Industry and Commerce

Machine Shop Equipment (MSE) - Centrifuges, Microtomes and Equipment for Scientific Laboratories

F.L. & S.J. Mann - Plastering Contractors - West Green

Manorcrete Concrete Products - Comcrete Products - Stephenson Way

R. Meadus - Timber Merchant - Stephenson Way

Metachemical Processes - Electro Chemists and Metallurgists

Mitchell - Brickmaker
Mitchell had a brickworks adjacent to the Plough Inn at Three Bridges. It opened in 1838 and supplied bricks for the building of the railway. The yard closed about 1870.

J.W. Morrison and J.M. Scott - Photo-lithographic Studio - Stephenson Way

Motor & General Sheet Metal Co. - Fabricated Sheet Metal Components

Founded in 1928 at Tottenham, the company moved to Sydenham in 1936 and then to Crawley in June 1954.


C. Musman - Lead-in Wire Manufacturer - Stephenson Way

National Marking Machine Co. - Marking and Sorting Machines for Laundries and Electric Motors

Nightingale - Brick and Tile Maker
Established in 1832 as Nightingale and Butcher, Moses Nightingale, who was later joined by his brother William, ran the business from Martyrs Farm. They later moved to Black Dog Farm.

Nightingale - Corn and Coal Merchants, Agricultural and Builders Merchents, Motor Engineer and Garage
Nightingale's stood on the corner of the Brighton Road and East Park, and also had a private siding at Crawley Station. One of Crawley's oldest businesses, its proprietor was Moses Nightingale (son of the brickmaker). Originally Fillery and Nightingale from 1882, Mr. Fillery died young and the name was later changed to M. Nightingale and then M. Nightingale and Son. His son Percy later ran the agricultural and coal business. Moses Nightingale died in 1934.

Nightingale & Co. - Cycle Makers - 16 Brighton Road, East Park

F. Oulds - Jobbing Builder - West Green

Overton, Charles Thomas & Sons - Beehive, Garden & Poultry Appliance Manufacturers & Bee Breeders - County Oak, London Road

Paymaster General's Office - Sutherland House, Russell Way
The Paymaster General's Office moved from London to Crawley between 1964 and 1968. Initially staff had temporary offices in the former Post Office in the High Street, Goffs Park House, Sussex House and the Drill Hall in Kilnmead. Staff moved into the new building in Russell Way between August 1967 and August 1968. A new wing was opened in October 1976. In 1978 the building was named Sutherland House after the Duke Of Sutherland, who was Paymaster General between 1925-1928. Privatised in 1997 it was sold to Hogg Robinson. In 2005, Duke Street Capital purchased the pensions business of Hogg Robinson and established a new company, Xafinity. In 2010, Xafinity was purchased by Advent International.
150 Not Out: The Story of the Paymaster General's Office 1836-1986, Colin Ulph (HM Paymaster General's Office, 1985)

P. & B. Engineering - Recording Equipment for Power Stations

Established in London in 1879 the company moved to Crawley in 1951.


Pascall Engineering Co. - Grinding, Blending, Sifting and Mixing Machines

Perl Controls - Gas Thermostatic and Mechanical Valves and Safety Controls for Industry

Pettingill Products - Chocolate Couverture, Research and Development of Food Products

Founded in Mitcham, Surrey, in 1943 the company moved to Crawley in September 1954.


Pictorial Machinery - Precision Equipment for Photography - Kelvin Way

Plastic Filters - West Green
Redhill Body Building - Car Bodies - Stephenson Way

Redifon - Electronic Apparatus, Flight Simulators and Communications Research

Rediweld - Plastics and Welding Equipment

Rice & Son - Building Contractors - Stephenson Way

Rich Patent Detachable Air Tube Co - The Square

Donald Ross and Partners - Welding Positioners and Workholders

Ryall and Edwards - Timber Merchants - Telford Place

W.J. Saville & Co. - Manufacture and Processing of Cardboards, Papers and Plastics

Selwyn, A.H. - Glove Manufacturers - Late Post Office, Robinson Road

Schwartz & Son (Sheet Metal) - Domestic Hardware

Shaw, Ambrose & Son - Engineers - 60 High Street

Silentbloc - Anti-Vibration Units

Silenbloc was etablished in 1935 at Notting Hill Gate, London.


Mrs. A.L. Simmons - Scrap Metal and Used Cars - Stephenson Way

J.E. Stewart - Furniture Removers - West Green

J. Stone & Co - Electric Light and Air-conditioning Equipment for Railways

Stoner, John - Poultry Appliance Manufacturer, London Road

Stoners' Appliance Works - Stoners' Works, 2 London Road

W. Sugg & Co. - Gas and Electric Heating, Lighting and Cooking Appliances

Sun D'or - Suger and Chocolate Confectionery

Telegraph Construction and Maintenance Co. - Alloy Strips and Wire Drawing

L.H. Taylor - Tool Makers - Stephenson Way

Test Equipment - Aeronautical Test Instruments

The company moved from Croydon to Crawley in 1949.


J.A. Tiani - Manufacture of Spectacle Frames - West Green

Triefus Industries - Precision Industrial and Mining Tools

Triefus & Co. was founded in 1881.


Universal Pattern and Precision Engineering Co. (London) - Patterns, Moulds and Light Engineering

Upjohn of England - Pharmaceutical Products

Vaughan Lift Engineering Co. - Lifts, Hoists and Electric Pulley Blocks

Moving from London the company was one of the earliest to occupy factories in Crawley's Industrial Estate in 1950.


Vitamins - "Bemax" and Vitamin Products

Wall's Ice Cream - Distributing Depot - Telford Place

E. Walters & Sons - Scientific Instrument Boxes in Wood

Walturn Turning Co. - Industry - Ifield Road

J. Webber - Glazier - West Green

Wicanders (Great Britain) - Composition Cork Washers, Jointing Materials and Discs for Metal Caps

W.C. Youngman - Industrial Trucks, Builders' Plant, "Leda" Bathroom Fittings

W.C. Youngman was founded in Wandsworth on 1st May 1926, manufacturing ladders, scaffolding and other building equipment. In 1950 the company leased land from the Crawley Development Corporation at Manor Royal to build their own factory.


Zirconal (Close Tolerance Castings) - Refractories, Furnaces, Dies in Rubber, Plastics Etc.


Manor Royal, Crawley 1948-1980, Sussex Industrial History No. 47 (2017)