House Surveyor Crawley

West Sussex

Approximate Population: 99,744

Although Crawley itself is not mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086, the nearby settlements of Ifield and Worth are recorded.  The first written record of Crawley dates from 1202, when a licence was issued by King John for a weekly market on Wednesdays.  Crawley grew slowly in importance over the next few centuries, but was boosted in the 18th century by the construction of the turnpike road between London and Brighton.   When this was completed in 1770, travel between the newly fashionable seaside resort and London became safer and quicker, and Crawley (located approximately halfway between the two) prospered as a coaching halt.

By 1839 it offered almost an hourly service to both destinations.  The George, a timber-framed house dating from the 15th century, expanded to become a large coaching inn, taking over adjacent buildings.  Eventually an annexe had to be built in the middle of the wide High Street; this survived until the 1930s.  The original building has become the George Hotel, with conference facilities and 84 bedrooms; it retains many period features including an iron fireback.

Crawley’s oldest church is St John the Baptist’s, between the High Street and the Broadway. It has 13th century origins, but there has been much rebuilding (especially in the 19th century) and the oldest part remaining is the south wall of the nave, which is believed to be 14th century.   The church has a 15th-century tower (rebuilt in 1804) which originally contained four bells cast in 1724.   Two were replaced by Thomas Lester of London in 1742; but in 1880 a new set of eight bells were cast and installed by the Croydon-based firm Gillett, Bland & Company.

The Coventry Canal terminates near the city centre at Coventry Canal Basin and is navigable for 61 km (38 miles) to Fradley Junction in Staffordshire.

House Surveyor Crawley West Sussex

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House Surveyor Maidstone Kent

Approximate Population: 75,000

Maidstone is the county town of Kent, England, 32 miles (51 km) south-east of London. The River Medway runs through the centre of the town linking Maidstone to Rochester and the Thames Estuary. Historically, the river was a source and route for much of the town’s trade. Maidstone was the centre of the agricultural county of Kent, known as the Garden of England. There is evidence of a settlement in the area dating back to beyond the Stone Age. The town is within the borough of Maidstone. In 2001, the town had a population of 75,000. Maidstone’s economy has changed over the years from being involved in much heavy industry: now light industry predominates; and to more service industries.

Maidstone has had the right to a town gaol since 1604; the present prison lies north of the town centre and was completed in 1819. Army barracks have been a feature of the town since 1797, when the first was built. The present Invicta Barracks is home to the Royal Engineers 36 Engineer Regiment, which includes two Gurkha field squadrons. From an economic point of view, Maidstone’s history has developed around the river, and also the surrounding countryside. Paper mills, stone quarrying, brewing and the cloth industry have all flourished here.

As with most towns, Maidstone has continued to grow. In doing so it has incorporated hitherto separate settlements, villages and hamlets within its boundaries. These include Allington, Barming, Bearsted, Penenden Heath, Sandling, Tovil and Weavering Street. Housing estates include Grove Green, Harbourland, Lunsford, Oakwood Park, Ringlestone, Roseacre, Shepway and Vinters Park.

House Surveyor Maidstone Kent

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House Surveyor

Edinburgh Scotland

Approximate Population: 448,625

In the 10th century, with the collapse of the Danelaw the Scots captured the position.   Then in the 12th century a small town flourished at the base of the castle known as Edinburgh, along side which another community rose up to the East around the Abbey of Holyrood, known as Holyrood.

Together in the 13th century these became Royal Burghs. As a consequence of Edinburgh’s earlier Anglo-Saxon rule, Edinburgh and the Border counties lay in a disputed zone between England and Scotland, England claiming all Anglo-Saxon Domains as English territory, and Scotland claiming all territory as far south as Hadrian’s Wall.

The result was a long series of border wars and clashes, which often left Edinburgh Castle under English control.   It was not until the 15th century when Edinburgh remained for the most firmly under Scottish control, that King James IV of Scotland undertook to move the Royal Court from Stirling to Holyrood, making Edinburgh by proxy Scotland’s capital.

House Surveyor Edinburgh Scotland

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House Surveyor

Croydon Greater London

Approximate Population: 316,283

Croydon is a large town and major commercial centre in South London, and the principal settlement of the London Borough of Croydon.   It is 9.5 miles (15.3 km) south of Charing Cross, and is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the London Plan. It is located on the natural transport corridor between London and England’s south coast, just to the north of a gap in the North Downs.

Historically a part of Surrey, at the time of the Norman conquest of England Croydon had a church, a mill and around 365 inhabitants (as recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086).   Croydon expanded during the Middle Ages as a market town and a centre for charcoal production, leather tanning and brewing.   The Surrey Iron Railway from Croydon to Wandsworth opened in 1803 and was the world’s first horse-drawn railway, which later developed into an important means of transport – facilitating Croydon’s growth as a commuter town for the City of London and beyond.

In the early 20th century Croydon was an important industrial area, known for metal working, car manufacture and its airport.   In the mid 20th century these sectors were replaced with retailing and service economy, brought about as a result of a massive redevelopment of office blocks and the Whitgift shopping centre. Croydon was amalgamated into Greater London in 1965. Road traffic is now diverted away from a largely pedestrianised town centre, but its main railway station, East Croydon, is still a major hub within the national railway transport system.   The town is expected to have its urban planning changed as part of Croydon Vision 2020.

House Surveyor Croydon Greater London

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House Surveyor

Warrington Cheshire

Approximate Population: 195,200

Warrington is a large town, borough and unitary authority area in Cheshire, England.   It stands on the banks of the River Mersey, which is tidal to the west of the weir at Howley.   The population of the borough of Warrington, including its 18 civil parishes, is around 194,000.   Its population has more than doubled since its designation as a New Town in 1968.

Historically a part of Lancashire, Warrington was founded by the Romans at an important crossing place on the River Mersey.   A new settlement was established by the Saxons and by the Middle Ages, Warrington had emerged as a market town at an important bridging point.   A local tradition of textile and tool production dates from this time.

The expansion and urbanisation of Warrington largely coincided with the Industrial Revolution, particularly after the Mersey was made navigable in the 18th century.   The West Coast Mainline runs north to south through the town, and the Liverpool to Manchester railway (the Cheshire Lines route) west to east.   The Manchester Ship Canal cuts through the south of the borough (west to east).   The M6, M56 and M62 motorways form a partial box around the town.

House Surveyor Warrington Cheshire

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House Surveyor

Solihull West Midlands

Approximate Population: 94,753

Residential development in Solihull comprises a variety of housing types, but features a notable preponderance of semi-detached, detached and town houses, with little or no true terraces.   Many of the larger developments were constructed between 1950 and 1970.   One of the earlier large scale developments centred around Beechwood Park Road and Stonor Park Road with new detached houses selling for £4,000 in 1952.   Chelmsley Wood to the north of Solihull town centre is a large 1960s overspill estate for Birmingham, and is currently marketed under the name of “North Solihull”. In the early to mid-1980s, the new Monkspath district constructed east of Shirley (and close to the M42 motorway) was the UK’s single largest housing development of that decade.

Solihull offers a variety of shopping facilities.   It has an open-air 1960s-style shopping centre called Mell Square.   In recent years, the town has undergone much development, and the High Street has been pedestrianised since 1994. On July 2, 2002, a large new shopping centre, Touchwood, was opened by Queen Elizabeth II.

Solihull is the home of the four wheel drive car manufacturer Land Rover and a range of other major companies.

The National Exhibition Centre, commonly thought to be in Birmingham, is in fact within the borough of Solihull, as is almost all of Birmingham International Airport and the ever-expanding Birmingham Business Park.

House Surveyor Solihull West Midlands

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House Surveyor

Blackburn Lancashire

Approximate Population: 105,085

Blackburn is a large town in Lancashire, England.   It lies to the north of the West Pennine Moors on the southern edge of the Ribble Valley, 8.9 miles (14.3 km) east of the city of Preston, and 21 miles (34 km) north-northwest of the city of Manchester. Blackburn is bounded to the south by Darwen, with which it forms the unitary authority area of Blackburn with Darwen, Blackburn being the administrative centre.   At the time of the UK Government’s 2001 census, Blackburn had a population of 105,085, whilst the wider borough had a population of 137,470.

A former mill town, textiles have been produced in Blackburn since the middle of the 13th century, when locally produced wool was woven in people’s houses. Flemish weavers who settled in the area during the 14th century helped to develop the industry.

James Hargreaves, inventor of the spinning jenny, was a weaver in Blackburn.  The most rapid period of growth and development in Blackburn’s history coincided with the industrialisation and expansion of textile manufacturing.   Blackburn was a boomtown of the Industrial Revolution, and amongst the first industrialised towns in the world.

House Surveyor Blackburn Lancashire

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House Surveyor

Worcester Worcestershire

Approximate Population: 93,700

The 2001 census recorded that Worcester had a population of 93, 353 with 96.5% White ethnicity including 94.2% White British, greater than the national average.   The largest religious groups are Christian (77%) and No Religion or Not Stated (21%) with other religions totalling less than 2%.   Ethnic minorities include people of Chinese, Indian, Pakistani, Italian and Polish origin, with the largest single minority group being the ethnic Pakistani population of around 1200 people (around 1.3%).

This has led to Worcester containing a small but diverse range of religious groups; as well as the commanding Worcester Cathedral (Church of England), there are also Catholic and Baptist churches, a large centre for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons), an Islamic mosque, and a number of smaller interest groups regarding Eastern Religions such as Buddhism and the Hare Krishnas.

Worcester is the seat of a Church of England bishop.   His official signature is his Christian name followed by Wigorn, which is also occasionally used as an abbreviation for the name of the county.

House Surveyor Worcester Worcestershire

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House Surveyor

Reading Berkshire

Approximate Population: 143,096

Reading  is a town in England, located at the confluence of the River Thames and River Kennet, midway between London and Swindon off the M4 motorway.   It is one of the contenders for the title of the largest town in England, and is the largest settlement in the Home Counties in terms of population.   For ceremonial purposes it is in the county of Berkshire and has served as the county town since 1867.   It is also home to one of England’s biggest music festivals.

Reading was an important national centre in the medieval period, as the site of an important monastery with strong royal connections, but suffered economic damage during the 17th century from which it took a long time to recover.

Today it is again an important commercial centre, with strong links to information technology and insurance.   It is also a university town, with two universities and a large student population.   Citizens of Reading are known as Redingensians.

House Surveyor Reading Berkshire

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House Surveyor

Stirling Scotland

Approximate Population: 41,243

Standing near the castle, the Church of the Holy Rood (Holy Cross) is one of Stirling’s most historically important buildings.   The Church of the Holy Rude, which was rebuilt in the 1400s after Stirling suffered a catastrophic fire in 1405, is the only surviving church in the United Kingdom apart from Westminster Abbey, to have held a coronation.   On the 29 July 1567 the infant son of Mary Queen of Scots was crowned James VI of Scotland here. Musket shot marks from Cromwell’s troops during the War of the Three Kingdoms are clearly visible on the tower and apse.   Another important historical religious site in the area is Cambuskenneth Abbey.

During the War of the Three Kingdoms, the Battle of Stirling also took place in the centre of Stirling on 12 September 1648.

The fortifications continued to play a strategic military role during the 18th century Jacobite Risings. In 1715, the Earl of Mar failed to take control of the castle.   In January 1746, the army of Bonnie Prince Charlie seized control of the town but failed to take the Castle.   On their consequent retreat northwards, they blew up the church of St. Ninians where they had been storing munitions; only the tower survived and can be seen to this day.

House Surveyor Stirling Scotland

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