The Crawley town is an unparished borough in the northern part of Sussex, bordering Surrey. The borough is bordered by the Sussex Local Authorities of Mid Sussex and Horsham Districts, and by the Surrey authorities of Mole Valley and Tandridge Districts, and the Borough of Reigate & Banstead. The town is a two-tier area, also coming under the remit of West Sussex County Council.
The village of Crawley remained relatively undeveloped until the coming of the railway, in the mid 19th century, but had developed into a small-sized town of under 10,000 people by World War II, clustered around the main London to Brighton road (now the A23). In 1947, it was designated as a New Town area under the New Towns Act of 1946. Its development then ballooned during the 1950s and 1960s, bringing it to a population of around 60,000. Since that time, the town has continued to grow, incorporating neigbouring settlements. During the boom of the 1980s the town boasted the lowest level of unemployment in the UK. It is now bypassed by the M23.
Crawley was designated as a New Town in the middle of the last century (1947), the history of settlements in the area far precede the developments of the last 60 years. Relatively little is known about the intervening years, however, in the 9th Century the building of Worth Church, in the west of what is now the New Town area created what is now thought to be one of the oldest buildings of its kind in the UK. Some years later, it is thought that the fleeing armies of King Harold may have rested here, after their defeat at Hastings.
In 1900, Crawley had a population of around 9000 people; it is unlikely that any resident of the town could have envisaged that this would increase ten-fold over the next 100 years. For much of the first part of the 1900s, Crawley continued its life as a small but thriving town. 1930 saw the opening of the Gatwick Aerodrome nearby (the first airport in the UK to have its own railway station). By 1938, the town had reached such a size that it was decided to build a by-pass around it to ease traffic flow in the town itself. This decision was to feature in the selection of localities for New Towns in later years.
During the Second World War years of 1939-1945, Crawley suffered, much like any other town of its size. During the 6 years period, some 24 houses were destroyed by aerial bombing. However, it was after the war that the town was to see its most dramatic changes in its history. In 1947, Lewis Silkin MP announced that the area around Crawley, Three Bridges and Ifield had been chosen as one of the locations for a New Town. These satellite towns were built in response to the need for additional housing in the south east of England.
Later that year the Master Plan for Crawley New Town was produced, and under the leadership of Sir Thomas Bennett and the Crawley Development Corporation, work began on the development. The plan provided for nine neighbourhoods around the old communities, an area covering some 6000 acres and providing for a population of around 50,000 people. This was reached surpassed by 1962, by which time an additional neighbourhood had already been added (Furnace Green), with the town housing a population of 60,000. However, development continued; by 1983 the area of the town increased to 7800 acres. Current figures suggest that by 2006, the population of Crawley is expected to reach 100,000, double the original intended size. There area also plans for further developments in various areas of the town - including a possible new neighbourhood in the North East of the town.
