Bow Down And Worship Crawley Part 1

I’m doing March for March, Prostrate Cancer UK’s fundraising initiative to do eleven thousand steps on each day in March. Last Sunday I was left to my own devices and so I set about seeing how many of Crawley’s places of worship I could walk to or past in a single walk. A focus to the steps I needed to make rather than aimless wandering around the streets.

I started by walking away from the nearest church to where I live, instead going through the little park at the back of the house and onto Malthouse Road and then Brewer Road in the Malthouse Road Conservation Area until I came to Christchurch. Not in New Zealand though. That would have been an epic walk. No, Christ Church, the Anderson shelter looking building on Brewer Road, certainly not what most would expect a place of worship to look like, but places of worship come in all shapes and sizes nowadays.

Then I headed back up the short hill to St Mary’s opposite Southgate Parade. I’ve been in this church more than any other in Crawley, just not for services, and never into the part portioned off where the pews are. It’s my local polling station and there was a time when it seemed I was there every few weeks with referendums, general elections, local council, county council, and x-factor voting.

After a near complete lap of the church I was off down Mason Road (in a second conservation area of the day), across the main road and into Tilgate on Tilgate Way and down to the next place of worship — the Catholic church of St Bernadette’s. Despite the music playing in my headphones all I can hear in my head is the Four Tops singing “Bernadette”, and my favourite “what do you call” joke springs to mind.

What do you call a woman who throws all her bills onto the fire?

Bernadette (Burn a debt — OK I’ll get my coat).

It really isn’t a long walk to the next place of worship, Holy Trinity on Titmus Drive. I’ve not been in here, but Helen used to do Pilates in the church hall adjoining the church.

Then I amble along Ashdown drive to Green Fields Baptist Church. Its car park is full or large shiny cars, which is somewhat of a surprise as having been raise a Catholic I’m not used to there being Sunday afternoon services. The last service would be quarter past eleven, so that it would finish just in time to get across the road to the pub for opening time.

I cross over the road as it changes to Weald Drive and enter Furnace Green, and turn to walk up Sylvan Road. As I approach the far end, I see the building I think is the next place of worship in front of me. Only it’s not, it’s a dental surgery. The New Life Church is just to my right on the corner of Furnace Drive and The Glade. Its car park is also full of cars.

I carry on along Furnace Drive, and then turn to my left and cross over to St Andrew’s, which in contrast with the previous two places of worship is deserted.

Whereas the places of worship have been coming thick and fast, it is a bit more of a trek to the next one. I head through Furnace Green to the tunnel / bridge under the railway into Maidenbower by Oriel school. I wonder, as I often do, at what point in length does a bridge become a tunnel? I will get around to looking that up some day.

Maidenbower shops / community area is a bit different to other parades. A later build and all brick. I find Maidenbower Baptist Church tucked away in the far corner backing onto the stream with not much to differentiate it from the doctors, dental surgery, vets, day care, flats, community centre and shops here. If I hadn’t have looked it up and planned a bit, I wouldn’t have noticed it in passing.

I take a slight detour into Maidenbower to take pictures of street signs (as I do), a number of theatre related names that I’ll put into a collection as some point. The detour beings me out opposite the Coaching Halt, where I stop for a quick Pepsi and comfort break. Every time I refer to this pub, I always call it the Counting House first before correcting myself to its actual name. I even did it typing this up.

Refreshed, I make my way up the hill and into the Worth Conservation Area (number three of the day) and along to the Grade I listed St Nicholas’. I had been here earlier in lockdown on a different wander and the tower had been in scaffolding. The tower is now clear, but the south and east of the church is covered this time. It is open as well. And so, I spend a fair bit of time — and a lot of photographing — looking around, and I’m delighted to find merchandise here; pen, fridge magnet and guide book. Just like I would on a real day out.

The sun has come out as I wander through Worth / Maidenbower / Pound Hill (depending on who is winning the street sign war), and come to the Catholic church of St Edward the Confessor on Hillcrest Close. I have been inside this one before many years ago for a christening. The first time I’d been to a service in a Catholic church in about twenty years since I’d turned to being atheist.

I carry on downhill to St Barnabas, another church I haven’t been in, but again one where Helen has done Pilates in the attached church hall.

The places of worship are coming thick and fast again, and next up is the Crawley United Reformed Church on Worth Park Avenue with its tinted windows at the front.

Next, it is time to go back under the railway (I’m sure this one is a bridge) and into Three Bridges, where I head up Stephenson Way, past all the industrial units up to the very end and the wonderfully colourful Crawley Swarna Kamatchi Amman Temple.

I cut through to Haslett Avenue East and across the park and along Jubilee Walk and out onto Three Bridges Road where the Three Bridges Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses sit.

I then wander along in the direction of New Street. In doing so I walk past the back of the Three Bridges Free Church. By this time my goldfish brain has forgotten to stop and take a photo. I had made a mental note to do so on the way back after I had passed it on the other side of the road on the way to Stephenson Way only a few minutes earlier. So, there is no on the day photo, just one dug out from previous strolls.

I walk up New Street and do take a photo of the former Spiritualist Church that sits opposite Mill Road.

Having done that, I carry on to the top of the road, through the footpath on to North Road, across it and along School Way to come out at the shops on Three Bridges Parade, past the shops and across to St Richard’s on Gales Drive.

At this point I’ve been out for a few hours, and whereas my mind is telling me it’s a great idea to cross over into Northgate and do the cluster of places of worship around the parade, my legs are threatening mutiny if I don’t turn and head towards home. And so, I head back towards town instead. I approach St John’s from the High Street and take another photo to go with the plethora of them I’d taken over the last couple of weeks.

I also use the new path alongside the church which I had seen them installing the previous weekend prior to the visit of the Archbishop of Canterbury. It is a shingle path, and it is heavy going, just like walking along a loose shingle beach, and certainly not something my legs thank me for at this stage of the day. But it does serve to kill off that little voice in my head that is saying “it’s not far into West Green”.

Instead I cross over to take, a quite frankly, terrible photo of St Francis and St Anthony. One I’m not using here as it is that bad and I already have much better ones.

And with that done all that is left to do is a slow trudge home. I massively underestimated how far it would be to get to all of Crawley’s places of worship, and so there will need to be a part two (at least).

If you liked this post, follow me or get on my email list for future posts. Some may even be more enjoyable than this one.

And if you are not a member, consider subscribing to Medium to support my writing and discover lots of other great writers, posts, and articles, including those I have already published here.