Thornton Heath is a district of

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 ...

, England, within 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 is around north of the town of

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 extensi ...

, and south of

Charing Cross Charing Cross ( ) is a junction in Westminster, London, England, where six routes meet. Clockwise from north these are: the east side of Trafalgar Square leading to St Martin's Place and then Charing Cross Road; the Strand leading to the City; ...

. Prior to the creation of

in 1965, Thornton Heath was in the

County Borough 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. Hi ...

History

Until the arrival of the railway in 1862, Thornton Heath was focused on an area in the parish of Croydon St John the Baptist, south west of the Whitehorse manor house (now a school), at the locality on the main London–Sussex road known as Thornton Heath Pond. Between the manor house and pond was an isolated farmhouse. Eventually it became the site for the railway station and the main expansion hub. In the 50-year period from 1861 to 1911, Thornton Heath saw a complete transformation from isolated rural outpost to integrated metropolitan suburb. In its infancy, a new railway station in the eastern farmlands enabled the immediate area to evolve around a central point. In the late 19th century, the western part of Thornton Heath, which lay directly on the main London–Sussex road, demonstrated a classic form of suburban ribbon development. In the process, it became the final piece in an urban chain linking two major centres, London and Croydon, completing the greatest metropolitan expansion in the world at that time which cost £112 million in today’s money.

Geography

The nearest places are

Mitcham Mitcham is an area within the London Borough of Merton in South London, England. It is centred southwest of Charing Cross. Originally a village in the county of Surrey, today it is mainly a residential suburb, and includes Mitcham Common. It ha ...

South Norwood South Norwood is a district of south-east London, England, within the London Borough of Croydon, Greater London and formerly in the historic county of Surrey. It is located 7.8 miles (12.5 km) south-east of Charing Cross, north of Wood ...

Norbury Norbury is an area of south London. It shares the postcode London SW16 with neighbouring Streatham. Norbury is south of Charing Cross. Etymology The name Norbury derives from ''North Burh'', (North Borough). Some local histories note that ...

Pollards Hill Pollards Hill is a small residential district straddling south London boroughs of Croydon and Merton between Mitcham, Norbury and Thornton Heath. The boundary of the two boroughs is a street named Recreation Way. No roads directly cross the Cro ...

Selhurst Selhurst is an area in the London Borough of Croydon south-south-east of Charing Cross. Historically it lay in Surrey. The area is bounded to the west and south by Thornton Heath and Croydon and to the east and south by South Norwood and Woodsid ...

, Upper Norwood and

Eastfields Eastfields is an area of South London situated between Mitcham and Streatham. The area is home to St Mark's Academy (formerly known as Eastfields and then Mitcham Vale) secondary school and to Mitcham Eastfields railway station, which opened on ...

. The geology for the general area is that some areas have clayey, heavy soil including Norbury and South Norwood. There is gravelly, fertile soil in parts of the Thornton Heath area which explains why market gardening and gravel extraction were major industries.

Transport

Bus

Thornton Heath 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 50, 60, 64, 109, 130, 198, 250, 289, 450,

468 __NOTOC__ Year 468 ( CDLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Anthemius without colleague (or, less frequently, year ...

and X68, plus night routes N68, N109 and

N250 N, or n, is the fourteenth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''en'' (pronounced ), plural ''ens''. History ...

and school route 663. Thornton Heath bus garage, owned by

Arriva London Arriva London is a major bus company operating services in Greater London. It is a subsidiary of Arriva UK Bus and operates services under contract to Transport for London. It was formed in 1998 from a fusion of previously separate Arriva s ...

, is at the junction of London Road and Thornton Road, known as Thornton Heath Pond.

Rail

Thornton Heath railway station Thornton Heath is a railway station in the London Borough of Croydon in south London, down the line from . It is on the Brighton Main Line between Norbury and Selhurst. The station is operated by Southern, who also provide all train services.T ...

is on the

London Victoria Victoria station, also known as London Victoria, is a central London railway terminus and connected London Underground station in Victoria, in the City of Westminster, managed by Network Rail. Named after the nearby Victoria Street (not the Q ...

branch of the

Brighton Main Line The Brighton Main Line (also known as the South Central Main Line) is a major railway line in the United Kingdom that links Brighton, on the south coast of England, with central London. In London the line has two branches, out of and station ...

, and is operated by Southern. Other stations nearby are

, the next station down, and

Norwood Junction Norwood Junction railway station is a National Rail station in South Norwood in the London Borough of Croydon, south London and is in Travelcard Zone 4. It is down the line from . The station is managed by London Overground and trains are oper ...

, on the East London line of the

London Overground London Overground (also known simply as the Overground) is a Urban rail in the United Kingdom, suburban rail network serving London and its environs. Established in 2007 to take over Silverlink Metro routes, (via archive.org). it now serves a ...

Culture and architecture

St Paul's church, Thornton Heath - geograph

St Alban's church, Grange Road - geograph

Thornton Heath Pond, Croydon, Surrey - geograph

Architecturally, Thornton Heath is predominantly Victorian in both its residential and commercial sectors. There are a number of imposing, even grand, buildings surviving from this period. Two examples are St Paul's Church and St Alban's Church. St Alban's is an Anglican church and is listed Grade II. Built in 1889, it was the first church designed by the late Victorian architect

Sir Ninian Comper Sir John Ninian Comper (10 June 1864 – 22 December 1960) was a Scottish architect; one of the last of the great Gothic Revival architects. His work almost entirely focused on the design, restoration and embellishment of churches, and the de ...

. It is situated on a busy junction (of Grange Road and the High Street), as can be seen in the photograph. It is described as being of a red-brick perpendicular style with stone dressing. At the junction of the High Street and Parchmore Road, on a site previously called Walker's Green, stands the Clocktower, which was built in 1900, financed partly by public subscription. However, the Victorian baths did not survive, and were replaced by a modern sports and leisure centre in 2004. It cost £8m with £2.8m from the British National Lottery ''Good Causes'' Fund through

Sport England Sport England is a non-departmental public body under the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. Its role is to build the foundations of a community sport system by working with national governing bodies of sport, and other funded par ...

. Several small and large blocks of flats have been built in the area, in a similar style. A large one is Crystal Court, adjacent to the Leisure Centre. There was an intense fire there. Although the building had passed safety checks, residents were concerned about the role of the cladding. This is being replaced. Architects have posted about their project in the Library with a Council remit to refurbish and extend the Edwardian building, in particular to improve access. There was also work as part of the regeneration project of the High Street to the Library on Brigstock Road There was a contest organised by Thornton Heath Community Action team for a planned redesign for the central area, won by architecture students

Demography

Thornton Heath has a high degree of ethnic diversity with large proportion of people from a

BAME A number of different systems of classification of ethnicity in the United Kingdom exist. These schemata have been the subject of debate, including about the nature of ethnicity, how or whether it can be categorised, and the relationship betwe ...

background. In the 2011 census, Thornton Heath, comprising the wards of Bensham Manor,

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 ...

and West Thornton, was

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 ...

(36.4%),

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 ...

(27.4%),

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 ...

(25.9%), Mixed/multiple ethnic groups (7.1%), and Other ethnic group (6.6%). The largest single ethnicity is White British (20.2%) followed by

British African-Caribbean people British African-Caribbean people are an ethnic group in the United Kingdom. They are British citizens whose ancestry originates from the Caribbean or they are nationals of the Caribbean who reside in the UK. There are some self-identified Afro-C ...

(17.6%).

Sport and leisure

Thornton Heath gained a new leisure centre in May 2004 which has proved popular. The popularity was such that

turnstile A turnstile (also called a turnpike, gateline, baffle gate, automated gate, turn gate in some regions) is a form of gate which allows one person to pass at a time. A turnstile can be configured to enforce one-way human traffic. In addition, a t ...

s had to be fitted to improve security. The centre is owned by Croydon Council, but originally run by Parkwood Leisure, and now run by Fusion Lifestyle in partnership with the council. Thornton Heath formerly had a

Non-League football Non-League football describes football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is specifically used to de ...

club, Croydon Athletic, who played at the Keith Tuckey Stadium; but the club ceased to exist at the end of the 2010–11 season. In 2012, fans of the club formed

AFC Croydon Athletic AFC Croydon Athletic is a football club based in Thornton Heath in the London Borough of Croydon, England. The club are currently members of the and play at the Mayfield Stadium. They are affiliated to the London Football Association. History ...

, which plays at the Mayfield Stadium. In 2015 the club competed in the Southern Counties East League. The reformed 5 time

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

winners

Wanderers FC Wanderers Football Club was an English association football club. It was founded as "Forest Football Club" in 1859 in Leytonstone. In 1864, it changed its name to "Wanderers", a reference to it never having a home stadium, instead playing at v ...

currently play at Thornton Heath. Thornton Heath is also home to historic rugby club

Streatham-Croydon RFC The Streatham-Croydon Rugby Football Club, is a rugby union club, founded in 1871, based at Frant Road, Thornton Heath, in the London Borough of Croydon, south London. Streatham-Croydon currently play in Counties Surrey 4. The club's teams play i ...

founded in 1871. Their grounds and clubhouse are located in Frant Road off Brigstock Road. Thornton Heath is one of the railway stations used by visitors to

Crystal Palace Crystal Palace may refer to: Places Canada * Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick * Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario * Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition building ...

Selhurst Park Selhurst Park is a football stadium in Selhurst in the London Borough of Croydon which is the home ground of Premier League side Crystal Palace. The stadium was designed by Archibald Leitch and opened in 1924. It has hosted international footba ...

stadium. There are 3 parks in Thornton Heath. Their websites have details including facilities: Grangewood Park, Thornton Heath Recreation Ground, and Trumble Gardens. The 2012 Olympic torch was taken along the High Street and Brigstock Road.

Health

Thornton Heath healthcare is part of NHS Croydon Health Services GP practices are independent and receive NHS funding. The Council covers some health services such as public health. It has sole responsibility for social services. The local hospital changed its name to Croydon University Hospital. It was assessed in 2021 by the Care Quality Commission as 'requiring improvement' overall. However,some specific services were rated as 'good'.

Community

Thornton Heath Community Action Team was formed in 2014 by a group of residents and businesses. Its aim is to deliver projects and to improve the area. This has included: organising litter picks, planting of new plants, and a community Christmas tree. Members of the community have a garden in part of a local park, and are maintaining the planting area in the Ambassadors House forecourt. They also lobby and campaign on relevant local issues. Sustainable Thornton Heath is a group of local people concerned about the environment. Friends of Grangewood Park organise events and projects to improve the park, and to encourage people to use it. Facebook groups include Thornton Heath Community Action Team and Thornton Heath Local, a more general group. Both are private but easy for local people to join. A Thornton Heath app has been created; 'We are Thornton Heath' . There is local news in the 'Thornton Heath Chronicle'. There were Thornton Heath festivals for several years up to 2019. The Council had a Regeneration Plan for Thornton Heath. "Since 2016 we have been involving local people in an improvement programme, making the High Street and Brigstock Road more attractive, with funding from the GLA. This included new pavements and road improvements, upgrades to shop fronts, wall art by local artists along the high street, and improvements to the forecourt of Ambassador House." Unfortunately, there were quality problems with some of the work. In addition to the murals in the improvement programme, there are other artworks, such as a mosaic and mural at the station. An 'Art Trail' map was compiled as a guide. All the banks have closed their branches Some (not all) are listed on a website There is a growing number of branches from chains such as: Subway, Boots Optician, Poundland and Costa. The number of hairdressers, nail bars, takeaway shops and cafes and independent food shops has increased in recent years. There is also a wider variety of food, such as halal meat and ingredients for some South Asian, Eastern European and Afro Caribbean recipes. Unfortunately, several food outlets got poor hygiene ratings in an official inspection.

Notable residents

Eric Barker Eric Leslie Barker (12 February 1912 – 1 June 1990) was an English comedy actor. He is most remembered for his roles in the popular British ''Carry On'' films, although he only appeared in the early films in the series, apart from returning f ...

, actor * Alfred J. Bennett, artist * Mary Berkeley, athlete *

Martin Butcher Martin Simon Butcher (born 19 May 1958) is a former English cricketer. He was a right-handed batsman. He was born at Thornton Heath, Surrey. Butcher made a single first-class appearance for Surrey against Oxford University at the University ...

, cricketer * Ashley Chin, actor *

Del Dettmar Del Dettmar (born 20 April 1947 in Thornton Heath, Surrey, England) is best known as synthesizer and keyboard player with the English space rock band Hawkwind from 1971 to 1974. After leaving school he had a number of jobs including working in a ...

, musician *

Jane Drew Dame Jane Drew , (24 March 1911 – 27 July 1996) was an English modernist architect and town planner. She qualified at the Architectural Association School in London, and prior to World War II became one of the leading exponents of the Modern ...

, architect * Mickey Finn, musician *

Frankmusik Vincent James Turner (born 9 October 1985), better known by his stage name Frankmusik ( ) (and between 2011 and 2012, by the name Vincent Did It), is an English synth-pop musician. Early life Vincent was born on 9 October 1985 in the Thornton H ...

, musician *

W. H. Greenleaf William Howard Greenleaf (14 April 1927 – 10 March 2008) was a British Political science, political scientist.Rodney Barker,WH Greenleaf, ''The Guardian'' (12 June 2008), retrieved 13 February 2020.D. J. B. Hawkins Denis John Bernard Hawkins (17 July 1906 – 16 January 1964) was a British philosopher and Catholic Church, Roman Catholic priest. Hawkins was born in Thornton Heath and attended Whitgift School, Croydon.

, philosopher * Beth Hazel, swimmer * Anne Hocking, writer *

London Hughes London Dionne Micha Stacey Stephanie Estina Knibbs-Hughes (born 1989) is a British comedian, television writer and presenter. She wrote and starred in ''Laughter Shock'', a comedy for the BBC which piloted in 2010. Early life London Dionne Mich ...

, comedian * Christopher Louis McIntosh Johnson, journalist *

Wizz Jones Raymond Ronald Jones (born 25 April 1939), better-known as Wizz Jones, is an English acoustic guitarist, singer and songwriter. He was born in Thornton Heath, Surrey, England and has been performing since the late 1950s and sound recording an ...

, musician *

Simon Jordan Simon Jordan (born 24 September 1967) is an English businessman who made his fortune in the mobile phone industry. In 2000, he purchased Crystal Palace Football Club and remained chairman of the club until administration in early 2010. In 2002, ...

, businessman *

Peter Ling Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a su ...

, television writer *

Edward Lloyd Edward Lloyd may refer to: Politicians *Edward Lloyd (MP for Montgomery), Welsh lawyer and politician * Edward Lloyd (16th-century MP) (died 1547) for Buckingham *Edward Lloyd, 1st Baron Mostyn (1768–1854), British politician *Edward Lloyd (Colon ...

, publisher * David Payne, footballer *

Dickie Pride Dickie Pride (born Richard Charles Kneller; 21 October 1941 – 26 March 1969) was an English singer. He was one of Larry Parnes' stable of pop music stars, who didn't achieve the same successful career as some of his contemporaries. Early li ...

, musician *

Martyn Rooney Martyn Joseph Rooney (born 3 April 1987) is an English Sprint (running), sprinter who specialises in the 400 metres event. He reached the 400 m final at the 2008 Summer Olympics and won bronze in the 4×400 metres relay. A mainstay on the a ...

, athlete *

Flora Sandes Flora Sandes (, 22 January 1876 – 24 November 1956) was a British woman who served as a member of the Royal Serbian Army in World War I. She was the only British woman officially to serve as a soldier in that war. Initially a St. John Ambula ...

, soldier *

Steve James Sherlock Steve James Sherlock (born 1953) is a British composer, musician, saxophone player who was a founder member of Neu Electrikk, joined Matt Johnson in the Post punk band The The and notably Marc Almond in Marc and the Mambas. Career summary Sh ...

, composer *

John Shuter John Shuter (9 February 1855 – 5 July 1920) was a cricketer who played for England and Surrey in the late 19th century. He is best remembered for captaining Surrey to a string of wins in the County Championship around the time it became offic ...

, cricketer * Paul Simonon, musician * Emile Smith Rowe, footballer *

Stormzy Michael Ebenezer Kwadjo Omari Owuo Jr. (born 26 July 1993), known professionally as Stormzy, is a British rapper, singer and songwriter. In 2014, he gained attention on the UK underground music scene through his ''Wicked Skengman'' series of f ...

, musician * Don Weller, musician *

Wilfried Zaha Dazet Wilfried Armel Zaha (born 10 November 1992) is a professional footballer who plays as a forward for club Crystal Palace and the Ivory Coast national team. Zaha advanced into the Crystal Palace first team from their academy, in 2010. In ...

, footballer * SL, rapper

References

External links

{{Authority control Districts of the London Borough of Croydon Areas of London District centres of London