CELEBRATING 70 YEARS OF CRAWLEY NEW TOWN Architect Sir Thomas Bennett, who was the Chairman of the NORTHGATE THREE BRIDGES Development Corporation, appointed Anthony Minoprio SMALLS MEAD ork started in Northgate in 1949. The area name is evelopment work started at Three Bridges in 1951 and _ a leading town planner of taken from the fact that there was a turnpike, or was completed by 1955. The main London to Brighton the day _ to draw up a Master Wpayment place, located here at the boundary of the Drailway provided considerable local employment and a Plan for Crawley, and his work old town on the London Road. Payments, or tolls, were collected fast route to London for those building Crawley. The name formed the basis of the town at these turnpikes from people using that section of road, and ‘Three Bridges’ dates back to when three small streams were we see today. the money collected paid for the upkeep of the highway. crossed by separate bridges. With the coming of the railway in Northgate was completed by 1955. the 1840s, the three bridges were combined into one larger one. Later in his career, Minoprio went on to work on projects overseas _ planning parts of INDUSTRIAL Kuwait City and Baghdad _ and closer to home, Croydon’s he 260 acres of land to the north of Crawley was to be the ‘Industry Area’. Without places of employment, nobody Whitgift Centre. SIR ANTHONY MINOPRIO Twould be attracted to live in the New Town, so building started immediately. As the site, formerly ‘Manor Farm’, was to be opened in January 1950 by the then Princess Elizabeth (now CONSTRUCTION our Queen), the name of Manor ‘Royal’ was decided upon. onstruction work for Crawley New Town started in West he construction of the New Town needed large numbers Green during 1949. Smalls Mead was the first street of workers, and huge amounts of materials such as bricks, Ccompleted as part of the new development. timber, concrete and glass. Many of the workforce T The housing styles for the new neighbourhoods in Crawley were QUEEN’S VISIT, 1958 travelled down from the London area, worked in Crawley all varied, with more than 50 different types of home constructed. week, and then returned home again each weekend. Everything Very few of these were flats, as high-rise buildings were not The designated sports area for the New Town was on Haslett had to be built from scratch on greenfield sites, and the roads THE ‘NEW TOWN’ CONCEPT permitted by the planners. Whilst all the new houses and Avenue in Three Bridges. The Crawley Leisure Centre swimming and houses had to be supplied with water, drainage, gas and factories were being built, large employers who were to move pool building was constructed by local firm Longley’s, and electricity supplies. This all took time and homes could not be to Crawley arranged special coach trips at weekends to allow opened in 1964, but it was just part of a much bigger complex hortly after the end of World War Two, in 1945, the occupied until all the basics for daily life were in place. their staff to see their new homes and workplaces being built. It which included an athletics track and an all-weather football and Government drew up plans to create a number of towns Pavements were the last features to be built, so early residents which were to be built roughly 30 miles from the centre of was a very exciting time for everyone making a fresh start after hockey pitch. A new Sports Hall was opened by Prime Minister S had to take their footwear off outside for fear of treading Harold Wilson in November 1974. This was also an London. These ‘New Towns’ would attract people and the six years of conflict during World War Two. cinders, grit and mud through their new homes! entertainment venue, and many pop stars such as Midge Ure, businesses to relocate away from war-damaged and run-down and The Human League, performed at the leisure centre in the parts of the capital. They would be a clean and modern 1980s. An edition of the popular BBC TV game show ‘It’s a environment for workers and their families rebuilding their lives MANOR ROYAL Knockout’ was also filmed there. K2 Crawley Leisure Centre, with after the war. A local Development Corporation was created its state-of-the-art facilities, climbing wall, and Olympic-sized for Crawley which controlled all the planning and building work. _ Businesses expanding and moving to Manor Royal for more swimming pool, opened in Tilgate in 2005 replacing the original It was based in Broadfield House in Broadfield Park from 1948 leisure centre. until it was disbanded in 1964. space were certainly diverse. Some of the first included Youngman who made wooden ladders, Sun D’Or Limited who made sweets and chocolates, and A.P.V. who engineered high The Crawley New Town neighbourhoods were designed to be _ _ largely self-contained communities. Each would have houses to quality machinery for among many others the dairy and rent, its own primary school, a nearby secondary school serving nuclear industry. three of the neighbourhoods, a church, a public house, a The local building firm Longley’s, whose headquarters were on community centre and a parade of shops. Manor Royal, constructed many of the industrial units, as well as several of Crawley’s schools, part of the college, the first stage The town centre of Crawley was to be open and spacious, and it of the hospital, the swimming pool, and much of Gatwick would feature all the usual large retail shops and public Railway Station and Gatwick Airport. The new airport opened in buildings such as a Town Hall, library and college. All of these June 1958, replacing the private airfield which had been based IFIELD ROAD around the Beehive, near City Place. were to be located around a central ring-road. IFIELD AVENUE CRAWLEY SPORTS CENTRE Crawley’s Town Hall was opened in 1964, the site having been Haslett Avenue which leads towards Three Bridges is named POUND HILL SOUTHGATE bought from the Development Council in 1958 by Crawley TILGATE after Dame Caroline Haslett. This lady was a member of the Urban District Council. Crawley’s coat of arms was carved above Development Corporation which managed the building of onstruction of the Pound Hill neighbourhood started in uilding in Southgate started in 1956. The east side of the the building’s entrance. It features a Royal lion brandishing a the New Town, and she was also the first woman to be 1952 and building work surrounded the Victorian main road was completed by 1957, however building of hammer, symbolising the industrial nature of Manor Royal. mansion and gardens of the Worth Park Estate. The the western side was only took place between 1968- trained as an electrical engineer in the early 20th century. C B _ This was at a time when such opportunities for women were mansion was later demolished but the grand, former stable 1972. Roads named by John Goepel have a countryside theme much more limited than today, so she was a very notable block, Ridley’s Court, remains as a public Visitor Centre. The Park the eastern side featuring names of rural Sussex occupations Crawley became a Borough in 1974 and in 1976 the coat of person and pioneering in this respect. itself has been extensively restored by Crawley Borough Council. and trades, and the west featuring names of hills on the upper arms was redesigned with additional sheild supporters _ a side, and dales on the lower side. winged lion, and an eagle. The motto: ‘I Grow and I Rejoice’ Thomas Bennett Community College, named after the is a translation of a phrase from the philosopher Seneca’s Chairman of the Crawley Development Council, was opened in ‘Epistulae Morales’ or ‘Moral Letters’, and refers to the LANGLEY GREEN 1959, and at the time it was one of the largest comprehensive building of a happy, expanding community. schools in Europe. onstruction of Langley Green started in 1951. John Goepel who was the man chosen to name all the new CRAWLEY TOWN CENTRE roads and streets in Crawley, based this neighbourhood’s C _ TILGATE PARADE on birds, animals, trees but not fishes, as he ‘did not want the tenants even subconsciously feeling that their houses were damp!’ Other roads were named after martyrs, and ‘Rushetts’ he construction of Tilgate Parade started in 1955 and it and ‘Stagelands’ _ two very old local names _ were retained. wasn’t long before local residents had all they needed for WORTH PARK Ttheir daily life, including a hairdressers, dry cleaners, butchers, grocers, bakers, chemists, post office, a hardware Wakehams Green was created in the late 1970s. Crabbett Park store and a general store. Back then a loaf cost the equivalent of came later still with work starting in 1984. The M23 now cuts 2p and a dozen eggs were around 10p. Milk was not available in through what was the original Crabbet Park Estate, famous for the shops, as it was delivered to each door by a milkman, and its Arabian Horse stud and stables. The house itself still stands to the only takeaway was a fish and chip shop. the east of the motorway. IFIELD CONSTRUCTION ork started on the development of Ifield in 1953. HIGH STREET Weir Wood Reservoir, created by damming the River Medway, Completed by 1957, this neighbourhood’s road took around 4 years to build, and opened in 1955 to supply names featured Sussex villages to reflect its rural W he construction of water to the New Town.