gas and street lighting had been in place for 50 years.
The area around Crawley was officially identified as a suitable location for a New Town in May 1946, but not officially designated as such until 9 January 1947. At the time of designation, the 5,920 acres (2,395 hectares) of land set aside for the new town were split across the county borders between East Sussex, West Sussex and Surrey. Architect Thomas Bennett was appointed as the chairman of the Development Corporation for the town. A court challenge to the designation order meant that plans were not officially confirmed until December 1947. By this time, an initial plan for the development of the area had been drawn up by planner Anthony Minoprio.
The plans sought to fill in the gaps between the villages of Crawley, Ifield and Three Bridges to form a larger town population. At the time, Bennett estimated that planning, designing and building the town, and increasing its population from the existing 9,500, would take 15 years. Work began almost immediately, preparing the groundwork for the expansion of the town, with a full master plan in place by 1949. This plan saw an extension in the planned population of the town from 40,000 to 50,000, with residential properties shared between 9 neighbourhoods radiating from the town centre, and a separate industrial area to the north of the town.
The plans for the neighbourhoods included mainly 3-bedroom family homes, with a number of smaller and larger properties. Each neighbourhood was to be built around a centre which contained shops, a church, a public house, a primary school and a community centre. Secondary education was to be provided at three campuses across the town at Ifield Green, Three Bridges and Tilgate. Later, a fourth campus was added to the plans in Southgate for the building of Roman Catholic schools
Evidence also exists of Bronze Age burial mounds just to the south of the town, suggesting some habitation in that period. Other finds suggest continued habitation through Roman times. In the 5th century, Saxon settlers gave the area its name of Crow's Leah — meaning a crow-infested clearing, or Crow's Wood — although the name changed considerably over time, with the present spelling arriving by the early 14th century.
By this time, nearby settlements were more established, with the Saxon church at Worth dating from around 1000. In the Doomsday Book, while the town itself is not mentioned, both Ifield and Worth are recorded. The first written record of Crawley is found in the granting of a right to hold a market in the town in 1202. Issued by King John, this allowed for a weekly market on Wednesdays.
As time passed, the importance of the town grew slowly, boosted in the 18th century by the popularity of Brighton; Crawley prospered as a coaching halt offering an almost hourly service to Brighton and London. The George, a timber-framed house dating from the 15th century, expanded over the years to take over adjacent buildings and become a large coaching inn.
The increase in Brighton's popularity, and Crawley's location halfway between it and London, meant that an annex had to be built in the middle of the wide High Street; this survived until the 1930s. Now known as the George Hotel, it retains many original features, including an iron fireback, and has conference facilities and 84 bedrooms.
Crawley's oldest church is St John the Baptist, between the High Street and the Broadway. It has 13th century origins, but there has been much rebuilding (especially in the 19th century) and the oldest part now remaining is the south wall of the nave, which is believed to be 14th century. The church has a tower (originally 15th century, but rebuilt in 1804) containing two bells cast in 1742.
The railways first came to Crawley by way of the Brighton Main Line passing through a station at Three Bridges in the summer of 1841. At first this station was known as East Crawley, but the opening of the Horsham branch in 1848 allowed a new Crawley railway station to be built more centrally, at the southern end of the High Street. A line to East Grinstead was opened in 1855.
By this stage, Three Bridges was becoming the hub of transport in the area, with one-quarter of its population being employed in railway jobs by 1861 (mainly at the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway's railway works near the station); but once the line reached Crawley itself, transport for both people and commodities was much improved.
The locally-famous Longley family set up business alongside the line in 1881; at this time, the town experienced a major expansion in house building, including the creation of an area known as "New Town" (unrelated to the post war developments) around the railway level crossing and down the Brighton Road. During the Victorian period the town continued to grow, with considerable building in the West Green area and some development south of the railway in what is now Southgate.
In 1891, a racecourse was opened at Gatwick, with the Grand National being held there during the years of the First World War. As the 20th century arrived, considerable development continued around the town centre. Additionally, land near the racecourse was developed as an airfield, opening in 1930. The airport continued as a private concern until the Second World War when it was claimed by the Royal Air Force.
Around this time, many of the large 19th century country estates in the area, with their mansions and associated grounds and outbuildings, were split up into smaller plots of land which attracted haphazard housing development and small farms. By the First World War, Crawley had matured into a small but prosperous town, serving a wide rural area as well as its own population and those passing through on the A23 London-Brighton road; three-quarters of the population had piped water supplies, all businesses and homes had electricity, and piped gas and street lighting had been in place for 50 years.
The area around Crawley was officially identified as a suitable location for a New Town in May 1946, but not officially designated as such until 9 January 1947. At the time of designation, the 5,920 acres (2,395 hectares) of land set aside for the new town were split across the county borders between East Sussex, West Sussex and Surrey. Architect Thomas Bennett was appointed as the chairman of the Development Corporation for the town. A court challenge to the designation order meant that plans were not officially confirmed until December 1947. By this time, an initial plan for the development of the area had been drawn up by planner Anthony Minoprio.
The plans sought to fill in the gaps between the villages of Crawley, Ifield and Three Bridges to form a larger town population. At the time, Bennett estimated that planning, designing and building the town, and increasing its population from the existing 9,500, would take 15 years. Work began almost immediately, preparing the groundwork for the expansion of the town, with a full master plan in place by 1949. This plan saw an extension in the planned population of the town from 40,000 to 50,000, with residential properties shared between 9 neighbourhoods radiating from the town centre, and a separate industrial area to the north of the town.
The plans for the neighbourhoods included mainly 3-bedroom family homes, with a number of smaller and larger properties. Each neighbourhood was to be built around a centre which contained shops, a church, a public house, a primary school and a community centre. Secondary education was to be provided at three campuses across the town at Ifield Green, Three Bridges and Tilgate. Later, a fourth campus was added to the plans in Southgate for the building of Roman Catholic schools