Three Bridges is one of 14 neighbourhoods within the town of

Crawley Crawley () is a town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, 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 populat ...

, in the county of

West Sussex West Sussex is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Surrey to the north, East Sussex to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Hampshire to the west. The largest settlement is Cr ...

in England.

History

Three Bridges, at first a tiny

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

, 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 fr ...

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 north-west 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 city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

. 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 northeast corner of the county, bord ...

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

New town New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz (South Korean band), The Boyz * New (album), ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 ** New (Paul McCartney song), "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * New (EP), ''New'' (EP), ...

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 a railway station located in and named after the village of Three Bridges, West Sussex, Three Bridges, which is now a district of the town of Crawley, West Sussex, England. This station is where the Arun Valley ...

is an important

junction station ''Junction station'' usually refers to a railway station situated either on or close to a rail junction, where lines to two or more destinations diverge. Many junction stations have multiple platform faces to enable trains for multiple destinatio ...

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 t ...

branches off from the

Brighton Main Line The Brighton Main Line is a railway line in southern England linking London to Brighton. It starts at two termini in the capital, and , and the branches from each meet at , from where the route continues southwards via to the coast. The line ...

that runs between London and

Brighton Brighton ( ) is a seaside resort in the city status in the United Kingdom, city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England, south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Age Britain, Bronze Age, R ...

. A third line to

closed on 1 January 1967. A rolling stock depot, Three Bridges depot, was constructed in the early 2010s for the Thameslink rolling stock programme 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. Its alumni include former footballer and England manager Gareth Southgate and comedian Romesh Ranga ...

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 Sir Gareth Southgate (born 3 September 1970) is an English professional Association football, football manager and player, who played as a Defender (association football), defender and midfielder. A Crystal Palace F.C., Crystal Palace Crystal ...

and

Chico Slimani Yousseph "Chico" Slimani (born 1971) is a Welsh 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 cha ...

. It also educated two of the controversial Fertilizer Bomb plotters,

Omar Khyam Omar Khyam is a citizen of the United Kingdom, who led a terrorist plot in 2004. He was trained in bomb-making at the Malakand training camp in Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South ...

and Jawad Akbar who were arrested, charged and imprisoned for life sentences due to Government Home Security surveillance during Operation Crevice. Primary schools in Three Bridges include Three Bridges Primary School.

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 Coun ...

play in Isthmian League, Division One South East * Crawley Town F.C. play in

Football League Two The English Football League Two, simply known as League Two and for sponsorship purposes as Sky Bet League Two, is a professional association football league in England. EFL League Two is the fourth division of the English Football League (EFL ...

, 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 Premier League is a professio ...

* 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