 Crawley began to develop slowly from the 13th century, when it was granted a royal charter for a market. Its ecclesiastical parish, centred on St John the Baptist's Church, was tiny in comparison to neighbouring Worth and Ifield. The parish had an unusual shape: very narrow, long from north to south, and gradually widening to the north until it met the county boundary with Surrey. This directed development northwards along the High Street, part of the ancient London to Brighton road which had provided the impetus for development to begin. The road was partly turnpiked after an Act of Parliament in 1696, and became fully turnpiked in 1770. By this time the distinction between the name "London Road" (the section north of the church) and "Brighton Road" (southwards) had been made; and tollgates were built north and south of the town: these became known as the North Gate and South Gate.
