Three Bridges is one of 14 neighbourhoods within the town of

Crawley Crawley () is a large town and borough in West Sussex, England. It is south of London, north of Brighton and Hove, and north-east of the county town of Chichester. Crawley covers an area of and had a population of 106,597 at the time of th ...

, in the county of

West Sussex West Sussex is a county in South East England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the shire districts of Adur, Arun, Chichester, Horsham, and Mid Sussex, and the boroughs of Crawley and Worthing. Covering an ar ...

in England.

History

Three Bridges, at first a tiny

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

, began to grow with the coming of the

London and Brighton Railway The London and Brighton Railway (L&BR) was a railway company in England which was incorporated in 1837 and survived until 1846. Its railway ran from a junction with the London and Croydon Railway (L&CR) at Norwood – which gives it access fro ...

in 1841. Despite beliefs to the contrary, the village was named, not after rail bridges, but after three much older crossings over streams in the area (

River Mole The River Mole is a tributary of the River Thames in southern England. It rises in West Sussex near Gatwick Airport and flows northwest through Surrey for to the Thames at Hampton Court Palace. The river gives its name to the Surrey district ...

tributaries). The hamlet became the site of an important railway junction in 1848 with the opening of the branch line to

Horsham Horsham is a market town on the upper reaches of the River Arun on the fringe of the Weald in West Sussex, England. The town is south south-west of London, north-west of Brighton and north-east of the county town of Chichester. Nearby to ...

and thence to

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

. The railway established a motive power depot and marshalling yards to the south of the village. A further branch line to

East Grinstead East Grinstead is a town in West Sussex, England, near the East Sussex, Surrey, and Kent borders, south of London, northeast of Brighton, and northeast of the county town of Chichester. Situated in the extreme northeast of the county, the civ ...

was opened in 1855. The village changed radically with the coming of the

New town New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

development in the Crawley area in the late 1940s. Three Bridges was one of the first group of neighbourhoods to be built, by 2020 there were 14 neighbourhoods.

Railway transport

Three Bridges railway station Three Bridges railway station is located in and named after the village of Three Bridges, which is now a district of Crawley, West Sussex, England. It is at the point where the Arun Valley Line diverges from the Brighton Main Line and Thamesli ...

is an important

junction station ''Junction station'' usually refers to a railway station situated on or close to a junction where lines to several destinations diverge. The usual minimum is three incoming lines. At a station with platforms running from left to right, the minimum ...

where the

Arun Valley Line The Arun Valley line, also known as the Mid Sussex line, is part of the Southern- and Thameslink-operated railway services. For the initial part of the route trains follow the Brighton Main Line, and at a junction south of Three Bridges the ...

branches off from the

Brighton Main Line The Brighton Main Line (also known as the South Central Main Line) is a major railway line in the United Kingdom that links Brighton, on the south coast of England, with central London. In London the line has two branches, out of and station ...

that runs between London and

Brighton Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...

. A third line to

closed on 1 January 1967. A rolling stock depot,

Three Bridges depot Three Bridges depot is an Electric Traction Depot located in Three Bridges, West Sussex, England. The depot is about 1.5 km south of Three Bridges railway station, on either side of the Brighton Main Line. History Located in the 'fork ...

, was constructed in the early 2010s for the

Thameslink rolling stock programme The British Rail Class 700 '' Desiro City'' is an electric multiple unit passenger train capable of operating on from overhead wires or 750 V DC from third rail. 115 trainsets were built between 2014 and 2018, for use on the Thameslink netw ...

Three Bridges ROC, the main operating centre for the south east, is also located close to Three Bridges station.

Education

Hazelwick School Hazelwick School is a co-educational comprehensive school with academy status for pupils aged 11 to 18, located in Crawley, West Sussex, England. History Hazelwick School was built in 1953 as part of developing Crawley as a new town and wa ...

is a comprehensive school located in Three Bridges. It was opened as a Secondary Modern School in 1953, which became a Comprehensive school in the mid 1960s. It is also (since 1998) designated as a Technology and Humanities College. Hazelwick has over 110 teachers and more than 2100 pupils. Many former school pupils later became famous including

Gareth Southgate Gareth Southgate (born 3 September 1970) is an English professional football manager and former player who played as a defender and midfielder. He has been the manager of the England national team since 2016. Southgate won the League Cup w ...

and

Chico Slimani Yousseph "Chico" Slimani (born 1971) is a British singer who rose to prominence in the United Kingdom after reaching the quarter-finals of the 2005 series of the talent show ''The X Factor''. In 2006, he had a number one hit on the British c ...

. It also educated two of the controversial

Fertilizer Bomb ANFO ( ) (or AN/FO, for ammonium nitrate/fuel oil) is a widely used bulk industrial explosive. It consists of 94% porous prilled ammonium nitrate (NH4NO3) (AN), which acts as the oxidizing agent and absorbent for the fuel, and 6% number 2 fuel ...

plotters,

Omar Khyam Omar Khyam is a citizen of the United Kingdom, who led a terrorist plot in May 2007. He was trained in bomb-making at the Malakand training camp in Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , ...

and Jawad Akbar who were arrested, charged and imprisoned for life sentences due to Government Home Security surveillance during

Operation Crevice Operation Crevice was a raid launched by Metropolitan and local police in England on the morning of 30 March 2004. It was in response to a report indicating cells of terrorists of Pakistani origin operating in the Thames Valley, Sussex, Surrey a ...

. Primary schools in Three Bridges include

Three Bridges Primary School Crawley () is a large town and borough in West Sussex, England. It is south of London, north of Brighton and Hove, and north-east of the county town of Chichester. Crawley covers an area of and had a population of 106,597 at the time of th ...

Sport

Three Bridges F.C. Three Bridges Football Club is a football club based in Three Bridges in Crawley, West Sussex, England. The club is affiliated to the Sussex County Football Association. They were established in 1901 and were founding members of the Sussex Co ...

play in Isthmian League, Division One South East *

Crawley Town F.C. Crawley Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Crawley, West Sussex, England. The club was founded as Crawley Football Club in 1896, changed its name to Crawley Town Football Club in 1958. The team com ...

play in

Football League Two The English Football League Two (often referred to as League Two for short or Sky Bet League Two for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League Two from 2004 until 2016) is the third and lowest division of the English Football Lea ...

, the fourth tier of football in England * Three Bridges Cricket Club play in the

Sussex Cricket League The Sussex Cricket League, founded in 1971, is the top level of competition for recreational club cricket in Sussex, England, and since 1999 the Premier Division has been a designated ECB Premier League. The League Headquarters is based in Hov ...

* Crawley Hockey Club plays their home matches at Hazelwick School

References

External links

Three Bridges Football Club

Crawley Lawn Tennis Club

Three Bridges Cricket Club

Crawley Borough Council

Hazelwick School

{{authority control Neighbourhoods in Crawley