Pound Hill road names – Alicia, Clive and Pearson

A few weeks back, I was out speaking with residents in Pound Hill South when one of the Labour councillors I was with–who had grown up in the neighbourhood–happened to comment that both Clive Way and Parham Road were named after the man to whom the land had belonged and that the land was subject to a covenant preventing the further intensification of housing.

The remark peaked my interest and as it turns out they were right, with both roads along with Alicia Avenue forming part of the same development (the dotted outline above providing the layout of the initial stages of the three roads).

Crawley has experienced multiple rounds of development over the years. While the period which followed the Second World War is the best known and the most extensive, there were other major waves, one of the most significant being the Victorian housing in the North of Southgate and the South of West Green (a fair chunk of which now under ASDA) which was largely built by Longleys in the period following the arrival of the railway.

The development around Clive Way, Pearson Road, and Alicia Avenue also seems to form part of a pre-New Town wave of development. The roads being constructed around the same time (the interwar period) and in a similar design to housing found in parts of West Green, housing which I am told was built for veterans from the First World War.

Despite having searched around a good deal, information on the development itself doesn’t seem to be readily available, but we do know something of the family after which it was named.

Clive Pearson, was the youngest son of the first Viscount Cowdray, a family with extensive links across Sussex. In 1844, his family founded a construction business by the name Pearson and while that section of the business was eventually closed in 1919, by that time they had gained extensive interests in publishing. Indeed this is the same multinational publishing and education company which goes by the Pearson name to this day.

In 1922, Mr Pearson, and his wife Alicia, bought Parham House and Park in Horsham District and proceeded to restore the property. Much like the Tilgate estate, in the Second World War, Parham Park played host to members of the Canadian Army in the lead up to D-Day. Having been inherited by their daughter and then a distant relative, today the property is open to the public and run as a charity.

One tangential point of note, is that much like its former owners, Parham also gets a mention in Crawley’s road names, although at somewhat of a distance from Alicia, Clive and Pearson. Instead, Parham takes its place as one of the villages which make up the scheme of names for roads filling the gap between Rusper Road and Ifield Drive.

Alas, much as with the development itself, I haven’t been able to find any information on Mr Pearson’s early life or any connection he might have had with the town other than through prior ownership of the land which now bears his name. Although, it is hard to beat the lasting connection which comes with having your name immortalised in the fabric of the town.