Thames Tributaries – the River Wandle - the Bourne tributary - Purley

Thames Tributaries – the River Wandle
The Bourne flows through this area, underground, roughly on the site of the Brighton Road


Post to the east Purley Oaks
Post to the south Purley

Brighton Road
The Bourne was once open from the Royal Oak to the Windsor Castle. Florence Cottages. A footpath goes between them. The wall at the back is built on the Croydon, Merstham, and Godstone Railway embankment.
Royal Oak. The Bourne produced a lot of standing water here because of gravel extraction.
Royal Oak Shopping Centre. 1960s concrete development,
Lansdowne Court. Route of Croydon, Merstham and Godstone Tramway. The line followed Haling Down Passage. But at Lansdowne Court veered west.
823 Dairy Crest depot
Rotary Field Recreation Ground. Course of the tramway is asphalt path of drive. The Hawthorns are very old. Right on, the side of the path some rail preserved.

Coldharbour
Lane part of which was subsumed into Purley Way

Edgehill
Remains of Roman road were found in the recreation ground parallel.

Haling Down Passage
Route of Croydon, Merstham, and Godstone Railway follows Haling Down Passage to Lansdowne Court

Montpelier Road
Route of Croydon, Merstham, and Godstone Railway crosses the corner of Montpelier Road and the school site. The bend is on the track bed and it continues behind Christ Church School.

Pampisford Road
Route of Croydon, Merstham, and Godstone Railway crosses Christchurch Road then into Pampisford Road.
Russell Hill Reservoir
Sports Ground acquired by Cumnor House School from Croydon Council.
Cumner House School. Another private ‘prep’ school. Dates from 1931 and named after the building it is in. After war time evacuation it was reformulated and recognised by the Dept. of Education. The main site is boys only.

Russell Hill
The area was called ‘Beggar’s Bush’ but the name was changed when the school was opened. The bush itself was a clump of trees planted in 1745 to divide plough land from sheep land. In 975 it had been called Beggar’s Thorn. The trees were outside the school until 1928.
Warehousemen, Drapers and Clerks School opened by the Prince of Wales in the 1860s and left the site in 1961 because of the proximity of the airport. It is a charitable school, funded by Drapers, but has since become independent, as the Textile Industry Children’s Trust. The original school here had moved from Hatcham was named after the then Prime Minister, Lord John Russell. Dickens was a patron.
49 Cabrini Children’s Society. RC
Thomas More RC school for boys

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