Tilgate Park History

Now the largest and most popular park in Crawley, Tilgate Park originally formed part of the Tilgate Estate, which encompassed a much larger area including part of Three Bridges, Furnace Green, and the surrounding forested areas.

Originally part of the Worth Forest, the earliest records of the site date from the Norman Conquest. From the mid 19th Century the estate was owned by the Ashburner Nix family. The three lakes within the park were probably constructed to serve the medieval iron industry. The main lake was used by Malcolm Campbell in the 1940's for flotation trials for his speedboat 'Bluebird'.

Tilgate Park was purchased by the council in the early 1960's. What remained of the estate was opened as Tilgate Park, with the original stable block renovated into residential properties, now known as Tilgate Mansions. Sadly the mansion had fallen into disrepair over the years and was demolished in 1965 and replaced by what is now known as "The Inn In the Park".

The Walled Garden was originally the kitchen garden for the Tilgate Estate, then later used as a horticultural research station. The local council purchased Tilgate Park in the 1960's, and the Walled Garden was retained as a tree nursery to supply the park, and new neighbourhoods being developed in the town.