Crawley Town Hall (opened 1964) has twice been refused a listing.
Photos from a walk around Crawley in Sussex.
Queens Square, redeveloped 2017-2019
County Mall shopping centre
Crawley signal box, a Grade II listed building. The level crossing is the gateway to some remains of older Crawley, before the New Town.
Detailed plans have been submitted for the revelopment of Crawley Station.
Crawley Telephone Exchange. Note the anti-parkour fencing on the roof.
West Sussex Fire Service
Exchange Road, Boundary Close, even Three Bridges, the place names of “Crawley-near-Gatwick” are redolent with a banality that has been the butt of many jokes. Crawley New Town has been built since 1948; the initial build was overseen by the Crawley development corporation, chaired by a London architect, Sir Thomas Bennett. Further organic development has been controlled by Crawley town council, including the County Mall shopping centre and the recent pedestrianisation of the town centre.
The brick-faced homes, still relatively desirable residences despite their long rows, identical chimneys, and limited parking, are the remnants of the idealism of the new town project. The original templated concrete structures have endured much less well, despite the then innovative use of new materials.
The oldest structures in the new town area other than churches and inns are railway architecture, including Crawley Town signal box, which is a Grade II listed building. Crawley Town Hall (opened 1964) has twice been refused a listing due to insufficient architectural distinction.