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.

[5] The road was mostly developed with "typical 1930s" terraced and semi-detached houses,[4][6] but a site on the north side was acquired by the Worshipful Company of Dyers in 1939 with money received from the sale of the Islington almshouses.

[2][8] Construction was stopped temporarily when World War II broke out, but Longley and Company resumed a few weeks later when it became clear that "the expected bombing and gassing" was not imminent.

A mixture of couples and single people occupy the houses; the criteria set by the company are that applicants should be "of good character and modest means".

[2] Modernisation work in the early 21st century has included the replacement of all windows with double glazing, a new heating system, rewiring and improvements to the drains.

[2] A planning application was made in 2011 to convert some of the landscaped area in front of the almshouses into a gravel car park for up to ten vehicles.

[8] The buildings surround a quadrangle-style courtyard with formal planting, low walls, fences and hedges, telephone boxes and a former boiler-house.

[12] This defines them as "building[s ...] that, whilst not statutorily listed by the Secretary of State, the council considers to be an important part of Crawley's heritage due to [their] architectural, historic or archaeological significance".

Crawley Borough Council administers the selection and deselection process, defines the criteria for inclusion, and produces and updates the local list.