Earlier Houses: It's likely that there was a medieval manor house on the site of the 19th century house.

Built / Designed For: George Ashburner

House & Family History: In 1861 the Tilgate Estate was purchased for £55,000 (approximately £35 million in 2016 inflation-adjusted values using the labour value commodity index) by George Ashburner, a local grandee, who built a large French-style mansion on the site of an earlier house. In 1939 the Estate of 2,185 acres and the House were sold off in separate lots. In the early 1960s Crawley Borough Council purchased part of the Estate; they demolished the House in 1966 and turned the Park into a public park.

Garden & Outbuildings: The Stableblock, now divided into housing, is the only building from the Estate that survives. The three lakes on the Estate were very likely constructed to serve the medieval iron industry that thrived in this area. The largest lake, Tilgate Lake, was used by Malcolm Campbell, world water speed record holder, in the 1940s for flotation trials for his water speed craft, after which it was known by locals as Campbell's Lake. The rock group The Cure originated in Crawley and played at the Inn in the Park on the Estate early in their career.

House Listed: Demolished

Park Listed: Not Listed

Past Seat / Home of: SEATED AT EARLIER HOUSE: Edward Nevill, 8th Baron Bergavenny, 17th century. Sir Edward Culpeper and Sir Walter Covert, who owned the Estate jointly, 17th century. Sergisson family, 19th century. SEATED AT 19TH CENTURY HOUSE: George Ashburner, 19th century.

Current Ownership Type: Government

Primary Current Ownership Use: Public Park

Ownership Details: Crawley Borough Council purchased part of the Estate in the 1960s and operate it today as a public park.

House Open to Public: Grounds Only

Phone: 01293-438-000

Fax: 01293-511-803

Website: http://www.crawley.gov.uk

Historic Houses Member: No