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{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2020}}
{{Use British English|date=July 2020}}
{{Infobox historic site
| name =
| native_name =
| native_language =
| image = Tree House, 103 High Street, Crawley.JPG
| caption = The building from the west-southwest
| type = [[Hall house|Open hall-house]]
| locmapin = West Sussex
| coordinates = {{coord|51|7|0|N|0|11|21|W|region:GB|display=inline,title}}
| gbgridref = TQ 26825 36839
| location = 103 High Street, [[Crawley]]
| area = [[West Sussex]]
| built = Early 15th century
| rebuilt = 16th century
| architect =
| architecture = [[Timber framing|timber-framed]]
| governing_body =
| owner = Crawley Borough Council
| designation1 = Grade II
| designation1_offname = Crawley Museum
| designation1_date = 21 June 1948
| designation1_number = {{Listed building England|1298877}}
| designation2 =
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| designation3 =
| designation3_offname =
| designation3_date =
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| designation4 =
| designation4_offname =
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}}

'''Tree House''', also known as '''The Tree''', is a medieval [[Timber framing|timber-framed]] house on the High Street in [[Crawley]], a town and [[Borough status in the United Kingdom|borough]] in [[West Sussex]], [[England]]. It is the original [[manor house]] of Crawley,<ref name="Gwynne57">{{cite book|last=Gwynne|first=Peter|title=A History of Crawley|publisher=Phillimore & Co|location=Chichester|year=1990|edition=1st|page=57|chapter=6 – Mediaeval Growth|isbn=0-85033-718-6}}</ref><ref name="Pevsner203">{{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= 203 }}</ref> and was built in the early 15th century and rebuilt in the mid-16th century.<ref name="Gwynne57"/> It now has a modern exterior, but the old structure is still in place inside. Situated in a prominent position facing both the High Street and The Boulevard, two of Crawley town centre's main roads, its name commemorates an ancient [[elm]] tree which stood outside for hundreds of years and was one of Crawley's landmarks.<ref name="Gwynne106-7">{{cite book|last=Gwynne|first=Peter|title=A History of Crawley|publisher=Phillimore & Co|location=Chichester|year=1990|edition=1st|pages=106–107|chapter=10 – Victorian Prosperity|isbn=0-85033-718-6}}</ref>

Tree House is currently occupied by the Crawley Museum.

==History==
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 (economics)|market]].<ref name="Gwynne37">{{cite book|last=Gwynne|first=Peter|title=A History of Crawley|publisher=Phillimore & Co|location=Chichester|year=1990|edition=1st|page=37|chapter=5 – Mediaeval Beginnings|isbn=0-85033-718-6}}</ref> 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 framing|timber-framed]]; many of these were demolished when the [[New Towns in the United Kingdom|New Town]] was laid out after the [[Second World War]],<ref name="Gwynne57"/> and Tree House is now the oldest such building on the High Street.<ref name="Gwynne65">{{cite book|last=Gwynne|first=Peter|title=A History of Crawley|publisher=Phillimore & Co|location=Chichester|year=1990|edition=1st|page=65|chapter=7 – The Sixteenth Century: the First Building Boom|isbn=0-85033-718-6}}</ref><ref name="CBC-HighSt">{{cite web|url=http://www.crawley.gov.uk/stellent/idcplg?IdcService=SS_GET_PAGE&ssDocName=INT009956|title=Crawley High Street|year=2008|work=Crawley Borough Council website|publisher=Crawley Borough Council|accessdate=2008-12-15}}</ref>

In the mid-16th century, in the midst of a period of rapid construction in the village, the building was substantially extended.<ref name="Gwynne65"/> Around this time, [[brick]] started to replace timber as the predominant building material in the area; the extension used timber, but soon afterwards a brick "skin" was added around the exterior. This remains in place today.<ref name="Gwynne66">{{cite book|last=Gwynne|first=Peter|title=A History of Crawley|publisher=Phillimore & Co|location=Chichester|year=1990|edition=1st|page=66|chapter=7 – The Sixteenth Century: the First Building Boom|isbn=0-85033-718-6}}</ref>

[[File:John Leech Plaque at Tree House, Crawley.jpg|thumb|right|Commemorative plaque recording [[John Leech (caricaturist)|John Leech's]] residence]]
By the 18th century, Tree House lost its original use and passed into private ownership as part of the Worth Park estate,<ref name="Gwynne143">{{cite book|last=Gwynne|first=Peter|title=A History of Crawley|publisher=Phillimore & Co|location=Chichester|year=1990|edition=1st|page=143|chapter=11 – Into the Twentieth Century|isbn=0-85033-718-6}}</ref> a [[Estate (house)|country estate]] which covered large parts of Crawley (which was by this time a small town). By 1780 the building had started its long association with the medical profession:<ref name="Gwynne102">{{cite book|last=Gwynne|first=Peter|title=A History of Crawley|publisher=Phillimore & Co|location=Chichester|year=1990|edition=1st|page=102|chapter=9 – Georgian England: the Peaceful Years at Home|isbn=0-85033-718-6}}</ref> it was home to a family of doctors for about 130 years,<ref name="CBC-HighSt"/><ref name="Gwynne144">{{cite book|last=Gwynne|first=Peter|title=A History of Crawley|publisher=Phillimore & Co|location=Chichester|year=1990|edition=1st|page=144|chapter=11 – Into the Twentieth Century|isbn=0-85033-718-6}}</ref> although it was rented from the estate landowner for the whole time.<ref name="Gwynne144"/> The [[Caricature|caricaturist]] [[John Leech (caricaturist)|John Leech]] also lived at the house for several years from 1833, while training as a medical student. He worked on the magazine ''[[Punch (magazine)|Punch]]'', which at the time was edited by fellow Crawley resident [[Mark Lemon]], and illustrated [[Charles Dickens]]'s [[Bibliography of Charles Dickens|series of Christmas stories]] in the 1840s.<ref name="CBC-Trails">{{cite web|url=http://www.crawley.gov.uk/stellent/groups/public/documents/otherdocs/int037605.pdf|title=Town Centre Trail|format=PDF|year=2007|work=Crawley Town Centre and Neighbourhood heritage trails leaflet|publisher=Crawley Borough Council|accessdate=2008-12-29}}</ref> Later, the parish council (which became Crawley Urban District Council in 1956 and Crawley Borough Council in 1974)<ref name="Gwynne165">{{cite book |last=Gwynne |first=Peter |title=A History of Crawley |year=1990 |publisher=Phillimore & Company |location=Chichester |isbn=0-85033-718-6 |page=165| chapter=12 – The New Town: Maturity}}</ref> bought Tree House and used it to house various council services. These have since been moved to new purpose-built accommodation, leaving the building's future uncertain.<ref name="MJAwards">{{cite web|url=http://www.localgov.co.uk/view/pdf/mjawards2007/Facilities/Finalists/Crawley.pdf|title=MJ Local Government Achievement Awards: Facilities and Asset Management Category. Crawley Borough Council – Creation of Crawley Voluntary Services Hub|year=2007|format=PDF|work=LocalGov.co.uk website: MJ Local Government Achievement Awards Executive Summary|publisher=Hemming Information Services|accessdate=2008-12-12|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120723090303/http://www.localgov.co.uk/view/pdf/mjawards2007/Facilities/Finalists/Crawley.pdf|archivedate=2012-07-23}}</ref> In particular, it lies within the area covered by the Crawley "Town Centre North" masterplan, which proposes major changes and redevelopment for that part of the town centre. The latest version of the masterplan, dated September 2008, recommends that Tree House should be kept, while allowing "justified" alterations or extensions to be made.<ref name="CBC-TCN">{{cite web|url=http://www.crawley.gov.uk/stellent/groups/public/documents/strategypolicy/int152829.pdf|title=Crawley Town Centre North: Development Principles (Updated). Supplementary Planning Document|date=September 2008|format=PDF|work=Crawley Borough Council Planning and Development website: Town Centre North SPD|publisher=Crawley Borough Council|accessdate=2008-12-15}}</ref>

[[File:Tree House, 103 High Street, Crawley (South Face) (IoE Code 363351).JPG|thumb|left|The [[Solar (room)|solar wing]] (south front, facing The Boulevard). The blacked-out sign showed the services offered by the voluntary sector and Borough Council in the building until 2006]]
Until the late 20th century, a large barn-style hall stood in the gardens behind Tree House.<ref name="Gwynne57"/><ref name="Gwynne67">{{cite book|last=Gwynne|first=Peter|title=A History of Crawley|publisher=Phillimore & Co|location=Chichester|year=1990|edition=1st|page=67|chapter=7 – The Sixteenth Century: the First Building Boom|isbn=0-85033-718-6}}</ref> It was built in the early 15th century as a [[moot hall]]—a mediaeval meeting place for villagers to discuss issues. The two-storey timber-framed building had four [[Bay (architecture)|bays]] on the ground floor and a long room on the first floor.<ref name="Gwynne57"/> Threatened with demolition and replacement by an office block extension in the 1970s, it was instead dismantled, transported to the [[Weald and Downland Open Air Museum]] at [[Singleton, West Sussex|Singleton]] and rebuilt there.<ref name="Gwynne57"/><ref name="WDOAM1">{{cite web|url=http://www.wealddown.co.uk/Magazine/Old%20Magazines/magazine-7-1976-spring.htm |title=House Magazine No 7 – Spring 1976 |last=Armstrong |first=J. R. |year=1976 |work=Weald and Downland Open Air Museum House Magazine No 7 |publisher=[[Weald and Downland Open Air Museum]] |accessdate=2008-12-15 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20081118010755/http://www.wealddown.co.uk/Magazine/Old%20Magazines/magazine-7-1976-spring.htm |archivedate=2008-11-18 }}</ref> At the museum, the building is now called the "[[Weald and Downland Open Air Museum#Upper Hall|Upper Hall]]".<ref name="WDOAM2">{{cite web|url=http://www.wealddown.co.uk/Buildings%20and%20Exhibits/crawley-15th-century-timber-framed-hall.htm |title=Upper Hall from Crawley, Sussex |year=2007 |work=Weald and Downland Open Air Museum website |publisher=Weald and Downland Open Air Museum |accessdate=2008-12-15 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20081113161709/http://www.wealddown.co.uk/Buildings%20and%20Exhibits/crawley-15th-century-timber-framed-hall.htm |archivedate=2008-11-13 }}</ref><ref name="IoE363351"/>

The building's name, which seems to have been used from early in its history, refers to one of Crawley's oldest and most longstanding landmarks.<ref name="Gwynne106-7"/> The "Crawley Elm" stood immediately opposite; an ancient, substantial tree, it predated the building. A historical work about the county of Sussex published in 1835 devoted almost all of its summary of Crawley to a discussion of the tree. Another 19th-century author of a work about trees described its "tall, straight stem which ascends to a height of 70 feet <nowiki>[</nowiki>21 m<nowiki>]</nowiki> ... [and] the fantastic ruggedness of its roots".<ref name="Gwynne106-7"/> At that time its trunk had been partly hollowed out to form a small room<ref name="Gwynne106-7"/><ref name="CBC-HighSt"/> which was used for various purposes: as a temporary lodging place for travellers to stay overnight; as a meeting room; and as a [[billet]].<ref name="Gwynne106-7"/> The room had a circumference of about {{convert|35|ft|m}}, a door and some brickwork. Although the tree was already dying at this stage, parts of it remained until the New Town started to be built in the 1940s.<ref name="Gwynne106-7"/>

==Architecture==
[[File:Tree House, 103 High Street, Crawley (IoE Code 363351).jpg|thumb|right|The west face of the building in 2008]]
Externally, Tree House has no pre-19th century features, but the original [[hall house]] remains inside the external brickwork.<ref name="Pevsner203"/> It occupies an L-shaped corner plot and consists of a [[Great hall]] (south to north, facing High Street) and a [[Solar (room)|solar]] (west to east, facing the Boulevard).<ref name="Pevsner203"/><ref name="IoE363351"/> There is a Sussex stone [[chimney breast]] at the corner. The solar is in better condition, and has three [[Bay (architecture)|bays]] and substantial exposed [[Truss|roof trusses]] with [[Crown post|king-posts]] and [[Tie (engineering)|tie-beams]].<ref name="Pevsner203"/><ref name="IoE363351"/> The roofline is lower than that of the Great hall section, which is partly covered with slabs of Horsham stone,<ref name="IoE363351"/> 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 following century; and the most recent remodelling in 1936 resulted in more changes on this side. The windows were, until recently, boarded up but most were modern.<ref name="IoE363351"/>

==The building today==
Tree House was [[Listed building|listed]] at Grade II by [[English Heritage]] on 21 June 1948,<ref name="IoE363351">{{NHLE|desc= No 103 (The Tree) (offices of the Crawley Borough Council Housing and Estates Department), High Street (east side)|num=1298877|year=2007|accessdate=2008-12-15}}</ref> and is one of [[Listed buildings in Crawley|100 listed buildings and structures in the Borough of Crawley]].<ref name="CBC">{{cite web|url=http://www.crawley.gov.uk/stellent/groups/public/documents/adviceguidance/int116583.pdf|format=PDF|title=Listed Buildings in Crawley|year=2008|work=Crawley Borough Council Planning and Development website|publisher=Crawley Borough Council|accessdate=2008-12-15}}</ref> 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 the zone covered by the £700m "Town Centre North" regeneration programme. In response to a request from the voluntary sector tenants, to provide better accommodation, the Council moved all of the functions previously undertaken in Tree House to a new building (the Orchard) elsewhere in the town centre in November 2006. The building remained empty for some years until, in March 2010, it was identified as a possible location for the town's museum,<ref name="CObs-04032010">{{cite news|url=http://www.crawleyobserver.co.uk/news/New-home-for-museum.6125637.jp|title=New home for museum?|date=4 March 2010|work=Crawley Observer|publisher=[[Johnston Press|Johnston Press Digital Publishing]]|accessdate=10 March 2010}}</ref> and in May 2018 Crawley Museum opened at Tree House.

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{Crawley}}

[[Category:Buildings and structures in Crawley]]
[[Category:Grade II listed buildings in West Sussex]]
[[Category:Grade II listed houses]]
[[Category:Houses in West Sussex]]

Tree House, Crawley - Revision history

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