By David Stoker At first sight, Crawley was not a particularly good place to be a train spotter in 1960. The nationalised British Railways (BR) had been in existence since 1948 and five years previously they had published a modernisation plan phasing out steam power in favour of diesel and electric…
Another object from our collection. This is a decorative hair comb from a collection donated to us by Ruth Coste. It belonged to her grandmother. Ruth’s brother was Frank Wyatt, who worked at Tilgate Park. What would you write on a label for this one? Here are some suggestions from…
Another object from our collection. It’s some household soap. Comments on our social media included: “Monday is wash day. The day the housewife did the laundry with her bar of Fairy soap.” “Mum used to shave flakes off the bar to put in the boiler with the washing.” “These blocks…
There has been a primary school in West Green since 1824. When the New Town was built, so was a new primary school. A temporary building was built in 1950, and the permanent buildings followed soon after. Here are some photographs from our archives of the New Town school. For…
Another object from our collection. It’s a school milk bottle! Do you remember these? People on our social media did, and not everyone had happy memories. People’s comments included: “Yuk! Hated by millions” “Stomach clenching time” “on the positive side was that the older we got the less we were…
By David Stoker My family and I arrived in Crawley when I was three and a half years old. Our previous home had been a cramped second floor garret at 208 East Lane, Walworth, just off the Old Kent Road. It was the period leading up to the great London…
(By Graham Crozier) Photograph of St John’s Church from Crawley Museum’s collection. John Barrett-Lennard served as Rector of St. John the Baptist, Crawley, for twenty-two years in the late Victorian period. Born in 1839, he was the fifth and youngest son of Sir Thomas Barrett-Lennard and Mary Shedden, his father…
Another object from our collection. This is the first aid box that belonged to the last gate keeper at the Horsham Road crossing. What would you write on a label for this one? Crawley’s Collections Revealed – label an object!
What’s in a name of a street near to you in this town? In Southgate seventeen occupations are renowned There’s a baker, but no butcher or candlestick maker The closest being a chandler, and not a muck raker Loriners produced all sorts of items to fit on horses Saddlers provided…
