Riddlesdown is a place in 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; ...

, one mile east from the centre of its post town of Purley. The name applies to the residential district and to the green space maintained by the

City of London Corporation The City of London Corporation, officially and legally the Mayor and Commonalty and Citizens of the City of London, is the municipal governing body of the City of London, the historic centre of London and the location of much of the United King ...

which is also known as

Riddlesdown Common Riddlesdown Common or Riddlesdown is a 43 hectare area of green space in Kenley, towards the northern end of the North Downs in the London Borough of Croydon. It is owned and maintained by the City of London Corporation, apart from two small are ...

History

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

neolithic The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several parts ...

times. Neolithic tools such as scrapes and flakes, and

Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...

celts The Celts (, see pronunciation for different usages) or Celtic peoples () are. "CELTS location: Greater Europe time period: Second millennium B.C.E. to present ancestry: Celtic a collection of Indo-European peoples. "The Celts, an ancien ...

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

''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).

Local facilities

The Riddlesdown Lawn Tennis Club was opened by

Fred Perry Frederick John Perry (18 May 1909 – 2 February 1995) was a British tennis and table tennis player and former world No. 1 from England who won 10 Majors including eight Grand Slam tournaments and two Pro Slams single titles, as well ...

in June 1938. The club has 3 all weather tennis courts which were resurfaced in 2013. It is located on Lower Barn Road.Riddlesdown Tennis Club website
/ref> Most of the housing stock dates from the 1930s and was developed by

John Laing plc John Laing Group plc is a British investor, developer and operator of privately financed, public sector infrastructure projects such as roads, railways, hospitals and schools through Public-Private Partnership (PPP) and Private Finance Initiativ ...

. The design of some of the houses was influenced by the

Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unite ...

style.

Riddlesdown Collegiate Riddlesdown Collegiate (formerly Riddlesdown High School) is a secondary school with academy status located in the Riddlesdown area of the London Borough of Croydon, UK. It is a coeducational school, of between 1800 and 2000 students (400 of tho ...

is a local authority

secondary school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' secondary education, lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) ...

in the area. Riddlesdown railway station is located on Lower Barn Road with Southern Rail services to London Victoria and London Bridge. Close to the station on Lower Barn Road is also a local post office, hairdressing salon and pharmacy.

Nearest places

* Purley *

Kenley Kenley is an area within the London Borough of Croydon. Prior to its incorporation into Greater London in 1965 it was in the historic county of Surrey. It is situated south of Purley, east of Coulsdon, north of Caterham and Whyteleafe and w ...

Sanderstead Sanderstead is a village and medieval-founded church parish at the southern end of Croydon in south London, England, within the London Borough of Croydon, and formerly in the historic county of Surrey, until 1965. It takes in Purley Downs and S ...

Transport links

Riddlesdown railway station Riddlesdown railway station is on the Oxted line serving Riddlesdown in the London Borough of Croydon, south London. It is in Travelcard Zone 6, from , although off peak trains run to and from . The station is managed by Southern. Platforms ...

* The

London Buses route 412 This is a list of Transport for London (TfL) contracted bus routes in London, England, as well as commercial services that enter the Greater London area (except coaches). Bus services in London are operated by Abellio London, Arriva London, ...

, which runs between Purley, town centre 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
*

References

Districts of the London Borough of Croydon Areas of London {{London-geo-stub