West Croydon
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Bedford Park
Some 19th houses
Luna House 1967, entrance motifs identical yet larger, of four wings in the four main
directions. By Denis Crump & Partners.
Sunley House 1965/8, large and utilitarian by Fitzroy Robinson & Partners
Bedford Lodge
Cherry Orchard
road
Halls depot at Victoria wharff
Cross Road
Remnants of an older area, with a small group of artisan cottages:
57 'Cobden Place 1865',
Croydon Common
White horse farm where the gypsies camped
Croydon grand
theatre tiled with German interlocking concrete tiles
Croydon. Was it
Noviomagus
Croydon/Penge
border. There was a bank of a ditch
called 'Bishops Ditch' running in a south east direction
Dingwall Road
Villas a few large mid c 19
villas still survive
Churchill House.
1965. At the corner of Sydenham
Road, is one of the more daring designs of the time, faced with vertically set
black tiles. 1965-7 by D. Rowswell & Partners. Its snub-nosed comer still
marks the northern limit of New Croydon here
56 Wettern House 1962/3. By Ian Fraser & Associates, 1962-3
Gloucester Road.
44-50, 56-62, 72-78. Other simpler examples of Lascelles' concrete
cottages
Canal from here was in a cutting and crossed by three brick road bridges
Rail line to the south is the 1862 Windmill Bridge Junction to Balham
Line. St James Junction connecting to it was below the bridge, but has now been
moved
Site of two locks on the canal to cross Norbury Brook.
On the east side
just before the bridge will be found the retaining wall, part of the canal bridge, shown here. It also curves round
onto the old footpath and former towpath,
now closed that led in later years to a footbridge and paths to the cottages between the lines mentioned
above.
7 Drum and Monkey pub.
London Road
Zodiac House, shopping plus offices and flats
1964. Large development by William
H. Robbins, 1964-7.
179 Cartoon pub
303 Half Moon
482 Castle Tavern
Oakfield Road
Canal was in a
cutting alongside this, alongside the rear gardens of the south side.
2 Royal Oak
Poplar Walk
up St.Michael and All Angels Built 1881 to the rules of medieval gothic. A vaulted gothic
cathedral with Lots of long lasting vicars. Designed
By J. L. Pearson, in 1876 and built in 1880-3 and the interior is one of his
finest. It is brick-vaulted throughout; a harmonious interaction of verticals
and horizontals in the tradition of medieval Gothic. The most interesting part is the south
chapel, which opens from the chancel aisle and has itself a nave and aisles, of
equal height, separated by the slimmest shafts. There is a pulpit with a
canopy, 1898, and a richly gilded, splendid, almost Baroque gothic organ case,
for a Willis organ, 1901, all by Bodley. Font with a cover by Frank
Pearson. Hanging rood and lectern by
Cecil Hare. Stalls by Temple Moore. Lady Chapel fittings by Comper. Stained glass windows by Clayton
& Bell; aisle windows by Lavers & Barraud; others by Kempe, 1895 and
after.
Vicarage. Incompetent neo-Wren
St.James's Road
169. A flint-faced Gothic
villa, mid c 19. The former vicarage.
Canal towpath.
St.James's Road/ Gloucester Road
On the south side of St. James's Road, west of
the bridge, the garden of the public house allows a good view of the south side
of Brick Bridge.
St James, A Commissioners' church:
1827-9 by Robert Wallace. Yellow brick with thin lancets and a lean tower. In
the tower odd triplet openings. The more robust stone chancel is of 1881 by
Charles Henman Jun. – Font late c18 design, marble, a fluted bowl on a baluster. -
Original galleries with Gothic cusping beneath; the rest of the seating of
1871. – Reredos, marble, 1884 by Earp, designed by Henman. Pulpit 1882. - Good brass eagle lectern 1884. - Stained Glass. E window 1881; de
signed by Henman, made by H. W. Lonsdale.
St.Michael's Road
Built by the
canal co.
Station Road
West Croydon Station. Between Centrale and Wellesley Road on Croydon Tramlink. Between Waddon and Norwood Junction and also
Selhurst on Southern Rail. The entrance is between shops in London Road and the
Present building date from the 1930s. It
was Originally built on the canal terminus site and some buildings were
retained - warehouse, smithery, etc. The ‘Allparts’ building is the actual old
station at the London end of the down platform.
It was originally called ‘Croydon
Station’, renamed ‘Croydon Town’ in 1847, and has been ‘West Croydon’ since
1851. It was Croydon's first passenger station, opened 1839 as the terminus of
the London and Croydon Railway. All the original buildings are demolished. In
1847 the G.P.Bidder’s Croydon and Epsom Railway opened tand the station was
rebuilt on a new alignment. When the line was extended to Epsom in 1847. a
branch from the remaining short bay platform at the country end was put in for
the Mitcham Junction and Wimbledon in 1855 Croydon and Wimbledon Railway in
1853. A single terminal platform remains to remind us of the station's first
status. The present station buildings date from 1933-34. East side buildings
are the oldest part.
St Mary's RC church, nearby, is beside a still
recognisable old and extensive gravel pit.
Bus Station. the
tram stop is at approximately the location of the Croydon Canal terminal basin
- opened 1809, closed 1836 to make way for the London and Croydon Railway. Last
century this was a nodal point for trolleybus routes.
Station House on
London Road remained.
Station Road
itself built during the canal co ownership
Canal Basin "a large square piece of
deep water for the loading and unloading of barges, into extensive warehouses and alongside its spacious
wharves". It is onto this wharf
also that the canal company had built its tramway
to connect with the iron railways at Pitlake, having the effect of diverting much trade from that other route to the
Thames, the Surrey Iron Railway. Once the canal had been purchased
by the London & Croydon Railway in 1836, it was closed on 22nd August. The
layout of the first station was very much designed around the land and
buildings of the canal, with the
addition of booking office and other passenger facilities in one block. The
largest warehouse was kept, and a range of buildings on London Road looks to have been suitably used as a
lodge for conductors and brakesmen, and a range of cottages for some of the
police and conductors. Another canal building was retained as a blacksmith's
shop. The canal basin
remained, and a fairly formal and wide set of steps
were built down into it. The bottom of the basin, as with the canal itself, approximated to the new rail eve. A small
building was put up to house the
locomotive engines, and nearby a steam pump house with a cistern on top for water supply. Sidings, obviously
must have run into, and terminated in, the
canal basin. One major range of
buildings was added for this first station, that
of booking office, waiting room, passenger and carriage shed, with above the first mentioned "a residence for one of
the officers of the company". The
plan also shows the two lines of rails coming into the platforms along the canal bed, which would eve in with
the sidings into the base of the basin.
The carriage shed is in line with the canal west bank.
Basin itself kept and steps built down into it. Bottom
was the rail level, sidings ran into it and some buildings put up. Retaining
wall to the west of the station is the line of the west bank of the canal and
stone blocks were there until recently, it is shaped round the turntable site.
Canal co tramway
to connect to iron railway at Pitlake.
Car park -
furthest point is the site of the train shed
Sydenham Road
Used to be called
Middle Heath Lane
16 Bedford Tavern
34 good example of quiet
Italianate villas. Especially grand, with six pedimented first-floor windows.
237-239 two pairs of
cottages with projecting end gables. Designed by Norman Shaw, or possible
largely by his pupils, for the contractor W. H. Lascelles. The construction,
which uses Lascelles' patent concrete slabs, is heavily disguised in both
cases. 1878 has prettier surfaces of tile- hanging in the Surrey vernacular
tradition. Genuine tiles in front, simulated ones at the back the picturesque
effect enhanced by the careful grouping of roofs of different height;
226-228 1881-2 is roughcast
with ornamental panels. Concrete panelled ceilings inside
293 Bird in Hand pub. 1825 it dates back to about
1825 and is thought to be named after the trade
of selling caged birds to boat borne picnic parties. In 1865 it was noted as the 'Bird-in-Hand Beer Shop'. Pre-dates the
railway and said to stand on the bank of the canal.
No canal ancient bridge brickwork to admire
Towpath can be
followed to Spurgeon's bridge
Between these last two bridges, and stretching
to Whitehorse Road, the canal
company owned a stretch of land. The
purpose
is unclear, but they may have been intending to use it for gravel extraction. Gravel is mentioned in later years as an
export along the canal, and in the
early railway years numerous water field workings are shown in this vicinity, near West Croydon, and to the
north a large set of workings near
Bologne Road. This small stretch was probably excavated around 1840, and in 1847 a pond covered over half of
the area.
Between the railway and St.James's Road, was St. James's Ironworks, and a steam flour mill. A pond was
used in conjunction with the iron works,
part of one of the earlier gravel workings.
Canterbury House 1963. By T. P. Bennett & Sons.
Wellesley Road
Our Lady of Reparation (R.C.), 1883
F. A. Walters, incorporating parts of Pugin’s church of 1864.
Randolph House 1963. The northernmost building of the 1960s, by
William J. Harvey, 1963-9, with wild concrete reliefs redevlped alkoing with oembrike hiuse
Whitehorse Road
111 Gloucester Pub
323 Crescent Arms
Gillett and
Johnson Bell Foundry
West Croydon Baptist Church was built in 1873,
just north of the Whitehorse Road
Bridge, at that time known as Brick Bridge. It was
soon known as Spurgeon’s Tabernacle by Croydonians, after its builders, and the name was applied to the bridge also. Even in canal days this was a major
cross roads. Most bridges would only have to cross about 10' of water, enough
for a singe barge, plus the towpath, but here a span of 30' or more was
made. This has led to the bridge we see
today being attributed to the canal. In coming through this point the canal had something of a kink near the
bridge, on the south side. By moving the
route some 30' to the east under a new bridge, the desired easier line for the rails was achieved. Since
then more substantial retaining walls have
obscured much of the bridge's very pleasing design.
Spurgeon's Bridge
north of West Croydon station. Was the canal bridge called 'Brick Bridge'
Pub garden lets
you look at the Brick Bridge. Had to cross a 30' span of water plus the
towpath. But the railway bridge was south of the canal. Canal was north of
this.
West Croydon Baptist Church Spurgeon Tabernacle. 1873 by J. T. Barker. Brick and stone classical
front with quadrant
colonnades to recessed wings. Founded by James Spurgeon
W.Whitehorse had
a stud farm for Edward III 1368.
Windmill Road.
GC HQ of bus and
lorry business of J.Thompson garage for the shop. Used coaches etc. Access from
Queens Road. Regal bus fleet also buses owned by Mrs.Brailey,
78 Fishermen’s Friend
Fleur de Lys
route. Premises empty in 1977. Fuller Smith and Turner tied house in 1970s.
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