Dyers Almshouses

Dyers Almshouses
The north side of the almshouses
Location of the almshouses within Crawley
General information
Type	Almshouse
Architectural style	Dutch Vernacular/Arts and Crafts
Address	Northgate Road, Northgate RH10 1YD
Town or city	Crawley
Country	United Kingdom
Coordinates	51°07′06″N 0°11′13″W / 51.1184°N 0.1870°W / 51.1184; -0.1870Coordinates: 51°07′06″N 0°11′13″W / 51.1184°N 0.1870°W / 51.1184; -0.1870
Groundbreaking	1939
Opened	October 1940 (first block)
Owner	Worshipful Company of Dyers
Design and construction
Architecture firm	Bertram and Company (W.H. Hatchard-Smith)
Main contractor	Longley and Company
Designations	Locally listed building

The Dyers Almshouses are a group of 30 almshouses belonging to the Worshipful Company of Dyers, a London Livery Company. Built in three stages between 1939 and 1971, they are located close to the town centre of Crawley, a New Town and borough in West Sussex, England. The distinctive Arts and Crafts-influenced buildings are arranged around a courtyard on a street close to Crawley town centre, and have been granted conservation area and locally listed building status.

The Worshipful Company of Dyers received its royal charter in 1471, but the profession had a presence in the City of London from the late 12th century. The Company's first almshouse dated from 1545, when Robert Tyrwhitt mp gave the company a messuage in London. Over the next 200 years, another 25 houses were built across London. In 1840, a group of 26 almshouses was built in Islington in North London to replace these older buildings.

Before World War II, Crawley was a slowly growing market town based around a north–south High Street. Beyond the buildings fronting the road, ancient fields and allotments survived. Towards the north end of the street, a footpath ran southeastwards between buildings and through the fields. In the 1930s this footpath was upgraded into a long cul-de-sac called Northgate Road, taking its name from the nearby northern tollgate on the High Street—part of the main London–Brighton road which was turnpiked in the 18th century.