The Old Coach House

A Memory of Crawley.

I used to live in the Coach House (now park offices) of Tilgate Mansion, when I was a very little boy. I went to school at Desmond Anderson. The Coach House and courtyard made up four dwellings. The groundsman lived in one, his name was Francis, with his wife and little boy - they later moved to Holmbury St Mary in Surrey. In those days, the lake was almost surrounded by rhododendrons. Mr Francis used to take us out on the lake in a rowing boat, from a very dark and scary boatshed. I only have fleeting memories of this place, but they always make me smile.