Tree House

Although there was evidence of a small settlement by the 11th century, Crawley started to develop as a village in the 13th century when a charter was granted for a market. By the late 14th century, there was enough wealth in the area to justify the building of a manor house. Like other buildings of the era, it was timber-framed; many of these were demolished when the New Town was laid out after the Second World War, In the mid-16th century, in the midst of a period of rapid construction in the village, the building was substantially extended. residence]] By the 18th century, Tree House lost its original use and passed into private ownership as part of the Worth Park estate, a country estate…

Externally, Tree House has no pre-19th century features, but the original hall house remains inside the external brickwork. It occupies an L-shaped corner plot and consists of a Great hall (south to north, facing High Street) and a solar (west to east, facing the Boulevard). There is a Sussex stone chimney breast at the corner. The solar is in better condition, and has three bays and substantial exposed roof trusses with king-posts and tie-beams. The roofline is lower than that of the Great hall section, which is partly covered with slabs of Horsham stone, a material used often in the area. The 18th-century work added a new wing on the west side; changes were made at the northern end in the…

Tree House was listed at Grade II by English Heritage on 21 June 1948, and is one of 100 listed buildings and structures in the Borough of Crawley. It is owned by Crawley Borough Council and was used until 2006 as a venue for various council-run services and voluntary-sector organisations, such as a Citizens Advice Bureau and a bereavement counselling service. However, it was considered unsuitable for this purpose, being cramped and unpleasant for staff and visitors, for example, there were no toilets on site. Also, space between the original walls and the more modern external brickwork had become a nesting site for vermin. These issues coincided with the building being designated as within…