Crawley Down is a small village in the Mid Sussex district of

West Sussex West Sussex is a county in South East England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the shire districts of Adur, Arun, Chichester, Horsham, and Mid Sussex, and the boroughs of Crawley and Worthing. Covering an ...

, England. There is one church,Crawley Down Village website
/ref> one school, and a number of social groups. It lies seven miles from

Gatwick Airport Gatwick Airport (), also known as London Gatwick , is a major international airport near Crawley, West Sussex, England, south of Central London. In 2021, Gatwick was the third-busiest airport by total passenger traffic in the UK, after ...

. The next nearest railway stations are Three Bridges and

East Grinstead East Grinstead is a town in West Sussex, England, near the East Sussex, Surrey, and Kent borders, south of London, northeast of Brighton, and northeast of the county town of Chichester. Situated in the extreme northeast of the county, the civ ...

. Crawley Down lies in the northeast corner of West Sussex, just one mile from the border with Surrey. Crawley Down has a King George's Field in memorial to

King George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. Born during the reign of his grandmother Qu ...

History

Until the 17th century, the area now covered by the village was used by iron producers, who sold to the Woodcock hammer in Felbridge. Some small farms were set up in the 1600s, part of a pattern of enclosures in the area in the 17th and 18th centuries. A large manor, The Grange, was built for a London silversmith in the 18th century, and the settlement slowly grew, with a restart of ironworking to supply metal for guns to be used in wars with France. In the 19th century, after iron working had ceased, the local clay was mined for bricks. In the 19th century, Crawley Down was known as a centre for prizefighting. The illegal sport was attracted by the proximity to London, combined with a secluded location. Large and boisterous crowds were attracted to the matches, and local law enforcement turned a blind eye as the prizefights were a useful source of income for the village. The railway from Three Bridges to Tunbridge Wells passed through the village, and although a land dispute delayed its construction, a station was built for brick transport. The railway connected the village with East Grinstead, Tunbridge Wells and London, and spurred rapid growth of the village, with several new estates. All Saints Church was built in 1843, and a Primary School attached to the church. Until 1967 the village was served by Grange Road railway station on the Three Bridges to Tunbridge Wells Central Line which closed as a result of the

Beeching Axe The Beeching cuts (also Beeching Axe) was a plan to increase the efficiency of the nationalised railway system in Great Britain. The plan was outlined in two reports: ''The Reshaping of British Railways'' (1963) and ''The Development of the ...

in 1967. The old track bed has been revitalised as a linear Country Park called the Worth Way which now offers a haven for wildlife and valued trail for walkers, cyclists and horse riders. Crawley Down has a

Non-League football Non-League football describes association football, football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is s ...

club, Crawley Down Gatwick F.C., that plays at The Haven Sportsfield.

References

External links

Worth Parish CouncilBlue watercolour map of East Grinstead 19OS Six-inch England and Wales Map - Sussex IV (includes: Worth.) - Surveyed: 1873 to 1874 and published in 1879
{{authority control Villages in West Sussex Mid Sussex District