Worth, West Sussex

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Worth, once a separate village but now part of the Crawley New Town, is also a civil parish in the Mid Sussex District of West Sussex.

[edit] Worth village

Worth village has Saxon origins: Worth Church still retains its Saxon floor plan. The Wealden iron industry flourished here in the 17th/18th centuries; and with the coming of the railway in 1855 brought more employment to the area: the line closed in 1967.

With the creation of Crawley New Town, Worth village became part of it, in the Pound Hill ward; the title of the ward being changed in 2004 to Pound Hill South and Worth. It is common for signposts to be altered to use the Worth name instead of Pound Hill by local residents.

[edit] Worth civil parish

The civil parish of Worth, which includes the villages of Copthorne, West Sussex and Crawley Down, covers an area of 1995.18ha and has a population (2001 census) of 9888 persons. The ecclesiastical parish was one of the larger West Sussex parishes, encompassing the entire area along the West Sussex/Surrey border between the town of Crawley, east of its High Street, and East Grinstead. The creation of Turners Hill civil parish meant that Worth parish is now only one-third of its original size.

Worth Park House, a large country house, once stood on the Milton Mount housing estate, now part of Pound Hill, Crawley. The house was home to Sir Moses Montefiore and his family. The gardens have recently been restored.

Worth Abbey, an English Benedictine monastery, and Worth School are both located in the parish.