Crawley

Crawley ( pronunciation ) is a town and borough in West Sussex, England. It is 28 miles (45 km) south of Charing Cross (London), 18 miles (29 km) north of Brighton and Hove, and 32 miles (51 km) northeast of the county town of Chichester, covers an area of 17.36 square miles (44.96 km²) and had a population of 106,597 at the time of the 2011 Census.

The area has been inhabited since the Stone Age, and was a centre of ironworking in Roman times. Crawley developed slowly as a market town from the 13th century, serving the surrounding villages in the Weald; its location on the main road from London to Brighton brought a passing trade, encouraging the development of coaching inns. It was connected to the railway network in the 1840s.

Gatwick Airport, now one of Britain's busiest international airports, opened on the edge of the town in the 1940s, encouraging commercial and industrial growth. After the Second World War, the British Government planned to move large numbers of people and jobs out of London and into new towns around South East England. The New Towns Act 1946 designated Crawley as the site of one of these. A master plan was developed for the establishment of new residential, commercial, industrial and civic areas, and rapid development greatly increased the size and population of the town in a few decades.

Crawley Town F.C.

Crawley Town Football Club is an association football club founded in 1896, and based in Crawley, West Sussex, England. Crawley play in Football League Two, the fourth tier in the English football league system, having been relegated on the last day of the 2014–15 season following a 1–2 defeat at home against Coventry City. The club's home ground is at Broadfield Stadium. First promoted to the Football Conference in 2004, the club survived a financial crisis to win promotion to the Football League in the 2010–11 season. In the same year they reached the 5th round of the FA Cup, where they lost to Manchester United 1–0.

History

Early years

Formed in 1896, Crawley Town became founding members of the West Sussex Football League that year, joining the Junior Division. They remained in the West Sussex league for five years before transferring to the Mid-Sussex League, winning the League in only their second season

They stayed at this level until they entered the Sussex County League in 1951 before switching again five years later to the Metropolitan League, which was a competition for both professional and amateur sides. Crawley retained their amateur status and went on to win the Metropolitan League Challenge Cup in 1959.

Crawley (disambiguation)

Crawley is a town in West Sussex, England.

Crawley may also refer to:

Places

Other uses

See also

Crawley (UK Parliament constituency)

Coordinates: 51°06′47″N 0°10′59″W / 51.113°N 0.183°W / 51.113; -0.183

Crawley is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2010 by Henry Smith of the Conservative Party.

Boundaries

1983-1997: The Borough of Crawley, and the District of Mid Sussex wards of Balcombe, Copthorne and Worth, Crawley Down, Slaugham, and Turners Hill.

1997–present: The Borough of Crawley.

The constituency covers the whole of the town and borough of Crawley in West Sussex which includes London Gatwick Airport. Crawley borders Horsham in the same county on all sides other than the north, where it borders a part of East Surrey.

The Boundary Commission analysed population increase and recommended that no changes to the constituency were made for the 2010 general election so the seat remains coterminous with the borough.

History

Before the 1983 General Election, Crawley had been part of the Horsham & Crawley, Horsham, and Horsham & Worthing constituencies at times. Due to the growth of Crawley, which was a small town, into a substantial new town in the 1960s and 70s, the Boundary Commission took the decision to separate it from Horsham in 1983 and create a new seat. Labour majorities with comfortable victories in 1997 and 2001 suggested a safe seat, but the sometimes volatile nature of new town voters, especially in South-East England, made the seat highly marginal in 2005. Labour had a majority of 37 votes in the 2005 election, making this seat the most marginal in the UK. The 2010 election saw Henry Smith win the seat at the third attempt, beating Labour's Chris Oxlade by 5,928, on an (averaged two-party) swing of 6.3%.

Crawley (surname)

Crawley is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: