In the sixteenth century Blackwater was the site of a forge which processed pig iron. The stream running through Blackwater was dammed to provide power for a hammer. Later a farm, Little Blackwater, stood nearby. A path between Blackwater Lane and Maidenbower Lane, crossing the stream over a wooden bridge, was a part of the original main road between Horsham and East Grinstead.

Church Road was the main road until the Balcombe Road was built in the 18th century.

Crawley Lane was once part of the main Crawley to East Grinstead Road.

Originally the Old Workhouse, built in 1780, Khyber Cottages stood on the corner of Church Road and Turners Hill Road, opposite the school. After the workhouse was closed Mr. Rapley opened a grocery shop.

Worth Park Avenue was completed in 1956 and ran between Three Bridges and the Balcombe Road at Ridleys Corner.

The planning application for development of a new neighbourhood on land in the north-east of Crawley was submitted to Crawley Borough Council in 1998, but the Secretary of State intervened to prevent planning permission being issued. The developers appealed and a Public Inquiry was held in October and November 2006, which upheld the decision to refuse planning permission. That decision was quashed by the High Court in 2008 and the Public Enquiry was re-opened in June 2009. On 17th February 2011 Eric Pickles, Secretary of State for Communities, allowed the appeal and granted outline planning permission for the development.

The developers are Taylor Wimpey and Persimmon Homes and the neighbourhood will comprise 1,900 homes, retail, office and industrial areas together with open space, a primary school and a community hall. Initially known as the North-East Sector, councillers agreed on the name Forge Wood for the new neighbourhood in December 2013. The first residents are due to move into their home in May and June 2015.