Old Punch Bowl

The Old Punch Bowl
The Old Punch Bowl from the southwest
Former names	Bristow(s) Meads, Mitchells Farm, The Mychells, Mychells Farm
Alternative names	Ye Olde Punch Bowle
General information
Type	Wealden hall house
Location	Borough of Crawley
Address	101 High Street, Crawley, West Sussex RH10 1DD,  UK
Coordinates	51°6′58″N 0°11′22″W / 51.11611°N 0.18944°W / 51.11611; -0.18944
Owner	Greene King PLC
Landlord	Greene King Retailing Ltd
Technical details
Structural system	Timber framing

The Old Punch Bowl is a medieval timber-framed Wealden hall-house on the High Street in Crawley, a town and borough in West Sussex, England. Built in the early 15th century, it was used as a farmhouse by about 1600, passing through various owners and sometimes being used for other purposes. Since 1929 it has been in commercial use—firstly as a tearoom, then as a bank, and since 1994 as a public house. When built, it was one of at least five similar hall-houses in the ancient parish of Crawley; it is now one of the oldest and best-preserved buildings in Crawley town centre.

The most important industries in the early history of Crawley were farming and iron smelting. The latter had taken place since the Iron Age in northern Sussex, where iron ore, lime and wood (for charcoal) were readily available. By the 15th century, the industry had declined to some extent but was still locally significant. Although there is no direct structural evidence, a building used in the industry may have occupied the site before the present structure; slag remnants have been unearthed on the land outside it. Furthermore, the site is very close to the ancient junction of the east–west and northeast–southwest trackways and rudimentary roads which ran between the main furnaces and forges in the area, at places such as Ifield and Bewbush. These ancient tracks were superseded by the High Street, on a north–south alignment, after the Norman Conquest in the 11th century.