Jump to content

St John the Baptist's Church, Crawley: Difference between revisions

Add links
Coordinates: 51°6′50″N 0°11′19″W / 51.11389°N 0.18861°W / 51.11389; -0.18861
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Browse history interactively
← Previous edit
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
Cewbot (talk | contribs)
Bots
6,568,059 edits
 
(15 intermediate revisions by 10 users not shown)
Line 19: Line 19:
}}
}}


'''St John the Baptist's Church''' is an [[Church of England|Anglican]] church in [[Crawley]], [[West Sussex]], [[England]]. It is the parish church of Crawley, and is the oldest building in the town centre, dating from the 1250<ref name="CBoro">{{cite web|url=http://www.crawley.gov.uk/stellent/idcplg?IdcService=SS_GET_PAGE&strCSS=PB1_SS_MAIN&ssDocName=INT009966|title=St John’s Church|date=2008|work=Crawley Borough Council website|publisher=Crawley Borough Council|accessdate=2008-11-22}}</ref><ref name="Gwynne38">{{cite book|last=Gwynne|first=Peter|title=A History of Crawley|publisher=Phillimore & Co|location=Chichester|date=1990|edition=1st|pages=38|chapter=4 – The Normans|isbn=0-85033-718-6}}</ref>—although many alterations have been made since, and only one wall remains of the ancient building.<ref name="Gwynne38"/> In September 2017, a team from [[St Peter's Church, Brighton|St Peter’s Brighton]] began a new phase in the life of St John’s Crawley. St John's offer a variety of services, traditional and informal, contemporary services.
'''St John the Baptist's Church''' is an [[Church of England|Anglican]] church in [[Crawley]], [[West Sussex]], [[England]]. It is the parish church of Crawley, and is the oldest building in the town centre, dating from the 1250<ref name="CBoro">{{cite web|url=http://www.crawley.gov.uk/stellent/idcplg?IdcService=SS_GET_PAGE&strCSS=PB1_SS_MAIN&ssDocName=INT009966|title=St John’s Church|date=2008|work=Crawley Borough Council website|publisher=Crawley Borough Council|accessdate=2008-11-22}}</ref><ref name="Gwynne38">{{cite book|last=Gwynne|first=Peter|title=A History of Crawley|publisher=Phillimore & Co|location=Chichester|date=1990|edition=1st|pages=38|chapter=4 – The Normans|isbn=0-85033-718-6}}</ref>—although many alterations have been made since, and only one wall remains of the ancient building.<ref name="Gwynne38"/> In September 2017, a team from [[St Peter's Church, Brighton|St Peter's Brighton]] began a new phase in the life of St John's Crawley. St John's offer a variety of services, traditional and informal, and contemporary services.


St John’s is a [[Holy Trinity Brompton]] ([[HTB network|HTB) network church]]. The HTB vision is to play a part in the evangelisation of the nation, the revitalisation of the church and the transformation of society. For the church in Crawley, the vision is to Love Jesus, Love Church, Love People and Love Crawley.
St John's is a [[Holy Trinity Brompton]] ([[HTB network|HTB) network church]].


==History==
==History==
In the [[Normans#England|Norman era]], [[Slaugham]] and [[Cuckfield]] were the most important places in the north of the county of [[Sussex]].<ref name="Gwynne38"/> When Crawley first started to develop as a village in the 13th century, it was in the parish of Slaugham<ref name="CBoro"/> in the [[Hundred (country subdivision)|Hundred]] of Buttinghill (hundreds were ancient divisions of land covering several parishes).<ref name="Gwynne23">{{cite book|last=Gwynne|first=Peter|title=A History of Crawley|publisher=Phillimore & Co|location=Chichester|date=1990|edition=1st|pages=23|chapter=3 – The Saxon Settlers|isbn=0-85033-718-6}}</ref> As the new village was distant from the [[parish church]] at Slaugham ([[St Mary's Church, Slaugham|St Mary's]]), several miles south, a stone church was built as a [[chapel of ease]].<ref name="Gwynne38"/> It is known to have existed before 1267, when it was passed on in a will,<ref name="Gwynne40">{{cite book|last=Gwynne|first=Peter|title=A History of Crawley|publisher=Phillimore & Co|location=Chichester|date=1990|edition=1st|pages=40|chapter=4 – The Normans|isbn=0-85033-718-6}}</ref> and it was still the daughter church of Slaugham in 1291; but by the early 15th century it was referred to as a "free" church and a "permanent [[chantry]]".<ref name="Gwynne38"/> The parish of Crawley was therefore established separate from Slaugham at some point, probably by the end of the 14th century,<ref name="Gwynne57">{{cite book|last=Gwynne|first=Peter|title=A History of Crawley|publisher=Phillimore & Co|location=Chichester|date=1990|edition=1st|pages=57|chapter=3 – The Saxon Settlers|isbn=0-85033-718-6}}</ref> and St John the Baptist's was regarded as its parish church by the time [[Chantry#Abolition of Chantries Acts.2C 1545 and 1547|chantries were abolished in the 1540s]].<ref name="VCH1">{{cite web|url=https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/Sussex/vol7/pp144-147|title=A History of the County of Sussex: Volume 7 – The Rape of Lewes|last=Salzman|first=L. F. (ed)|date=1940|work=Victoria County History of Sussex|publisher=British History Online|pages=144–147|accessdate=2008-11-20}}</ref> Crawley was a small, very narrow, split parish, and did not cover the whole of the village of Crawley: the boundary between it and the parish of [[Ifield, West Sussex|Ifield]]—and between the Hundred of Buttinghill and the Hundred of Burbeach, in which Ifield lay—ran up the middle of the High Street.<ref name="Gwynne22">{{cite book|last=Gwynne|first=Peter|title=A History of Crawley|publisher=Phillimore & Co|location=Chichester|date=1990|edition=1st|pages=22|chapter=3 – The Saxon Settlers|isbn=0-85033-718-6}}</ref><ref name="Gwynne42">{{cite book|last=Gwynne|first=Peter|title=A History of Crawley|publisher=Phillimore & Co|location=Chichester|date=1990|edition=1st|pages= 42|chapter=4 – The Normans|isbn=0-85033-718-6}}</ref> The detached part of Crawley parish consisted of heavily forested land and one farm near [[Pease Pottage]].<ref name="Gwynne42"/> The total area of the parish was less than {{convert|800|acre|ha|sigfig=1}}; Ifield parish was six times larger, in contrast.<ref name="Gwynne22"/>
In the [[Normans#England|Norman era]], [[Slaugham]] and [[Cuckfield]] were the most important places in the north of the county of [[Sussex]].<ref name="Gwynne38"/> When Crawley first started to develop as a village in the 13th century, it was in the parish of Slaugham<ref name="CBoro"/> in the [[Hundred (country subdivision)|Hundred]] of Buttinghill (hundreds were ancient divisions of land covering several parishes).<ref name="Gwynne23">{{cite book|last=Gwynne|first=Peter|title=A History of Crawley|publisher=Phillimore & Co|location=Chichester|date=1990|edition=1st|pages=23|chapter=3 – The Saxon Settlers|isbn=0-85033-718-6}}</ref> As the new village was distant from the [[parish church]] at Slaugham ([[St Mary's Church, Slaugham|St Mary's]]), several miles south, a stone church was built as a [[chapel of ease]].<ref name="Gwynne38"/> It is known to have existed before 1267, when it was passed on in a will,<ref name="Gwynne40">{{cite book|last=Gwynne|first=Peter|title=A History of Crawley|publisher=Phillimore & Co|location=Chichester|date=1990|edition=1st|pages=40|chapter=4 – The Normans|isbn=0-85033-718-6}}</ref> and it was still the daughter church of Slaugham in 1291; but by the early 15th century it was referred to as a "free" church and a "permanent [[chantry]]".<ref name="Gwynne38"/> The parish of Crawley was therefore established separate from Slaugham at some point, probably by the end of the 14th century,<ref name="Gwynne57">{{cite book|last=Gwynne|first=Peter|title=A History of Crawley|publisher=Phillimore & Co|location=Chichester|date=1990|edition=1st|pages=57|chapter=3 – The Saxon Settlers|isbn=0-85033-718-6}}</ref> and St John the Baptist's was regarded as its parish church by the time [[Chantry#Abolition of Chantries Acts.2C 1545 and 1547|chantries were abolished in the 1540s]].<ref name="VCH1">{{cite web|url=https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/Sussex/vol7/pp144-147|title=A History of the County of Sussex: Volume 7 – The Rape of Lewes|editor-last=Salzman|editor-first=L. F. |date=1940|work=Victoria County History of Sussex|publisher=British History Online|pages=144–147|accessdate=2008-11-20}}</ref> Crawley was a small, very narrow, split parish, and did not cover the whole of the village of Crawley: the boundary between it and the parish of [[Ifield, West Sussex|Ifield]]—and between the Hundred of Buttinghill and the Hundred of Burbeach, in which Ifield lay—ran up the middle of the High Street.<ref name="Gwynne22">{{cite book|last=Gwynne|first=Peter|title=A History of Crawley|publisher=Phillimore & Co|location=Chichester|date=1990|edition=1st|pages=22|chapter=3 – The Saxon Settlers|isbn=0-85033-718-6}}</ref><ref name="Gwynne42">{{cite book|last=Gwynne|first=Peter|title=A History of Crawley|publisher=Phillimore & Co|location=Chichester|date=1990|edition=1st|pages= 42|chapter=4 – The Normans|isbn=0-85033-718-6}}</ref> The detached part of Crawley parish consisted of heavily forested land and one farm near [[Pease Pottage]].<ref name="Gwynne42"/> The total area of the parish was less than {{convert|800|acre|ha|sigfig=1}}; Ifield parish was six times larger, in contrast.<ref name="Gwynne22"/>


The first additions to the structure came in the 15th century, when a tall tower was added at the western end, the windows in the [[nave]] were enlarged and a [[rood screen]] was installed between the [[chancel]] and the [[nave]].<ref name="Gwynne56">{{cite book|last=Gwynne|first=Peter|title=A History of Crawley|publisher=Phillimore & Co|location=Chichester|date=1990|edition=1st|pages=56|chapter=3 – The Saxon Settlers|isbn=0-85033-718-6}}</ref> The nave roof was also rebuilt at this time, and the earliest surviving memorial carvings and stones in the church are also 15th-century.<ref name="Gwynne57"/><ref name="IoE363346">{{NHLE|desc= Parish Church of St John the Baptist, High Street (east side)|num=1298875|year=2007|accessdate=2008-11-22}}</ref>
The first additions to the structure came in the 15th century, when a tall tower was added at the western end, the windows in the [[nave]] were enlarged and a [[rood screen]] was installed between the [[chancel]] and the [[nave]].<ref name="Gwynne56">{{cite book|last=Gwynne|first=Peter|title=A History of Crawley|publisher=Phillimore & Co|location=Chichester|date=1990|edition=1st|pages=56|chapter=3 – The Saxon Settlers|isbn=0-85033-718-6}}</ref> The nave roof was also rebuilt at this time, and the earliest surviving memorial carvings and stones in the church are also 15th-century.<ref name="Gwynne57"/><ref name="IoE363346">{{NHLE|desc= Parish Church of St John the Baptist, High Street (east side)|num=1298875|year=2007|accessdate=2008-11-22}}</ref>


By the 16th century, Crawley's development into a thriving market village meant that its parish was much more important than that of Slaugham, and the connection between their two churches was legally severed.<ref name="Gwynne74">{{cite book|last=Gwynne|first=Peter|title=A History of Crawley|publisher=Phillimore & Co|location=Chichester|date=1990|edition=1st|pages=74|chapter=7 – The Sixteenth Century: The First Building Boom|isbn=0-85033-718-6}}</ref> At least 150 people regularly attended the church,<ref name="Gwynne75">{{cite book|last=Gwynne|first=Peter|title=A History of Crawley|publisher=Phillimore & Co|location=Chichester|date=1990|edition=1st|pages=75|chapter=7 – The Sixteenth Century: The First Building Boom|isbn=0-85033-718-6}}</ref> but its income was modest and priests frequently moved on to richer parishes.<ref name="Gwynne76">{{cite book|last=Gwynne|first=Peter|title=A History of Crawley|publisher=Phillimore & Co|location=Chichester|date=1990|edition=1st|pages=76|chapter=7 – The Sixteenth Century: The First Building Boom|isbn=0-85033-718-6}}</ref> The building fell into disrepair in the 17th and 18th centuries, although the four cracked bells in the tower were replaced by London bell-founder Thomas Lester in 1742. Lester cast dozens of bells for Sussex churches, and reused the metal from the old bells in his work at Crawley.<ref name="Gwynne94–96">{{cite book|last=Gwynne|first=Peter|title=A History of Crawley|publisher=Phillimore & Co|location=Chichester|date=1990|edition=1st|pages=94–96|chapter=9 – Georgian England: the Peaceful Years at Home|isbn=0-85033-718-6}}</ref>
By the 16th century, Crawley's development into a thriving market village meant that its parish was much more important than that of Slaugham, and the connection between their two churches was legally severed.<ref name="Gwynne74">{{cite book|last=Gwynne|first=Peter|title=A History of Crawley|publisher=Phillimore & Co|location=Chichester|date=1990|edition=1st|pages=74|chapter=7 – The Sixteenth Century: The First Building Boom|isbn=0-85033-718-6}}</ref> At least 150 people regularly attended the church,<ref name="Gwynne75">{{cite book|last=Gwynne|first=Peter|title=A History of Crawley|publisher=Phillimore & Co|location=Chichester|date=1990|edition=1st|pages=75|chapter=7 – The Sixteenth Century: The First Building Boom|isbn=0-85033-718-6}}</ref> but its income was modest and priests frequently moved on to richer parishes.<ref name="Gwynne76">{{cite book|last=Gwynne|first=Peter|title=A History of Crawley|publisher=Phillimore & Co|location=Chichester|date=1990|edition=1st|pages=76|chapter=7 – The Sixteenth Century: The First Building Boom|isbn=0-85033-718-6}}</ref> The building fell into disrepair in the 17th and 18th centuries. In the Chichester Diocesan Survey of 1724, it gives: <br /> "4 bells, but onely one in order, 3 being crackt". These bells were melted down, and Thomas Lester of Whitechapel cast 2 bells out of them in 1742. The treble and tenor weighed 3-3-15cwt and 6-0-11cwt respectively. They were inscribed: <br />
1 (Treble): THOMAS LESTER OF LONDON MADE ME 1742 / FRANCIS SMITH CH WARDEN <br />
2 (Tenor) : FRANCIS SMITH CH WARDEN 1742 T.L. FECIT <br />
Lester (master of the Whitechapel foundry between 1738 - 1769) gave Sussex many bells, our closest surviving examples are at Horsham, St Mary the Virgin. <ref>https://thebellsofsussex.weebly.com/crawley-st-john-the-baptist.html {{Bare URL inline|date=August 2024}}</ref><ref name="Gwynne94–96">{{cite book|last=Gwynne|first=Peter|title=A History of Crawley|publisher=Phillimore & Co|location=Chichester|date=1990|edition=1st|pages=94–96|chapter=9 – Georgian England: the Peaceful Years at Home|isbn=0-85033-718-6}}</ref>


Major changes took place in the 19th century. The tower partially rebuilt and heightened by 1814, although the original stone was reused.<ref name="VCH1"/><ref name="IoE363346"/><ref name="Pevsner202">{{cite book |last= Nairn |first= Ian |authorlink= Ian Nairn |author2=Pevsner, Nikolaus |authorlink2=Nikolaus Pevsner |title= The Buildings of England: Sussex |publisher= [[Penguin Books]] |location = Harmondsworth |year= 1965 |isbn= 0-14-071028-0 |page= 202 }}</ref> Some more work took place in 1845,<ref name="VCH1"/> but the greatest changes happened in 1879 and 1880. A new north aisle was added, a porch was built on the north side, the chancel was completely rebuilt and reordered, an [[Organ (music)|organ chamber]] was built, and the bells were replaced by a new ring of eight bells, hung for [[change ringing]], cast by [[Gillett & Johnston|Gillett, Bland & Company]] of Croydon.<ref name="VCH1"/><ref name="IoE363346"/><ref name="Pevsner202"/><ref name="StJBBells">{{Cite web|url=http://dove.cccbr.org.uk/detail.php?searchString=Crawley&Submit=++Go++&DoveID=CRAWLEY+WS|title=Dove Details|accessdate=2008-03-12|publisher=Sid Baldwin, Ron Johnston and Tim Jackson on behalf of the Central Council of Church Bell Ringers|date=2008-02-24|work=Dove's Guide for Church Bell Ringers website}}</ref> [[Nikolaus Pevsner]] has criticised the resulting appearance of the church, calling it "dully [[Victorian architecture|Victorian]]" and noting that its best feature is the unrestored 15th-century nave roof.<ref name="Pevsner202"/>
Major changes took place in the 19th century. The tower partially rebuilt and heightened by 1814, although the original stone was reused.<ref name="VCH1"/><ref name="IoE363346"/><ref name="Pevsner202">{{cite book |last= Nairn |first= Ian |authorlink= Ian Nairn |author2=Pevsner, Nikolaus |authorlink2=Nikolaus Pevsner |title= The Buildings of England: Sussex |publisher= [[Penguin Books]] |location = Harmondsworth |year= 1965 |isbn= 0-14-071028-0 |page= 202 }}</ref> Some more work took place in 1845,<ref name="VCH1"/> but the greatest changes happened in 1879 and 1880. A new north aisle was added, a porch was built on the north side, the chancel was completely rebuilt and reordered, and an [[Organ (music)|organ chamber]] was built.<ref name="VCH1"/><ref name="IoE363346"/><ref name="Pevsner202"/><ref name="StJBBells">{{Cite web|date=2008-02-24|title=Dove Details|url=http://dove.cccbr.org.uk/detail.php?searchString=Crawley&Submit=++Go++&DoveID=CRAWLEY+WS|work=Dove's Guide for Church Bell Ringers website|publisher=Sid Baldwin, Ron Johnston and Tim Jackson on behalf of the Central Council of Church Bell Ringers|accessdate=2008-03-12}}</ref> [[Nikolaus Pevsner]] has criticised the resulting appearance of the church, calling it "dully [[Victorian architecture|Victorian]]" and noting that its best feature is the unrestored 15th-century nave roof.<ref name="Pevsner202"/>

At the same time, the church decided to restore their church bells. The two bells by Lester became cracked, and their frame had rotted away. It was decided to install a new peal of 8 bells in the tower by the late Croydon firm Gillett, Bland & Company. The bells are inscribed as follows (A / denotes the end of line): <br />
1 (Treble): CAST BY GILLETT, BLAND & Co, CROYDON, 1880. / GLORY <br />
2: CAST BY GILLETT, BLAND & Co, CROYDON, 1880. / SIR . W . W . BURRELL / HONOUR <br />
3: CAST BY GILLETT, BLAND & Co, CROYDON, 1880. / PRAISE <br />
4: CAST BY GILLETT, BLAND & CO, CROYDON, 1880. / THANKSGIVING <br />
5: CAST BY GILLETT, bLAND & CO, CROYDON, 1880. / JOY <br />
6: CAST BY GILLETT, BLAND & CO, CROYDON, 1880. / SIR . R . B . LENNARD / BROTHERLY LOVE <br />
7: CAST BY GILLETT, BLAND & CO, CROYDON, 1880. / J . B . LENNARD RECTOR / WORSHIP <br />
8 (Tenor): CAST BY GILLETT, BLAND & CO, BELL FOUNDERS & CLOCK MAKERS CROYDON 1880 / R LODER / PRAYER <br />
Bell 8 also has a few floral ornaments inscribed. The bells are hung in an oak bell frame arranged in what's known as an 8.3 layout. <br /> In 1931, bell 3 was recast by Mears & Stainbank after it cracked. At the same time, the tenor was rehung on plain bearings. The rest of the bells were rehung on ball bearings 4 years later by John Taylor & Co. Some of the wheels were replaced in 1985, and the 5th was rehung on a new headstock by Whitechapel in 1999. When the bells were restored in 1880, an Ellacombe and Seage's apparatus were installed so that the bells could be controlled by 1 person, and that they could be rung in silence.<ref>https://thebellsofsussex.weebly.com/crawley-st-john-the-baptist.html {{Bare URL inline|date=August 2024}}</ref>


The church's location just east of the High Street<ref name="Pevsner202"/> meant that it was very close to the boundary of Ifield parish. People who lived on or around the west side of the High Street would often attend St John the Baptist's although their parish church was [[St Margaret's Church, Ifield|St Margaret's]]. One such worshipper was [[Mark Lemon]], founding editor of the satirical magazine [[Punch (magazine)|''Punch'']]. Having adopted Crawley as his home town, he lived at Vine Cottage on the west side of the High Street, and regularly attended St John the Baptist's instead of St Margaret's.<ref name="Gwynne95">{{cite book|last=Gwynne|first=Peter|title=A History of Crawley|publisher=Phillimore & Co|location=Chichester|date=1990|edition=1st|pages=95|chapter=9 – Georgian England: the Peaceful Years at Home|isbn=0-85033-718-6}}</ref> However, his substantial girth caused him problems: he had to sit in the gallery because there were no [[pew]]s large enough to accommodate him in the nave.<ref name="Gwynne119">{{cite book|last=Gwynne|first=Peter|title=A History of Crawley|publisher=Phillimore & Co|location=Chichester|date=1990|edition=1st|pages=119|chapter=10 – Victorian Prosperity|isbn=0-85033-718-6}}</ref>
The church's location just east of the High Street<ref name="Pevsner202"/> meant that it was very close to the boundary of Ifield parish. People who lived on or around the west side of the High Street would often attend St John the Baptist's although their parish church was [[St Margaret's Church, Ifield|St Margaret's]]. One such worshipper was [[Mark Lemon]], founding editor of the satirical magazine [[Punch (magazine)|''Punch'']]. Having adopted Crawley as his home town, he lived at Vine Cottage on the west side of the High Street, and regularly attended St John the Baptist's instead of St Margaret's.<ref name="Gwynne95">{{cite book|last=Gwynne|first=Peter|title=A History of Crawley|publisher=Phillimore & Co|location=Chichester|date=1990|edition=1st|pages=95|chapter=9 – Georgian England: the Peaceful Years at Home|isbn=0-85033-718-6}}</ref> However, his substantial girth caused him problems: he had to sit in the gallery because there were no [[pew]]s large enough to accommodate him in the nave.<ref name="Gwynne119">{{cite book|last=Gwynne|first=Peter|title=A History of Crawley|publisher=Phillimore & Co|location=Chichester|date=1990|edition=1st|pages=119|chapter=10 – Victorian Prosperity|isbn=0-85033-718-6}}</ref>
Line 45: Line 59:


[[File:St Michael and All Angels Church, Lowfield Heath (IoE Code 363337).jpg|thumb|right|The former church of [[St Michael and All Angels Church, Lowfield Heath|St Michael and All Angels]], still within the parish boundaries but no longer used by Anglicans]]
[[File:St Michael and All Angels Church, Lowfield Heath (IoE Code 363337).jpg|thumb|right|The former church of [[St Michael and All Angels Church, Lowfield Heath|St Michael and All Angels]], still within the parish boundaries but no longer used by Anglicans]]
There are five extant churches in the parish.<ref name="ACNYParish"/> '''St Peter's''' in West Green predates the New Town, having been built between 1892 and 1893 to a design by architect W. Hilton Nash.<ref name="Pevsner205">{{cite book |last= Nairn |first= Ian |authorlink= Ian Nairn |author2=Pevsner, Nikolaus |authorlink2=Nikolaus Pevsner |title= The Buildings of England: Sussex |publisher= [[Penguin Books]] |location = Harmondsworth |year= 1965 |isbn= 0-14-071028-0 |pages= 205 }}</ref> Richard Cook, owner of one of Crawley's main building firms, constructed it.<ref name="Gwynne119"/> It replaced a [[chapel of ease]] to [[St Margaret's Church, Ifield]]: although West Green was in the parish of Ifield at the time, it was remote from the parish church. Although the [[Diocese of Chichester]] would not pay for a separate church, it accepted St Peter's, which was built with private money, when it was offered.<ref name="Gwynne121–123">{{cite book|last=Gwynne|first=Peter|title=A History of Crawley|publisher=Phillimore & Co|location=Chichester|date=1990|edition=1st|pages=121–123|chapter=10 – Victorian Prosperity|isbn=0-85033-718-6}}</ref> The church later gained its own parish, which was then absorbed by the parish of St John the Baptist. '''St Elizabeth's''' in the centre of the [[Northgate, West Sussex|Northgate]] neighbourhood was built in 1965, and like St John the Baptist's follows a "Modern Catholic" style of worship.<ref name="ACNYStE">{{cite web|url=http://www.achurchnearyou.com/northgate-st-elizabeth/|title=Crawley: St Elizabeth, Crawley|work=A Church Near You website|publisher=Oxford Diocesan Publications Ltd|accessdate=2008-11-22}}</ref> '''St Richard's''' is another modern church serving the [[Three Bridges]] neighbourhood. A fifth church, '''[[St Michael and All Angels Church, Lowfield Heath|St Michael and All Angels]]''', is notionally within the parish but is no longer used for Anglican worship. [[William Burges]] designed and built this yellow [[sandstone]] 13th century-style [[Gothic Revival architecture|French Gothic]]<ref name="IoE363337">{{NHLE|desc= Church of St Michael and All Angels, Church Road|num=1187081|year=2007|accessdate=2008-11-07}}</ref> church in 1867<ref name="Pevsner204">{{cite book |last= Nairn |first= Ian |authorlink= Ian Nairn |author2=Pevsner, Nikolaus |authorlink2=Nikolaus Pevsner |title= The Buildings of England: Sussex |publisher= [[Penguin Books]] |location = Harmondsworth |year= 1965 |isbn= 0-14-071028-0 |pages= 204 }}</ref> to serve the village of [[Lowfield Heath]], which was then in the parish of [[Charlwood]] in [[Surrey]].<ref name="HSDAC1">{{cite web|url=http://www.horleychurch.org/building_history.html |title=The History and Background of St Michael & All Angels, Lowfield Heath |date=2007 |work=Horley Seventh-Day Adventist Church website |publisher=Horley Seventh-Day Adventist Church |access-date=2008-11-22 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110726153702/http://www.horleychurch.org/building_history.html |archive-date=26 July 2011 |df= }}</ref> The establishment and rapid development of [[Gatwick Airport]] next to Lowfield Heath swamped the small village, eventually destroying it: all buildings except the church, which was listed at Grade II* in 1948,<ref name="IoE363337"/> were demolished to make way for warehouses and extensions to the airport boundary.<ref name="Gwynne170">{{cite book|last=Gwynne|first=Peter|title=A History of Crawley|publisher=Phillimore & Co|location=Chichester|date=1990|edition=1st|pages=170|chapter=12 – The New Town: Maturity|isbn=0-85033-718-6}}</ref> (The church is approximately {{convert|500|ft|m|sigfig=2}} from the runway.) The Diocese of Chichester stopped using the church for services in 2004; in March 2008 it allowed a [[Seventh-day Adventist Church|Seventh-day Adventist]] congregation to use the building as its place of worship.<ref name="HSDAC1"/> Horley Seventh-Day Adventist Church was formed as a [[Church planting|church plant]] in May 2005 and was formally established in January 2008.<ref name="HSDAC2">{{cite web|url=http://www.horleychurch.org/aboutUs.html |title=Horley Seventh-Day Adventist Church: About Us|date=2007|work=Horley Seventh-Day Adventist Church website|publisher=Horley Seventh-Day Adventist Church|accessdate=2008-11-22}}</ref>
There are five extant churches in the parish.<ref name="ACNYParish"/> St Peter's in West Green predates the New Town, having been built between 1892 and 1893 to a design by architect W. Hilton Nash.<ref name="Pevsner205">{{cite book |last= Nairn |first= Ian |authorlink= Ian Nairn |author2=Pevsner, Nikolaus |authorlink2=Nikolaus Pevsner |title= The Buildings of England: Sussex |publisher= [[Penguin Books]] |location = Harmondsworth |year= 1965 |isbn= 0-14-071028-0 |pages= 205 }}</ref> Richard Cook, owner of one of Crawley's main building firms, constructed it.<ref name="Gwynne119"/> It replaced a [[chapel of ease]] to [[St Margaret's Church, Ifield]]: although West Green was in the parish of Ifield at the time, it was remote from the parish church. Although the [[Diocese of Chichester]] would not pay for a separate church, it accepted St Peter's, which was built with private money, when it was offered.<ref name="Gwynne121–123">{{cite book|last=Gwynne|first=Peter|title=A History of Crawley|publisher=Phillimore & Co|location=Chichester|date=1990|edition=1st|pages=121–123|chapter=10 – Victorian Prosperity|isbn=0-85033-718-6}}</ref> The church later gained its own parish, which was then absorbed by the parish of St John the Baptist. St Elizabeth's in the centre of the [[Northgate, West Sussex|Northgate]] neighbourhood was built in 1965, and like St John the Baptist's follows a "Modern Catholic" style of worship.<ref name="ACNYStE">{{cite web|url=http://www.achurchnearyou.com/northgate-st-elizabeth/|title=Crawley: St Elizabeth, Crawley|work=A Church Near You website|publisher=Oxford Diocesan Publications Ltd|accessdate=2008-11-22}}</ref> St Richard's is another modern church serving the [[Three Bridges, West Sussex|Three Bridges]] neighbourhood. A fifth church, [[St Michael and All Angels Church, Lowfield Heath|St Michael and All Angels]], is notionally within the parish but is no longer used for Anglican worship. [[William Burges]] designed and built this yellow [[sandstone]] 13th century-style [[Gothic Revival architecture|French Gothic]]<ref name="IoE363337">{{NHLE|desc= Church of St Michael and All Angels, Church Road|num=1187081|year=2007|accessdate=2008-11-07}}</ref> church in 1867<ref name="Pevsner204">{{cite book |last= Nairn |first= Ian |authorlink= Ian Nairn |author2=Pevsner, Nikolaus |authorlink2=Nikolaus Pevsner |title= The Buildings of England: Sussex |publisher= [[Penguin Books]] |location = Harmondsworth |year= 1965 |isbn= 0-14-071028-0 |pages= 204 }}</ref> to serve the village of [[Lowfield Heath]], which was then in the parish of [[Charlwood]] in [[Surrey]].<ref name="HSDAC1">{{cite web|url=http://www.horleychurch.org/building_history.html |title=The History and Background of St Michael & All Angels, Lowfield Heath |date=2007 |work=Horley Seventh-Day Adventist Church website |publisher=Horley Seventh-Day Adventist Church |access-date=2008-11-22 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110726153702/http://www.horleychurch.org/building_history.html |archive-date=26 July 2011 |df= }}</ref> The establishment and rapid development of [[Gatwick Airport]] next to Lowfield Heath swamped the small village, eventually destroying it: all buildings except the church, which was listed at Grade II* in 1948,<ref name="IoE363337"/> were demolished to make way for warehouses and extensions to the airport boundary.<ref name="Gwynne170">{{cite book|last=Gwynne|first=Peter|title=A History of Crawley|publisher=Phillimore & Co|location=Chichester|date=1990|edition=1st|pages=170|chapter=12 – The New Town: Maturity|isbn=0-85033-718-6}}</ref> (The church is approximately {{convert|500|ft|m|sigfig=2}} from the runway.) The Diocese of Chichester stopped using the church for services in 2004; in March 2008 it allowed a [[Seventh-day Adventist Church|Seventh-day Adventist]] congregation to use the building as its place of worship.<ref name="HSDAC1"/> Horley Seventh-Day Adventist Church was formed as a [[Church planting|church plant]] in May 2005 and was formally established in January 2008.<ref name="HSDAC2">{{cite web|url=http://www.horleychurch.org/aboutUs.html |title=Horley Seventh-Day Adventist Church: About Us|date=2007|work=Horley Seventh-Day Adventist Church website|publisher=Horley Seventh-Day Adventist Church|accessdate=2008-11-22}}</ref>


==The Church Today==
==The Church Today==
In September 2017 a team led by Steve and Liz Burston from [[St Peter's Church, Brighton|St Peter’s Brighton]] began a new phase in the life of St John’s. There are a variety of services, traditional and informal, contemporary services in order to seek to honour the past, navigate the present and build for the future.
In September 2017 a team led by Steve and Liz Burston from [[St Peter's Church, Brighton|St Peter's Brighton]] began a new phase in the life of St John's. There are a variety of services, traditional and informal, contemporary services in order to seek to honour the past, navigate the present and build for the future.


St John's Crawley run an [[Alpha course]] every term, providing an opportunity to freely discuss some of the bigger questions of life, faith and purpose within a Christian context. They also run social outreach programmes, such as The Bridge Café and Turning Point. As well as Sunday services, there are groups that meet throughout the week, seeking to deepen faith and grow in community. As a church St John's firmly believe in the Christian witness of churches working together across Crawley, both in social mission and prayer. As a result prayer and church unity are at the heart of their values.
St John's Crawley run an [[Alpha course]] every term, providing an opportunity to freely discuss some of the bigger questions of life, faith and purpose within a Christian context. They also run social outreach programmes, such as The Bridge Café and Turning Point. As well as Sunday services, there are groups that meet throughout the week, seeking to deepen faith and grow in community. As a church St John's firmly believe in the Christian witness of churches working together across Crawley, both in social mission and prayer. As a result, prayer and church unity are at the heart of their values.


==See also==
==See also==
Line 65: Line 79:
[[Category:Church of England church buildings in West Sussex]]
[[Category:Church of England church buildings in West Sussex]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in Crawley|St John the Baptist]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in Crawley|St John the Baptist]]
[[Category:Churches dedicated to John the Baptist in England]]
[[Category:Anglican churches dedicated to John the Baptist]]

Latest revision as of 11:20, 22 August 2024

St John the Baptist, Crawley
The church from the southeast
St John the Baptist, Crawley is located in Crawley
St John the Baptist, Crawley
St John the Baptist, Crawley
Location within the Borough of Crawley
51°6′50″N 0°11′19″W / 51.11389°N 0.18861°W / 51.11389; -0.18861
DenominationChurch of England
ChurchmanshipModern Catholic, Informal Charismatic
History
DedicationJohn the Baptist
Administration
ProvinceCanterbury
DioceseChichester
ArchdeaconryHorsham
DeaneryEast Grinstead
ParishCrawley, St John the Baptist
Clergy
Priest(s)Rev. Steve Burston

St John the Baptist's Church is an Anglican church in Crawley, West Sussex, England. It is the parish church of Crawley, and is the oldest building in the town centre, dating from the 1250[1][2]—although many alterations have been made since, and only one wall remains of the ancient building.[2] In September 2017, a team from St Peter's Brighton began a new phase in the life of St John's Crawley. St John's offer a variety of services, traditional and informal, and contemporary services.

St John's is a Holy Trinity Brompton (HTB) network church.

History

[edit]

In the Norman era, Slaugham and Cuckfield were the most important places in the north of the county of Sussex.[2] When Crawley first started to develop as a village in the 13th century, it was in the parish of Slaugham[1] in the Hundred of Buttinghill (hundreds were ancient divisions of land covering several parishes).[3] As the new village was distant from the parish church at Slaugham (St Mary's), several miles south, a stone church was built as a chapel of ease.[2] It is known to have existed before 1267, when it was passed on in a will,[4] and it was still the daughter church of Slaugham in 1291; but by the early 15th century it was referred to as a "free" church and a "permanent chantry".[2] The parish of Crawley was therefore established separate from Slaugham at some point, probably by the end of the 14th century,[5] and St John the Baptist's was regarded as its parish church by the time chantries were abolished in the 1540s.[6] Crawley was a small, very narrow, split parish, and did not cover the whole of the village of Crawley: the boundary between it and the parish of Ifield—and between the Hundred of Buttinghill and the Hundred of Burbeach, in which Ifield lay—ran up the middle of the High Street.[7][8] The detached part of Crawley parish consisted of heavily forested land and one farm near Pease Pottage.[8] The total area of the parish was less than 800 acres (300 ha); Ifield parish was six times larger, in contrast.[7]

The first additions to the structure came in the 15th century, when a tall tower was added at the western end, the windows in the nave were enlarged and a rood screen was installed between the chancel and the nave.[9] The nave roof was also rebuilt at this time, and the earliest surviving memorial carvings and stones in the church are also 15th-century.[5][10]

By the 16th century, Crawley's development into a thriving market village meant that its parish was much more important than that of Slaugham, and the connection between their two churches was legally severed.[11] At least 150 people regularly attended the church,[12] but its income was modest and priests frequently moved on to richer parishes.[13] The building fell into disrepair in the 17th and 18th centuries. In the Chichester Diocesan Survey of 1724, it gives:
"4 bells, but onely one in order, 3 being crackt". These bells were melted down, and Thomas Lester of Whitechapel cast 2 bells out of them in 1742. The treble and tenor weighed 3-3-15cwt and 6-0-11cwt respectively. They were inscribed:
1 (Treble): THOMAS LESTER OF LONDON MADE ME 1742 / FRANCIS SMITH CH WARDEN
2 (Tenor) : FRANCIS SMITH CH WARDEN 1742 T.L. FECIT
Lester (master of the Whitechapel foundry between 1738 - 1769) gave Sussex many bells, our closest surviving examples are at Horsham, St Mary the Virgin. [14][15]

Major changes took place in the 19th century. The tower partially rebuilt and heightened by 1814, although the original stone was reused.[6][10][16] Some more work took place in 1845,[6] but the greatest changes happened in 1879 and 1880. A new north aisle was added, a porch was built on the north side, the chancel was completely rebuilt and reordered, and an organ chamber was built.[6][10][16][17] Nikolaus Pevsner has criticised the resulting appearance of the church, calling it "dully Victorian" and noting that its best feature is the unrestored 15th-century nave roof.[16]

At the same time, the church decided to restore their church bells. The two bells by Lester became cracked, and their frame had rotted away. It was decided to install a new peal of 8 bells in the tower by the late Croydon firm Gillett, Bland & Company. The bells are inscribed as follows (A / denotes the end of line):
1 (Treble): CAST BY GILLETT, BLAND & Co, CROYDON, 1880. / GLORY
2: CAST BY GILLETT, BLAND & Co, CROYDON, 1880. / SIR . W . W . BURRELL / HONOUR
3: CAST BY GILLETT, BLAND & Co, CROYDON, 1880. / PRAISE
4: CAST BY GILLETT, BLAND & CO, CROYDON, 1880. / THANKSGIVING
5: CAST BY GILLETT, bLAND & CO, CROYDON, 1880. / JOY
6: CAST BY GILLETT, BLAND & CO, CROYDON, 1880. / SIR . R . B . LENNARD / BROTHERLY LOVE
7: CAST BY GILLETT, BLAND & CO, CROYDON, 1880. / J . B . LENNARD RECTOR / WORSHIP
8 (Tenor): CAST BY GILLETT, BLAND & CO, BELL FOUNDERS & CLOCK MAKERS CROYDON 1880 / R LODER / PRAYER
Bell 8 also has a few floral ornaments inscribed. The bells are hung in an oak bell frame arranged in what's known as an 8.3 layout.
In 1931, bell 3 was recast by Mears & Stainbank after it cracked. At the same time, the tenor was rehung on plain bearings. The rest of the bells were rehung on ball bearings 4 years later by John Taylor & Co. Some of the wheels were replaced in 1985, and the 5th was rehung on a new headstock by Whitechapel in 1999. When the bells were restored in 1880, an Ellacombe and Seage's apparatus were installed so that the bells could be controlled by 1 person, and that they could be rung in silence.[18]

The church's location just east of the High Street[16] meant that it was very close to the boundary of Ifield parish. People who lived on or around the west side of the High Street would often attend St John the Baptist's although their parish church was St Margaret's. One such worshipper was Mark Lemon, founding editor of the satirical magazine Punch. Having adopted Crawley as his home town, he lived at Vine Cottage on the west side of the High Street, and regularly attended St John the Baptist's instead of St Margaret's.[19] However, his substantial girth caused him problems: he had to sit in the gallery because there were no pews large enough to accommodate him in the nave.[20]

The church, graveyard and church walk are reportedly haunted a number of paranormal sightings have happened over the years. The churchyard contains the war graves of two soldiers of World War I and an airman of World War II.[21]

Architecture

[edit]

The church is built of Sussex limestone. The chancel roof is tiled, but the rest of the church is roofed with slabs of local stone.[10] The south wall of the nave is original,[16] although it has some 15th-century alterations; the nave ceiling is also from this era, and features wind bracing and tie beams. The tower, rebuilt in the 19th century, is in three stages and features mediaeval carvings.[10][16] The pulpit is 17th-century;[16] the altar rails are from that century or early in the 18th.[10][16] There is some stained glass in the 19th-century north aisle and the east end of the chancel.[16] The oldest internal fixture is the marble font, which is 13th-century.[10]

The parish

[edit]

In October 2017, the parish size was reduced to include Crawley town centre, its northernmost point being where Kilnmead road meets the London road, and southernmost where Goffs Park road meets the Brighton Road.

The previous parish covered by the church was much larger than the ancient parish of Crawley. It covered most of the town west and north of the railway line between Gatwick Airport and Crawley railway stations, and up to the boundary of the airport. The boundary was defined by the A23 London Road from its junction with the Horsham Road in Southgate to the edge of the Manor Royal industrial estate at County Oak; the southern perimeter road of Gatwick Airport—incorporating all the land and buildings in the former village of Lowfield Heath; some farmland and residential development east of the railway line at Tinsley Green; the railway line from Tinsley Green to Southgate Avenue, near Crawley railway station; and the northern part of the Southgate neighbourhood.[22]

The former church of St Michael and All Angels, still within the parish boundaries but no longer used by Anglicans

There are five extant churches in the parish.[22] St Peter's in West Green predates the New Town, having been built between 1892 and 1893 to a design by architect W. Hilton Nash.[23] Richard Cook, owner of one of Crawley's main building firms, constructed it.[20] It replaced a chapel of ease to St Margaret's Church, Ifield: although West Green was in the parish of Ifield at the time, it was remote from the parish church. Although the Diocese of Chichester would not pay for a separate church, it accepted St Peter's, which was built with private money, when it was offered.[24] The church later gained its own parish, which was then absorbed by the parish of St John the Baptist. St Elizabeth's in the centre of the Northgate neighbourhood was built in 1965, and like St John the Baptist's follows a "Modern Catholic" style of worship.[25] St Richard's is another modern church serving the Three Bridges neighbourhood. A fifth church, St Michael and All Angels, is notionally within the parish but is no longer used for Anglican worship. William Burges designed and built this yellow sandstone 13th century-style French Gothic[26] church in 1867[27] to serve the village of Lowfield Heath, which was then in the parish of Charlwood in Surrey.[28] The establishment and rapid development of Gatwick Airport next to Lowfield Heath swamped the small village, eventually destroying it: all buildings except the church, which was listed at Grade II* in 1948,[26] were demolished to make way for warehouses and extensions to the airport boundary.[29] (The church is approximately 500 feet (150 m) from the runway.) The Diocese of Chichester stopped using the church for services in 2004; in March 2008 it allowed a Seventh-day Adventist congregation to use the building as its place of worship.[28] Horley Seventh-Day Adventist Church was formed as a church plant in May 2005 and was formally established in January 2008.[30]

The Church Today

[edit]

In September 2017 a team led by Steve and Liz Burston from St Peter's Brighton began a new phase in the life of St John's. There are a variety of services, traditional and informal, contemporary services in order to seek to honour the past, navigate the present and build for the future.

St John's Crawley run an Alpha course every term, providing an opportunity to freely discuss some of the bigger questions of life, faith and purpose within a Christian context. They also run social outreach programmes, such as The Bridge Café and Turning Point. As well as Sunday services, there are groups that meet throughout the week, seeking to deepen faith and grow in community. As a church St John's firmly believe in the Christian witness of churches working together across Crawley, both in social mission and prayer. As a result, prayer and church unity are at the heart of their values.

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b "St John's Church". Crawley Borough Council website. Crawley Borough Council. 2008. Retrieved 22 November 2008.
  2. ^ a b c d e Gwynne, Peter (1990). "4 – The Normans". A History of Crawley (1st ed.). Chichester: Phillimore & Co. p. 38. ISBN 0-85033-718-6.
  3. ^ Gwynne, Peter (1990). "3 – The Saxon Settlers". A History of Crawley (1st ed.). Chichester: Phillimore & Co. p. 23. ISBN 0-85033-718-6.
  4. ^ Gwynne, Peter (1990). "4 – The Normans". A History of Crawley (1st ed.). Chichester: Phillimore & Co. p. 40. ISBN 0-85033-718-6.
  5. ^ a b Gwynne, Peter (1990). "3 – The Saxon Settlers". A History of Crawley (1st ed.). Chichester: Phillimore & Co. p. 57. ISBN 0-85033-718-6.
  6. ^ a b c d Salzman, L. F., ed. (1940). "A History of the County of Sussex: Volume 7 – The Rape of Lewes". Victoria County History of Sussex. British History Online. pp. 144–147. Retrieved 20 November 2008.
  7. ^ a b Gwynne, Peter (1990). "3 – The Saxon Settlers". A History of Crawley (1st ed.). Chichester: Phillimore & Co. p. 22. ISBN 0-85033-718-6.
  8. ^ a b Gwynne, Peter (1990). "4 – The Normans". A History of Crawley (1st ed.). Chichester: Phillimore & Co. p. 42. ISBN 0-85033-718-6.
  9. ^ Gwynne, Peter (1990). "3 – The Saxon Settlers". A History of Crawley (1st ed.). Chichester: Phillimore & Co. p. 56. ISBN 0-85033-718-6.
  10. ^ a b c d e f g Historic England (2007). "Parish Church of St John the Baptist, High Street (east side) (1298875)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 22 November 2008.
  11. ^ Gwynne, Peter (1990). "7 – The Sixteenth Century: The First Building Boom". A History of Crawley (1st ed.). Chichester: Phillimore & Co. p. 74. ISBN 0-85033-718-6.
  12. ^ Gwynne, Peter (1990). "7 – The Sixteenth Century: The First Building Boom". A History of Crawley (1st ed.). Chichester: Phillimore & Co. p. 75. ISBN 0-85033-718-6.
  13. ^ Gwynne, Peter (1990). "7 – The Sixteenth Century: The First Building Boom". A History of Crawley (1st ed.). Chichester: Phillimore & Co. p. 76. ISBN 0-85033-718-6.
  14. ^ https://thebellsofsussex.weebly.com/crawley-st-john-the-baptist.html [bare URL]
  15. ^ Gwynne, Peter (1990). "9 – Georgian England: the Peaceful Years at Home". A History of Crawley (1st ed.). Chichester: Phillimore & Co. pp. 94–96. ISBN 0-85033-718-6.
  16. ^ a b c d e f g h i Nairn, Ian; Pevsner, Nikolaus (1965). The Buildings of England: Sussex. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books. p. 202. ISBN 0-14-071028-0.
  17. ^ "Dove Details". Dove's Guide for Church Bell Ringers website. Sid Baldwin, Ron Johnston and Tim Jackson on behalf of the Central Council of Church Bell Ringers. 24 February 2008. Retrieved 12 March 2008.
  18. ^ https://thebellsofsussex.weebly.com/crawley-st-john-the-baptist.html [bare URL]
  19. ^ Gwynne, Peter (1990). "9 – Georgian England: the Peaceful Years at Home". A History of Crawley (1st ed.). Chichester: Phillimore & Co. p. 95. ISBN 0-85033-718-6.
  20. ^ a b Gwynne, Peter (1990). "10 – Victorian Prosperity". A History of Crawley (1st ed.). Chichester: Phillimore & Co. p. 119. ISBN 0-85033-718-6.
  21. ^ [1] CWGC Cemetery report, details obtained from casualty record.
  22. ^ a b "Crawley: St John the Baptist – About our Parish". A Church Near You website. Oxford Diocesan Publications Ltd. Retrieved 22 November 2008.
  23. ^ Nairn, Ian; Pevsner, Nikolaus (1965). The Buildings of England: Sussex. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books. p. 205. ISBN 0-14-071028-0.
  24. ^ Gwynne, Peter (1990). "10 – Victorian Prosperity". A History of Crawley (1st ed.). Chichester: Phillimore & Co. pp. 121–123. ISBN 0-85033-718-6.
  25. ^ "Crawley: St Elizabeth, Crawley". A Church Near You website. Oxford Diocesan Publications Ltd. Retrieved 22 November 2008.
  26. ^ a b Historic England (2007). "Church of St Michael and All Angels, Church Road (1187081)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 7 November 2008.
  27. ^ Nairn, Ian; Pevsner, Nikolaus (1965). The Buildings of England: Sussex. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books. p. 204. ISBN 0-14-071028-0.
  28. ^ a b "The History and Background of St Michael & All Angels, Lowfield Heath". Horley Seventh-Day Adventist Church website. Horley Seventh-Day Adventist Church. 2007. Archived from the original on 26 July 2011. Retrieved 22 November 2008.
  29. ^ Gwynne, Peter (1990). "12 – The New Town: Maturity". A History of Crawley (1st ed.). Chichester: Phillimore & Co. p. 170. ISBN 0-85033-718-6.
  30. ^ "Horley Seventh-Day Adventist Church: About Us". Horley Seventh-Day Adventist Church website. Horley Seventh-Day Adventist Church. 2007. Retrieved 22 November 2008.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=St_John_the_Baptist%27s_Church,_Crawley&oldid=1241645248"