''For other places called 'Croydon' see
Croydon (disambiguation)''
: ''For details of the town of Croydon on which this borough is centred see
Croydon''
The 'London Borough of Croydon' is a
London borough in
South London,
England and part of
Outer London. Its area is 34
square miles (87
km²) and it is the largest London borough by population. At its centre is the historic town of
Croydon from which the borough takes its name.
Central Croydon is the civic centre of Croydon and houses the largest office and retail centre in south east of England other than central London.
Status
The London Borough of Croydon was formed in 1965 from
Coulsdon and Purley Urban District and the
County Borough of Croydon. It is now governed by a
cabinet-style council created in 2001.
Croydon unsuccessfully applied for
city status in 2000 and again in 2002. If it had been successful it would have been the third local authority in
Greater London to hold that status, the others being the
City of London and the
City of Westminster.
Geography
The borough sits on the edge of London, with the
M25 motorway touching it. In
Croydon North the borough mainly borders the
London Borough of Bromley to the east and the
London Boroughs of Southwark and
Lambeth to the north. The boroughs of
Sutton and
Merton are directly to the west
Croydon's main town centre houses a great variety of well-known stores on
North End as well as two shopping centres in the town. Another one is planned,
Park Place.
Demographics
According to the
2001 census, Croydon has a population of 269,100 although in 2005 this was recorded to rise to 342,700. 70.2% of the borough is White, 13.3% African-Caribbean and 11.3% South Asian.
Parks and green spaces
Main articles: Croydon parks and open spaces
Postcode areas
Main articles: CR postcode area
Postcode areas which are situated inside the borough include:
★
SE25 (all)
★
SE19 (part)
★
SE27 (part)
★
SW16 (part)
★
CR0 (all)
★
CR2 (all)
★
CR3 (part)
★
CR5 (part)
★
CR7 (all)
★
CR8 (all)
★
CR9 (all)
Croydon Council
Croydon Council is responsible for the administration of Croydon.
Politics of Croydon Council
The council consists of 70 councillors elected in 24 wards. From 1994 to 2006 the
Labour Party controlled the Council. Thirty-seven Labour and 31
Conservative councillors were elected in 2002, plus a lone
Liberal Democrat bolstered by a subsequent defection of a councillor who had originally been elected as a Conservative, defected to Labour, went back to the Conservatives and spent some time as an independent.
At the
2006 local elections the Conservatives regained control of the Council after gaining 12 seats, taking ten seats from Labour in
Addiscombe,
Waddon and
Norwood and the single Liberal Democrat seat in
Coulsdon. They had seen 6% swings from Labour to Conservative in the two previous by-elections, each won by the incumbent party. Since the 2006 elections, a by-election in February 2007 saw a large swing back to Labour from the Conservatives. The next election is due in May 2010.
From February 2005 until May 2006, the Leader of Croydon Council was
Labour Co-operative Councillor
Tony Newman, succeeding
Hugh Malyan.
Mike Fisher, Tory group leader since May 2005, was named as Council Leader following the Conservative victory. Croydon is a
cabinet-style council, and the Leader heads a ten-person cabinet, its members responsible for areas such as education or planning. There is a Shadow Cabinet drawn from the principal opposition party. A backbench cross-party scrutiny and overview committee is in place to hold the executive cabinet to account.
Summary of council election results:
Main articles: Croydon local elections
Westminster Parliament
The borough is covered by three
parliamentary constituencies these are:
★
Croydon North
★
Croydon Central
★
Croydon South
Wards
There are 24 wards which represent
Croydon Council. All Croydon Council seats were up for re-election for the first time since the 2002 elections, during the
election on
May 4,
2006. Previously Labour held control of the council. In the election, the Conservatives took 10 seats from Labour and 1 from the Liberal Democrats, giving the newly elected council's political composition as:
| 'Ward' | 'Members elected in 2006' |
| Addiscombe | Russell Jackson (Con) |
| Andrew Price (Con) |
| Maria Garcia de la Huerta (Con) |
| Ashburton | Lindsay Frost (Con) |
| Eddy Arram (Con) |
| Avril Slipper (Con) |
| Bensham Manor | Raj Rajendran (Lab) |
| Greta Sohoye (Lab) |
| Alison Butler (Lab) |
| Broad Green | Stuart Collins (Lab) |
| Mike Selva (Lab) |
| Manju Shahul-Hameed (Lab) |
| Coulsdon East | Christopher Wright (Con) |
| Brian Udell (Con) |
| Terry Lenton (Con) |
| Coulsdon West | David Osland (Con) |
| Gavin Barwell (Con) |
| Brian Cakebread (Con) |
| Croham | Maria Gatland (Con) |
| Michael Neal (Con) |
| Jason Perry (Lab) |
| Fairfield | Vidhi Mohan (Con) |
| Susan Winborn (Con) |
| David Fitze (Con) |
| Fieldway | Simon Hall (Lab) |
| Carole Bonner (Lab) |
| Heathfield | Linda Bailey (Con) |
| Sharon Massey (Con) |
| Andy John Waters (Con) |
| Kenley | Jan Buttinger (Con) |
| Steve O'Connell (Con) |
| Steve Hollands (Con) |
| New Addington | Brenda Kirby (Lab) |
| George Ayres (Lab) |
| Norbury | Maggie Mansell (Lab) |
| Shafi Khan (Lab) |
| Sherwan Chowdhury (Lab) |
| Purley | Graham Bass (Con) |
| Derek Millard (Con) |
| Donald Speakman (Con) |
| Sanderstead | Lynne Hale (Con) |
| Timothy Pollard (Con) |
| Yvette Hopley (Con) |
| Selhurst | Timothy Godfrey (Lab) |
| Toni Letts (Lab) |
| Toni Letts (Lab) |
| Selsdon and Ballards | Dudley Mead (Con) |
| Sara Bashford (Con) |
| Phil Thomas (Con) |
| Shirley | Janet Marshall (Con) |
| Richard Chatterjee (Con) |
| Mike Fisher (Con) |
| South Norwood | Susan Bennett (Con) |
| Luke Clancy (Con) |
| Jane Avis (Lab) |
| Thornton Heath | Pat Clouder (Lab) |
| Matthew Kyeremeh (Lab) |
| Louisa Woodley (Lab) |
| Upper Norwood | Robert Askey (Con) |
| Pat Ryan (Lab) |
| George Filbey (Con) |
| Waddon | Tony Harris (Con) |
| Jonathan Driver (Con) |
| Simon Hoar (Con) |
| West Thornton | Raj Chandarana (Lab) |
| Bernadette Khan (Lab) |
| Mike Mogul (Lab) |
| Woodside | Karen Jewitt (Lab) |
| Tony Newman (Lab) |
| Paul Scott (Lab) |
Main articles: Croydon Council election 2006
Council services
Some 10,000 people work directly or indirectly for the council, in its main offices in
Taberner House or in its schools, care homes, housing offices or work depots. The council is generally well-regarded, having made important improvements in education and social services.
Croydon Council Commercial Logo
However, there have been concerns over benefits, leisure services and waste collection. Although the council has one of London's lower rates of council tax, there are inevitable claims that it is too high and that resources are wasted.
The London Borough of Croydon is
twinned with
Arnhem in the
Netherlands. There is also a
Guyana link supported by the council.
The
Mayor of Croydon for 2006-07 is Councillor Janet Marshall.
History
:''See also
Croydon local elections''
For much of its history, Croydon Council was controlled by the Conservative Party or conservative-leaning independents.
Former Croydon councillors include current MP
Andrew Pelling, former MPs
Vivian Bendall,
David Congdon,
Geraint Davies and
Reg Prentice,
London Assembly member
Valerie Shawcross,
Lord Bowness,
John Donaldson, Baron Donaldson of Lymington (
Master of the Rolls) and
H.T. Muggeridge, MP and father of
Malcolm Muggeridge. The first Mayor of the newly-created
County Borough was
Jabez Balfour, later a disgraced
Member of Parliament. Former Conservative Director of Campaigning,
Gavin Barwell, has been a Croydon councillor since 1998.
Croydon Town Hall
Croydon Town Hall on Katharine Street in
Central Croydon houses the committee rooms, the mayor's and other councillors' offices, electoral services and the arts and heritage services.
The present Town Hall is Croydon's third. The first town hall is thought to have been built in either 1566 or
1609. The second was built in 1808 to serve the growing town but was demolished after the present town hall was erected in
1895.
The present town hall was designed by local architect
Charles Henman and was officially opened by the Prince and
Princess of Wales on
19 May 1896. It was constructed in red brick, sourced from
Wrotham in
Kent, with
Portland stone dressings and green
Westmoreland slates for the roof. It also housed the court and most central council employees.
Parts, including the former court rooms, have been converted into the
Museum of Croydon and exhibition galleries. The original public library is now a cinema, part of the
Croydon Clocktower. The Braithwaite Hall is used for events and performances. The town hall was renovated in the mid-1990s and the imposing central staircase, long closed to the public and kept for councillors only, was re-opened in 1994. The civic complex, meanwhile, was substantially added to, with buildings across Mint Walk and the 19-floor Taberner House to house the rapidly expanding corporation's employees.
Taberner House
Taberner House was built between 1964 and 1967, designed by architect H Thornley, with Allan Holt and Hugh Lea as borough engineers. Although the council had needed extra space since the 1920s, it was only with the imminent creation of the London Borough of Croydon that action was taken. The building is in classic
1960s style, praised at the time but subsequently much derided. It has its elegant upper slab block narrowing towards both ends, a formal device which has been compared to the famous
Pirelli Tower of
Milan. It was named after Ernest Taberner OBE, Town Clerk from 1937 to 1963.
Taberner House now houses most of the council's central employees and its 'one-stop shop' is the main location for the public to access information and services, particularly with respect to housing.
Leading figures
★ Leader - Cllr Mike Fisher
★ Deputy Leaders - Cllr Steve O'Connell and Cllr Dudley Mead
★ Chief Executive - David Wechsler - Jon Rouse (from
July 07)
Twinning
★ -
Arnhem,
Netherlands
The London Borough of Croydon is twinned with the
municipality of Arnhem which is located in the east of the Netherlands. The city of
Arnhem is the second largest in the whole country, in terms of population.
Services
Health
Mayday University Hospital is a major
NHS hospital built on a 19 acre site, located in
Thornton Heath near the west of the borough. Mayday is a District General Hospital with a 24-hour
accident and emergency department.
NHS Direct has a regional centre based at the hospital. The
NHS Trust also provides services at Purley War Memorial Hospital, in
Purley.
There used to be a hospital on
Duppas Hill but services transferred to Mayday, as the size of this hospital was insufficient to cope with the growing population of the borough. Sickle Cell and Thalassaemia Centre and the Emergency Minor Treatment Centre are other smaller hospitals operated by the Mayday in the borough.
Cane Hill is a
psychiatric hospital in
Coulsdon.
Education
:''Source.''
[1]
The borough is one of the boroughs in London with the most schools in it. They include primary schools (95), secondary schools (21) and three further education establishments.
[2] Croydon College has its main building in
Central Croydon, it is a high rise building.
[3] John Ruskin College[4] is one of the other colleges in the borough, located in
Addington and Coulsdon College
[5] in
Coulsdon. The London Borough of Croydon is the
local education authority for the borough.
Primary schools
:''Source.''
[6]
There are over 90 primary schools in the borough and 6 specialist primary schools for disabled children or children with mental problems.
★ All Saints CofE Junior School
★ All Saints Infant School
★ Applegarth Junior School
★ Applegarth Nursery and Infant School
★ Ashburton Infant School
★ Ashburton Junior School
★ Atwood Primary School
★ Beaumont Primary School
★ Benson Primary and Nursery School
★ Beulah Junior School
★ Beulah Nursery and Infant School
★ Broadmead Junior School
★ Broadmead Nursery and Infant School
★ Byron Primary School
★ Castle Hill Primary School
★ Chipstead Valley Primary School
★ Christ Church CofE Primary School (Purley)
★ Coulsdon CofE Primary School
★ Courtwood Primary School
★ Cypress Infant School
★ Cypress Junior School
★ David Livingstone Primary School
★ Davidson Primary School
★ Downsview Primary and Nursery School
★ Duppas Junior School
★ Ecclesbourne Infant School
★ Ecclesbourne Junior School
★ Elmwood Junior School
★ Fairchildes Primary School
★ Forestdale Primary School
★ Gilbert Scott Infant Community School
★ Gilbert Scott Junior Community School
★ Gonville Primary School
★ Good Shepherd Catholic Primary School
★ Greenvale Primary School
★ Gresham Primary School
★ Heavers Farm Primary School
★ Howard Primary School
★ Kenley Primary School
★ Kensington Avenue Primary School
★ Keston Primary School
★ Kingsley Primary School
★ Margaret Roper Catholic Primary School
★ Monks Orchard Primary School and Nursery
★ Norbury Manor Primary School
★ Orchard Way Primary School
★ Oval Primary School
★ Parish Church CofE Junior School
★ Parish Church CofE Nursery and Infant School
★ Park Hill Infant School
★ Park Hill Junior School
★ Purley Oaks Primary School
★ Regina Coeli Catholic Primary School
★ Ridgeway Primary School
★ Rockmount Primary School
★ Roke Primary School
★ Rowdown Primary School
★ Ryelands Primary School
★ Selsdon Primary and Nursery School
★ Smitham Primary School
★ South Norwood Primary School
★ St Aidan's Catholic Primary School
★ St Chad's Catholic Primary School
★ St Cyprian's Greek Orthodox Primary School
★ St James The Great Catholic Primary and Nursery School
★ St John's CofE Primary School
★ St Joseph's RC Infant School
★ St Joseph's RC Junior School
★ St Mark's CofE Primary School
★ St Mary's Catholic Infant School
★ St Mary's RC Junior School
★ St Peter's Primary School
★ St Thomas Becket Catholic Primary School
★ The Hayes Primary School
★ The Wattenden School
★ Tollgate Primary School
★ Waddon Infant School
★ West Thornton Primary School
★ Whitehorse Manor Infant School
★ Whitehorse Manor Junior School
★ Winterbourne Junior Boys' School
★ Winterbourne Junior Girls' School
★ Winterbourne Nursery and Infant School
★ Wolsey Infant School
★ Wolsey Junior School
★ Woodcote Infant and Nursery School
★ Woodcote Junior School
★ Woodside Junior School
★ Woodside Nursery and Infant School
''Special Schools''
:''Source.''
[7]
★ Beckmead School
★ Bensham Manor School
★ Priory School
★ Red Gates School
★ St Giles School
★ St Nicholas School
Secondary schools
:''Source.''
[8]
★
Addington High School (secondary school,
New Addington)
★
Archbishop Tenison's C of E High School, Croydon (secondary school,
Croydon)
★
Ashburton Community School (secondary school,
Croydon)
★
BRIT School (performing arts vocational school), Croydon
★
Coloma Convent R C (Girls) (secondary school,
Croydon)
★
Coulsdon High School (secondary school,
Old Coulsdon)
★
Edenham High School (secondary school,
Shirley)
★
Haling Manor High School (secondary school,
Croydon)
★
Harris Academy Crystal Palace (secondary school,
Croydon)
★
Harris Academy South Norwood (secondary school,
Croydon)
★
Harris City Technology College (secondary school,
Croydon)
★
The John Fisher School (secondary school,
Purley)
★
Norbury Manor High School for Girls (secondary school,
Thornton Heath)
★
Purley High School for Boys (secondary school,
Old Coulsdon)
★
Riddlesdown High School (secondary school,
Purley)
★
Selhurst High School for Boys (secondary school,
Croydon)
★
Selsdon High School (secondary school,
South Croydon)
★
Shirley High School (secondary school,
Shirley)
★
St. Andrew's Church of England High School (secondary school,
Croydon)
★
St. Joseph's College (Boys) (secondary school,
Upper Norwood)
★
St. Mary's R C High School (secondary school,
Croydon)
★
Stanley Technical High School (secondary school,
Croydon)
★
The Archbishop Lanfranc School (secondary school,
Croydon)
★
Thomas More School (secondary school,
Purley)
★
Virgo Fidelis Convent Senior School (girls-only secondary school, Upper Norwood)
★
Westwood Language College For Girls (secondary school, Upper Norwood)
★
Woodcote High School (secondary school,
Coulsdon)
★
Old Palace School (secondary school,
Croydon)
★
Trinity School of John Whitgift (secondary school,
Shirley Park)
★
Whitgift School (secondary school), Croydon
''Old Palace, Whitgift and Trinity are all Independent secondary schools''
Libraries
The borough of Croydon has 14 libraries, a joint library and 1 mobile library. Many of the libraries where built a long time ago and therefore have become outdated, so the council started updating a few including
Ashburton Library which moved from its former spot into the state-of-the-art
Ashburton Learning Village complex which is on the former site of the old 'A Block' of
Ashburton Community School which is now situated inside the centre. The library is now on 1 floor. This is what the council wanted to roll out around the borough but due to the cost of this one, it was decided that doing this would cost to much.
South Norwood Library,
New Addington Library, Shirley Library, Thornton Heath Library, Selsdon Library, Sanderstead Library, Purley Library, Coulsdon Library and Bradmore Green Library are examples of old council libraries. The main library is
Croydon Central Library which holds many references, newspaper archives and a tourist information point (one of three in
South East London).
Upper Norwood Library is a joint library with the
London Borough of Lambeth. This means that both councils fund the library and its resoures, but eithen though Lambeth have nearly doubled their funding for the library in the past several years Croydon has kept it the same,
[9] doubting the future of the library.
Leisure
The borough has been criticized in the past for not having enough leisure facilites, maintaining the position of Croydon as a three star borough. At the moment only three leisure centres are open for public use and two of these are expected to be closed down in the near future, with plans for only one of them to be re-built. Thornton Heath's aging sports centre was recently knocked down, and replaced by a newer more modern leisure centre.
South Norwood Leisure Centre was closed down in early
2006 so that it could be knocked completely down and re-designed from scratch like Thornton Heath, which would cost around £10 million.
[10] In
May 2006 the
Conservative Party became in charge of Croydon and decided that doing this would cost too much money, so they came up with another idea of just re-furbishing the centre, although this decision didn't come without its controversy.
[11][12]
Purley Pool, is to close as well soon, but a new "super-pool" is planned in
Coulsdon. The aging New Addington Leisure Centre is also set to close but is to be re-built. A new leisure centre is also going to be built on the
A23, southern end of
Purley Way opposite the
Homebase and
Texaco.
Sport Croydon,
[13] currently is the commercial arm for leisure in the borough and the logo is seen somewhere in each of the centres. Parkwood Leisureprovides the services for all the boroughs leisure centres, along with nearby
Lewisham's.
[14]
Crime
Since 2006, the
Metropolitan Police have recorded a 10% fall in the number of crimes committed in Croydon, better than the rate which crime in London as a whole is falling. Croydon has had the highest fall in the number of cases of violence against the person in
South London, and, in terms of overall crime numbers, the borough is one of the top 10 safest in
London. According to ''Your Croydon'' (a local community magazine) this is due to a stronger partnership struck between Croydon Council and the police.
[15]
Croydon has a large number of police stations which stretch right across the borough.
Future
Main articles: Croydon Vision 2020
'Croydon Vision 2020' is a vigorous re-generation plan which will change the
Urban planning of central Croydon completely. Its main aim is to make Croydon 'London's Third City' and the hub of retail, business, culture and living in
South London and South East England. The plan was showcased in a series of events called
Croydon Expo. It was aimed at business and residents in the London Borough of Croydon to demonstrate the £3.5bn development projects the Council wishes to see in Croydon in the next ten years. It included the re-development of
New Addington,
Central Croydon (
Park Place and
Croydon Gateway sites) plus leisure facilites across the whole borough.
Attractions
There are a large number of attractions across the borough of Croydon, these include:
★
Croydon Airport - London's former main airport, now disused and is now a tourist attraction
★
Museum of Croydon - A museum highlighting Croydon in the past and present includes the Riesco Gallery
★
Shirley Windmill - a working and the only surviving windmill in
Shirley
★
Addington Palace - an 18th century mansion in
Addington
★
Croydon Clocktower - an arts venue in
Croydon, opened by
Queen Elizabeth II
★
North End - the shopping road in Croydon, host of
Centrale and
Whitgift Centre
★
Warehouse Theatre - Large and well-known theatre for (mostly) young performers
★
Nestle Tower - the famous
European headquarters of
Nestle, one of the tallest towers in
England
★
Fairfield Halls - an arts centre in
Croydon which opened in
1962, frequently used for
BBC recordings
★
Croydon Palace - summer residence of the
Archbishop of Canterbury for over 500 years
★
Croydon Cemetery - Most famous for the gravestone of Derek Bentley, wrongly hanged in
1953
★
Mitcham Common - Partly in the borough, shared with
Sutton and
Merton
★
David Lean Cinema - a cinema built in memory of
David Lean
★
BRIT School - Performing Arts & Technology school owned by the BRIT Trust (known for the
BRIT Awards)
★
Croydon Grants - entertainment venue, includes cinema and desirable nightclub
Tiger Tiger
★
Taberner House - the main offices of
Croydon Council
★
Central Croydon - the largest office space in South East England outside
Central London
★
Surrey Street Market - Market which has a Royal Charter dating back to
1276 linking it to the
Archbishop of Canterbury
★
Beanos, a collectors record store that has been in Croydon for over three decades.
Districts
The borough includes the following areas:
St. Mary's Church, Addington, London Borough of Croydon
The offices of the former Coulsdon and Purley Urban District Council
★
Addington
★
Addiscombe
★
Ashburton
★
Broad Green
★
Coombe
★
Coulsdon
★
Croydon - the principal area
★
Crystal Palace - shared with
Lambeth,
Southwark,
Lewisham and
Bromley
★
Forestdale
★
Hamsey Green
★
Kenley
★
New Addington
★
Norbury
★
Pollards Hill
★
Purley
★
Sanderstead
★
Selhurst
★
Selsdon
★
Shirley
★
South Croydon
★
South Norwood
★
Thornton Heath
★
Upper Norwood
★
Waddon
★
West Croydon
★
Woodside
★
Whyteleafe - some residential areas
Transport
Roads
The old London to Brighton road, the
A23, passes through the west of the borough on
Purley Way, the retail district of
Croydon which includes an
IKEA store. The
M25 motorway forms part of the boundary of the borough. The
M23 motorway also starts at the very south of the borough and borders
Tandridge.
Railway
''For a look of all the stations in Croydon including
Tramlink and
National Rail, see
List of stations in London Borough of Croydon''
Due to the lack of
London Underground stations in the borough,
South London has an extensive railway network, the busiest in
London. The main line through Croydon is the
Brighton Main Line which travels from either
Victoria or
London Bridge station to a number of destinations in
Sussex,
Surrey and
Kent. The main operator of services in the borough is currently contracted to
Southern although others include
Southeastern,
First Capital Connect and
Virgin Trains.
East Croydon station is currently the largest and busiest station in Croydon, third busiest in
London (excluding
Travelcard Zone 1)
Stations in
Croydon:
★
East Croydon
★
South Croydon
★
West Croydon
There are 13 other railway stations within the borough boundaries. In alphabetical order they are:
★
Coulsdon South
★
Kenley
★
Norbury
★
Norwood Junction
★
Purley
★
Purley Oaks
★
Reedham
★
Riddlesdown
★
Sanderstead
★
Selhurst
★
Smitham
★
Thornton Heath
★
Waddon
★
Woodmansterne
The following station is outside the boundary, but serves part of the borough:
★
Crystal Palace
Former or disused stations inside the borough:
★
Croydon Central
★
Waddon Marsh
★
Beddington Lane
★
Addiscombe
★
Bingham Road
The
East London Line is to be extended to the borough by
2010 as part of
London Overground, two stations,
Norwood Junction and
West Croydon, will be connected to
London Underground services. Currently the closest tube station is apparently
Morden tube station, 139 minutes away to the west.
[16]
Trams
A map of the Tramlink network.
Croydon is the hub of
Tramlink services in the capital. It is the only tram system in London at the moment and was once called the Croydon Tramlink but was changed due to expansion. Now it serves
Wimbledon,
New Addington,
Elmers End,
Beckenham,
Mitcham and the
Purley Way retail and industrial area.
Buses
There are also a large number of
London Bus services in the borough that reach
Central London,
Purley Way,
Bromley,
Lewisham and a number of other
civic centres in the South.
London Buses route X26, the longest
London Bus route in London, provides services to
Heathrow Airport via
Richmond and
Sutton. There is a large bus station at
West Croydon which is undergoing a major re-development to make the station more modern and future proof.
Individuals associated with the Borough of Croydon
The following people have an association with Croydon:-
★
Archbishop of Canterbury John Whitgift (ca.
1530–
1604), is buried in the Parish Church of St John the Baptist. Several other Archbishops are buried in the Parish Church or St Mary's in
Addington.
★ Art critic and social theorist
John Ruskin (
1819–
1900) spent much of childhood in Croydon at his mother's family home and visited often as an adult. His parents are buried in
Shirley.
★ Edward White Benson, Archbishop of Canterbury (1883-96)lived at Addington Palace. Invented Christmas tradition of Festival of Nine Lessons & Carols.
★
John Horniman (
1803–
1893) and
Frederick John Horniman (
1835–
1906), tea merchants, collectors and public benefactors, lived at Coombe Cliff, Coombe Road, Croydon
★ Naturalist
Alfred Russel Wallace (
1823–
1913), lived at 44 St Peter's Road, Croydon. He independently proposed a theory of evolution by natural selection and prompted
Charles Darwin to reveal his own unpublished theory sooner than he had intended.
★ Actor and dramatist
Miles Malleson (
1888–
1969) was born in Croydon.
★ French
novelist
Émile Zola (
1840–
1902) lived at The Queen's Hotel, 122 Church Road,
Upper Norwood 1898-1899.
★
William Ford Robertson Stanley (
1829–
1909), inventor, collector, manufacturer scientific instruments and philanthropist, lived in Croydon, and founded and designed the halls and technical school known as the Stanley Halls, 12 South Norwood Hill,
South Norwood.
★ Sir
Arthur Conan Doyle (
1859–
1930) author and creator of
Sherlock Holmes, lived at 12 Tennison Road,
South Norwood 1891-
1894.
★ Author
D.H. Lawrence (
1885–
1930) lived at 12 Colworth Road,
Addiscombe 1908-
1912 whilst a teacher at Davidson Road School.
★ Composer
Samuel Coleridge Taylor (
1875–
1912), lived at 30 Dagnall Park,
Selhurst. Black composer noted for his cantatas including The Song of Hiawatha trilogy.
★ Comic actor
Will Hay (
1888–
1949), lived at 45 The Chase,
Norbury 1927-
1934.
★ Illustrator and artist
Cicely Mary Barker (
1895–
1973), who created the famous Flower Fairies books, was born in Croydon and lived locally. She studied at the Croydon School of Art.
★ Author and media personality
Malcolm Muggeridge (
1903–
1990) was the son of
H.T. Muggeridge, a prominent Croydon Labour councillor. He also taught at
John Ruskin Central School in the 1920s.
★ Film director Sir
David Lean (
1908–
1991), was born in Croydon on
25 March1908.
★ Actress Dame
Peggy Ashcroft (
1907–
1991), was born in Croydon and lived in George Street as a child. She is honoured in the naming of the Ashcroft Theatre, part of the
Fairfield Halls.
★ Comedian
Roy Hudd was born in Croydon in
1936.
★ Electrical engineer and inventor of the
Teleprinter Frederick George Creed (
1871–
1957), lived and died at 20 Outram Road,
Addiscombe.
★ Pop star
Adam Ant is from Croydon.
★ Legendary
Ska musician
Desmond Dekker (
1941-
2006) lived in
Thornton Heath.
★ The original members of rock group
The Damned grew up in Croydon.
★ Supermodel
Kate Moss was born in Croydon on
16 January 1974.
★
Wilfred Wood served as
Bishop of Croydon 1985-
2002, the first black
Church of England bishop.
★ Former
Arsenal footballer
Ian Wright MBE lives in
Shirley.
★
Feroz Abbasi, arrested in
Afghanistan in 2001 and detained at
Guantanamo Bay, lived in Shirley and attended school in Croydon.
★
Kirsty MacColl, the late singer and songwriter was born and grew up in Croydon
★
Ronnie Corbett, the comic actor lived for many years in Shirley, Croydon
★
Sarah Jane Smith, the popular fictional companion of the Third and Fourth Doctors in the British science fiction television series
Doctor Who
★ Sir
Francis Bond Head (1793-1875), soldier, traveler, author and Lieut. Governor of Upper Canada (1836-1838), had his home at Duppas Hall, Croydon
See also
★
Croydon East (UK Parliament constituency)
★
Croydon South (historic UK Parliament constituency)
★
Croydon North East (UK Parliament constituency)
★
Croydon North West (UK Parliament constituency)
★
Croydon West (UK Parliament constituency)
★
Croydon (UK Parliament constituency)
★
County Borough of Croydon
★
List of former United Kingdom Parliamentary constituencies
★
Addington Palace
★
Lunar House
★
Mayday University Hospital
★
UK postcodes — a note of why and how postcodes CR0 and CR9 differ from the others.
★
Ruskin House
★
Tramlink
★
Croydon Advertiser
★
Croydon Guardian
★
Woodside and South Croydon Railway
★
Croydon parks and open spaces
External links
★
[1]
★
Croydon Council
★
Croydon Guardian Local News page
★
Croydon Guardian Heritage pages
★
The Croydon Society site
★
Croydon Cycling Campaign site
★
The Bourne Society take an interest in the southern part of the borough and has fixed its own
blue plaques to a number of buildings there.
★
Croydon Parish Church
★
Weird Croydon - requires Flash Player 8 or above.
References
1. http://eduinfo.croydon.gov.uk/CMS/GUI/Bases/index.php?schoolType=all
2. http://www.croydon.gov.uk/education/
3. http://www.croydon.ac.uk/03a.html
4. http://www.johnruskin.ac.uk/
5. http://www.coulsdon.ac.uk/
6. http://eduinfo.croydon.gov.uk/CMS/GUI/Bases/index.php?schoolType=primary
7. http://eduinfo.croydon.gov.uk/CMS/GUI/Bases/index.php?schoolType=special
8. http://eduinfo.croydon.gov.uk/CMS/GUI/Bases/index.php?schoolType=secondary
9. http://www.tessajowell.net/?PageId=4bd1346c-8ec2-36f4-ed45-ba76a9cef35e
10. http://www.londonpoolscampaign.com/discuss/msgReader6.com
11. http://www.yourlocalguardian.co.uk/interactive/messageforum/view.php?threadid=829.com
12. http://www.croydonguardian.co.uk/display.var.848181.0.pool_plans_are_approved_despite_3_000_signature_petition.php.com
13. http://www.croydon.gov.uk/leisure/sports/
14. http://www.leisure-centre.com
15. http://www.croydon.gov.uk/content/departments/570770/570872/599193/ycjune07.pdf
16. http://www.londontown.com/LondonStreets/the_croydon_flyover_44f.html
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