Crawley

The area has been inhabited since the Stone Age, and was a centre of ironworking in the Iron Age and Roman times. The area was probably used by the kings of Sussex for hunting. Initially a clearing in the vast forest of the Weald, Crawley began as a settlement on the boundary of two of the sub-regions particular to Sussex, known as Rapes, the Rape of Bramber and the Rape of Lewes. Becoming a market town in 1202, Crawley developed slowly, serving the surrounding villages in the Weald. In the medieval period, its location on the main road from London to the port of Shoreham helped the town to grow; and when Brighton became a fashionable seaside town in the 18th century, the passing trade encouraged the development of coaching inns. A rail link to London and Brighton opened in 1841, encouraging further development.