Ifield is a former village and now one of 14 neighbourhoods within the town of

Crawley Crawley () is a town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in West Sussex, England. It is south of London, north of Brighton and Hove, and north-east of the county town of Chichester. Crawley covers an area of and had a populat ...

West Sussex West Sussex is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Surrey to the north, East Sussex to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Hampshire to the west. The largest settlement is Cr ...

, England. Ifield is in the west of the town and is bordered by Ifield West,

Horsham Horsham () is a market town on the upper reaches of the River Arun on the fringe of the Weald in West Sussex, England. The town is south south-west of London, north-west of Brighton and north-east of the county town of Chichester. Nearby to ...

, Langley Green to the north east, West Green to the east across the ring road and Gossops Green and Bewbush to the south across the Arun Valley railway line.

History

The name Ifield is derived from "Yew-field". There were many Yew trees in the parish, and some can be seen in the churchyard of St Margaret's Church. Ifield contains some of the most historic parts of Crawley, and there is a mention in the

Domesday Book Domesday Book ( ; the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book") is a manuscript record of the Great Survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...

: "it is and was worth 20 shillings", where Ifield was spelt Ifelt. Locally there is much evidence of Saxon iron works and a stretch of Roman Road still exists today known locally as the "Quarter Mile".british-history.ac.uk
/ref> St Margaret's Church was built in the 13th century. It contains both the grave of

Mark Lemon Mark Lemon (30 November 1809, in London – 23 May 1870, in Crawley) was the founding editor of both ''Punch (magazine), Punch'' and ''The Field (magazine), The Field''. He was also a writer of Play (theatre), plays and verses. Biography ...

(the first editor of '' Punch''), and the Holles family vault. Adjacent to St Margaret's Church is the Ifield Barn Theatre. The old parish of Ifield contained most of the western part of modern-day Crawley, and the old village is on the very western edge of the new town. As well as containing two modern churches, St.Leonards in Langley Green and St.Albans in Gossops Green, Ifield Parish also contains a Friends' Meeting House. Founded in 1676, it was the first purpose-built meeting place for the

Quakers Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestantism, Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally ...

anywhere in the world. Denzil Holles was created Baron Holles of Ifield in 1661, after his part in the restoration of

Charles II of England Charles II (29 May 1630 – 6 February 1685) was King of Scotland from 1649 until 1651 and King of England, Scotland, and King of Ireland, Ireland from the 1660 Restoration of the monarchy until his death in 1685. Charles II was the eldest su ...

. The

peerage A peerage is a legal system historically comprising various hereditary titles (and sometimes Life peer, non-hereditary titles) in a number of countries, and composed of assorted Imperial, royal and noble ranks, noble ranks. Peerages include: A ...

became extinct after his grandson died unmarried and without issue. Denzil was buried in

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an Anglican church in the City of Westminster, London, England. Since 1066, it has been the location of the coronations of 40 English and British m ...

, but his family are interred here. A

V-1 flying bomb The V-1 flying bomb ( "Vengeance Weapon 1") was an early cruise missile. Its official Reich Aviation Ministry () name was Fieseler Fi 103 and its suggestive name was (hellhound). It was also known to the Allies as the buzz bomb or doodlebug a ...

landed in Ifield during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. It damaged the village school and wounded one local man who remained slightly brain damaged for the rest of his life. In 1931 the

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

had a population of 4680. On 1 April 1933 the parish was abolished and merged with Crawley.

Education

There are five schools in Ifield neighbourhood: * Primary Schools: St.Margaret's Church of England Primary School and Mill Primary Academy * Secondary School: Ifield Community College * Special Schools: Manor Green School and Manor Green College

Ifield station

Ifield station is located on the south side of the neighbourhood on the border with Gossops Green neighbourhood. The station is part of the

Arun Valley line The Arun Valley line, also known as the Mid Sussex line, is part of the Southern- and Thameslink-operated railway services. For the initial part of the route trains follow the Brighton Main Line, and at a junction south of Three Bridges t ...

and was opened in 1907 as 'Ifield Halt'. Southern services run to Three Bridges and

London Victoria Victoria station, also known as London Victoria, is a London station group, central London railway terminus and connected London Underground station in Victoria, London, Victoria, in the City of Westminster, managed by Network Rail. Named afte ...

from Platform 1 and

from Platform 2. The level crossing that used to be in operation was replaced by the footbridge that now connects the two platforms.

Ifield Village Conservation Area

Originally the area around the church was designated a

conservation area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural or cultural values. Protected areas are those areas in which human presence or the exploitation of natural resources (e.g. firewoo ...

in 1981 and was later expanded to include Ifield village green, Tweed Lane and Rectory Lane. A further expansion in 2013 added Ifield Green and Langley Lane.

Ifield Water Mill and Mill Pond

Ifield Mill Pond lies between Bewbush, Gossops Green and Ifield West. It is the

source Source may refer to: Research * Historical document * Historical source * Source (intelligence) or sub source, typically a confidential provider of non open-source intelligence * Source (journalism), a person, publication, publishing institute ...

of the

River Mole The River Mole is a tributary of the River Thames in southern England. It rises in West Sussex near Gatwick Airport and flows north-west through Surrey for to the Thames at Hampton Court Palace. The river gives its name to the Surrey district ...

which runs north to the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, s ...

above

Teddington Lock Teddington Lock is a complex of three locks and a weir on the River Thames between Ham and Teddington in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England. Historically in Middlesex, it was first built in 1810. The limit of legal powe ...

. In 1683 Ifield Water Mill, a

corn mill A gristmill (also: grist mill, corn mill, flour mill, feed mill or feedmill) grinds cereal grain into flour and middlings. The term can refer to either the grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist is grain that has been separat ...

, was built in the north of the pond; it used water from the mill pond to turn its

water wheel A water wheel is a machine for converting the kinetic energy of flowing or falling water into useful forms of power, often in a watermill. A water wheel consists of a large wheel (usually constructed from wood or metal), with numerous b ...

. It was rebuilt in 1817 and is now being restored. The restoration has been led by a team of volunteers and spearheaded by Ted Henbery MBE, who has spent 34 years on the project after his son discovered the disused site in 1974. A second project to upgrade the Mill Pond concluded in July 2015 after £6.5 million was spent upgrading the dam, finished £1 million under budget. The Mill Pond is considered to be "the most important wetland site in Crawley" and supports a rich bird community.

Ifield Barn Theatre

The theatre is situated in Ifield, to the north of the 13th century church of St Margaret. The theatre buildings were converted from a group of agricultural buildings mainly based on a

tithe barn A tithe barn was a type of barn used in much of northern Europe in the Middle Ages for storing rents and tithes. Farmers were required to give one-tenth of their produce to the established church. Tithe barns were usually associated with the ...

and former Granary.

Ifield Cricket Club

Cricket was first recorded to have been played in Ifield in 1721, on the green. As of the 2022, Ifield CC 1st XI play in the Division 3 East of the Sussex Cricket League.

References

External links

{{authority control Neighbourhoods in Crawley Former civil parishes in West Sussex