Having explored Crawley and its past, we wanted to put together a self guided and accessible trail that included some of its highlights, and so we decided upon a Crawley Historic Building & Tree Trail ©. We did this trail by car, but it is also doable by bus, and it takes in some of the town’s oldest buildings and most interesting trees. You could do it all in one day, but there is a lot to pack in, and so it is probably better to allow at least two days.
Crawley High Street
In the centre of the town is the Jubilee Oak (opposite the pub of the same name), planted in 1887 to celebrate Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee. It’s a good place to start our trail. In the High Street, you’ll also find some of the oldest buildings in Crawley. Most of them are now commercial buildings (restaurants, pubs, etc.), but to get a sense of the place and its role in Sussex history, it is worth remembering that one of the High Street buildings was once a dairy and this was a rural area.
It’s a bit like Haywards Heath, in that historically, it was Cuckfield and Lindfield that were the important centres and Haywards Heath developed later with the railways. For Crawley, it was actually Ifield, Worth and even Slaugham which were the bigger places back at the time of the Domesday Book, and Crawley started to develop after that.
Buildings to look out for in the High Street include:
- The George built c1450. A former coaching inn that is halfway between London and Brighton, which helped put Crawley on the map. It has featured in a Sir Arthur Conan Doyle novel, was frequented by the notorious acid bath murderer, John Haigh, and is apparently haunted. It has a replica gallows outside.
- The Tree built c1300 and now part of the museum.
- The Ancient Priors built c1450. This started out as a private house and then became the original ‘Whyte Harte’ Inn during the mid-1600s. These days, it’s a restaurant.
- The Punch Bowl built c1450. This was once a dairy farm, then cottages, then tea rooms and even a bank. These days it is a pub.
- The Hogs Head built c145o which is now the pub, The Brewery Shades.
- St John’s Church, which dates back to 1250 but has various later alterations.
We visited on a Sunday and the High Street was reasonably quiet. The museum is just off the High Street and packed with information. Entry is free, but at the time of writing, it is only open on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays from 10.30 am to 4.00 pm.
When you are ready, from the High Street, there are direct buses to Worth Park Gardens. Bus time should be 20 to 25 minutes.
Optional Stop: Indian Bean Tree
The Indian Bean Tree at Three Bridges was planted as part of the New Town development in the 1940s. It is apparently in St Mary’s Drive near the railway Bridge. We stopped, but as it was winter and the trees weren’t in leaf, we couldn’t identify which tree it was. Travelling by car, parking is also difficult in this area.
Worth Park
Worth Park is a little pocket of history tucked away in Pound Hill. And even in winter, what an absolute delight. This was originally part of Worth Forest and that immediately gives you a sense of how this landscape has changed and how vast the forests once were. By 1816, the estate had been bought by the Montefiore family, who went on to develop the grounds and build a grand mansion. The park now covers eight hectares.
At the north end is a small lake, with plenty of birdlife and interesting trees, and then by way of a small green and some wooden cow sculptures, you arrive at the Ha Ha (a bit like a ditch it would have kept the cows that once grazed here off the lawns above) and the more formal gardens (that even in winter have a lot of wow!) There is a large fountain, which is Grade II listed and made in Pulhamite terracotta. It’s one of the largest Victorian fountains in the country.
In front of the fountain is a grand and impressive set of steps with balustrades and an information board that shows a picture of the manion that once stood at the top of the steps. It looks magnificent. In 1920, the house became a school (Milton Mount College), but, sadly, it was demolished in 1968 and replaced with a not quite so magnificent block of flats.
Head right, and you come to more formal gardens, an area which was once an orchard. Here, there is a walkway with terracotta tiles and more balustrading decorated with a number of urns.
Behind this section, you’ll also find Ridely’s Court, the former stable block. And look out for the Timeline Totem sculpture, which represents a timeline of the history of the park. You’ll also find Kelly’s Coffee, where you can buy both coffee and cake.
There is a tree trail in the park, and you can download the details from the Friends of Worth Park. There are 25 trees to find, and they range from county and British champions to walnuts, mulberry and giant redwoods. Before you leave, you could also detour to Gratton Park Nature Reserve, where you’ll find Gatwick Stream, open green space and more wildlife. It’s hard to believe you’re in Crawley.
It’s 2.5 km to Worth Park from Worth church. You can hop on a bus on the Balcombe Road and hop off again near Maidenbower and Worth, and then walk up Street Hill to Church Road.
Worth church
St Nicholas Church, Worth is one of the oldest churches in the country. Parts of it have been dated to between AD 950 and 1050. When it was first built, it would have been in the middle of a forest and later, William the Conqueror gave the church to his son-in-law, William de Warenne. It was subsequently owned by the Fitzalan family and the Nevills, Earls of Abergavenny. You will also see Worth Way here, a green route which will take you all the way to East Grinstead.
From Worth, hop back on the bus to Tilgate, although you may need to change bus once.
Tilgate Park
If you are a lover of trees, stop on your way to Tilgate Park at Constable Road. This is a heavily residential area with very limited parking and you may wonder why you are here. But there is an ancient hawthorn, one of just 70 ancient trees in the UK to be dedicated to the Queen’s Green Canopy as part of the Platinum Jubilee celebrations.
Tilgate was once part of Worth Forest and later home to iron works. By the 1860s, there was a large mansion here, although sadly, this was demolished in the 1960s. What remains is a large woodland area, a Pinetum, two lakes, a walled garden and plenty of walkways and fully accessible paths.
There is a Tilgate Park tree trail (you can download a map from the “Crawley Gov” website). There are 30 trees on the trail, including one of the oldest trees in Crawley, an oak estimated to be 250 years old. There are also champion trees and interesting species like the Maidenhair tree, Ginkgo biloba.
You can spend quite a lot of time exploring Tilgate Park, but when you are ready, hop on a direct bus from Tilgate to Ifield, it should take about 25 mins.
Last stop Ifield
Ifield Village is a designated conservation area with an ancient church. The church dates back to the 13th century, but sadly, the outside has been completely rendered, so it has lost some of its charm. Check opening times if you want to go inside, particularly at the weekend. The church is approached down a sleepy lane that has a distinctly country village feel, and once again, it is hard to believe you’re still on the edge of Crawley. They also have a barn theatre and a pub.
Ifield watermill is thought to be the only working watermill in West Sussex and is still powered by a millpond. There were mills in the area from as early as 1274, and one on this spot since 1660. Rebuilt following a fire in 1683, it continued to operate until the 1920s. It was fully restored in the 1970s and it has a variety of working mechanical instruments.
It also houses exhibitions about the history and restoration of the mill and the history of the local area. It is part of Crawley Museum, but frustratingly, it is only open on the last Sunday of the month from May to September and on National Mills Day in May each year.
There is also a circular walk around the mill pond and the area is a Site of Nature Conservation Importance so expect more wildlife. When you’re ready, hop on a bus back into town.
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