Discover Crawley, West Sussex

Crawley is a town and borough on the northeastern part of West Sussex, England. It is about 45 km (28 mi) to the south of Charing Cross, London, and 51 km (32 mi) from the West Sussex county town of Chichester. Covering 44.96 sq km (17.36 sq mi), it has a population of 108,000 people (2012 estimate). At the edge of town is Gatwick Airport.

Crawley, West Sussex, England: Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Crawley_Housing_-_Victorian_Housing_in_Malthouse_Road,_Southgate.JPG
Author: The Voice of Hassocks


Archaeological excavations have revealed evidence of human activity in the area around Crawley going back to the prehistoric age. There are burial mounds from the Neolithic period and an ancient sword from the Bronze Age.

The name Crawley dates back to the Anglo-Saxon period, to around the 5th century AD. It's name is derived from "crow's leah", meaning a clearing teeming with crows. Its spelling evolved over the centuries, arriving at its present form in the 14th century. Strangely it was not listed in the Domesday Book of 1086, though nearby settlements such as Ifield and Worth were. The first written mention of Crawley was in 1202, on a market charter granted by King John, permitting it to hold a weekly market on Wednesday.

St Nicholas' Church, Worth, Crawley: Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:St_Nicholas_Church,_Worth,_West_Sussex_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1821297.jpg
Author: Richard Rogerson


Located approximately midway between London and Brighton worked to Crawley's advantage, helping it develop as a stopover point for stagecoaches. And when Brighton became a popular seaside resort, it helped Crawley develop as well.

Today Crawley has evolved from a manufacturing town to one based on services. It is the headquarters for a number of companies including Virgin Atlantic Airways, Western Geco, Astraeus Airlines and others. Retailers operating in Crawley include Tesco, Sainsbury's, Marks & Spencer, Debenhams, Boots, and WH Smith.

Tilgate Park, Crawley: Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tilgate_Park_-_geograph.org.uk_-_402751.jpg
Author: Elliott Simpson

Visiting Crawley

From London, take the A23 road southwards till you arrive in Crawley.

Places of Interest in Crawley

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About this website

Dear visitor, thank you so much for reading this page. My name is Timothy Tye and my hobby is to find out about places, write about them and share the information with you on this website. I have been writing this site since 5 January 2003. Originally (from 2003 until 2009, the site was called AsiaExplorers. I changed the name to Penang Travel Tips in 2009, even though I describe more than just Penang but everywhere I go (I often need to tell people that "Penang Travel Tips" is not just information about Penang, but information written in Penang), especially places in Malaysia and Singapore, and in all the years since 2003, I have described over 20,000 places.

While I try my best to provide you information as accurate as I can get it to be, I do apologize for any errors and for outdated information which I am unaware. Nevertheless, I hope that what I have described here will be useful to you.