Addington Hills (also referred to as Shirley Hills) is a park in Upper Shirley,

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, England. It is managed by the

London Borough of Croydon The London Borough of Croydon () is a London borough in south London, part of Outer London. It covers an area of . It is the southernmost borough of London. At its centre is the historic town of Croydon from which the borough takes its name; ...

. It was part of the old parish of Addington before the suburb of Shirley was developed in the 1930s. The site consists largely of woodland on a gravel bed, with London's largest area of heathland at its heart. It is a Site of Metropolitan Importance. In the mid-18th century, it was a noted

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by st ...

venue used by the then-prominent Addington Cricket Club. Addington Hills and Croham Hurst, a short distance to the southwest, form popular open spaces in

Croydon Croydon is a large town in south London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a local government district of Greater London. It is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater London, with an exten ...

. It is a peaceful area with many pathways, close to central Croydon. There is a viewpoint with fine views across Croydon and across to north London, including Docklands and

Parliament Hill Parliament Hill (french: Colline du Parlement, colloquially known as The Hill, is an area of Crown land on the southern banks of the Ottawa River in downtown Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Its Gothic revival suite of buildings, and their archit ...

. It is served by Coombe Lane tram stop on the London

Tramlink London Trams, previously Tramlink and Croydon Tramlink, is a light rail tram system serving Croydon and surrounding areas in South London, England. It began operation in 2000, the first tram system in the London region since 1952. It is manage ...

route to New Addington which runs along the southern edge of the land. The park covers an area of . The London Loop path runs through the park. The park is fully accessible at all times.

Description

Addington Hills London Surrey UK Summer 2011

Tramlink tram no 2538 at Addington Hills

Addington Hills reaches 460 feet (140 m) above sea level. The terrain drops sharply to the north, exposing the hills' pebbly composition at the end of the gullies. Addington Hills borders Coombe Park / Lloyd Park on its west and

Coombe Wood Coombe Wood is a small () woodland and garden area in the old village of Coombe, South Croydon near the junction of Coombe Lane and Conduit Lane. The Coombe Wood Gardens are divided into a series of rooms which together give an all-year-round di ...

on its south. The area was originally called ''the hill of Pripledeane'' or ''Prible Dean'', a name meaning "Gravel Valley" that came from the

Middle English Middle English (abbreviated to ME) is a form of the English language that was spoken after the Norman conquest of 1066, until the late 15th century. The English language underwent distinct variations and developments following the Old Englis ...

words ''prebel'' ("gravel") and ''dene'' ("valley"). The land was acquired by Croydon Board of Health in four parts over a 45-year period.

Facilities

Addington Hills facilities include: * Car parking – off Shirley Hills Road and Oaks Road, at the junction with Coombe Lane * London Loop path * Chinese restaurant * Takeaway coffee * Horse rides * Viewpoint

Cricket venue

The first definite mention of Addington Hills in a cricket connection is a 1745 match there on Thursday, 23 May between Addington and

. Little about the match is known except that Addington won. The venue was used for matches on at least four occasions between 1745 and 1752, a period which coincided with Addington Cricket Club having one of the strongest teams in England. The last match known to have been played there was Addington v

Dartford Dartford is the principal town in the Borough of Dartford, Kent, England. It is located south-east of Central London and is situated adjacent to the London Borough of Bexley to its west. To its north, across the Thames estuary, is Thurrock in ...

on 12 August 1752.

Wildlife

The heathland areas are dominated by heather and

gorse ''Ulex'' (commonly known as gorse, furze, or whin) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae. The genus comprises about 20 species of thorny evergreen shrubs in the subfamily Faboideae of the pea family Fabaceae. The species are ...

, with some

bilberry Bilberries (), or sometimes European blueberries, are a primarily Eurasian species of low-growing shrubs in the genus '' Vaccinium'' (family Ericaceae), bearing edible, dark blue berries. The species most often referred to is ''Vaccinium myrti ...

and

goldenrod Goldenrod is a common name for many species of flowering plants in the sunflower family, Asteraceae, commonly in reference to the genus '' Solidago''. Several genera, such as '' Euthamia'', were formerly included in a broader concept of the gen ...

. Drier spots are indicated by the occurrence of bell heather. Fine-leaved fescues, wavy hair-grass and purple moor-grass dominate the acid grassland areas with a mix of wood sage, heath bedstraw and other typical species.

Marsh violet ''Viola palustris'' (marsh violet, or alpine marsh violet) is a perennial forb of the genus ''Viola''. It inhabits moist meadows, marshes, and stream banks in northern parts of North America and Eurasia. The species epithet ''palustris'' is L ...

and

hard fern ''Blechnum'', known as hard fern, is a genus of ferns in the family Blechnaceae, subfamily Blechnoideae, according to the Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group classification of 2016 (PPG I). Two very different circumscriptions of the genus are used ...

(both London rarities) occur in the damper areas.Taken from London Heathland Heritage websit
Croydon page
Burrowing bees and wasps occur in the bare patches of soil and the bushy heathers and acid-loving grasses provide home to a wide range of insects, spiders and other invertebrates, each well adapted to the warm, dry conditions at ground level.Adapted from London Biodiversity Partnership / London's Heathland Heritage / Croydon Council information board near the Addington Hills car park. The invertebrate fauna plays an important part in supporting a range of birds and reptiles – and all benefit from the varied mosaic of open and scrubland habitats. In open areas, common lizards and slowworms thrive.

Green woodpecker There are four species of bird named green woodpecker: * European green woodpecker, ''Picus viridis'' * Iberian green woodpecker The Iberian green woodpecker (''Picus sharpei'') is a medium-sized woodpecker endemic to the Iberian peninsula. It w ...

s may be seen in the woods and on the heath, and

goldcrests The goldcrest (''Regulus regulus'') is a very small passerine bird in the kinglet family. Its colourful golden crest feathers, as well as being called the "king of the birds" in European folklore, gives rise to its English and scientific ...

among the woodland edges and in the gorse.

Habitats

The northern area of woodland is by far the oldest, in particular the very old oak pollards near Oaks Road. Other wooded areas are comparatively recent, and the small pine plantations near the southern boundary were only established during the mid-19th century. Until the 1920s, there were only a few scattered oak, pine and birch on the hills, which were then almost entirely covered in heather. Now there is far more extensive tree cover, and heather is limited to the slopes and ridges where it tolerates the harsh conditions provided by the very dry and acidic poor soil.

References

External links

Croydon Online
{{Parks and open spaces in London 1745 establishments in England Cricket grounds in Surrey Defunct cricket grounds in England Defunct sports venues in Surrey Districts of the London Borough of Croydon English cricket venues in the 18th century History of Surrey Parks and open spaces in the London Borough of Croydon Sport in Surrey Sport in the London Borough of Croydon Sports venues completed in 1745 Sports venues in Surrey Hills of London