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Crawley
Crawley (ⓘ) is a large town and borough in West Sussex, England. It is 28 miles (45 km) south of London, 18 miles (29 km) north of Brighton and Hove, and 32 miles (51 km) north-east of the county town of Chichester. Crawley covers an area of 17.36 square miles (44.96 km2) and had a population of 118,493 at the time of the 2021 Census. Southern parts of the borough lie immediately next to the High Weald National Landscape.
The area has been inhabited since the Stone Age, and was a centre of ironworking in the Iron Age and Roman times. The area was probably used by the kings of Sussex for hunting. Initially a clearing in the vast forest of the Weald, Crawley began as a settlement on the boundary of two of the sub-regions particular to Sussex, known as Rapes, the Rape of Bramber and the Rape of Lewes. Becoming a market town in 1202, Crawley developed slowly, serving the surrounding villages in the Weald. In the medieval period, its location on the main road from London to the port of Shoreham helped the town to grow; and when Brighton became a fashionable seaside town in the 18th century, the passing trade encouraged the development of coaching inns. A rail link to London and Brighton opened in 1841, encouraging further development.
After World War II, the British Government planned to move large numbers of people and jobs out of London and into new towns around South East England. The New Towns Act 1946 (9 & 10 Geo. 6. c. 68) designated Crawley as the site of one of these. A master plan was developed for the establishment of new residential, commercial, industrial and civic areas, and rapid development greatly increased the size and population of the town over a few decades. The town expanded further in 1974 to include Gatwick Airport, Britain's second busiest international airport and, in 2024, the tenth busiest in Europe.
The town contains 14 residential neighbourhoods radiating out from the core of the old market town, and separated by main roads and railway lines. The nearby communities of Ifield, Pound Hill and Three Bridges were absorbed into the new town at various stages in its development. Established in 2019, the south-western suburb of Kilnwood Vale lies outside of the borough boundary in the neighbouring district of Horsham. Economically, the town has developed into the main centre of industry and employment between London and Brighton. Its large industrial area supports manufacturing and service companies, many of them connected with the airport. The commercial and retail sectors continue to expand. In the late 20th century and early 21st century, the town has attracted a diverse and multicultural population. It is home to about two-thirds of the UK's population of Chagossians.
The area may have been settled during the Mesolithic period: locally manufactured flints of the Horsham Culture type have been found to the southwest of the town. Tools and burial mound from the Neolithic period, and burial mounds and a sword from the Bronze Age, have also been discovered. Crawley is on the western edge of the High Weald, which produced iron for more than 2,000 years from the Iron Age onwards. Goffs Park—now a recreational area in the south of the town—was the site of two late Iron Age furnaces. Ironworking and mineral extraction continued throughout Roman times, particularly in the Broadfield area where many furnaces were built.
Passing through the north of the modern borough, the historic Sussex–Surrey border follows ridges and a trackway, in contrast to the Sussex–Kent border to the east, which follows waterways. According to Mark Gardiner, the border dates at least as far back as the Saxon period, although may in fact be earlier and represent the border between Roman cantons or Iron Age kingdoms. In the 5th century, Saxon settlers named the area Crow's Leah—meaning a crow-infested clearing, or Crow's Wood. This name evolved over time, and the present spelling appeared by the early 14th century. By this time, nearby settlements were more established: the Saxon church at Worth, for example, dates from between 950 and 1050 AD.
Although Crawley itself is not mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086, the nearby settlements of Ifield and Worth are recorded. Crawley's High Street was built on part of the route from London to the port of New Shoreham, a major port in the 12th and 13th centuries that was on the most direct route between London and Normandy, used by the king and his knights and soldiers. The first written record of Crawley dates from 1202, when King John issued a licence for a weekly market on Wednesdays. As a small market town, Crawley grew slowly in importance over the next few centuries and as the Wealden iron industry declined, the town became an important centre for smuggling between the Sussex coast and London. Later in the 18th century, Crawley was boosted by the construction of the turnpike road between London and Brighton. When this was completed in 1770, travel between the newly fashionable seaside resort of Brighton and London became safer and quicker, and Crawley (located approximately halfway between the two) prospered as a coaching halt. By 1839 it offered almost an hourly service to both destinations. The George, a timber-framed house dating from the 15th century, expanded to become a large coaching inn, taking over adjacent buildings. Eventually an annexe had to be built in the middle of the wide High Street; this survived until the 1930s. The original building has become the George Hotel, with conference facilities and 84 bedrooms; it retains many period features including an iron fireback.
Crawley's oldest church is St John the Baptist's, between the High Street and the Broadway. It is said to have 13th-century origins, but there has been much rebuilding (especially in the 19th century) and the oldest part remaining is the south wall of the nave, which is believed to be 14th century. The church has a 15th-century tower (rebuilt in 1804) which originally contained four bells cast in 1724. Two were replaced by Thomas Lester of London in 1742; but in 1880 a new set of eight bells were cast and installed by the Croydon-based firm Gillett, Bland & Company.
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Crawley
Crawley (ⓘ) is a large town and borough in West Sussex, England. It is 28 miles (45 km) south of London, 18 miles (29 km) north of Brighton and Hove, and 32 miles (51 km) north-east of the county town of Chichester. Crawley covers an area of 17.36 square miles (44.96 km2) and had a population of 118,493 at the time of the 2021 Census. Southern parts of the borough lie immediately next to the High Weald National Landscape.
The area has been inhabited since the Stone Age, and was a centre of ironworking in the Iron Age and Roman times. The area was probably used by the kings of Sussex for hunting. Initially a clearing in the vast forest of the Weald, Crawley began as a settlement on the boundary of two of the sub-regions particular to Sussex, known as Rapes, the Rape of Bramber and the Rape of Lewes. Becoming a market town in 1202, Crawley developed slowly, serving the surrounding villages in the Weald. In the medieval period, its location on the main road from London to the port of Shoreham helped the town to grow; and when Brighton became a fashionable seaside town in the 18th century, the passing trade encouraged the development of coaching inns. A rail link to London and Brighton opened in 1841, encouraging further development.
After World War II, the British Government planned to move large numbers of people and jobs out of London and into new towns around South East England. The New Towns Act 1946 (9 & 10 Geo. 6. c. 68) designated Crawley as the site of one of these. A master plan was developed for the establishment of new residential, commercial, industrial and civic areas, and rapid development greatly increased the size and population of the town over a few decades. The town expanded further in 1974 to include Gatwick Airport, Britain's second busiest international airport and, in 2024, the tenth busiest in Europe.
The town contains 14 residential neighbourhoods radiating out from the core of the old market town, and separated by main roads and railway lines. The nearby communities of Ifield, Pound Hill and Three Bridges were absorbed into the new town at various stages in its development. Established in 2019, the south-western suburb of Kilnwood Vale lies outside of the borough boundary in the neighbouring district of Horsham. Economically, the town has developed into the main centre of industry and employment between London and Brighton. Its large industrial area supports manufacturing and service companies, many of them connected with the airport. The commercial and retail sectors continue to expand. In the late 20th century and early 21st century, the town has attracted a diverse and multicultural population. It is home to about two-thirds of the UK's population of Chagossians.
The area may have been settled during the Mesolithic period: locally manufactured flints of the Horsham Culture type have been found to the southwest of the town. Tools and burial mound from the Neolithic period, and burial mounds and a sword from the Bronze Age, have also been discovered. Crawley is on the western edge of the High Weald, which produced iron for more than 2,000 years from the Iron Age onwards. Goffs Park—now a recreational area in the south of the town—was the site of two late Iron Age furnaces. Ironworking and mineral extraction continued throughout Roman times, particularly in the Broadfield area where many furnaces were built.
Passing through the north of the modern borough, the historic Sussex–Surrey border follows ridges and a trackway, in contrast to the Sussex–Kent border to the east, which follows waterways. According to Mark Gardiner, the border dates at least as far back as the Saxon period, although may in fact be earlier and represent the border between Roman cantons or Iron Age kingdoms. In the 5th century, Saxon settlers named the area Crow's Leah—meaning a crow-infested clearing, or Crow's Wood. This name evolved over time, and the present spelling appeared by the early 14th century. By this time, nearby settlements were more established: the Saxon church at Worth, for example, dates from between 950 and 1050 AD.
Although Crawley itself is not mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086, the nearby settlements of Ifield and Worth are recorded. Crawley's High Street was built on part of the route from London to the port of New Shoreham, a major port in the 12th and 13th centuries that was on the most direct route between London and Normandy, used by the king and his knights and soldiers. The first written record of Crawley dates from 1202, when King John issued a licence for a weekly market on Wednesdays. As a small market town, Crawley grew slowly in importance over the next few centuries and as the Wealden iron industry declined, the town became an important centre for smuggling between the Sussex coast and London. Later in the 18th century, Crawley was boosted by the construction of the turnpike road between London and Brighton. When this was completed in 1770, travel between the newly fashionable seaside resort of Brighton and London became safer and quicker, and Crawley (located approximately halfway between the two) prospered as a coaching halt. By 1839 it offered almost an hourly service to both destinations. The George, a timber-framed house dating from the 15th century, expanded to become a large coaching inn, taking over adjacent buildings. Eventually an annexe had to be built in the middle of the wide High Street; this survived until the 1930s. The original building has become the George Hotel, with conference facilities and 84 bedrooms; it retains many period features including an iron fireback.
Crawley's oldest church is St John the Baptist's, between the High Street and the Broadway. It is said to have 13th-century origins, but there has been much rebuilding (especially in the 19th century) and the oldest part remaining is the south wall of the nave, which is believed to be 14th century. The church has a 15th-century tower (rebuilt in 1804) which originally contained four bells cast in 1724. Two were replaced by Thomas Lester of London in 1742; but in 1880 a new set of eight bells were cast and installed by the Croydon-based firm Gillett, Bland & Company.