Riddlesdown is a place in 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...

, one mile east from the centre of 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....

. The name applies both to an area of chalk downland, which is maintained by the City of London Corporation as common land

Common land

Common land is land owned collectively or by one person, but over which other people have certain traditional rights, such as to allow their livestock to graze upon it, to collect firewood, or to cut turf for fuel...

, and to the nearby residential district.

History

There is evidence of human activity in the area going back at least to neolithic

Neolithic

The Neolithic Age, Era, or Period, or New Stone Age, was a period in the development of human technology, beginning about 9500 BC in some parts of the Middle East, and later in other parts of the world. It is traditionally considered as the last part of the Stone Age...

 times. Neolithic tools such as scrapes and flakes, and Bronze Age

Bronze 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...

 celts

Celt (tool)

Celt is an archaeological term used to describe long thin prehistoric stone or bronze adzes, other axe-like tools, and hoes.-Etymology:The term "celt" came about from what was very probably a copyist's error in many medieval manuscript copies of Job 19:24 in the Latin Vulgate Bible, which became...

 have been discovered there. The "Riddle" part of the name is thought to come from the Middle English

Middle English

Middle English is the stage in the history of the English language during the High and Late Middle Ages, or roughly during the four centuries between the late 11th and the late 15th century....

 ridde leah, meaning "cleared woodland". The name has been referred to variously over time as Ridelesdowne (1331), Redele (1338), North Ridle (1422), Riddleys, North Riddeley (1461) and Riddles Down (1765).

Housing development

Most of the housing stock dates from the 1930s and was developed by John Laing plc. The design of some of the houses was influenced by the Art Deco

Art Deco

Art deco , or deco, is an eclectic artistic and design style that began in Paris in the 1920s and flourished internationally throughout the 1930s, into the World War II era. The style influenced all areas of design, including architecture and interior design, industrial design, fashion and...

 style.

Riddlesdown Collegiate is a local authority secondary school

Secondary school

Secondary school is a term used to describe an educational institution where the final stage of schooling, known as secondary education and usually compulsory up to a specified age, takes place...

 in the area.

Transport links

• Riddlesdown railway station
  Riddlesdown railway station
  Riddlesdown railway station is in the London Borough of Croydon in south London, on the Oxted line. The station and all trains serving it are operated by Southern, and it is in Travelcard Zone 6.- Platforms :...
  
  
• The 412 bus service, which runs between Purley Tesco and West Croydon Bus Station

External links

• Riddlesdown Residents' Association
• Sanderstead Parish Online - Church of England Parish for Sanderstead, Riddlesdown and Hamsey Green
• Riddlesdown Collegiate