Croydon
Encyclopedia
Croydon is a town in South London
, England, located within the London Borough of Croydon
to which it gives its name. It is situated 9.5 miles (15.3 km) south of Charing Cross
. The area is identified in the London Plan
as one of 11 metropolitan centres in Greater London
.
Croydon is located on the natural transport corridor between London and England's south coast, just to the north of two gaps in the North Downs
, one followed by the route of the A23 Brighton Road from Purley to Merstham and the other followed by the A22 from Purley to the M25 Godstone interchange.
Historically
a part of Surrey
, at the time of the Norman conquest of England
Croydon had a church, a mill and around 365 inhabitants (as recorded in the Domesday Book
of 1086). Croydon expanded during the Middle Ages
as a market town
and a centre for charcoal production, leather tanning and brewing. The Surrey Iron Railway
from Croydon to Wandsworth
opened in 1803 and was the world's first public horse-drawn railway, which later developed into an important means of transport – facilitating Croydon's growth as a commuter town
for the City of London
and beyond. By the early 20th century, Croydon was an important industrial area, known for car manufacture, metal working and its airport
. In the mid 20th century these sectors were replaced by retailing and service economy
, brought about by massive redevelopment which saw the rise of office blocks and the Whitgift shopping centre. Croydon was amalgamated into Greater London
in 1965. Road traffic is now diverted away from a largely pedestrianised town centre, but its main railway station, East Croydon, is still a major hub within the national railway transport system. The town is expected to have its urban planning
changed as part of Croydon Vision 2020
.
croh, meaning "crocus
" and denu 'valley
', indicating that, like Saffron Walden
in Essex
, it was a centre for the collection of saffron
.
There is an alternative if less probable theory of the origin of the name. According to John Corbett Anderson, "The earliest mention of Croydon is in the joint will of Beorhtric and Aelfswth, dated about the year 962. In this Anglo-Saxon document the name is spelt (here he uses original script) Crogdaene. Crog was, and still is, the Norse or Danish word for crooked, which is expressed in Anglo-Saxon by crumb, a totally different word. From the Danish came our crook and crooked. This term accurately describes the locality; it is a crooked or winding valley; in reference to the valley that runs in an oblique and serpentine course from Godstone to Croydon." Anderson refuted a claim, originally cited by Andrew Coltee Ducarel
, that the name came from the Old French for 'chalk hill', because the name was in use at least a century before the French language would have been commonly used following the Norman Invasion. However, there was no long-term Danish occupation (see Danelaw
) in Surrey, which was part of Wessex, and Danish derived nomenclature is highly unlikely.
settlement on Croham Hurst
. In addition there is evidence of a Roman
settlement in the area on the London to Brighton Way
Roman road, and a 5th to 6th century pagan
Saxon cemetery.
In the late Saxon period it was the centre of a large estate belonging to the Archbishops of Canterbury
. The church and the archbishops' manor house
occupied the area still known as the Old Town. The archbishops used the manor house as an occasional place of residence and continued to have important links as Lords of the manor, a title originally bestowed on Archbishop Lanfranc
by William the Conqueror, and then as local patrons right up to the present day. Croydon appears in Domesday Book
as Croindene. It was held by Archbishop Lanfranc of Canterbury
. Its domesday assets were: 16 hide
s and 1 virgate
; 1 church, 1 mill
worth 5s, 38 plough
s, 8 acres (32,374.9 m²) of meadow
, woodland
worth 200 hogs. It rendered £37 10s 0d.
In 1276 the archbishop acquired a charter
for a weekly market
, and this probably marks the foundation of Croydon as an urban centre. Croydon developed into one of the main market town
s of northeast Surrey. The market place
was laid out on the higher ground to the east of the manor house in the triangle now bounded by High Street, Surrey Street and Crown Hill. By the 16th century the manor house had become a substantial palace used as the main summer home of the archbishops, visited by monarchs and other dignitaries. The original palace was sold in 1781, by then dilapidated and surrounded by slum
s and stagnant ponds, and a new residence
, nearby at Addington
, purchased in its place. Many of the buildings of the original Croydon Palace
survive, and are in use today as Old Palace School
.
The earliest record of Christian leaders in Croydon is in an Anglo-Saxon will made in about 960, witnessed by Elfsies, priest of Croydon. The Domesday Book
contains the earliest written record of Croydon Church. The earliest recording of the name of the church is 6 December 1347, when it was recorded in the will of John de Croydon, fishmonger, containing a bequest to "the church of S John de Croydon". The church still bears the arms of Archbishop Courtenay
and Archbishop Chicheley
, presumed to be its benefactors.
Croydon Parish Church
is a Perpendicular
-style church, which was remodelled in 1849 but destroyed in a great fire in 1867, following which only the tower, south porch, and outer walls remained. A new church was designed by Sir George Gilbert Scott
, one of the greatest architects of the Victorian age
, and opened in 1870. His design loosely followed the previous layout, with knapped flint
facing and many of the original features, including several important tombs. Croydon Parish Church is the burial place of six Archbishops of Canterbury including John Whitgift
, Edmund Grindal
, Gilbert Sheldon
, William Wake
, John Potter and Thomas Herring
. Previously part of the Diocese of Canterbury
, Croydon is now in the Diocese of Southwark
. The Vicar of Croydon is an important post, in addition to the suffragan Bishop of Croydon
.
Addington Palace
is a Palladian-style
mansion between Addington
Village and Shirley
, surrounded by park landscapes and golf courses, within the boundaries of Croydon. After an Act of Parliament
enabled the mansion to be purchased for the Archbishops of Canterbury in 1807, it became the official residence of six Archbishops until it was sold in 1898. In 1953 it was leased to the Royal School of Church Music
until 1996, when it was leased to a private company that developed it as a conference and banqueting venue, with plans for a health farm and country club. The grounds were landscaped by Capability Brown
and are mainly a golf course and public park. A famous very large cedar
tree stands next to the Palace.
The Elizabethan Whitgift Almshouse
s, named the "Hospital of the Holy Trinity", have stood in the centre of Croydon (at the corner of North End and George Street) since they were erected by Archbishop John Whitgift. He had petitioned for and had received permission from Queen Elizabeth I
to establish a hospital and school in Croydon for the "poor, needy and impotent people" from the parishes of Croydon and Lambeth
. The foundation stone was laid in 1596 and the building was completed in 1599.
The premises included the actual Hospital or Almshouses, providing accommodation for between 28 and 40 people, and a nearby schoolhouse and schoolmaster's house. There was a Warden in charge for the well-being of the almoners. The building is constructed with the chambers of the almoners and various offices surrounding an inner courtyard.
Threatened by various reconstruction plans and road-widening schemes, the Almshouses were saved in 1923 by intervention of the House of Lords
. On 21 June 1983 Queen Elizabeth II
visited the almshouses and unveiled a plaque celebrating the recently completed reconstruction of the building. On 22 March each year the laying of the foundation stone is commemorated as Founder's Day.
as a fashionable resort in the 1780s increased Croydon's role as a significant halt for stage coaches on the road south of London. At the beginning of the 19th century, Croydon became the terminus of two pioneering commercial transport links with London. The first, opened in 1803, was the horse-drawn Surrey Iron Railway
from Wandsworth
, which in 1805 was extended to Merstham
, as the Croydon, Merstham and Godstone Railway. The second, opened in 1809, was the Croydon Canal
, which branched off the Grand Surrey Canal
at Deptford
. The London and Croydon Railway
(an atmospheric
and steam-powered railway), opened between London Bridge
and West Croydon
in 1839, using much of the route of the canal (which had closed in 1836), and other connections to London and the south followed.
The arrival of the railways and other communications advances in the 19th century led to a 23-fold increase in Croydon's population between 1801 and 1901.
This rapid expansion of the town led to considerable health problems, especially in the damp and overcrowded working class
district of the Old Town. In response to this, in 1849 Croydon became one of the first towns in the country to acquire a Local Board of Health
. The Board constructed public health
infrastructure including a reservoir
, and water supply network
, and sewer
s, a pumping station, and sewage disposal
works.
As the town continued to grow it became especially popular as a pleasant leafy residential suburb
for members of the Victorian middle class
es, who could commute
to the City of London
by fast train in 15 minutes. In 1883 Croydon was incorporated as a borough. In 1889 it became a county borough, with a still greater degree of autonomy. The new county borough council implemented the Croydon Improvement scheme in the early 1890s, which resulted in the widening of the High Street and the clearance of much of the 'Middle Row' slum area. The remaining slums were cleared
shortly after World War II
, with much of the population relocated to the isolated new community at New Addington
. New stores opened and expanded in central Croydon, including Allders
, Kennards and Grants
, and the first Sainsbury's self-service shop in the country. There was also a bustling market on Surrey Street
.
Croydon became the location of London's main airport until the second world war
. During the war, much of central Croydon was destroyed by German strategic bombing
and attacks by V-1 flying bomb
s and V-2
rocket
s, and for many years the town bore the scars of the destruction. After the war, Heathrow Airport superseded Croydon Airport
as London's main airport.
By the 1950s, with its continuing growth, the town was becoming congested
, and the Council decided to introduce another major redevelopment scheme. The Croydon Corporation Act was passed in 1956. This, coupled with government incentives for office relocation out of London, led to the building of new offices and accompanying road schemes through the late 1950s and 1960s, and the town boomed as an important business centre in the 1960s, with the building of a large number of multi-storey office blocks, an underpass, a flyover
and multi-storey car park
s.
In 1960 Croydon celebrated its' millenium with an exhibition held at Croydon Aerodrome.
, which opened in 1969. The Fairfield Halls
arts centre and event venue opened in 1962. The Warehouse Theatre
opened in 1977. The 1990s saw further changes intended to give the town a more attractive image. These include the closure of North End
to vehicles in 1989 and the opening of the Croydon Clocktower
arts centre in 1994. Tramlink
began operation in May 2000. A new equally large shopping centre, Centrale, opened in 2004 opposite the Whitgift Centre, straddling the site of the smaller Drummond Centre and what was once a large branch of C&A
. There are plans for a large new shopping centre, Park Place
, which will replace most of the eastern edge of the shopping district including St George's Walk
; the redevelopment of the Croydon Gateway
site; and extensions of Tramlink to Purley Way, Streatham
, Lewisham
and Crystal Palace
. Croydon has become the second-largest place to shop in the south east, after central London
, offering a wide range of shops and department stores. Notable independent traders include House of Reeves
, a two-outlet furniture store established in 1867. One of their stores was razed to the ground by an arson attack during a civil disturbance
on 8 August 2011. It is home to many high density buildings such as the Nestlé Tower
, being London's third main CBD
, after the Square Mile
and the Docklands and South London
's main business centre. The Croydon area is served by various hospitals of which the main one is Croydon University Hospital in London Road. The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson
, said he would support Croydon becoming an official city.
, an ancient Anglo-Saxon
administrative division of the county of Surrey
. Croydon was created a municipal borough
of Surrey in 1883. In 1889, through its growing economic importance, it was made a county borough
exempt from county administration. In 1965 the County Borough of Croydon
was abolished and its former area was transferred to Greater London
and combined with that of the Coulsdon and Purley Urban District
to form the present-day London Borough of Croydon
.
Most of the area lies within the Addiscombe
and Fairfield wards, which form part of the Croydon Central
constituency. The rest of the town is in the Croham ward
, which is part of Croydon South
. These wards are all in the local authority of Croydon, which has the responsibility for providing services such as education, refuse collection, and tourism. The Addiscombe ward is currently represented by Councillor
s Russell Jackson, Andrew Price, and Maria Garcia de la Huerta, members of the Conservative Party
. The Fairfield and Croham wards also brought back Conservatives, leaving the area represented only by Conservatives at council level. Labour lost the seat that it had in Addiscombe in the 2006 local elections. The area also forms part of the London constituency
of the European Parliament
. The sitting Member of Parliament
for Croydon Central
is Gavin Barwell
, a member of the Conservative Party
. The sitting Member of Parliament
for Croydon South
is Richard Ottaway
, who is also a member of the Conservatives.
The police service is provided by the Metropolitan Police
with Croydon Police Station on Park Lane next to Croydon College. The London Fire Brigade
provide services for the area and Greater London as a whole. The nearest fire station is in Old Town, which has only two pumping appliance.
, which stretch to the white cliffs of Dover
in Kent, as well as parts of Surrey
and the south coast
. The Pilgrims' Way
path is to the south of Croydon.
The town is bordered by Selhurst
and South Norwood
to the north, which are both part of the same borough; South Croydon to the south; Shirley
due east and Beddington in the borough of Sutton to the west. The northernmost point of Croydon is at the junction with Northcote Road
and Whitehorse Road where there are a community centre
and a few retail shops, overlapping with Selhurst and Broad Green. The postcode area that covers most of Croydon is CR0, which forms part of the CR postcode area. The CR postcode was created especially for Croydon and its surrounding areas.
Croydon is split up by a number of different areas in the same borough. Fairfield, Broad Green, West Croydon and South Croydon make up the rest of Croydon, but are known as separate areas in their own right. The most prominent of these towns is South Croydon, which has become a town of its own, with various shops and its own high street. It is essentially a dormitory suburb
for Croydon and Central London
. The street South End is the prominent main road in South Croydon and continues northward as High Street, Croydon and southward as Brighton Road
.
The town is split in the middle with a rough line from west to east along Wellesley Road on the A212 road
. This type of urban planning
has been discouraged recently by the London Plan
and there have been a number of proposals to ease the relation between East Croydon station
and the town centre of Croydon. Croydon Vision 2020
aims to solve that problem and make the whole road easier for pedestrians by creating a centre island pathway.
There are several arts venues. Foremost amongst these is the Fairfield Halls
, opened in 1962, which consists of a large concert hall frequently used for BBC recordings, the Ashcroft Theatre
and the Arnhem Gallery. Fairfield is the home of the London Mozart Players
, whose Principal Guest Conductor is flautist Sir James Galway
. Many famous faces have appeared at the Fairfield Halls, from the Beatles
through Bucks Fizz
, Omid Djalili
, Robert Cray
, JLS
, Chuck Berry
, BB King, Don McLean
, The Monkees
, Johnny Cash
, Dionne Warwick
, Gladys Knight
, Tom Jones
, The Stylistics
, Status Quo, Level 42
, A-HA
, John Mayall
, Jools Holland
, Kenny Rogers
, James Last
to Coolio
. The main concert hall was used for the conference scene in the Tom Hanks
film The Da Vinci Code
.
The Warehouse Theatre
is a studio theatre known for promoting new writing, as well as comedy and youth theatre. Croydon Clocktower
, built by the London Borough of Croydon in the mid-1990s, houses a state-of-the-art library, the David Lean
cinema, a performance venue in the old reference library and the town museum. The Pembroke Theatre had many productions with well known actors before its closure in about 1962.
There are several local and small venues for comedy and community events dotted around Croydon and its neighbourhoods. Croydon Youth Theatre Organisation
celebrated its 40th birthday in 2005. There are several community arts groups, particularly in the large Asian
community. There are controversial plans to develop an arena for entertainment and sporting events at the Croydon Gateway site.
A calendar titled "Rare Roundabouts of Croydon", with a picture of a different Croydon roundabout each month, has enjoyed some success.
The borough has been the residence of many renowned authors and novelists, including Sir Arthur Conan Doyle who set up house in Norwood, D. H. Lawrence
, and French novelist Emile Zola
who lived for a time in the Queen's Hotel, South Norwood. Cicely Mary Barker
, author and illustrator of the Flower Fairies
series of books, was born in Croydon.
Croydon is the setting of many novels. The now defunct airport lent itself to the mysteries, The 12.30 from Croydon
and Death in the Clouds
, and the town is mentioned in some Sherlock Holmes
mysteries.
genre, a relatively recent musical development that traces its roots from Jamaica
n dub music
, UK Garage
and drum and bass
. Artists such as Benga
and Skream
, who honed their production and DJ
ing skills whilst working at the now defunct Big Apple Records on Surrey Street
, along with Norwood's Digital Mystikz
, DJ Chef
, Timi Korus and Thornton Heath's Plastician, form the core roster of dubstep DJs and producers.
Croydon also has a thriving rock scene producing such local talent as 5th Man Down
, Frankmusik
and Noisettes
. Local venues for live music include the Black Sheep Bar, The Ship, The Green Dragon, The Brief, The George, and The Scream Lounge.
In addition to the Fairfield Halls, there have been several notable venues in Croydon that have hosted major established national and international rock acts - established in 1976, The Cartoon was a very popular live music venue, but closed its doors for the final time in November 2006. The Greyhound in Park Lane (in the site within the Nestle complex currently occupied by the Blue Orchid) played host to acts such as Led Zeppelin
, Jimi Hendrix
, The Who
, David Bowie
, Queen
, Siouxsie and the Banshees, The Damned, The Boomtown Rats
, A-ha
in (1987) and many others during the 1960s and 1970s. The Fox and Hounds Pub saw the debut of the Electric Light Orchestra
on 15 April 1972.
The composer Samuel Coleridge-Taylor
(1875–1912) lived at 30 Dagnall Park, Selhurst, until his death. He grew up in Croydon and sang in the church choir at St George's and taught at the Crystal Palace
and many other schools of music. He died from pneumonia after collapsing at West Croydon station
. There is an impressive grave with a touching poem at Bandon Hill Cemetery, as well as exhibits about him in the Clock Tower Museum, Katharine Street.
The town centre was for 30 years home to Europe's largest second-hand record store, Beanos, offering rare vinyl, CDs and books. In November 2008, it was announced that Beanos would close. The premises (off Church Street near the Grants cinema complex) are to become a "market place" with stalls for rent by small business and individuals.
Croydon is home to the BRIT School
for performing arts and technology, based in Selhurst, which has produced stars such as Adele
, Katie Melua
, Amy Winehouse
, Leona Lewis
, Katy B
, Imogen Heap
, Dane Bowers
and members of The Feeling
& The Kooks
.
show, Peep Show
. Croydon is also home to several video game developers, including Crawfish. The ITV police drama The Bill, although it was set in East London, was filmed in Croydon and many of the town centre locations were filmed around Surrey Street and St George's House (the Nestle Building). Sun Hill Police station is situated in nearby Mitcham. In 2007, the music video for pop star Mika
's single Big Girl (You Are Beautiful)
was filmed in various locations around the town, including the High Street and Surrey Street Market
. Croydon was also revealed to be the true birthplace of Phillip the "African Prince" in the 1980 film version of Rising Damp
. (Don Warrington revealed in Britains 50 Best Sitcoms on Channel 4, that this fact was actually supposed to be revealed in the TV Series, but that the death of Richard Beckinsale meant that this was not possible).
The opening credits for the sitcom Terry and June
featured the eponymous stars walking around the Whitgift Centre and the Fairfield Halls area. Croydon also has its own fully independent television station. It does not receive any government or local authority grant or funding and is supported by donations, spornsorship and by commercial advertising.
The River Wandle
is a major tributary of the River Thames
, where it stretches to Wandsworth
and Putney
for 9 miles (14 km) from its main source in Croydon. It forms a rough western boundary with the London Borough of Sutton
, and for part of its length forms the boundary between the London Boroughs of Croydon and Lambeth
. The main river ends near Croydon with one of its tributaries ending in Selhurst
. Just to the south of Croydon is a significant gap in the North Downs
, which acts as a route focus for transport from London to the south coast. The old London to Brighton road used to pass through the town on North End
before it was shut off to motor traffic. The A23
now bypasses the centre of the town and follows Purley Way
, to the west of the area, instead.
Buses
Transport for London
operates a variety of buses in and around Croydon. Most buses serve the West Croydon bus station
, which is next to the rail and tram stop. Buses from Croydon serve destinations such as Heathrow Airport
, Norwood
, New Addington
, Purley
, Lewisham
, Penge
, Mitcham
, Norbury
and Bromley
.
Rail
The Brighton Main Line
railway route
south from Croydon links the town to Sussex
, Surrey
, and Kent
and to Central London to the north: providing direct services to Hastings
, Southampton
, Brighton
, Portsmouth
, Gatwick Airport, Bedford
and Luton
. The main station for all these services is East Croydon station
in the east part of the town centre. East Croydon station
is the largest and busiest railway station in Croydon and the third busiest in London, excluding those in Travelcard Zone 1
.
West Croydon station
serves all trains travelling west except the fastest. The East London Line
, operated by London Overground
opened in May 2010 reaching destinations such as Surrey Quays
, Shoreditch
, Dalston
and Highbury
(from 2011) serves West Croydon. The East London Line Extension
will be a major contribution to London's transport infrastructure in time for the Olympic and Paralympic Games
to be held in the capital in 2012. There are currently no plans for any London Underground
services to be extended to Croydon, mainly due to the East London Line extension and the promise of extended the Tramlink network. There are also more regional stations scattered around the borough. Passenger rail services through Croydon are provided by Southern
and First Capital Connect
.
Tramlink
The light rail system Tramlink
(Operated by Tramtrack Croydon, a wholly owned subsidiary of Transport for London
), opened in 2000, and Croydon serves as its main hub. Its network consists of three lines, from Elmers End
to West Croydon, from Beckenham
to West Croydon, and from New Addington
to Wimbledon
, with all three lines running via the Croydon loop on which it is centred. It has been highly successful, environmentally friendly and a reliable light rail system carrying around 22 million passengers a year. It is also the only tram system in London but there is another light rail system in the Docklands
. It serves Mitcham
, Woodside
, Addiscombe
and the Purley Way
retail and industrial area amongst others. An extension to Crystal Palace
is currently on hold. Other possible extensions include Sutton
, a new park and ride close to the M25, Coulsdon
, Purley
, Kingston upon Thames
, Tolworth
, Tooting
, Brixton
, Bromley
and Lewisham
for an interchange with the Docklands Light Railway. If the Cross River Tram
was still being planned for construction, it may have had an interchange at Brixton, but those plans have since been cancelled.
was the world's first public railway. It was opened in 1803, had double track, was some 8.5 miles (13.7 km) long and ran from Wandsworth to Croydon, at what is now Reeves Corner. In 1805, it was extended to Merstham as the Croydon, Merstham, and Godstone Railway. The railway boom of the 1840s brought superior and faster steam lines and it closed in 1846. The route is followed in part by the modern Tramlink
. The last remaining sections of rail can be seen behind railings in a corner of Rotary Field in Purley. With the opening of the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway
line to London Victoria in 1860, extra platforms were provided that the LBSCR treated as part of a separate station named New Croydon. The South Eastern Railway
(SER) was excluded from this station, which ran exclusively LBSCR services to London at fares cheaper than those the SER offered from the original station. In 1864, the LBSCR obtained authorisation to construct a ½-mile long branch line into the heart of the town centre near Katharine Street where Croydon Central station
was built. The new line opened in 1868 but enjoyed little success and closed in 1871, only to reopen in 1886 under pressure from the Town Council before finally closing in 1890. The station was subsequently demolished and replaced by the new Town Hall
. In 1897-98, East Croydon and New Croydon stations were merged into a single station equipped with three island platform
s, which remain today. Even so, the two stations kept separate booking accounts until 1924.
The Croydon Canal
ran for 9.5 miles (15.3 km) from what is now West Croydon station
. It travelled north to largely along the course of the present railway line to New Cross Gate, where it joined the Grand Surrey Canal
and went on into the Thames. It opened in 1809 and had 28 locks. It had a strong competitor in the Surrey Iron Railway and was never a financial success. It sold out to the London & Croydon Railway in 1836. The lake at South Norwood
is the former reservoir for the canal.
Croydon Airport
on Purley Way was the main international airport for London until it was superseded by London Heathrow Airport
and London Gatwick Airport
. Starting out during World War I
as an airfield for protection against Zeppelin
s, and developing into one of the great airports of the world during the 1920s and 1930s, it welcomed the world's pioneer aviators in its heyday. As aviation technology progressed, however, and aircraft
became larger and more numerous, it was recognized in 1952 that the airport would be too small to cope with increasing air traffic. The last scheduled flight departed on 30 September 1959. The air terminal, now known as Airport House, has been restored and has a museum open one day a month.
, with its main site on Park Lane and College Road near East Croydon railway station. It currently has over 13,000 students attending one of its three sub-colleges. The sub-colleges were created in 2007 to allow for more students to be catered for and to ensure that the courses on offer, the style of teaching and the way the college is run are right for the students that attend each college. The three colleges that were created by the action are the Croydon Sixth Form College, Croydon Skills and Enterprise College and the Croydon Higher Education College. The Higher Education College offers university-level education in a range of subjects from Law through to Fine Art. Croydon Skills and Enterprise College delivers training and education opportunities that have been designed to meet the various needs of businesses of all sizes, across different sectors within London and the south east.
South London
South London is the southern part of London, England, United Kingdom.According to the 2011 official Boundary Commission for England definition, South London includes the London boroughs of Bexley, Bromley, Croydon, Greenwich, Kingston, Lambeth, Lewisham, Merton, Southwark, Sutton and...
, England, located within the London Borough of Croydon
London Borough of Croydon
The London Borough of Croydon is a London borough in South London, England and is part of Outer London. It covers an area of and is the largest London borough by population. It is the southernmost borough of London. At its centre is the historic town of Croydon from which the borough takes its name...
to which it gives its name. It is situated 9.5 miles (15.3 km) south of Charing Cross
Charing Cross
Charing Cross denotes the junction of Strand, Whitehall and Cockspur Street, just south of Trafalgar Square in central London, England. It is named after the now demolished Eleanor cross that stood there, in what was once the hamlet of Charing. The site of the cross is now occupied by an equestrian...
. The area is identified in the London Plan
London Plan
The London Plan is a planning document written by the Mayor of London, England in the United Kingdom and published by the Greater London Authority. The plan was first published in final form on 10 February 2004 and has since been amended. The current version was published in February 2008...
as one of 11 metropolitan centres in Greater London
Greater London
Greater London is the top-level administrative division of England covering London. It was created in 1965 and spans the City of London, including Middle Temple and Inner Temple, and the 32 London boroughs. This territory is coterminate with the London Government Office Region and the London...
.
Croydon is located on the natural transport corridor between London and England's south coast, just to the north of two gaps in the North Downs
North Downs
The North Downs are a ridge of chalk hills in south east England that stretch from Farnham in Surrey to the White Cliffs of Dover in Kent. The North Downs lie within two Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty , the Surrey Hills and the Kent Downs...
, one followed by the route of the A23 Brighton Road from Purley to Merstham and the other followed by the A22 from Purley to the M25 Godstone interchange.
Historically
Historic counties of England
The historic counties of England are subdivisions of England established for administration by the Normans and in most cases based on earlier Anglo-Saxon kingdoms and shires...
a part of Surrey
Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
, at the time of the Norman conquest of England
Norman conquest of England
The Norman conquest of England began on 28 September 1066 with the invasion of England by William, Duke of Normandy. William became known as William the Conqueror after his victory at the Battle of Hastings on 14 October 1066, defeating King Harold II of England...
Croydon had a church, a mill and around 365 inhabitants (as recorded in the Domesday Book
Domesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
of 1086). Croydon expanded during the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
as a market town
Market town
Market town or market right is a legal term, originating in the medieval period, for a European settlement that has the right to host markets, distinguishing it from a village and city...
and a centre for charcoal production, leather tanning and brewing. The Surrey Iron Railway
Surrey Iron Railway
The Surrey Iron Railway was a horse drawn plateway whose width approximated to a standard gauge railway that linked the former Surrey towns of Wandsworth and Croydon via Mitcham...
from Croydon to Wandsworth
Wandsworth
Wandsworth is a district of south London, England, in the London Borough of Wandsworth. It is situated southwest of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London.-Toponymy:...
opened in 1803 and was the world's first public horse-drawn railway, which later developed into an important means of transport – facilitating Croydon's growth as a commuter town
Commuter town
A commuter town is an urban community that is primarily residential, from which most of the workforce commutes out to earn their livelihood. Many commuter towns act as suburbs of a nearby metropolis that workers travel to daily, and many suburbs are commuter towns...
for the City of London
City of London
The City of London is a small area within Greater London, England. It is the historic core of London around which the modern conurbation grew and has held city status since time immemorial. The City’s boundaries have remained almost unchanged since the Middle Ages, and it is now only a tiny part of...
and beyond. By the early 20th century, Croydon was an important industrial area, known for car manufacture, metal working and its airport
Croydon Airport
Croydon Airport was an airport in South London which straddled the boundary between what are now the London boroughs of Croydon and Sutton. It was the main airport for London before it was replaced by Northolt Aerodrome, London Heathrow Airport and London Gatwick Airport...
. In the mid 20th century these sectors were replaced by retailing and service economy
Service economy
Service economy can refer to one or both of two recent economic developments. One is the increased importance of the service sector in industrialized economies. Services account for a higher percentage of US GDP than 20 years ago...
, brought about by massive redevelopment which saw the rise of office blocks and the Whitgift shopping centre. Croydon was amalgamated into Greater London
Greater London
Greater London is the top-level administrative division of England covering London. It was created in 1965 and spans the City of London, including Middle Temple and Inner Temple, and the 32 London boroughs. This territory is coterminate with the London Government Office Region and the London...
in 1965. Road traffic is now diverted away from a largely pedestrianised town centre, but its main railway station, East Croydon, is still a major hub within the national railway transport system. The town is expected to have its urban planning
Urban planning
Urban planning incorporates areas such as economics, design, ecology, sociology, geography, law, political science, and statistics to guide and ensure the orderly development of settlements and communities....
changed as part of Croydon Vision 2020
Croydon Vision 2020
Croydon Vision 2020 is a regeneration programme by the London Borough of Croydon for the centre of Croydon in South London. The original study was carried out in 1999 by EDAW and is being taken forward through the Local Development Framework process...
.
Toponymy
As the vast majority of place-names in the area are of Anglo-Saxon origin, the most likely theory is that the name Croydon derives originally from the Anglo-SaxonOld English language
Old English or Anglo-Saxon is an early form of the English language that was spoken and written by the Anglo-Saxons and their descendants in parts of what are now England and southeastern Scotland between at least the mid-5th century and the mid-12th century...
croh, meaning "crocus
Crocus
Crocus is a genus in the iris family comprising about 80 species of perennials growing from corms. Many are cultivated for their flowers appearing in autumn, winter, or spring...
" and denu 'valley
Valley
In geology, a valley or dale is a depression with predominant extent in one direction. A very deep river valley may be called a canyon or gorge.The terms U-shaped and V-shaped are descriptive terms of geography to characterize the form of valleys...
', indicating that, like Saffron Walden
Saffron Walden
Saffron Walden is a medium-sized market town in the Uttlesford district of Essex, England. It is located north of Bishop's Stortford, south of Cambridge and approx north of London...
in Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
, it was a centre for the collection of saffron
Saffron
Saffron is a spice derived from the flower of Crocus sativus, commonly known as the saffron crocus. Crocus is a genus in the family Iridaceae. Each saffron crocus grows to and bears up to four flowers, each with three vivid crimson stigmas, which are each the distal end of a carpel...
.
There is an alternative if less probable theory of the origin of the name. According to John Corbett Anderson, "The earliest mention of Croydon is in the joint will of Beorhtric and Aelfswth, dated about the year 962. In this Anglo-Saxon document the name is spelt (here he uses original script) Crogdaene. Crog was, and still is, the Norse or Danish word for crooked, which is expressed in Anglo-Saxon by crumb, a totally different word. From the Danish came our crook and crooked. This term accurately describes the locality; it is a crooked or winding valley; in reference to the valley that runs in an oblique and serpentine course from Godstone to Croydon." Anderson refuted a claim, originally cited by Andrew Coltee Ducarel
Andrew Ducarel
Andrew Coltee Ducarel , was an English antiquary. He was also member of the College of Civilians who practiced civil law...
, that the name came from the Old French for 'chalk hill', because the name was in use at least a century before the French language would have been commonly used following the Norman Invasion. However, there was no long-term Danish occupation (see Danelaw
Danelaw
The Danelaw, as recorded in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle , is a historical name given to the part of England in which the laws of the "Danes" held sway and dominated those of the Anglo-Saxons. It is contrasted with "West Saxon law" and "Mercian law". The term has been extended by modern historians to...
) in Surrey, which was part of Wessex, and Danish derived nomenclature is highly unlikely.
Early history
There is a plate recording a Bronze AgeBronze Age
The Bronze Age is a period characterized by the use of copper and its alloy bronze as the chief hard materials in the manufacture of some implements and weapons. Chronologically, it stands between the Stone Age and Iron Age...
settlement on Croham Hurst
Croham Hurst
Croham Hurst is a 33.6 hectare biological and geological Site of Special Scientific Interest and a Site of Metropolitan Importance for Nature Conservation in South Croydon in the London Borough of Croydon...
. In addition there is evidence of a Roman
Roman Britain
Roman Britain was the part of the island of Great Britain controlled by the Roman Empire from AD 43 until ca. AD 410.The Romans referred to the imperial province as Britannia, which eventually comprised all of the island of Great Britain south of the fluid frontier with Caledonia...
settlement in the area on the London to Brighton Way
London to Brighton Way (Roman road)
The London to Brighton Way, sometimes called the London to Portslade Way is a Roman road between Stane Street at Kennington Park and Brighton in Sussex. The road passes through Streatham and Croydon, then through the Caterham Valley gap in the North Downs...
Roman road, and a 5th to 6th century pagan
Paganism
Paganism is a blanket term, typically used to refer to non-Abrahamic, indigenous polytheistic religious traditions....
Saxon cemetery.
In the late Saxon period it was the centre of a large estate belonging to the Archbishops of Canterbury
Archbishop of Canterbury
The Archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and principal leader of the Church of England, the symbolic head of the worldwide Anglican Communion, and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. In his role as head of the Anglican Communion, the archbishop leads the third largest group...
. The church and the archbishops' manor house
Manor house
A manor house is a country house that historically formed the administrative centre of a manor, the lowest unit of territorial organisation in the feudal system in Europe. The term is applied to country houses that belonged to the gentry and other grand stately homes...
occupied the area still known as the Old Town. The archbishops used the manor house as an occasional place of residence and continued to have important links as Lords of the manor, a title originally bestowed on Archbishop Lanfranc
Lanfranc
Lanfranc was Archbishop of Canterbury, and a Lombard by birth.-Early life:Lanfranc was born in the early years of the 11th century at Pavia, where later tradition held that his father, Hanbald, held a rank broadly equivalent to magistrate...
by William the Conqueror, and then as local patrons right up to the present day. Croydon appears in Domesday Book
Domesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
as Croindene. It was held by Archbishop Lanfranc of Canterbury
Canterbury
Canterbury is a historic English cathedral city, which lies at the heart of the City of Canterbury, a district of Kent in South East England. It lies on the River Stour....
. Its domesday assets were: 16 hide
Hide (unit)
The hide was originally an amount of land sufficient to support a household, but later in Anglo-Saxon England became a unit used in assessing land for liability to "geld", or land tax. The geld would be collected at a stated rate per hide...
s and 1 virgate
Virgate
The virgate or yardland was a unit of land area measurement used in medieval England, typically outside the Danelaw, and was held to be the amount of land that a team of two oxen could plough in a single annual season. It was equivalent to a quarter of a hide, so was nominally thirty acres...
; 1 church, 1 mill
Mill (grinding)
A grinding mill is a unit operation designed to break a solid material into smaller pieces. There are many different types of grinding mills and many types of materials processed in them. Historically mills were powered by hand , working animal , wind or water...
worth 5s, 38 plough
Plough
The plough or plow is a tool used in farming for initial cultivation of soil in preparation for sowing seed or planting. It has been a basic instrument for most of recorded history, and represents one of the major advances in agriculture...
s, 8 acres (32,374.9 m²) of meadow
Meadow
A meadow is a field vegetated primarily by grass and other non-woody plants . The term is from Old English mædwe. In agriculture a meadow is grassland which is not grazed by domestic livestock but rather allowed to grow unchecked in order to make hay...
, woodland
Woodland
Ecologically, a woodland is a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade. Woodlands may support an understory of shrubs and herbaceous plants including grasses. Woodland may form a transition to shrubland under drier conditions or during early stages of...
worth 200 hogs. It rendered £37 10s 0d.
Charter
A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified...
for a weekly market
Market
A market is one of many varieties of systems, institutions, procedures, social relations and infrastructures whereby parties engage in exchange. While parties may exchange goods and services by barter, most markets rely on sellers offering their goods or services in exchange for money from buyers...
, and this probably marks the foundation of Croydon as an urban centre. Croydon developed into one of the main market town
Market town
Market town or market right is a legal term, originating in the medieval period, for a European settlement that has the right to host markets, distinguishing it from a village and city...
s of northeast Surrey. The market place
Market Place
Market Place is the financial programme broadcast Monday to Friday at 10:30pm in Hong Kong by television channel TVB Pearl....
was laid out on the higher ground to the east of the manor house in the triangle now bounded by High Street, Surrey Street and Crown Hill. By the 16th century the manor house had become a substantial palace used as the main summer home of the archbishops, visited by monarchs and other dignitaries. The original palace was sold in 1781, by then dilapidated and surrounded by slum
Slum
A slum, as defined by United Nations agency UN-HABITAT, is a run-down area of a city characterized by substandard housing and squalor and lacking in tenure security. According to the United Nations, the percentage of urban dwellers living in slums decreased from 47 percent to 37 percent in the...
s and stagnant ponds, and a new residence
Addington Palace
Addington Palace is an 18th century mansion in Addington near Croydon, South London, England.-History:The original manor house called 'Addington Place' was built about the 16th century....
, nearby at Addington
Addington, London
Addington is a district of south London, England, located in the London Borough of Croydon. It is situated south south-east of Charing Cross.-History:...
, purchased in its place. Many of the buildings of the original Croydon Palace
Croydon Palace
Croydon Palace, in Croydon, now part of south London, was the summer residence of the Archbishop of Canterbury for over 500 years. Regular visitors included Henry III and Queen Elizabeth I...
survive, and are in use today as Old Palace School
Old Palace School
The Old Palace of John Whitgift School is an independent school for girls in Surrey, England, founded in 1889. The "Old Palace" itself was for 500 years the summer residence of the Archbishops of Canterbury.In the 19th century the Archbishops ended their residence at Croydon Palace and used...
.
The earliest record of Christian leaders in Croydon is in an Anglo-Saxon will made in about 960, witnessed by Elfsies, priest of Croydon. The Domesday Book
Domesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
contains the earliest written record of Croydon Church. The earliest recording of the name of the church is 6 December 1347, when it was recorded in the will of John de Croydon, fishmonger, containing a bequest to "the church of S John de Croydon". The church still bears the arms of Archbishop Courtenay
William Courtenay
William Courtenay , English prelate, was Archbishop of Canterbury, having previously been Bishop of Hereford and Bishop of London.-Life:...
and Archbishop Chicheley
Henry Chichele
Henry Chichele , English archbishop, founder of All Souls College, Oxford, was born at Higham Ferrers, Northamptonshire, in 1363 or 1364...
, presumed to be its benefactors.
Croydon Parish Church
Croydon Parish Church
Croydon Minster is the parish and civic church of the London Borough of Croydon. There are currently more than 35 churches in the borough, with Croydon Minster being the most prominent.-History:...
is a Perpendicular
Gothic architecture
Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....
-style church, which was remodelled in 1849 but destroyed in a great fire in 1867, following which only the tower, south porch, and outer walls remained. A new church was designed by Sir George Gilbert Scott
George Gilbert Scott
Sir George Gilbert Scott was an English architect of the Victorian Age, chiefly associated with the design, building and renovation of churches, cathedrals and workhouses...
, one of the greatest architects of the Victorian age
Victorian era
The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
, and opened in 1870. His design loosely followed the previous layout, with knapped flint
Flint
Flint is a hard, sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as a variety of chert. It occurs chiefly as nodules and masses in sedimentary rocks, such as chalks and limestones. Inside the nodule, flint is usually dark grey, black, green, white, or brown in colour, and...
facing and many of the original features, including several important tombs. Croydon Parish Church is the burial place of six Archbishops of Canterbury including John Whitgift
John Whitgift
John Whitgift was the Archbishop of Canterbury from 1583 to his death. Noted for his hospitality, he was somewhat ostentatious in his habits, sometimes visiting Canterbury and other towns attended by a retinue of 800 horsemen...
, Edmund Grindal
Edmund Grindal
Edmund Grindal was an English church leader who successively held the posts of Bishop of London, Archbishop of York and Archbishop of Canterbury during the reign of Elizabeth I of England.-Early life to the death of Edward VI:...
, Gilbert Sheldon
Gilbert Sheldon
Gilbert Sheldon was an English Archbishop of Canterbury.-Early life:He was born in Stanton, Staffordshire in the parish of Ellastone, on 19 July 1598, the youngest son of Roger Sheldon; his father worked for Gilbert Talbot, 7th Earl of Shrewsbury. He was educated at Trinity College, Oxford; he...
, William Wake
William Wake
William Wake was a priest in the Church of England and Archbishop of Canterbury from 1716 until his death in 1737.-Life:...
, John Potter and Thomas Herring
Thomas Herring
Thomas Herring was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1747 to 1757.He was educated at Wisbech Grammar School and later Jesus College, Cambridge. At Cambridge, he was a contemporary of Matthew Hutton, who succeeded him in turn in each of his dioceses...
. Previously part of the Diocese of Canterbury
Diocese of Canterbury
The Diocese of Canterbury is a Church of England diocese covering eastern Kent, founded by St. Augustine of Canterbury in 597. It is centred on Canterbury Cathedral, and is the oldest see of the Church of England....
, Croydon is now in the Diocese of Southwark
Anglican Diocese of Southwark
The Diocese of Southwark is one of the 44 dioceses of the Church of England, part of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The Diocese forms part of the Province of Canterbury in England. It was formed on May 1, 1905 from part of the Diocese of Rochester...
. The Vicar of Croydon is an important post, in addition to the suffragan Bishop of Croydon
Bishop of Croydon
The Bishop of Croydon is an episcopal title used by a suffragan bishop of the Church of England Diocese of Southwark, in the Province of Canterbury, England....
.
Addington Palace
Addington Palace
Addington Palace is an 18th century mansion in Addington near Croydon, South London, England.-History:The original manor house called 'Addington Place' was built about the 16th century....
is a Palladian-style
Palladian architecture
Palladian architecture is a European style of architecture derived from the designs of the Venetian architect Andrea Palladio . The term "Palladian" normally refers to buildings in a style inspired by Palladio's own work; that which is recognised as Palladian architecture today is an evolution of...
mansion between Addington
Addington, London
Addington is a district of south London, England, located in the London Borough of Croydon. It is situated south south-east of Charing Cross.-History:...
Village and Shirley
Shirley, London
Shirley is a place in the London Borough of Croydon, England. It is a suburban development situated 10 miles south south-east of Charing Cross.-Description:...
, surrounded by park landscapes and golf courses, within the boundaries of Croydon. After an Act of Parliament
Act of Parliament
An Act of Parliament is a statute enacted as primary legislation by a national or sub-national parliament. In the Republic of Ireland the term Act of the Oireachtas is used, and in the United States the term Act of Congress is used.In Commonwealth countries, the term is used both in a narrow...
enabled the mansion to be purchased for the Archbishops of Canterbury in 1807, it became the official residence of six Archbishops until it was sold in 1898. In 1953 it was leased to the Royal School of Church Music
Royal School of Church Music
The largest church music organisation in Britain, the Royal School of Church Music was founded in 1927 by Sir Sydney Nicholson and has 11,000 members worldwide; it was originally named the School of English Church Music. It seeks to enable church music in the present and invest in its future,...
until 1996, when it was leased to a private company that developed it as a conference and banqueting venue, with plans for a health farm and country club. The grounds were landscaped by Capability Brown
Capability Brown
Lancelot Brown , more commonly known as Capability Brown, was an English landscape architect. He is remembered as "the last of the great English eighteenth-century artists to be accorded his due", and "England's greatest gardener". He designed over 170 parks, many of which still endure...
and are mainly a golf course and public park. A famous very large cedar
Lebanon Cedar
Cedrus libani is a species of cedar native to the mountains of the Mediterranean region.There are two distinct types that are considered to be different subspecies or varieties. Lebanon cedar or Cedar of Lebanon Cedrus libani is a species of cedar native to the mountains of the Mediterranean...
tree stands next to the Palace.
Almshouse
Almshouses are charitable housing provided to enable people to live in a particular community...
s, named the "Hospital of the Holy Trinity", have stood in the centre of Croydon (at the corner of North End and George Street) since they were erected by Archbishop John Whitgift. He had petitioned for and had received permission from Queen Elizabeth I
Elizabeth I of England
Elizabeth I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Sometimes called The Virgin Queen, Gloriana, or Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth was the fifth and last monarch of the Tudor dynasty...
to establish a hospital and school in Croydon for the "poor, needy and impotent people" from the parishes of Croydon and Lambeth
Lambeth
Lambeth is a district of south London, England, and part of the London Borough of Lambeth. It is situated southeast of Charing Cross.-Toponymy:...
. The foundation stone was laid in 1596 and the building was completed in 1599.
The premises included the actual Hospital or Almshouses, providing accommodation for between 28 and 40 people, and a nearby schoolhouse and schoolmaster's house. There was a Warden in charge for the well-being of the almoners. The building is constructed with the chambers of the almoners and various offices surrounding an inner courtyard.
Threatened by various reconstruction plans and road-widening schemes, the Almshouses were saved in 1923 by intervention of the House of Lords
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
. On 21 June 1983 Queen Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom
Elizabeth II is the constitutional monarch of 16 sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize,...
visited the almshouses and unveiled a plaque celebrating the recently completed reconstruction of the building. On 22 March each year the laying of the foundation stone is commemorated as Founder's Day.
Industrial Revolution and the railway
The development of BrightonBrighton
Brighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain...
as a fashionable resort in the 1780s increased Croydon's role as a significant halt for stage coaches on the road south of London. At the beginning of the 19th century, Croydon became the terminus of two pioneering commercial transport links with London. The first, opened in 1803, was the horse-drawn Surrey Iron Railway
Surrey Iron Railway
The Surrey Iron Railway was a horse drawn plateway whose width approximated to a standard gauge railway that linked the former Surrey towns of Wandsworth and Croydon via Mitcham...
from Wandsworth
Wandsworth
Wandsworth is a district of south London, England, in the London Borough of Wandsworth. It is situated southwest of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London.-Toponymy:...
, which in 1805 was extended to Merstham
Merstham
Merstham is a village in the Reigate and Banstead borough of Surrey, England, in the London commuter belt. It is just north of Redhill, near the intersection of the M25 and M23 motorways, on the edge of the North Downs and on the North Downs Way.-History:...
, as the Croydon, Merstham and Godstone Railway. The second, opened in 1809, was the Croydon Canal
Croydon Canal
The Croydon Canal ran from Croydon, via Forest Hill, to the Grand Surrey Canal at New Cross in south London, England. It opened in 1809, and closed in 1836, making it the first canal to be formally abandoned by an Act of Parliament.-History:...
, which branched off the Grand Surrey Canal
Grand Surrey Canal
The Grand Surrey Canal was a canal constructed in south London, England during the early 19th century. It opened to the Old Kent Road in 1807, to Camberwell in 1810, and to Peckham in 1826. Its main cargo was timber. It closed progressively from the 1940s, with all but the Greenland Dock closing in...
at Deptford
Deptford
Deptford is a district of south London, England, located on the south bank of the River Thames. It is named after a ford of the River Ravensbourne, and from the mid 16th century to the late 19th was home to Deptford Dockyard, the first of the Royal Navy Dockyards.Deptford and the docks are...
. The London and Croydon Railway
London and Croydon Railway
The London and Croydon Railway was an early railway which operated between London and Croydon in England. It was opened in 1839 and in July 1846 it merged with other railways to form a part of the London Brighton and South Coast Railway ....
(an atmospheric
Atmospheric railway
An atmospheric railway uses air pressure to provide power for propulsion. In one plan a pneumatic tube is laid between the rails, with a piston running in it suspended from the train through a sealable slot in the top of the tube. Alternatively, the whole tunnel may be the pneumatic tube with the...
and steam-powered railway), opened between London Bridge
London Bridge station
London Bridge railway station is a central London railway terminus and London Underground complex in the London Borough of Southwark, occupying a large area on two levels immediately south-east of London Bridge and 1.6 miles east of Charing Cross. It is one of the oldest railway stations in the...
and West Croydon
West Croydon station
West Croydon station is a transport interchange for National Rail and Tramlink services, as well as London Buses. It is in the London Borough of Croydon and Travelcard Zone 5...
in 1839, using much of the route of the canal (which had closed in 1836), and other connections to London and the south followed.
The arrival of the railways and other communications advances in the 19th century led to a 23-fold increase in Croydon's population between 1801 and 1901.
This rapid expansion of the town led to considerable health problems, especially in the damp and overcrowded working class
Working class
Working class is a term used in the social sciences and in ordinary conversation to describe those employed in lower tier jobs , often extending to those in unemployment or otherwise possessing below-average incomes...
district of the Old Town. In response to this, in 1849 Croydon became one of the first towns in the country to acquire a Local Board of Health
Local board of health
Local Boards or Local Boards of Health were local authorities in urban areas of England and Wales from 1848 to 1894. They were formed in response to cholera epidemics and were given powers to control sewers, clean the streets, regulate slaughterhouses and ensure the proper supply of water to their...
. The Board constructed public health
Public health
Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals" . It is concerned with threats to health based on population health...
infrastructure including a reservoir
Lake
A lake is a body of relatively still fresh or salt water of considerable size, localized in a basin, that is surrounded by land. Lakes are inland and not part of the ocean and therefore are distinct from lagoons, and are larger and deeper than ponds. Lakes can be contrasted with rivers or streams,...
, and water supply network
Water supply network
A water supply system or water supply network is a system of engineered hydrologic and hydraulic components which provide water supply. A water supply system typically includes:# A drainage basin ;...
, and sewer
Sanitary sewer
A sanitary sewer is a separate underground carriage system specifically for transporting sewage from houses and commercial buildings to treatment or disposal. Sanitary sewers serving industrial areas also carry industrial wastewater...
s, a pumping station, and sewage disposal
Sewage collection and disposal
Sewage collection and disposal systems transport sewage through cities and other inhabited areas to sewage treatment plants to protect public health and prevent disease. Sewage is treated to control water pollution before discharge to surface waters....
works.
A growing town
Suburb
The word suburb mostly refers to a residential area, either existing as part of a city or as a separate residential community within commuting distance of a city . Some suburbs have a degree of administrative autonomy, and most have lower population density than inner city neighborhoods...
for members of the Victorian middle class
Middle class
The middle class is any class of people in the middle of a societal hierarchy. In Weberian socio-economic terms, the middle class is the broad group of people in contemporary society who fall socio-economically between the working class and upper class....
es, who could commute
Commuting
Commuting is regular travel between one's place of residence and place of work or full time study. It sometimes refers to any regular or often repeated traveling between locations when not work related.- History :...
to the City of London
City of London
The City of London is a small area within Greater London, England. It is the historic core of London around which the modern conurbation grew and has held city status since time immemorial. The City’s boundaries have remained almost unchanged since the Middle Ages, and it is now only a tiny part of...
by fast train in 15 minutes. In 1883 Croydon was incorporated as a borough. In 1889 it became a county borough, with a still greater degree of autonomy. The new county borough council implemented the Croydon Improvement scheme in the early 1890s, which resulted in the widening of the High Street and the clearance of much of the 'Middle Row' slum area. The remaining slums were cleared
Gentrification
Gentrification and urban gentrification refer to the changes that result when wealthier people acquire or rent property in low income and working class communities. Urban gentrification is associated with movement. Consequent to gentrification, the average income increases and average family size...
shortly after World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, with much of the population relocated to the isolated new community at New Addington
New Addington
New Addington is an area on the edge of South London in the London Borough of Croydon. It is a large local authority estate surrounded by open countryside, woodland and golf courses. The Prime Meridian crosses the eastern edge of New Addington...
. New stores opened and expanded in central Croydon, including Allders
Allders
Allders is an independent department store in Croydon, established by Joshua Allder in 1862. It is the fourth-largest department store in the United Kingdom.The Croydon store was the flagship of a large chain of department stores in the UK...
, Kennards and Grants
Grants of Croydon
Grants of Croydon is an entertainment complex at 14-32 High Street, Croydon, London. Originally built in 1894, Grants became a Grade II listed building in 1990. In 2000 Grants was re-developed into an entertainment centre. It was bought by Scottish Widows in early 2010.- Department store :The two...
, and the first Sainsbury's self-service shop in the country. There was also a bustling market on Surrey Street
Surrey Street Market
Surrey Street Market is a market that sells mainly meat & vegetables as well as a range of other items through the week in Croydon, south London. It has a Royal Charter dating back to 1276 linking it to the Archbishop of Canterbury. The market is regularly used as a location for TV, film and...
.
Croydon became the location of London's main airport until the second world war
The Second World War
The Second World War may refer to:*World War II, a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945*The Second World War , a history, originally published in six volumes, of the period from the end of the First World War to July 1945, written by Winston Churchill...
. During the war, much of central Croydon was destroyed by German strategic bombing
Strategic bombing
Strategic bombing is a military strategy used in a total war with the goal of defeating an enemy nation-state by destroying its economic ability and public will to wage war rather than destroying its land or naval forces...
and attacks by V-1 flying bomb
V-1 flying bomb
The V-1 flying bomb, also known as the Buzz Bomb or Doodlebug, was an early pulse-jet-powered predecessor of the cruise missile....
s and V-2
V-2 rocket
The V-2 rocket , technical name Aggregat-4 , was a ballistic missile that was developed at the beginning of the Second World War in Germany, specifically targeted at London and later Antwerp. The liquid-propellant rocket was the world's first long-range combat-ballistic missile and first known...
rocket
Rocket
A rocket is a missile, spacecraft, aircraft or other vehicle which obtains thrust from a rocket engine. In all rockets, the exhaust is formed entirely from propellants carried within the rocket before use. Rocket engines work by action and reaction...
s, and for many years the town bore the scars of the destruction. After the war, Heathrow Airport superseded Croydon Airport
Croydon Airport
Croydon Airport was an airport in South London which straddled the boundary between what are now the London boroughs of Croydon and Sutton. It was the main airport for London before it was replaced by Northolt Aerodrome, London Heathrow Airport and London Gatwick Airport...
as London's main airport.
By the 1950s, with its continuing growth, the town was becoming congested
Traffic congestion
Traffic congestion is a condition on road networks that occurs as use increases, and is characterized by slower speeds, longer trip times, and increased vehicular queueing. The most common example is the physical use of roads by vehicles. When traffic demand is great enough that the interaction...
, and the Council decided to introduce another major redevelopment scheme. The Croydon Corporation Act was passed in 1956. This, coupled with government incentives for office relocation out of London, led to the building of new offices and accompanying road schemes through the late 1950s and 1960s, and the town boomed as an important business centre in the 1960s, with the building of a large number of multi-storey office blocks, an underpass, a flyover
Overpass
An overpass is a bridge, road, railway or similar structure that crosses over another road or railway...
and multi-storey car park
Multi-storey car park
A multi-storey car-park is a building designed specifically to be for car parking and where there are a number of floors or levels on which parking takes place...
s.
In 1960 Croydon celebrated its' millenium with an exhibition held at Croydon Aerodrome.
Modern Croydon
In more modern times Croydon has developed an important centre for shopping, with the construction of the Whitgift CentreWhitgift Centre
The Whitgift Centre is a large shopping centre and office development in the centre of Croydon, London, opened in stages between 1968 and 1970. The centre currently comprises of retail space and was the largest covered shopping development in Greater London until the opening of Westfield London at...
, which opened in 1969. The Fairfield Halls
Fairfield Halls
Fairfield Hall is an arts centre in Croydon, London, England and opened in 1962. It contains a concert hall, the Ashcroft Theatre , the Arnhem Gallery civic hall and an art gallery....
arts centre and event venue opened in 1962. The Warehouse Theatre
Warehouse Theatre
The Warehouse Theatre is a professional producing theatre with one hundred seats in the centre of the London Borough of Croydon, south London, England based in an oak-beamed former cement Victorian warehouse...
opened in 1977. The 1990s saw further changes intended to give the town a more attractive image. These include the closure of North End
North End, Croydon
North End is a pedestrianized road in Central Croydon which is the main equivalent to a high street in Croydon. The road holds both of the main shopping centres, Centrale and Whitgift Centre plus a forthcoming one called Park Place. The road offers many well-known shops such as WHSmith, Next, Zara...
to vehicles in 1989 and the opening of the Croydon Clocktower
Croydon Clocktower
Croydon Clocktower on Katharine Street in Croydon is an arts centre in London, England. It contains the Museum of Croydon, the Riesco Gallery with a collection of Chinese pottery and ceramics, the David Lean Cinema, the Braithwaite Hall used for concerts and conferences, and a café and bar...
arts centre in 1994. Tramlink
Tramlink
Tramlink is a tramway system in south London in the United Kingdom which began operation in May 2000...
began operation in May 2000. A new equally large shopping centre, Centrale, opened in 2004 opposite the Whitgift Centre, straddling the site of the smaller Drummond Centre and what was once a large branch of C&A
C&A
C&A is an international chain of fashion retail clothing stores, with its European head offices in Vilvoorde , Belgium and Düsseldorf, Germany...
. There are plans for a large new shopping centre, Park Place
Park Place (Croydon)
Park Place was a shopping centre which had been expected to open in Croydon, England by 2011, although this date has been pushed back and building has not started. It is part of the Croydon Vision 2020 re-generation scheme...
, which will replace most of the eastern edge of the shopping district including St George's Walk
St George's Walk
St George's Walk is a covered shopping parade in the centre of Croydon, London that houses many independent stores. It was completed in 1964 by Ronald Ward and Partners, the designers of St George's House and Millbank Tower. It runs parallel to the Croydon Clocktower arts facility runs between the...
; the redevelopment of the Croydon Gateway
Croydon Gateway
Ruskin Square is the name given to a project to redevelop a block of land between East Croydon railway station and the existing town centre of Croydon in South London. It is part of the major Croydon Vision 2020 regeneration scheme...
site; and extensions of Tramlink to Purley Way, Streatham
Streatham
Streatham is a district in Surrey, England, located in the London Borough of Lambeth. It is situated south of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London.-History:...
, Lewisham
Lewisham
Lewisham is a district in South London, England, located in the London Borough of Lewisham. It is situated south-east of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London.-History:...
and Crystal Palace
Crystal Palace, London
Crystal Palace is a residential area in south London, England named from the former local landmark, The Crystal Palace, which occupied the area from 1854 to 1936. The area is located approximately 8 miles south east of Charing Cross, and offers impressive views over the capital...
. Croydon has become the second-largest place to shop in the south east, after central London
Central London
Central London is the innermost part of London, England. There is no official or commonly accepted definition of its area, but its characteristics are understood to include a high density built environment, high land values, an elevated daytime population and a concentration of regionally,...
, offering a wide range of shops and department stores. Notable independent traders include House of Reeves
House of Reeves
House of Reeves is a family-run furniture retailer in Croydon, south London, England.The store was founded in 1867 as Ye Olde Curiositie Shoppe on Church Street — opposite Croydon Parish Church — by Edwin Reeves, a barrel maker from Sherborne, Dorset. He passed the business to his son, William. The...
, a two-outlet furniture store established in 1867. One of their stores was razed to the ground by an arson attack during a civil disturbance
2011 England riots
Between 6 and 10 August 2011, several London boroughs and districts of cities and towns across England suffered widespread rioting, looting and arson....
on 8 August 2011. It is home to many high density buildings such as the Nestlé Tower
Nestlé Tower
The Nestlé Tower is a skyscraper located in Croydon, United Kingdom occupied by the multinational food and consumer goods company Nestlé S.A. as their UK headquarters...
, being London's third main CBD
Central business district
A central business district is the commercial and often geographic heart of a city. In North America this part of a city is commonly referred to as "downtown" or "city center"...
, after the Square Mile
City of London
The City of London is a small area within Greater London, England. It is the historic core of London around which the modern conurbation grew and has held city status since time immemorial. The City’s boundaries have remained almost unchanged since the Middle Ages, and it is now only a tiny part of...
and the Docklands and South London
South London
South London is the southern part of London, England, United Kingdom.According to the 2011 official Boundary Commission for England definition, South London includes the London boroughs of Bexley, Bromley, Croydon, Greenwich, Kingston, Lambeth, Lewisham, Merton, Southwark, Sutton and...
's main business centre. The Croydon area is served by various hospitals of which the main one is Croydon University Hospital in London Road. The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson
Boris Johnson
Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson is a British journalist and Conservative Party politician, who has been the elected Mayor of London since 2008...
, said he would support Croydon becoming an official city.
Governance
For centuries the area lay within the Wallington hundredWallington (hundred)
Wallington was an ancient hundred in the north east of the county of Surrey, England. The majority of its area has been absorbed by the growth of London; with its name currently referring to the district of Wallington...
, an ancient Anglo-Saxon
Anglo-Saxons
Anglo-Saxon is a term used by historians to designate the Germanic tribes who invaded and settled the south and east of Great Britain beginning in the early 5th century AD, and the period from their creation of the English nation to the Norman conquest. The Anglo-Saxon Era denotes the period of...
administrative division of the county of Surrey
Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
. Croydon was created a municipal borough
Municipal borough
Municipal boroughs were a type of local government district which existed in England and Wales between 1835 and 1974, in Northern Ireland from 1840 to 1973 and in the Republic of Ireland from 1840 to 2002...
of Surrey in 1883. In 1889, through its growing economic importance, it was made a county borough
County borough
County borough is a term introduced in 1889 in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland , to refer to a borough or a city independent of county council control. They were abolished by the Local Government Act 1972 in England and Wales, but continue in use for lieutenancy and shrievalty in...
exempt from county administration. In 1965 the County Borough of Croydon
County Borough of Croydon
Croydon was a local government district in north east Surrey, England from 1849 to 1965.-History:A local board of health was formed for the parish of Croydon St John the Baptist in 1849. On March 9, 1883 the town received a charter of incorporation to become a municipal borough...
was abolished and its former area was transferred to Greater London
Greater London
Greater London is the top-level administrative division of England covering London. It was created in 1965 and spans the City of London, including Middle Temple and Inner Temple, and the 32 London boroughs. This territory is coterminate with the London Government Office Region and the London...
and combined with that of the Coulsdon and Purley Urban District
Coulsdon and Purley Urban District
Coulsdon and Purley Urban District was a local government district in north east Surrey from 1915 to 1965.It was formed in 1915 from part of the abolished Croydon Rural District...
to form the present-day London Borough of Croydon
London Borough of Croydon
The London Borough of Croydon is a London borough in South London, England and is part of Outer London. It covers an area of and is the largest London borough by population. It is the southernmost borough of London. At its centre is the historic town of Croydon from which the borough takes its name...
.
Most of the area lies within the Addiscombe
Addiscombe (ward)
Addiscombe is a ward in the London Borough of Croydon, covering much of the Addiscombe and East Croydon areas of London in the United Kingdom. It extends from East Croydon railway station towards Woodside Green but does not actually cover the retail centre of Addiscombe, which is the neighbouring...
and Fairfield wards, which form part of the Croydon Central
Croydon Central (UK Parliament constituency)
The comparison is with the notional 2005 result for the new boundaries which made Croydon Central a Labour defence.-Elections in the 2000s:-Elections in the 1990s:- Notes and references :...
constituency. The rest of the town is in the Croham ward
Croham (ward)
Croham is a ward in the London Borough of Croydon, covering part of the Croham Hurst and South Croydon area of London in the United Kingdom. The ward currently forms part of Richard Ottaway MP's Croydon South constituency, which is one of the most safe for the Conservatives in London.The ward...
, which is part of Croydon South
Croydon South (UK Parliament constituency)
Croydon South is a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election...
. These wards are all in the local authority of Croydon, which has the responsibility for providing services such as education, refuse collection, and tourism. The Addiscombe ward is currently represented by Councillor
Councillor
A councillor or councilor is a member of a local government council, such as a city council.Often in the United States, the title is councilman or councilwoman.-United Kingdom:...
s Russell Jackson, Andrew Price, and Maria Garcia de la Huerta, members of the Conservative Party
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
. The Fairfield and Croham wards also brought back Conservatives, leaving the area represented only by Conservatives at council level. Labour lost the seat that it had in Addiscombe in the 2006 local elections. The area also forms part of the London constituency
London (European Parliament constituency)
London is a constituency of the European Parliament. It currently elects 8 MEPs using the d'Hondt method of party-list proportional representation.- Boundaries :The constituency corresponds to Greater London, in the south east of the United Kingdom....
of the European Parliament
European Parliament
The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...
. The sitting Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
for Croydon Central
Croydon Central (UK Parliament constituency)
The comparison is with the notional 2005 result for the new boundaries which made Croydon Central a Labour defence.-Elections in the 2000s:-Elections in the 1990s:- Notes and references :...
is Gavin Barwell
Gavin Barwell
Gavin Laurence Barwell is a British Conservative Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament for Croydon Central since the 2010 general election.He is also the Head Governor of Trinity School in Croydon.-Education:...
, a member of the Conservative Party
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
. The sitting Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
for Croydon South
Croydon South (UK Parliament constituency)
Croydon South is a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election...
is Richard Ottaway
Richard Ottaway
Richard Geoffrey James Ottaway is a British Conservative politician, and Member of Parliament for Croydon South.-Early life:...
, who is also a member of the Conservatives.
The police service is provided by the Metropolitan Police
Metropolitan police
Metropolitan Police is a generic title for the municipal police force for a major metropolitan area, and it may be part of the official title of the force...
with Croydon Police Station on Park Lane next to Croydon College. The London Fire Brigade
London Fire Brigade
The London Fire Brigade is the statutory fire and rescue service for London.Founded in 1865, it is the largest of the fire services in the United Kingdom and the fourth-largest in the world with nearly 7,000 staff, including 5,800 operational firefighters based in 112 fire...
provide services for the area and Greater London as a whole. The nearest fire station is in Old Town, which has only two pumping appliance.
Geography
Croydon is situated in the centre of the borough of Croydon. To the south are the North DownsNorth Downs
The North Downs are a ridge of chalk hills in south east England that stretch from Farnham in Surrey to the White Cliffs of Dover in Kent. The North Downs lie within two Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty , the Surrey Hills and the Kent Downs...
, which stretch to the white cliffs of Dover
White cliffs of Dover
The White Cliffs of Dover are cliffs which form part of the British coastline facing the Strait of Dover and France. The cliffs are part of the North Downs formation. The cliff face, which reaches up to , owes its striking façade to its composition of chalk accentuated by streaks of black flint...
in Kent, as well as parts of Surrey
Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
and the south coast
Southern England
Southern England, the South and the South of England are imprecise terms used to refer to the southern counties of England bordering the English Midlands. It has a number of different interpretations of its geographic extents. The South is considered by many to be a cultural region with a distinct...
. The Pilgrims' Way
Pilgrims' Way
The Pilgrims' Way is the historic route supposed to have been taken by pilgrims from Winchester in Hampshire, England, to the shrine of Thomas Becket at Canterbury in Kent...
path is to the south of Croydon.
The town is bordered by Selhurst
Selhurst
Selhurst is a suburban development in the London Borough of Croydon south-south-east of Charing Cross. A relatively small area, Selhurst is bounded by South Norwood, Croydon and Thornton Heath and, like nearby Broad Green, has lost its distinct identity from these larger neighbours in recent years...
and South Norwood
South Norwood
South Norwood is an urban town and in south London, England, in the London Borough of Croydon. It is a suburban development 7.8 miles south-east of Charing Cross. South Norwood is an electoral with a resident population in 2001 of just over 14,000...
to the north, which are both part of the same borough; South Croydon to the south; Shirley
Shirley, London
Shirley is a place in the London Borough of Croydon, England. It is a suburban development situated 10 miles south south-east of Charing Cross.-Description:...
due east and Beddington in the borough of Sutton to the west. The northernmost point of Croydon is at the junction with Northcote Road
Selhurst Road
Selhurst Road is a main road between South Norwood and Selhurst in the London Borough of Croydon, South London. It forms part of the A213 road which is a major A Road connecting both Sydenham and Croydon....
and Whitehorse Road where there are a community centre
Community centre
Community centres or community centers or jumping recreation centers are public locations where members of a community tend to gather for group activities, social support, public information, and other purposes. They may sometimes be open for the whole community or for a specialised group within...
and a few retail shops, overlapping with Selhurst and Broad Green. The postcode area that covers most of Croydon is CR0, which forms part of the CR postcode area. The CR postcode was created especially for Croydon and its surrounding areas.
Croydon is split up by a number of different areas in the same borough. Fairfield, Broad Green, West Croydon and South Croydon make up the rest of Croydon, but are known as separate areas in their own right. The most prominent of these towns is South Croydon, which has become a town of its own, with various shops and its own high street. It is essentially a dormitory suburb
Commuter town
A commuter town is an urban community that is primarily residential, from which most of the workforce commutes out to earn their livelihood. Many commuter towns act as suburbs of a nearby metropolis that workers travel to daily, and many suburbs are commuter towns...
for Croydon and Central London
Central London
Central London is the innermost part of London, England. There is no official or commonly accepted definition of its area, but its characteristics are understood to include a high density built environment, high land values, an elevated daytime population and a concentration of regionally,...
. The street South End is the prominent main road in South Croydon and continues northward as High Street, Croydon and southward as Brighton Road
Brighton Road
Brighton Road is a major road running through Croydon and Purley, in south London, England. The northern part of its length is designated the A235, and further south it becomes the A23....
.
The town is split in the middle with a rough line from west to east along Wellesley Road on the A212 road
A212 road
The A212 is an A road in South London, linking Lewisham to Croydon. It runs southwest from the South Circular at Catford, going through Sydenham, Norwood and Crystal Palace before heading south to Croydon...
. This type of urban planning
Urban planning
Urban planning incorporates areas such as economics, design, ecology, sociology, geography, law, political science, and statistics to guide and ensure the orderly development of settlements and communities....
has been discouraged recently by the London Plan
London Plan
The London Plan is a planning document written by the Mayor of London, England in the United Kingdom and published by the Greater London Authority. The plan was first published in final form on 10 February 2004 and has since been amended. The current version was published in February 2008...
and there have been a number of proposals to ease the relation between East Croydon station
East Croydon station
East Croydon station is a railway station and tram stop in Croydon, 10.35 miles south of London Bridge in Travelcard Zone 5. It is the largest and busiest station in Croydon and the busiest in London outside Travelcard Zone 1 in terms of the number of passengers entering and exiting...
and the town centre of Croydon. Croydon Vision 2020
Croydon Vision 2020
Croydon Vision 2020 is a regeneration programme by the London Borough of Croydon for the centre of Croydon in South London. The original study was carried out in 1999 by EDAW and is being taken forward through the Local Development Framework process...
aims to solve that problem and make the whole road easier for pedestrians by creating a centre island pathway.
Arts
Fairfield Halls
Fairfield Hall is an arts centre in Croydon, London, England and opened in 1962. It contains a concert hall, the Ashcroft Theatre , the Arnhem Gallery civic hall and an art gallery....
, opened in 1962, which consists of a large concert hall frequently used for BBC recordings, the Ashcroft Theatre
Ashcroft Theatre
The Ashcroft Theatre is a theatre located within the Fairfield Halls, Croydon, South London. The theatre was named after Croydon-born Dame Peggy Ashcroft and is a proscenium theatre with a stepped auditorium. The mural on its fire curtain is by the artist Henry Bird. A variety of productions are...
and the Arnhem Gallery. Fairfield is the home of the London Mozart Players
London Mozart Players
The London Mozart Players is a British chamber orchestra founded in 1949. The LMP is the longest-established chamber orchestra in the United Kingdom whose performances and recordings focus largely on the core repertoire from the Classical era...
, whose Principal Guest Conductor is flautist Sir James Galway
James Galway
- External links : IMGArtists.com 15 September 2008. AllAboutJazz.com 5 August 2008.*...
. Many famous faces have appeared at the Fairfield Halls, from the Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
through Bucks Fizz
Bucks Fizz (band)
Bucks Fizz are an English pop group who achieved success in the 1980s, most notably for winning the 1981 Eurovision Song Contest with the song "Making Your Mind Up". The group was formed in January 1981 specifically for the contest and comprised four vocalists: Bobby G, Cheryl Baker, Mike Nolan and...
, Omid Djalili
Omid Djalili
Omid Djalili is a British Iranian stand-up comedian, actor, television producer and writer.-Personal life:Djalili was born in Chelsea, London to Iranian Bahá'í parents and is a Bahá'í himself...
, Robert Cray
Robert Cray
Robert Cray is an American blues guitarist and singer. A five-time Grammy Award winner, he has led his own band, as well as an acclaimed solo career.-Career:...
, JLS
JLS
- Music :* JLS, an English boyband** JLS , debut album by JLS* JLS a Spanish Rock band based in Zaragoza , Spain formed in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic by lead Leo Susana.- Organizations :...
, Chuck Berry
Chuck Berry
Charles Edward Anderson "Chuck" Berry is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter, and one of the pioneers of rock and roll music. With songs such as "Maybellene" , "Roll Over Beethoven" , "Rock and Roll Music" and "Johnny B...
, BB King, Don McLean
Don McLean
Donald "Don" McLean is an American singer-songwriter. He is most famous for the 1971 album American Pie, containing the renowned songs "American Pie" and "Vincent".-Musical roots:...
, The Monkees
The Monkees
The Monkees are an American pop rock group. Assembled in Los Angeles in 1966 by Robert "Bob" Rafelson and Bert Schneider for the American television series The Monkees, which aired from 1966 to 1968, the musical acting quartet was composed of Americans Micky Dolenz, Michael Nesmith and Peter Tork,...
, Johnny Cash
Johnny Cash
John R. "Johnny" Cash was an American singer-songwriter, actor, and author, who has been called one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century...
, Dionne Warwick
Dionne Warwick
Dionne Warwick is an American singer, actress and TV show host, who became a United Nations Global Ambassador for the Food and Agriculture Organization, and a United States Ambassador of Health....
, Gladys Knight
Gladys Knight
Gladys Maria Knight , known as the "Empress of Soul", is an American singer-songwriter, actress, businesswoman, humanitarian, and author...
, Tom Jones
Tom Jones (singer)
Sir Thomas John Woodward, OBE , known by his stage name Tom Jones, is a Welsh singer.Since the mid 1960s, Jones has sung many styles of popular music – pop, rock, R&B, show tunes, country, dance, techno, soul and gospel – and sold over 100 million records...
, The Stylistics
The Stylistics
The Stylistics are a soul music vocal group, and were one of the best-known Philadelphia soul groups of the 1970s. They formed in 1968, and were composed of lead Russell Thompkins, Jr., Herbie Murrell, Airrion Love, James Smith, and James Dunn. All of their US hits were ballads, graced by the...
, Status Quo, Level 42
Level 42
Level 42 are an English pop rock and jazz-funk band who had a number of worldwide and UK hits during the 1980s and 1990s.The band gained fame for their high-calibre musicianship—in particular that of Mark King, whose percussive slap-bass guitar technique provided the driving groove of many of the...
, A-HA
A-ha
A-ha were a Norwegian pop band formed in Oslo in 1982. The band was founded by Morten Harket , Magne Furuholmen , and Pål Waaktaar...
, John Mayall
John Mayall
John Mayall, OBE is an English blues singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist, whose musical career spans over fifty years...
, Jools Holland
Jools Holland
Julian Miles "Jools" Holland OBE, DL is an English pianist, bandleader, singer, composer, and television presenter. He was a founder of the band Squeeze and his work has involved him with many artists including Sting, Eric Clapton, George Harrison, The Who, David Gilmour and Bono.Holland is a...
, Kenny Rogers
Kenny Rogers
Kenneth Donald "Kenny" Rogers is an American singer-songwriter, photographer, record producer, actor, and entrepreneur...
, James Last
James Last
James Last is a German composer and big band leader. His "happy music" made his numerous albums best-sellers in Germany and the United Kingdom. His composition, "Happy Heart", became an international success in interpretations by Andy Williams and Petula Clark...
to Coolio
Coolio
Artis Leon Ivey Jr. , better known by the stage name Coolio, is an American musician, rapper, actor and record producer.-Late 80s:He recorded two singles in the late 80s, titled "Watcha Gonna Do" and "You're Gonna Miss Me"...
. The main concert hall was used for the conference scene in the Tom Hanks
Tom Hanks
Thomas Jeffrey "Tom" Hanks is an American actor, producer, writer, and director. Hanks worked in television and family-friendly comedies, gaining wide notice in 1988's Big, before achieving success as a dramatic actor in several notable roles, including Andrew Beckett in Philadelphia, the title...
film The Da Vinci Code
The Da Vinci Code
The Da Vinci Code is a 2003 mystery-detective novel written by Dan Brown. It follows symbologist Robert Langdon and Sophie Neveu as they investigate a murder in Paris's Louvre Museum and discover a battle between the Priory of Sion and Opus Dei over the possibility of Jesus having been married to...
.
The Warehouse Theatre
Warehouse Theatre
The Warehouse Theatre is a professional producing theatre with one hundred seats in the centre of the London Borough of Croydon, south London, England based in an oak-beamed former cement Victorian warehouse...
is a studio theatre known for promoting new writing, as well as comedy and youth theatre. Croydon Clocktower
Croydon Clocktower
Croydon Clocktower on Katharine Street in Croydon is an arts centre in London, England. It contains the Museum of Croydon, the Riesco Gallery with a collection of Chinese pottery and ceramics, the David Lean Cinema, the Braithwaite Hall used for concerts and conferences, and a café and bar...
, built by the London Borough of Croydon in the mid-1990s, houses a state-of-the-art library, the David Lean
David Lean
Sir David Lean CBE was an English film director, producer, screenwriter, and editor best remembered for big-screen epics such as The Bridge on the River Kwai , Lawrence of Arabia ,...
cinema, a performance venue in the old reference library and the town museum. The Pembroke Theatre had many productions with well known actors before its closure in about 1962.
There are several local and small venues for comedy and community events dotted around Croydon and its neighbourhoods. Croydon Youth Theatre Organisation
Croydon Youth Theatre Organisation
Croydon Youth Theatre Organisation, often referred to simply as CYTO, is a professionally led youth theatre group based at the Shoestring Theatre in South Norwood, Croydon in South London, England....
celebrated its 40th birthday in 2005. There are several community arts groups, particularly in the large Asian
British Asian
British Asian is a term used to describe British citizens who descended from mainly South Asia, also known as South Asians in the United Kingdom...
community. There are controversial plans to develop an arena for entertainment and sporting events at the Croydon Gateway site.
A calendar titled "Rare Roundabouts of Croydon", with a picture of a different Croydon roundabout each month, has enjoyed some success.
Literature
Croydon is the setting of two poems by British Poet Laureate Sir John Betjeman, "Croydon" and "Love in a Valley".The borough has been the residence of many renowned authors and novelists, including Sir Arthur Conan Doyle who set up house in Norwood, D. H. Lawrence
D. H. Lawrence
David Herbert Richards Lawrence was an English novelist, poet, playwright, essayist, literary critic and painter who published as D. H. Lawrence. His collected works represent an extended reflection upon the dehumanising effects of modernity and industrialisation...
, and French novelist Emile Zola
Émile Zola
Émile François Zola was a French writer, the most important exemplar of the literary school of naturalism and an important contributor to the development of theatrical naturalism...
who lived for a time in the Queen's Hotel, South Norwood. Cicely Mary Barker
Cicely Mary Barker
Cicely Mary Barker was an English illustrator best known for a series of fantasy illustrations depicting fairies and flowers. Barker's art education began in girlhood with correspondence courses and instruction at the Croydon School of Art...
, author and illustrator of the Flower Fairies
Flower fairies
Flower Fairies are illustrations by Cicely Mary Barker, created during the first half of the 20th century.-The Creator of The Flower Fairies:...
series of books, was born in Croydon.
Croydon is the setting of many novels. The now defunct airport lent itself to the mysteries, The 12.30 from Croydon
The 12.30 from Croydon
The 12.30 from Croydon is a detective novel by Freeman Wills Crofts first published in 1934. It is about a murder which is committed during a flight over the English Channel...
and Death in the Clouds
Death in the Clouds
Death in the Clouds is a work of detective fiction by Agatha Christie and first published in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company on March 10 1935 under the title of Death in the Air and in UK by the Collins Crime Club in the July of the same year under Christie's original title. The US edition...
, and the town is mentioned in some Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes is a fictional detective created by Scottish author and physician Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The fantastic London-based "consulting detective", Holmes is famous for his astute logical reasoning, his ability to take almost any disguise, and his use of forensic science skills to solve...
mysteries.
Music
Croydon has been at the centre of the development of the dubstepDubstep
Dubstep is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in south London, England. Its overall sound has been described as "tightly coiled productions with overwhelming bass lines and reverberant drum patterns, clipped samples, and occasional vocals"....
genre, a relatively recent musical development that traces its roots from Jamaica
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
n dub music
Dub music
Dub is a genre of music which grew out of reggae music in the 1960s, and is commonly considered a subgenre, though it has developed to extend beyond the scope of reggae...
, UK Garage
UK garage
UK garage is a genre of electronic dance music originating from the United Kingdom in the early-1990s. UK garage is a descendant of house music which originated in Chicago and New York, United States. UK garage usually features a distinctive syncopated 4/4 percussive rhythm with 'shuffling'...
and drum and bass
Drum and bass
Drum and bass is a type of electronic music which emerged in the late 1980s. The genre is characterized by fast breakbeats , with heavy bass and sub-bass lines...
. Artists such as Benga
Benga
Benga may refer to:* Benga tree, another name for the Indian Kino Tree Ethnonym:* Benga people, an indigenous ethnic group of Equatorial Guinea* Benga language, spoke by the Benga people...
and Skream
Skream
Skream is a dubstep producer based in Croydon. One of dubstep's first and most prominent producers, he has played an important role in the genre's development. His debut album Skream! was released in 2006, and was followed up by Outside the Box in 2010...
, who honed their production and DJ
Disc jockey
A disc jockey, also known as DJ, is a person who selects and plays recorded music for an audience. Originally, "disc" referred to phonograph records, not the later Compact Discs. Today, the term includes all forms of music playback, no matter the medium.There are several types of disc jockeys...
ing skills whilst working at the now defunct Big Apple Records on Surrey Street
Surrey Street Market
Surrey Street Market is a market that sells mainly meat & vegetables as well as a range of other items through the week in Croydon, south London. It has a Royal Charter dating back to 1276 linking it to the Archbishop of Canterbury. The market is regularly used as a location for TV, film and...
, along with Norwood's Digital Mystikz
Digital Mystikz
Digital Mystikz are a dubstep production duo from the South London suburb of Norwood. Along with Loefah and Sgt. Pokes, they operate the DMZ record label and host the influential bimonthly nightclub DMZ, held at the Mass club complex in Brixton, London...
, DJ Chef
DJ Chef
DJ Chef is an international DJ from South London. He's been playing records from the age of 11. Known primarily for his involvement in the dubstep scene and being a part of it since its inception, he was featured prominently in a 2008 documentary for BBC Radio 1 by Mary Anne Hobbs called Generation...
, Timi Korus and Thornton Heath's Plastician, form the core roster of dubstep DJs and producers.
Croydon also has a thriving rock scene producing such local talent as 5th Man Down
5th Man Down (band)
5th Man Down were an alternative rock band from Croydon , UK. They released one full-length album, "Are We Harmless?" on part of who have signed acts such as Earthtone9, and independently released two EPs, "Pure" and "Root Mean Square" .-Influences:5th Man Down have been likened to bands such...
, Frankmusik
Frankmusik
Vincent Frank born Vincent James Turner is known professionally as Frankmusik is an English electropop musician. The name "Frank" is derived from the surname of his grandfather, whose name he took in tribute.-Early life:...
and Noisettes
Noisettes
Noisettes are an English indie rock band from London, comprising singer and bassist Shingai Shoniwa, guitarist Dan Smith, and drummer Jamie Morrison...
. Local venues for live music include the Black Sheep Bar, The Ship, The Green Dragon, The Brief, The George, and The Scream Lounge.
In addition to the Fairfield Halls, there have been several notable venues in Croydon that have hosted major established national and international rock acts - established in 1976, The Cartoon was a very popular live music venue, but closed its doors for the final time in November 2006. The Greyhound in Park Lane (in the site within the Nestle complex currently occupied by the Blue Orchid) played host to acts such as Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin were an English rock band, active in the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s. Formed in 1968, they consisted of guitarist Jimmy Page, singer Robert Plant, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham...
, Jimi Hendrix
Jimi Hendrix
James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix was an American guitarist and singer-songwriter...
, The Who
The Who
The Who are an English rock band formed in 1964 by Roger Daltrey , Pete Townshend , John Entwistle and Keith Moon . They became known for energetic live performances which often included instrument destruction...
, David Bowie
David Bowie
David Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...
, Queen
Queen (band)
Queen are a British rock band formed in London in 1971, originally consisting of Freddie Mercury , Brian May , John Deacon , and Roger Taylor...
, Siouxsie and the Banshees, The Damned, The Boomtown Rats
The Boomtown Rats
The Boomtown Rats were an Irish punk rock band that had a series of Irish and UK hits between 1977 and 1985. They were led by vocalist Bob Geldof.-Biography:All six members were originally from Dún Laoghaire, Ireland...
, A-ha
A-ha
A-ha were a Norwegian pop band formed in Oslo in 1982. The band was founded by Morten Harket , Magne Furuholmen , and Pål Waaktaar...
in (1987) and many others during the 1960s and 1970s. The Fox and Hounds Pub saw the debut of the Electric Light Orchestra
Electric Light Orchestra
Electric Light Orchestra were a British rock group from Birmingham who released eleven studio albums between 1971 and 1986 and another album in 2001. ELO were formed to accommodate Roy Wood and Jeff Lynne's desire to create modern rock and pop songs with classical overtones...
on 15 April 1972.
The composer Samuel Coleridge-Taylor
Samuel Coleridge-Taylor
Samuel Coleridge-Taylor was an English composer who achieved such success that he was once called the "African Mahler".-Early life and education:...
(1875–1912) lived at 30 Dagnall Park, Selhurst, until his death. He grew up in Croydon and sang in the church choir at St George's and taught at the Crystal Palace
The Crystal Palace
The Crystal Palace was a cast-iron and glass building originally erected in Hyde Park, London, England, to house the Great Exhibition of 1851. More than 14,000 exhibitors from around the world gathered in the Palace's of exhibition space to display examples of the latest technology developed in...
and many other schools of music. He died from pneumonia after collapsing at West Croydon station
West Croydon station
West Croydon station is a transport interchange for National Rail and Tramlink services, as well as London Buses. It is in the London Borough of Croydon and Travelcard Zone 5...
. There is an impressive grave with a touching poem at Bandon Hill Cemetery, as well as exhibits about him in the Clock Tower Museum, Katharine Street.
The town centre was for 30 years home to Europe's largest second-hand record store, Beanos, offering rare vinyl, CDs and books. In November 2008, it was announced that Beanos would close. The premises (off Church Street near the Grants cinema complex) are to become a "market place" with stalls for rent by small business and individuals.
Croydon is home to the BRIT School
BRIT School
The London School for Performing Arts & Technology is a British school located in Selhurst, Croydon, in London, England, with a mandate to provide education and vocational training for the performing arts, media, art and design and the technologies that make performance possible...
for performing arts and technology, based in Selhurst, which has produced stars such as Adele
Adele (singer)
Adele Laurie Blue Adkins , known professionally as Adele, is an English singer-songwriter. She was the first recipient of the Brit Awards Critics' Choice and was named the number-one predicted breakthrough act of 2008 in an annual BBC poll of music critics, Sound of 2008...
, Katie Melua
Katie Melua
Ketevan "Katie" Melua is a British-Georgian singer, songwriter and musician. She moved to Northern Ireland at the age of eight and then to England at fourteen. Melua is signed to the small Dramatico record label, under the management of composer Mike Batt, and made her musical debut in 2003...
, Amy Winehouse
Amy Winehouse
Amy Jade Winehouse was an English singer-songwriter known for her powerful deep contralto vocals and her eclectic mix of musical genres including R&B, soul and jazz. Winehouse's 2003 debut album, Frank, was critically successful in the UK and was nominated for the Mercury Prize...
, Leona Lewis
Leona Lewis
Leona Louise Lewis is a British singer and songwriter. Lewis first came to prominence in 2006 when she won the third series of the British television series The X Factor....
, Katy B
Katy B
Kathleen "Katie" Brien, better known as Katy B, is an English singer-songwriter and a graduate of the BRIT School. She is a dubstep, R&B, funky, house and UK garage singer and has also performed under the name Baby Katy. She was born in Peckham, South London...
, Imogen Heap
Imogen Heap
Imogen Jennifer Jane Heap is a Grammy Award-winning English singer, composer and songwriter from Havering, Essex. She is known for her work as part of the musical duo Frou Frou and her solo albums, which she writes, produces, and mixes...
, Dane Bowers
Dane Bowers
Dane Bowers is an English R&B singer, songwriter, DJ and record producer. He was a part of R&B boyband Another Level between 1997 and 2000 when he performed on seven Top 10 singles...
and members of The Feeling
The Feeling
The Feeling are a BRIT award-nominated English pop band from West Sussex and London. The band categorise their music as "pop".Following a limited release of their first single "Fill My Little World" in late 2005, the band entered the UK Singles Chart at #7 with their first full release "Sewn" in...
& The Kooks
The Kooks
The Kooks are an English indie rock band formed in Brighton, East Sussex, in 2001. Formed by Luke Pritchard , Hugh Harris , Paul Garred , and Max Rafferty , the lineup of the band remained constant until 2008 and the departure of Rafferty...
.
Media
Croydon also plays host to the filming of the popular Channel 4Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
show, Peep Show
Peep Show (TV series)
Peep Show is a British sitcom starring David Mitchell and Robert Webb. The television programme is written by Jesse Armstrong and Sam Bain, with additional material by Mitchell and Webb themselves, amongst others. It has been broadcast on Channel 4 since 2003. The show's seventh series makes it...
. Croydon is also home to several video game developers, including Crawfish. The ITV police drama The Bill, although it was set in East London, was filmed in Croydon and many of the town centre locations were filmed around Surrey Street and St George's House (the Nestle Building). Sun Hill Police station is situated in nearby Mitcham. In 2007, the music video for pop star Mika
Mika (singer)
Mika is a British singer-songwriter.After recording his first extended play, Dodgy Holiday EP, Mika released his first full-length studio album, Life in Cartoon Motion, on Island Records in 2007. Life in Cartoon Motion sold more than 5.6 million copies worldwide and helped Mika win a Brit...
's single Big Girl (You Are Beautiful)
Big Girl (You Are Beautiful)
"Big Girl " is the fourth single from the debut album Life in Cartoon Motion of singer Mika. It reached number 9 in the UK charts after it was released on 23 July 2007. It was inspired by, and written for the Butterfly Lounge, the first Size Acceptance nightclub in Orange County, California...
was filmed in various locations around the town, including the High Street and Surrey Street Market
Surrey Street Market
Surrey Street Market is a market that sells mainly meat & vegetables as well as a range of other items through the week in Croydon, south London. It has a Royal Charter dating back to 1276 linking it to the Archbishop of Canterbury. The market is regularly used as a location for TV, film and...
. Croydon was also revealed to be the true birthplace of Phillip the "African Prince" in the 1980 film version of Rising Damp
Rising Damp
Rising Damp is a television sitcom produced by Yorkshire Television for ITV, first broadcast from 1974 to 1978. It was adapted for television by Eric Chappell from his well-received 1971 stage play, The Banana Box The series was the highest-ranking ITV sitcom on the 100 Best Sitcoms poll run in...
. (Don Warrington revealed in Britains 50 Best Sitcoms on Channel 4, that this fact was actually supposed to be revealed in the TV Series, but that the death of Richard Beckinsale meant that this was not possible).
The opening credits for the sitcom Terry and June
Terry and June
Terry and June is a British sitcom that was broadcast on BBC1 from 1979 to 1987. The programme is largely a continuation of Happy Ever After, and stars Terry Scott and June Whitfield as a middle-class suburban couple, Terry and June Medford...
featured the eponymous stars walking around the Whitgift Centre and the Fairfield Halls area. Croydon also has its own fully independent television station. It does not receive any government or local authority grant or funding and is supported by donations, spornsorship and by commercial advertising.
Transport
River Wandle
The River Wandle is a river in south-east England. The names of the river and of Wandsworth are thought to have derived from the Old English "Wendlesworth" meaning "Wendle's Settlement". The river runs through southwest London and is about long...
is a major tributary of the River Thames
River Thames
The River Thames flows through southern England. It is the longest river entirely in England and the second longest in the United Kingdom. While it is best known because its lower reaches flow through central London, the river flows alongside several other towns and cities, including Oxford,...
, where it stretches to Wandsworth
Wandsworth
Wandsworth is a district of south London, England, in the London Borough of Wandsworth. It is situated southwest of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London.-Toponymy:...
and Putney
Putney
Putney is a district in south-west London, England, located in the London Borough of Wandsworth. It is situated south-west of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London....
for 9 miles (14 km) from its main source in Croydon. It forms a rough western boundary with the London Borough of Sutton
London Borough of Sutton
The London Borough of Sutton is a London borough in South London, England and forms part of Outer London. It covers an area of and is the 80th largest local authority in England by population. It is one of the southernmost boroughs of London...
, and for part of its length forms the boundary between the London Boroughs of Croydon and Lambeth
London Borough of Lambeth
The London Borough of Lambeth is a London borough in south London, England and forms part of Inner London. The local authority is Lambeth London Borough Council.-Origins:...
. The main river ends near Croydon with one of its tributaries ending in Selhurst
Selhurst
Selhurst is a suburban development in the London Borough of Croydon south-south-east of Charing Cross. A relatively small area, Selhurst is bounded by South Norwood, Croydon and Thornton Heath and, like nearby Broad Green, has lost its distinct identity from these larger neighbours in recent years...
. Just to the south of Croydon is a significant gap in the North Downs
North Downs
The North Downs are a ridge of chalk hills in south east England that stretch from Farnham in Surrey to the White Cliffs of Dover in Kent. The North Downs lie within two Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty , the Surrey Hills and the Kent Downs...
, which acts as a route focus for transport from London to the south coast. The old London to Brighton road used to pass through the town on North End
North End, Croydon
North End is a pedestrianized road in Central Croydon which is the main equivalent to a high street in Croydon. The road holds both of the main shopping centres, Centrale and Whitgift Centre plus a forthcoming one called Park Place. The road offers many well-known shops such as WHSmith, Next, Zara...
before it was shut off to motor traffic. The A23
A23 road
The A23 road is a major road in the United Kingdom between London and Brighton, East Sussex. It became an arterial route following the construction of Westminster Bridge in 1750 and the consequent improvement of roads leading to the bridge south of the river by the Turnpike Trusts...
now bypasses the centre of the town and follows Purley Way
Purley Way
Purley Way is a section of the A23 trunk road in the London Borough of Croydon, in the areas of Purley, Waddon and West Croydon, and has given its name to the out-of-town shopping area alongside it with a catchment area covering most of South London. It was designed as a bypass for Croydon and was...
, to the west of the area, instead.
Buses
Transport for London
Transport for London
Transport for London is the local government body responsible for most aspects of the transport system in Greater London in England. Its role is to implement the transport strategy and to manage transport services across London...
operates a variety of buses in and around Croydon. Most buses serve the West Croydon bus station
West Croydon station
West Croydon station is a transport interchange for National Rail and Tramlink services, as well as London Buses. It is in the London Borough of Croydon and Travelcard Zone 5...
, which is next to the rail and tram stop. Buses from Croydon serve destinations such as Heathrow Airport
London Heathrow Airport
London Heathrow Airport or Heathrow , in the London Borough of Hillingdon, is the busiest airport in the United Kingdom and the third busiest airport in the world in terms of total passenger traffic, handling more international passengers than any other airport around the globe...
, Norwood
Norwood
- Australia :* Norwood Secondary College, Secondary School in Ringwood, Victoria.* Norwood, South Australia, suburb of Adelaide**Electoral district of Norwood, a state electoral district in South Australia...
, New Addington
New Addington
New Addington is an area on the edge of South London in the London Borough of Croydon. It is a large local authority estate surrounded by open countryside, woodland and golf courses. The Prime Meridian crosses the eastern edge of New Addington...
, Purley
Purley, London
Purley is a place in the London Borough of Croydon, England. It is a suburban development situated 11.7 miles south of Charing Cross.The name derives from "pirlea", which means 'Peartree lea'. Purley has a population of about 72,000....
, Lewisham
Lewisham
Lewisham is a district in South London, England, located in the London Borough of Lewisham. It is situated south-east of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London.-History:...
, Penge
Penge
Penge is a suburb of London in the London Borough of Bromley. It is located south east of Charing Cross.-History:Penge was once a small town, which was recorded under the name Penceat in a Saxon deed dating from 957...
, Mitcham
Mitcham
Mitcham is a district in the south west area of London, in the London Borough of Merton. A suburban area, Mitcham is located on the border of Inner London and Outer London. It is both residentially and financially developed, well served by Transport for London, and home to Mitcham Town Centre,...
, Norbury
Norbury
Norbury is a town in the London Borough of Croydon, also crossing the London Borough of Merton. It shares the postcode London SW16 with nearby Streatham. Norbury is south of Charing Cross.-History:...
and Bromley
Bromley
Bromley is a large suburban town in south east London, England and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Bromley. It was historically a market town, and prior to 1963 was in the county of Kent and formed the administrative centre of the Municipal Borough of Bromley...
.
Rail
The Brighton Main Line
Brighton Main Line
The Brighton Main Line is a British railway line from London Victoria and London Bridge to Brighton. It is about 50 miles long, and is electrified throughout. Trains are operated by Southern, First Capital Connect, and Gatwick Express, now part of Southern.-Original proposals:There were no fewer...
railway route
Rail transport in Great Britain
The railway system in Great Britain is the oldest in the world, with the world's first locomotive-hauled public railway opening in 1825. As of 2010, it consists of of standard gauge lines , of which are electrified. These lines range from single to double, triple, quadruple track and up to twelve...
south from Croydon links the town to Sussex
Sussex
Sussex , from the Old English Sūþsēaxe , is an historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. It is bounded on the north by Surrey, east by Kent, south by the English Channel, and west by Hampshire, and is divided for local government into West...
, Surrey
Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
, and Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
and to Central London to the north: providing direct services to Hastings
Hastings
Hastings is a town and borough in the county of East Sussex on the south coast of England. The town is located east of the county town of Lewes and south east of London, and has an estimated population of 86,900....
, Southampton
Southampton
Southampton is the largest city in the county of Hampshire on the south coast of England, and is situated south-west of London and north-west of Portsmouth. Southampton is a major port and the closest city to the New Forest...
, Brighton
Brighton
Brighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain...
, Portsmouth
Portsmouth
Portsmouth is the second largest city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire on the south coast of England. Portsmouth is notable for being the United Kingdom's only island city; it is located mainly on Portsea Island...
, Gatwick Airport, Bedford
Bedford
Bedford is the county town of Bedfordshire, in the East of England. It is a large town and the administrative centre for the wider Borough of Bedford. According to the former Bedfordshire County Council's estimates, the town had a population of 79,190 in mid 2005, with 19,720 in the adjacent town...
and Luton
Luton
Luton is a large town and unitary authority of Bedfordshire, England, 30 miles north of London. Luton and its near neighbours, Dunstable and Houghton Regis, form the Luton/Dunstable Urban Area with a population of about 250,000....
. The main station for all these services is East Croydon station
East Croydon station
East Croydon station is a railway station and tram stop in Croydon, 10.35 miles south of London Bridge in Travelcard Zone 5. It is the largest and busiest station in Croydon and the busiest in London outside Travelcard Zone 1 in terms of the number of passengers entering and exiting...
in the east part of the town centre. East Croydon station
East Croydon station
East Croydon station is a railway station and tram stop in Croydon, 10.35 miles south of London Bridge in Travelcard Zone 5. It is the largest and busiest station in Croydon and the busiest in London outside Travelcard Zone 1 in terms of the number of passengers entering and exiting...
is the largest and busiest railway station in Croydon and the third busiest in London, excluding those in Travelcard Zone 1
Travelcard Zone 1
Fare zone 1 is the central zone of Transport for London's zonal fare system used for calculating the price of tickets for travel on the London Underground, London Overground, Docklands Light Railway and, since 2007, on National Rail services. For most tickets, travel through the zone is charged...
.
West Croydon station
West Croydon station
West Croydon station is a transport interchange for National Rail and Tramlink services, as well as London Buses. It is in the London Borough of Croydon and Travelcard Zone 5...
serves all trains travelling west except the fastest. The East London Line
East London Line
The East London Line is a London Overground line which runs north to south through the East End, Docklands and South areas of London.Built in 1869 by the East London Railway Company, which reused the Thames Tunnel, originally intended for horse-drawn carriages, the line became part of the London...
, operated by London Overground
London Overground
London Overground is a suburban rail network in London and Hertfordshire. It has been operated by London Overground Rail Operations since 2007 as part of the National Rail network, under the franchise control and branding of Transport for London...
opened in May 2010 reaching destinations such as Surrey Quays
Surrey Quays
Surrey Quays is a name given to a largely residential area of Rotherhithe in south-east London, occupied until 1970 by the Surrey Commercial Docks...
, Shoreditch
Shoreditch
Shoreditch is an area of London within the London Borough of Hackney in England. It is a built-up part of the inner city immediately to the north of the City of London, located east-northeast of Charing Cross.-Etymology:...
, Dalston
Dalston
Dalston is a district of north-east London, England, located in the London Borough of Hackney. It is situated northeast of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London...
and Highbury
Highbury
- Early Highbury :The area now known as Islington was part of the larger manor of Tolentone, which is mentioned in the Domesday Book. Tolentone was owned by Ranulf brother of Ilger and included all the areas north and east of Canonbury and Holloway Road. The manor house was situated by what is now...
(from 2011) serves West Croydon. The East London Line Extension
East London line extension
The East London line extension project is a British railway engineering project in London, managed by Transport for London. The project involves extending the East London Line and making it part of the mainline London Overground network...
will be a major contribution to London's transport infrastructure in time for the Olympic and Paralympic Games
2012 Summer Olympics
The 2012 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the "London 2012 Olympic Games", are scheduled to take place in London, England, United Kingdom from 27 July to 12 August 2012...
to be held in the capital in 2012. There are currently no plans for any London Underground
London Underground
The London Underground is a rapid transit system serving a large part of Greater London and some parts of Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and Essex in England...
services to be extended to Croydon, mainly due to the East London Line extension and the promise of extended the Tramlink network. There are also more regional stations scattered around the borough. Passenger rail services through Croydon are provided by Southern
Southern (train operating company)
Southern is a train operating company in the United Kingdom. Officially named Southern Railway Ltd., it is a subsidiary of Govia, a joint venture between transport groups Go-Ahead Group and Keolis, and has operated the South Central rail franchise since October 2000 and the Gatwick Express service...
and First Capital Connect
First Capital Connect
First Capital Connect is a passenger train operating company in England that began operations on the National Rail network on 1 April 2006...
.
Tramlink
The light rail system Tramlink
Tramlink
Tramlink is a tramway system in south London in the United Kingdom which began operation in May 2000...
(Operated by Tramtrack Croydon, a wholly owned subsidiary of Transport for London
Transport for London
Transport for London is the local government body responsible for most aspects of the transport system in Greater London in England. Its role is to implement the transport strategy and to manage transport services across London...
), opened in 2000, and Croydon serves as its main hub. Its network consists of three lines, from Elmers End
Elmers End
Elmers End is a place in London Borough of Bromley, England. It has a large green space which is the centre of a gyratory. Very close to the combined railway station and Tramlink terminus bearing its name is the old sewage farm. The remains of this industrial site can still be seen...
to West Croydon, from Beckenham
Beckenham
Beckenham is a town in the London Borough of Bromley, England. It is located 8.4 miles south east of Charing Cross and 1.75 miles west of Bromley town...
to West Croydon, and from New Addington
New Addington
New Addington is an area on the edge of South London in the London Borough of Croydon. It is a large local authority estate surrounded by open countryside, woodland and golf courses. The Prime Meridian crosses the eastern edge of New Addington...
to Wimbledon
Wimbledon, London
Wimbledon is a district in the south west area of London, England, located south of Wandsworth, and east of Kingston upon Thames. It is situated within Greater London. It is home to the Wimbledon Tennis Championships and New Wimbledon Theatre, and contains Wimbledon Common, one of the largest areas...
, with all three lines running via the Croydon loop on which it is centred. It has been highly successful, environmentally friendly and a reliable light rail system carrying around 22 million passengers a year. It is also the only tram system in London but there is another light rail system in the Docklands
Docklands Light Railway
The Docklands Light Railway is an automated light metro or light rail system opened on 31 August 1987 to serve the redeveloped Docklands area of London...
. It serves Mitcham
Mitcham
Mitcham is a district in the south west area of London, in the London Borough of Merton. A suburban area, Mitcham is located on the border of Inner London and Outer London. It is both residentially and financially developed, well served by Transport for London, and home to Mitcham Town Centre,...
, Woodside
Woodside, London
Woodside is a neighbourhood in the London Borough of Croydon located between Addiscombe and South Norwood.-History:Woodside is a suburban district of residential streets based around Woodside Green, a small sized area of green land. At one end of the green is a war memorial. It is surrounded by...
, Addiscombe
Addiscombe
Addiscombe is a district of south London, England, located in the London Borough of Croydon. It is situated south of Charing Cross.It is situated just to the northeast of central Croydon, and is home to a high proportion of people who commute to Central London, owing to its proximity to the busy...
and the Purley Way
Purley Way
Purley Way is a section of the A23 trunk road in the London Borough of Croydon, in the areas of Purley, Waddon and West Croydon, and has given its name to the out-of-town shopping area alongside it with a catchment area covering most of South London. It was designed as a bypass for Croydon and was...
retail and industrial area amongst others. An extension to Crystal Palace
Crystal Palace, London
Crystal Palace is a residential area in south London, England named from the former local landmark, The Crystal Palace, which occupied the area from 1854 to 1936. The area is located approximately 8 miles south east of Charing Cross, and offers impressive views over the capital...
is currently on hold. Other possible extensions include Sutton
Sutton, London
Sutton is a large suburban town in southwest London, England, and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Sutton. It is located south-southwest of Charing Cross and is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the London Plan. The town was connected to central London by...
, a new park and ride close to the M25, Coulsdon
Coulsdon
Coulsdon is a town on the southernmost boundary of the London Borough of Croydon. It is surrounded by the Metropolitan Green Belt of the Farthing Down, Coulsdon Common and Kenley Common...
, Purley
Purley, London
Purley is a place in the London Borough of Croydon, England. It is a suburban development situated 11.7 miles south of Charing Cross.The name derives from "pirlea", which means 'Peartree lea'. Purley has a population of about 72,000....
, Kingston upon Thames
Kingston upon Thames
Kingston upon Thames is the principal settlement of the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames in southwest London. It was the ancient market town where Saxon kings were crowned and is now a suburb situated south west of Charing Cross. It is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the...
, Tolworth
Tolworth
Tolworth is a mostly residential area of outer South London in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, located south west of Charing Cross. Neighbouring places include: New Malden, Kingston, Surbiton, Berrylands, Chessington, Ewell and Worcester Park....
, Tooting
Tooting
Tooting is a district in south London, England, located in the London Borough of Wandsworth. It is situated south south-west of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London.-History:...
, Brixton
Brixton
Brixton is a district in the London Borough of Lambeth in south London, England. It is south south-east of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London....
, Bromley
Bromley
Bromley is a large suburban town in south east London, England and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Bromley. It was historically a market town, and prior to 1963 was in the county of Kent and formed the administrative centre of the Municipal Borough of Bromley...
and Lewisham
Lewisham
Lewisham is a district in South London, England, located in the London Borough of Lewisham. It is situated south-east of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London.-History:...
for an interchange with the Docklands Light Railway. If the Cross River Tram
Cross River Tram
Cross River Tram was a Transport for London proposal for a tram system in London, England, UK. It was planned to run on a north-south route from Camden Town in the north, through and , to Peckham and Brixton in the south....
was still being planned for construction, it may have had an interchange at Brixton, but those plans have since been cancelled.
Croydon's early transport links
The horse-drawn Surrey Iron RailwaySurrey Iron Railway
The Surrey Iron Railway was a horse drawn plateway whose width approximated to a standard gauge railway that linked the former Surrey towns of Wandsworth and Croydon via Mitcham...
was the world's first public railway. It was opened in 1803, had double track, was some 8.5 miles (13.7 km) long and ran from Wandsworth to Croydon, at what is now Reeves Corner. In 1805, it was extended to Merstham as the Croydon, Merstham, and Godstone Railway. The railway boom of the 1840s brought superior and faster steam lines and it closed in 1846. The route is followed in part by the modern Tramlink
Tramlink
Tramlink is a tramway system in south London in the United Kingdom which began operation in May 2000...
. The last remaining sections of rail can be seen behind railings in a corner of Rotary Field in Purley. With the opening of the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway
London, Brighton and South Coast Railway
The London, Brighton and South Coast Railway was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1846 to 1922. Its territory formed a rough triangle, with London at its apex, practically the whole coastline of Sussex as its base, and a large part of Surrey...
line to London Victoria in 1860, extra platforms were provided that the LBSCR treated as part of a separate station named New Croydon. The South Eastern Railway
South Eastern Railway (UK)
The South Eastern Railway was a railway company in south-eastern England from 1836 until 1922. The company was formed to construct a route from London to Dover. Branch lines were later opened to Tunbridge Wells, Hastings, Canterbury and other places in Kent...
(SER) was excluded from this station, which ran exclusively LBSCR services to London at fares cheaper than those the SER offered from the original station. In 1864, the LBSCR obtained authorisation to construct a ½-mile long branch line into the heart of the town centre near Katharine Street where Croydon Central station
Croydon Central railway station
Croydon Central station was a railway station in Croydon, Surrey, now in South London, England. It was a largely unsuccessful venture by the London Brighton and South Coast Railway to bring trains closer to the centre of Croydon, as East Croydon station was deemed too far from the busy town...
was built. The new line opened in 1868 but enjoyed little success and closed in 1871, only to reopen in 1886 under pressure from the Town Council before finally closing in 1890. The station was subsequently demolished and replaced by the new Town Hall
Croydon Clocktower
Croydon Clocktower on Katharine Street in Croydon is an arts centre in London, England. It contains the Museum of Croydon, the Riesco Gallery with a collection of Chinese pottery and ceramics, the David Lean Cinema, the Braithwaite Hall used for concerts and conferences, and a café and bar...
. In 1897-98, East Croydon and New Croydon stations were merged into a single station equipped with three island platform
Island platform
An island platform is a station layout arrangement where a single platform is positioned between two tracks within a railway station, tram stop or transitway interchange...
s, which remain today. Even so, the two stations kept separate booking accounts until 1924.
The Croydon Canal
Croydon Canal
The Croydon Canal ran from Croydon, via Forest Hill, to the Grand Surrey Canal at New Cross in south London, England. It opened in 1809, and closed in 1836, making it the first canal to be formally abandoned by an Act of Parliament.-History:...
ran for 9.5 miles (15.3 km) from what is now West Croydon station
West Croydon station
West Croydon station is a transport interchange for National Rail and Tramlink services, as well as London Buses. It is in the London Borough of Croydon and Travelcard Zone 5...
. It travelled north to largely along the course of the present railway line to New Cross Gate, where it joined the Grand Surrey Canal
Grand Surrey Canal
The Grand Surrey Canal was a canal constructed in south London, England during the early 19th century. It opened to the Old Kent Road in 1807, to Camberwell in 1810, and to Peckham in 1826. Its main cargo was timber. It closed progressively from the 1940s, with all but the Greenland Dock closing in...
and went on into the Thames. It opened in 1809 and had 28 locks. It had a strong competitor in the Surrey Iron Railway and was never a financial success. It sold out to the London & Croydon Railway in 1836. The lake at South Norwood
South Norwood
South Norwood is an urban town and in south London, England, in the London Borough of Croydon. It is a suburban development 7.8 miles south-east of Charing Cross. South Norwood is an electoral with a resident population in 2001 of just over 14,000...
is the former reservoir for the canal.
Croydon Airport
Croydon Airport
Croydon Airport was an airport in South London which straddled the boundary between what are now the London boroughs of Croydon and Sutton. It was the main airport for London before it was replaced by Northolt Aerodrome, London Heathrow Airport and London Gatwick Airport...
on Purley Way was the main international airport for London until it was superseded by London Heathrow Airport
London Heathrow Airport
London Heathrow Airport or Heathrow , in the London Borough of Hillingdon, is the busiest airport in the United Kingdom and the third busiest airport in the world in terms of total passenger traffic, handling more international passengers than any other airport around the globe...
and London Gatwick Airport
London Gatwick Airport
Gatwick Airport is located 3.1 miles north of the centre of Crawley, West Sussex, and south of Central London. Previously known as London Gatwick,In 2010, the name changed from London Gatwick Airport to Gatwick Airport...
. Starting out during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
as an airfield for protection against Zeppelin
Zeppelin
A Zeppelin is a type of rigid airship pioneered by the German Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin in the early 20th century. It was based on designs he had outlined in 1874 and detailed in 1893. His plans were reviewed by committee in 1894 and patented in the United States on 14 March 1899...
s, and developing into one of the great airports of the world during the 1920s and 1930s, it welcomed the world's pioneer aviators in its heyday. As aviation technology progressed, however, and aircraft
Aircraft
An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air, or, in general, the atmosphere of a planet. An aircraft counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engines.Although...
became larger and more numerous, it was recognized in 1952 that the airport would be too small to cope with increasing air traffic. The last scheduled flight departed on 30 September 1959. The air terminal, now known as Airport House, has been restored and has a museum open one day a month.
Education
The town is home to Croydon CollegeCroydon College
Croydon College, established in 1895, is a Further Education and Higher Education institution in the London Borough of Croydon.Located in East Croydon, it is made up of a Further Education College and a Higher Education College.- Further Education :...
, with its main site on Park Lane and College Road near East Croydon railway station. It currently has over 13,000 students attending one of its three sub-colleges. The sub-colleges were created in 2007 to allow for more students to be catered for and to ensure that the courses on offer, the style of teaching and the way the college is run are right for the students that attend each college. The three colleges that were created by the action are the Croydon Sixth Form College, Croydon Skills and Enterprise College and the Croydon Higher Education College. The Higher Education College offers university-level education in a range of subjects from Law through to Fine Art. Croydon Skills and Enterprise College delivers training and education opportunities that have been designed to meet the various needs of businesses of all sizes, across different sectors within London and the south east.