Selsdon is an area in South-East London,

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, located 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; ...

, in the

ceremonial county The counties and areas for the purposes of the lieutenancies, also referred to as the lieutenancy areas of England and informally known as ceremonial counties, are areas of England to which lords-lieutenant are appointed. Legally, the areas i ...

Greater London Greater may refer to: *Greatness, the state of being great *Greater than, in inequality (mathematics), inequality *Greater (film), ''Greater'' (film), a 2016 American film *Greater (flamingo), the oldest flamingo on record *Greater (song), "Greate ...

. Prior to 1965 it was in the historic county of

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

. It is located south of Coombe and

Addiscombe Addiscombe is an area of south London, England, within the London Borough of Croydon. It is located south of Charing Cross, and is situated north of Coombe and Selsdon, east of Croydon town centre, south of Woodside, and west of Shirley. Et ...

, west of Forestdale, north of

Hamsey Green Hamsey Green is a place on the plateau of the English North Downs between the villages of Sanderstead to the north and Warlingham to the south. It is split almost across the centre into north and south so is in part in the Tandridge district of ...

and Farleigh, and east of

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 ...

History

Section of the Art Deco houses in Selsdon

Selsdon was traditional a rural area, with most of the whole area being part of Selsdon Park Estate, once well known as hunting and shooting grounds in the area. In 1923 the estate was broken up and divided into

smallholding A smallholding or smallholder is a small farm operating under a small-scale agriculture model. Definitions vary widely for what constitutes a smallholder or small-scale farm, including factors such as size, food production technique or technology ...

s, with the aim of giving them to war veterans. These largely proved too small, however further building occurred and the area became a prosperous suburb, remarkable for its many

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 ...

houses. After concerns were raised about the rapid development of the village a committee was formed to ensure that an area of would be set aside and saved for a

nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or ...

and

bird sanctuary An animal sanctuary is a facility where animals are brought to live and to be protected for the rest of their lives. Pattrice Jones, co-founder of VINE Sanctuary defines an animal sanctuary as "a safe-enough place or relationship within the cont ...

. This opened to the public in 1936 and was given to the

National Trust The National Trust, formally the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is a separate and ...

after Coulsdon and Purley Urban District Council and the

Corporation of Croydon The County Borough of Croydon was a local government district in and around the town of Croydon in north east Surrey, England from 1889 to 1965. Since 1965 the district has been part of the London Borough of Croydon within Greater London. Hist ...

agreed to manage it jointly. Selsdon Wood now consists of five large meadows surrounded by extensive woodland and ancient hedges and it retains the character of a historical woodland. In the second meadow of the Selsdon Wood area there is a bomb crater, and another in Selsdon recreation ground just inside the woods which are closed off. Much wildlife may be found in the wooded areas of Selsdon such as deer, and more recently parakeets. The old Estate mansion had been converted into the

Selsdon Park Hotel Selsdon Park Hotel is a luxury hotel located in Selsdon, London, England. It is housed in a country house. History Selsdon Park passed through several private owners until 1924 when Allan Doble Sanderson bought the house and the accompanying ...

in 1925. In 1970 it was the venue of a

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

Shadow Cabinet meeting to settle the party's manifesto for the impending

general election A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

. Labour Party leader

Harold Wilson James Harold Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx, (11 March 1916 – 24 May 1995) was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from October 1964 to June 1970, and again from March 1974 to April 1976. He ...

coined the phrase ''Selsdon Man'' to describe the free market approach which was agreed, and the

Selsdon Group The Selsdon Group is a British free-market economics pressure group, closely associated with the Conservative Party. Selsdon Group members believe that economic freedom is the indispensable condition for political and social freedom. The group's ...

was later formed within the Conservative Party to campaign for its retention.

Geography

The main shopping area of Selsdon is concentrated on Addington Road east of the junction with Farley Road/Old Farleigh Road. It contains a variety of shops, banks, cafes, the local

Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only (believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compete ...

Church and two pubs (the Sir Julian Huxley and a micro-pub). In January 2007 the prominent Selsdon Clock, in rustic style with a brushwood motif round its face by Jon Mills, was installed on the Selsdon Triangle, on the plinth of a former public lavatory, in front of the library and Sainsbury's supermarket. Selsdon Hall is based underneath Sainsbury's supermarket and the library. It is designed to be a hub for the local community. It comprises a hall that can be hired privately and a coffee shop, which is open to all members of the public. The area is currently undergoing a gentle renovation with the well known disused garage being converted into retail and residential units.

Transport

Rail and tram

Selsdon was formerly served by

Selsdon railway station Selsdon railway station was at the junction of the Croydon, Oxted and East Grinstead Railway and the now-closed Woodside and South Croydon Joint Railway. Opened in 1885 as "Selsdon Road" and it was from Selsdon village. History It was joint ...

although the station was actually located 2 miles from the town centre and was closed in 1983. The closest

National Rail National Rail (NR) is the trading name licensed for use by the Rail Delivery Group, an unincorporated association whose membership consists of the passenger train operating companies (TOCs) of England, Scotland, and Wales. The TOCs run the p ...

station to Selsdon today is which is approximately 2 miles from Selsdon. London Tram stops at Gravel Hill and Coombe Lane are located 1.5 and 2 miles from the town centre respectively.

Buses

Selsdon is served by

London Buses London Buses is the subsidiary of Transport for London (TfL) that manages most bus services in London, England. It was formed following the Greater London Authority Act 1999 that transferred control of London Regional Transport (LRT) bus se ...

routes 64,

359 __NOTOC__ Year 359 ( CCCLIX) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Eusebius and Hypatius (or, less frequently, year 1112 ' ...

, 412 and 433 which provide connections to Croydon Town Centre,

New Addington New Addington is a town in South London, England, within the London Borough of Croydon. It is located 5 miles south east of Croydon, south of Addington Village and north of Biggin Hill. History Until the 1930s, the area now known as New Addingt ...

, Purley and

Thornton Heath Thornton Heath is a district of Greater London, England, within the London Borough of Croydon. It is around north of the town of Croydon, and south of Charing Cross. Prior to the creation of Greater London in 1965, Thornton Heath was in the Co ...

. It is also served by

Southdown PSV Southdown PSV Limited, trade name, trading as Southdown Buses, is a medium-sized country bus operator, with 18 routes across East Surrey, West Sussex, South London and Kent, 9 of which are school bus routes. Most of their routes are operated on ...

routes 409 & 411 which provide connections to

Caterham Caterham () is a town in the Tandridge District of Surrey, England. The town is administratively divided into two: Caterham on the Hill, and Caterham Valley, which includes the main town centre in the middle of a dry valley but rises to equal ...

, Redhill and

East Grinstead East Grinstead is a town in West Sussex, England, near the East Sussex, Surrey, and Kent borders, south of London, northeast of Brighton, and northeast of the county town of Chichester. Situated in the extreme northeast of the county, the civ ...

Demography

In the 2011 census, Selsdon and Ballards was

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...

White British White British is an ethnicity classification used for the native white population identifying as English, Scottish, Welsh, Cornish, Northern Irish, or British in the United Kingdom Census. In the 2011 census, the White British population wa ...

(80.1%),

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

Asian British British Asians (also referred to as Asian Britons) are British citizens of Asian descent. They constitute a significant and growing minority of the people living in the United Kingdom, with 6.9% of the population identifying as Asian/Asian Bri ...

(10.4%),

Black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have o ...

Black British Black British people are a multi-ethnic group of British citizens of either African or Afro-Caribbean descent.Gadsby, Meredith (2006), ''Sucking Salt: Caribbean Women Writers, Migration, and Survival'', University of Missouri Press, pp. 76–7 ...

(5.2%), Mixed/multiple ethnic groups (2.6%), and Other ethnic group (1%). The largest single ethnicity is White British (75.1%).

Gallery

File:Shops,_Selsdon.jpg, The main shopping parade on Addington Road File:Selsdon Wood Bird Sanctuary - geograph.org.uk - 931866.jpg, Selsdon Wood File:Selsdon_clock.jpg, Selsdon clock, installed 2007 File:St_John's,_Selsdon.jpg, St John the Divine Church, built 1935-6 by J E Newberry & C W Fowler File:Queenhill_Park,_Selsdon.jpg, Queenhill Road Park, opened in 1936 File:LDS_Church,Selsdon.jpg,

Mormon Mormons are a religious and cultural group related to Mormonism, the principal branch of the Latter Day Saint movement started by Joseph Smith in upstate New York during the 1820s. After Smith's death in 1844, the movement split into several ...

church, Selsdon

References

{{LB Croydon Districts of the London Borough of Croydon Areas of London District centres of London