Broadfield excavators
Ifield Mill, A Survey by J. Gibson-Hill and E.W. Henbery In 1975 I was fortunate enough to spend the summer with a friend, Keith Young, working with archaeologist John Gibson-Hill. I was reminded of this the other day when, whilst having a clear out at home, I found a little…
The author in 1965 (© CC BY-SA 4.0 – David Stoker)
The author in 1965 (© CC BY-SA 4.0 – David Stoker) I recently returned to Crawley for the first time in more than a decade, to attend the cremation service for an old friend, Don Nunn. At the ceremony I met several other friends from my school days and afterwards…
Bonfire & children, High St, with Shaw's (2)
“Now boys with squibs and crackers play,  And bonfires blaze turns night to day.” ‘Poor Robin’s Almanac’ dated 1677   For many people today, Bonfire Night or Guy Fawkes Night means a chance to get together to watch fireworks, and perhaps attend a bonfire party somewhere in the community. The…
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The chairs which are now on display in the museum. No! These cane backed arm chairs painted in light blue with some beautiful painted flowers have a lovely local story behind them. They were owned by Alice and Frank Hyder of Three Bridges. Alice was born on the 10 May…
The result of the election is announced at the Railway Hotel
One of the most interesting ways to approach local history is through the memories of those who were there. While taking into account the vagaries of memory, reminiscences of the past provide a unique source of information for the historian. In the case of Crawley before the First World War,…
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My father, Anthony Stoker, was the eleventh child of a devout Catholic Irish immigrant couple living in Southport, Lancashire. He was born in May 1918, but his mother died six months later, during the Spanish Flu pandemic. His father was unable to cope with a new baby as well as…
Montefiore Institute drawing
My family’s memories start with my mum taking me to be weighed at the Baby Clinic held at the Monte, I have a 1947 newspaper cutting of a party at the hall with all the mums, toddlers and babies. The announcement of Crawley being selected for a New Town was…
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Marion Cecilia Buckett was born on the 2nd April 1892 in Brompton Kent. She married Reginald Milton Crowe in Horsham in 1925 and they lived and worked at 57 High Street, Crawley. From 1924 – 1968 Reginald is registered as being a Print seller and Picture Frame Maker. Involved in…
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by Martin Bastone Tilgate Park with view of the lake. CAMPBELL’S LAKE My earliest memories of Tilgate Park are from the mid sixties when I joined the cubs at their hut in the woods. These huts were previously army barracks and were cold and damp but, as we were required…
Lyons Bakery During the summer of 1966 I worked a week of twelve-hour night shifts at the bakery operated by J. Lyons and Co. in Telford Place, off Southgate Avenue. This was a famous restaurant chain and food manufacturing company, founded in 1884, which would later be a pioneer in…

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