Croydon is a large town in
South London
South London is the southern part of Greater London, England, south of the River Thames. The region consists of the Districts of England, boroughs, in whole or in part, of London Borough of Bexley, Bexley, London Borough of Bromley, Bromley, Lon ...
, England, south of
Charing Cross
Charing Cross ( ) is a junction in Westminster, London, England, where six routes meet. Since the early 19th century, Charing Cross has been the notional "centre of London" and became the point from which distances from London are measured. ...
. Part of the
London Borough of Croydon
The London Borough of Croydon () is a London borough, borough in South London, part of Outer London. It covers an area of and had a population of 397,741 as of mid-2023, making it the most populous London borough. It is London's southernmost ...
, a
local government district
Local may refer to:
Geography and transportation
* Local (train), a train serving local traffic demand
* Local, Missouri, a community in the United States
Arts, entertainment, and media
* ''Local'' (comics), a limited series comic book by Bria ...
of
Greater London
Greater London is an administrative area in England, coterminous with the London region, containing most of the continuous urban area of London. It contains 33 local government districts: the 32 London boroughs, which form a Ceremonial count ...
; it is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater London, with an extensive shopping area.
The entire town had a population of 192,064 as of 2011, whilst the wider borough had a population of 384,837.
Historically an
ancient parish
In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...
in the
Wallington Hundred of Surrey, at the time of the
Norman conquest of England
The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Normans, Norman, French people, French, Flemish people, Flemish, and Bretons, Breton troops, all led by the Du ...
Croydon had a church, a mill, and around 365 inhabitants, as recorded in the
Domesday Book
Domesday Book ( ; the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book") is a manuscript record of the Great Survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...
of 1086.
Croydon expanded in the
Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...
as a
market town
A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village or city. In Britain, small rura ...
and a centre for charcoal production, leather tanning and brewing, with the
brewing
Brewing is the production of beer by steeping a starch source (commonly cereal grains, the most popular of which is barley) in water and #Fermenting, fermenting the resulting sweet liquid with Yeast#Beer, yeast. It may be done in a brewery ...
industry in particular remaining strong for hundreds of years. The
Surrey Iron Railway
The Surrey Iron Railway (SIR) was a horse-drawn narrow-gauge plateway that linked Wandsworth and Croydon via Mitcham, all then in Surrey but now suburbs of south London, in England. It was established by Act of Parliament in 1801, and opened p ...
from Croydon to
Wandsworth
Wandsworth Town () is a district of south London, within the London Borough of Wandsworth southwest of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London.
Toponymy
Wandsworth takes its name ...
opened in 1803 and was an early public railway.
Later 19th century railway building facilitated Croydon's growth as a
commuter town
A commuter town is a populated area that is primarily residential rather than commercial or industrial. Routine travel from home to work and back is called commuting, which is where the term comes from. A commuter town may be called by many o ...
for London.
By the early 20th century, Croydon was an important industrial area, known for car manufacture, metalworking and
Croydon Airport
Croydon Airport was the UK's only international airport during the interwar period. It opened in 1920, located near Croydon, then part of Surrey. Built in a Neoclassical architecture, Neoclassical style, it was developed as Britain's main airp ...
.
In the mid 20th century these sectors were replaced by retailing and the
service economy
Service economy can refer to one or both of two recent economic developments:
* The increased importance of the service sector in industrialized economies. The current list of Fortune 500 companies contains more service companies and fewer m ...
, brought about by massive redevelopment which saw the rise of office blocks and the
Whitgift Centre
The Whitgift Centre is a large shopping centre in the town centre of Croydon, opening in stages between 1968 and 1970. The centre comprises of retail space, and was the largest covered shopping development in Greater London until the opening of ...
, the largest shopping centre in Greater London until 2008. Historically, the town formed part of the
County
A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...
of
Surrey
Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...
, and between 1889 and 1965 a
county borough, but it was
amalgamated into Greater London in 1965.
Croydon lies on a transport corridor between
central London
Central London is the innermost part of London, in England, spanning the City of London and several boroughs. Over time, a number of definitions have been used to define the scope of Central London for statistics, urban planning and local gove ...
and the south coast of England, to the north of two high gaps in the
North Downs
The North Downs are a ridge of chalk hills in south east England that stretch from Farnham in Surrey to the White Cliffs of Dover in Kent. Much of the North Downs comprises two Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, Areas of Outstanding Natural Be ...
, one taken by the
A23 Brighton Road and the main railway line through
Purley and
Merstham
Merstham is a town in the borough of Reigate and Banstead in Surrey, England. It lies 17 miles south of Charing Cross just beyond the Greater London border. Part of the North Downs Way runs along the northern boundary of the town. Merstham has ...
and the other by the
A22 from Purley to the
M25 Godstone
Godstone is a village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Tandridge District of Surrey, England. It is east of Reigate, west of Oxted, east of Guildford and south of London. Close to the North Downs, both the North Downs Way ...
interchange.
Road traffic is diverted away from a largely pedestrianised town centre, mostly consisting of
North End.
East Croydon railway station is a hub of the national railway system, with frequent fast services to central
London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
,
Brighton
Brighton ( ) is a seaside resort in the city status in the United Kingdom, city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England, south of London.
Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Age Britain, Bronze Age, R ...
and the south coast.
The town is also at the centre of the only
tramway system in
Southern England
Southern England, also known as the South of England or the South, is a sub-national part of England. Officially, it is made up of the southern, south-western and part of the eastern parts of England, consisting of the statistical regions of ...
.
History
Toponymy

As the vast majority of place names in the area are of Anglo-Saxon origin, the theory accepted by most
philologists
Philology () is the study of language in Oral tradition, oral and writing, written historical sources. It is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics with strong ties to etymology. Philology is also de ...
is that the name Croydon derives originally from the
Old English
Old English ( or , or ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. It developed from the languages brought to Great Britain by Anglo-S ...
''croh'', meaning "
crocus
''Crocus'' (; plural: crocuses or croci) is a genus of seasonal flowering plants in the family Iridaceae (iris family) comprising about 100 species of perennial plant, perennials growing from corms. They are low growing plants, whose flower stem ...
", and ''denu'', "
valley
A valley is an elongated low area often running between hills or mountains and typically containing a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surface by rivers or streams over ...
", indicating that, like
Saffron Walden
Saffron Walden is a market town and civil parish in the Uttlesford district of Essex, England, north of Bishop's Stortford, south of Cambridge and north of London. It retains a rural appearance and some buildings of the medieval period. Th ...
in Essex, it was a centre for the cultivation of
saffron
Saffron () is a spice derived from the flower of '' Crocus sativus'', commonly known as the "saffron crocus". The vivid crimson stigma and styles, called threads, are collected and dried for use mainly as a seasoning and colouring agent ...
.
It has been argued that this cultivation is likely to have taken place in the
Roman
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of Roman civilization
*Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...
period, when the saffron crocus would have been grown to supply the
London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
market, most probably for
medicinal
Medicine is the science and Praxis (process), practice of caring for patients, managing the Medical diagnosis, diagnosis, prognosis, Preventive medicine, prevention, therapy, treatment, Palliative care, palliation of their injury or disease, ...
purposes, and particularly for the treatment of
granulation of the eyelids.
One claim, originally made by
Andrew Coltee Ducarel, that John Corbet Anderson challenged, said that the name came from the Old French for "chalk hill", because it was in use at least a century before the
French language
French ( or ) is a Romance languages, Romance language of the Indo-European languages, Indo-European family. Like all other Romance languages, it descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire. French evolved from Northern Old Gallo-R ...
would have been commonly used following the
Norman Conquest
The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Normans, Norman, French people, French, Flemish people, Flemish, and Bretons, Breton troops, all led by the Du ...
. However, there was no long-term Danish occupation (see
Danelaw
The Danelaw (, ; ; ) was the part of History of Anglo-Saxon England, England between the late ninth century and the Norman Conquest under Anglo-Saxon rule in which Danes (tribe), Danish laws applied. The Danelaw originated in the conquest and oc ...
) in Surrey, which was part of
Wessex
The Kingdom of the West Saxons, also known as the Kingdom of Wessex, was an Anglo-Saxon Heptarchy, kingdom in the south of Great Britain, from around 519 until Alfred the Great declared himself as King of the Anglo-Saxons in 886.
The Anglo-Sa ...
, and Danish-derived nomenclature is also highly unlikely. More recently, David Bird has speculated that the name might derive from a personal name, ''Crocus'': he suggests a family connection with the documented
Chrocus
Chrocus or Crocus (fl. 260–306 AD) was a leader of the Alamanni in the late 3rd to early 4th centuries. In 260, he led an uprising of the Alamanni against the Roman Empire, traversing the Upper Germanic Limes and advancing as far as Clermont-Fe ...
, king of the
Alemanni
The Alemanni or Alamanni were a confederation of Germanic peoples, Germanic tribes
*
*
*
on the Upper Rhine River during the first millennium. First mentioned by Cassius Dio in the context of the campaign of Roman emperor Caracalla of 213 CE ...
, who allegedly played a part in the proclamation of
Constantine
Constantine most often refers to:
* Constantine the Great, Roman emperor from 306 to 337, also known as Constantine I
* Constantine, Algeria, a city in Algeria
Constantine may also refer to:
People
* Constantine (name), a masculine g ...
as emperor at
York
York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...
in AD 306.
An alternative, although less probable, theories of the name's origin have been proposed. According to Anderson:
The earliest mention of Croydon is in the joint will of Beorhtric and Aelfswth, dated about the year 962. In this Anglo-Saxon document the name is spelt Old English
Old English ( or , or ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. It developed from the languages brought to Great Britain by Anglo-S ...
characters] ''Crogdaene''. Crog was, and still is, the Norse or Danish word for crooked, which is expressed in Anglo-Saxon
The Anglo-Saxons, in some contexts simply called Saxons or the English, were a Cultural identity, cultural group who spoke Old English and inhabited much of what is now England and south-eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. They traced t ...
by ''crumb'', a totally different word. From the Danish language, Danish came our ''crook'' and ''crooked''. This term accurately describes the locality; it is a ''crooked'' or ''winding valley'', in reference to the valley that runs in an oblique and serpentine course from Godstone
Godstone is a village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Tandridge District of Surrey, England. It is east of Reigate, west of Oxted, east of Guildford and south of London. Close to the North Downs, both the North Downs Way ...
to Croydon.
Early history
The town lies on the line of the
Roman roads, Roman road from
London to Portslade, and there is some archaeological evidence for small-scale
Roman
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of Roman civilization
*Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...
settlement in the area: there may have been a ''
mansio
In the Roman Empire, a ''mansio'' (from the Latin word ''mansus,'' the perfect passive participle of ''manere'' "to remain" or "to stay") was an official stopping place on a Roman road, or ''via'', maintained by the central government for the use ...
'' (staging-post) here. Later, in the 5th to 7th centuries, a large
pagan
Paganism (, later 'civilian') is a term first used in the fourth century by early Christians for people in the Roman Empire who practiced polytheism, or ethnic religions other than Christianity, Judaism, and Samaritanism. In the time of the ...
Saxon
The Saxons, sometimes called the Old Saxons or Continental Saxons, were a Germanic people of early medieval "Old" Saxony () which became a Carolingian " stem duchy" in 804, in what is now northern Germany. Many of their neighbours were, like th ...
cemetery was situated on what is now Park Lane, although the extent of any associated settlement is unknown.
By the late Saxon period Croydon was the hub of an estate belonging to the
Archbishops of Canterbury
The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the bishop of the diocese of Canterbury. The first archbishop was Augustine ...
. The
church
Church may refer to:
Religion
* Church (building), a place/building for Christian religious activities and praying
* Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination
* Church service, a formalized period of Christian comm ...
and the archbishops'
manor house
A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were usually held the lord's manorial courts, communal mea ...
were situated in the area still known as "
Old Town
In a city or town, the old town is its historic or original core. Although the city is usually larger in its present form, many cities have redesignated this part of the city to commemorate its origins. In some cases, newer developments on t ...
". The archbishops used the manor house as an occasional place of residence: as
lords of the manor
Lord of the manor is a title that, in Anglo-Saxon England and Norman England, referred to the landholder of a historical rural estate. The titles date to the English Feudalism, feudal (specifically English feudal barony, baronial) system. The ...
they dominated the life of the town well into the
early modern period
The early modern period is a Periodization, historical period that is defined either as part of or as immediately preceding the modern period, with divisions based primarily on the history of Europe and the broader concept of modernity. There i ...
, and as local patrons they continue to have an influence. Croydon appears in
Domesday Book
Domesday Book ( ; the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book") is a manuscript record of the Great Survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...
(1086) as ''Croindene'', held by
Archbishop Lanfranc
Lanfranc, OSB (1005 1010 – 24 May 1089) was an Italian-born English churchman, monk and scholar. Born in Italy, he moved to Normandy to become a Benedictine monk at Bec. He served successively as prior of Bec Abbey and abbot of St Ste ...
. Its Domesday assets included 16
hides and 1
virgate
The virgate, yardland, or yard of land ( was an English unit of land. Primarily a measure of tax assessment rather than area, the virgate was usually (but not always) reckoned as hide and notionally (but seldom exactly) equal to 30 acr ...
of land; a church; a
mill
Mill may refer to:
Science and technology
* Factory
* Mill (grinding)
* Milling (machining)
* Millwork
* Paper mill
* Steel mill, a factory for the manufacture of steel
* Sugarcane mill
* Textile mill
* List of types of mill
* Mill, the arithmetic ...
worth 5s; 38
plough
A plough or ( US) plow (both pronounced ) is a farm tool for loosening or turning the soil before sowing seed or planting. Ploughs were traditionally drawn by oxen and horses but modern ploughs are drawn by tractors. A plough may have a wooden ...
-teams; of
meadow
A meadow ( ) is an open habitat or field, vegetated by grasses, herbs, and other non- woody plants. Trees or shrubs may sparsely populate meadows, as long as they maintain an open character. Meadows can occur naturally under favourable con ...
; and
woodland
A woodland () is, in the broad sense, land covered with woody plants (trees and shrubs), or in a narrow sense, synonymous with wood (or in the U.S., the '' plurale tantum'' woods), a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunli ...
for 200
hogs. It had a recorded population of 73 households (representing roughly 365 individuals); and its value in terms of taxes rendered was £37 10s 0d.

The church had been established in the
middle Saxon period, and was probably a
minster church
Minster is an honorific title given to particular churches in England and Wales, most notably York Minster in Yorkshire, Westminster Abbey in London and Southwell Minster in Nottinghamshire.
The term ''minster'' is first found in royal fou ...
, a base for a group of clergy living a communal life. A
charter
A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified. It is implicit that the granter retains superiority (or sovereignty), and that the ...
issued by King
Coenwulf of Mercia
Coenwulf (; also spelled Cenwulf, Kenulf, or Kenwulph; ) was the List of monarchs of Mercia, king of Mercia from December 796 until his death in 821. He was a descendant of King Pybba of Mercia, Pybba, who ruled Mercia in the early 7th century. ...
refers to a council that had taken place close to the ''monasterium'' (meaning minster) of Croydon. An Anglo-Saxon will made in about 960 is witnessed by Elfsies, priest of Croydon; and the church is also mentioned in
Domesday Book
Domesday Book ( ; the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book") is a manuscript record of the Great Survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...
.
The will of John de Croydon, fishmonger, dated 6 December 1347, includes a bequest to "the church of S John de Croydon", the earliest clear record of its
dedication.
The church still bears the arms of
Archbishop Courtenay and
Archbishop Chichele, believed to have been its benefactors.

In 1276 Archbishop
Robert Kilwardby
Robert Kilwardby ( c. 1215 – 11 September 1279) was an Archbishop of Canterbury in England and a cardinal. Kilwardby was the first member of a mendicant order to attain a high ecclesiastical office in the English Church.
Life
Kilwardby ...
acquired a
charter
A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified. It is implicit that the granter retains superiority (or sovereignty), and that the ...
for a weekly
market
Market is a term used to describe concepts such as:
*Market (economics), system in which parties engage in transactions according to supply and demand
*Market economy
*Marketplace, a physical marketplace or public market
*Marketing, the act of sat ...
, and this probably marks the foundation of Croydon as an urban centre. Croydon developed into one of the main
market town
A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village or city. In Britain, small rura ...
s of north-east Surrey. The
market place
A marketplace, market place, or just market, is a location where people regularly gather for the purchase and sale of provisions, livestock, and other goods. In different parts of the world, a marketplace may be described as a ''souk'' (from ...
was laid out on the higher ground to the east of the manor house in the triangle now bounded by High Street, Surrey Street and Crown Hill. By the 16th century the manor house had become a substantial palace, used as the main summer home of the archbishops and visited by monarchs and other dignitaries. However, the palace gradually became dilapidated and surrounded by
slum
A slum is a highly populated Urban area, urban residential area consisting of densely packed housing units of weak build quality and often associated with poverty. The infrastructure in slums is often deteriorated or incomplete, and they are p ...
s and stagnant ponds, and in 1781 the archbishops sold it, and in its place purchased a
new residence at nearby
Addington. Nevertheless, many of the buildings of the original
Croydon Palace survive, and are in use today as
Old Palace School.

The Parish Church (now
Croydon Minster
Croydon Minster is the parish and civic church of the London Borough of Croydon, located in the Old Town area of Croydon. There are currently more than 35 churches in the borough, with Croydon Minster being the most prominent. It is Grade I listed ...
) is a
Perpendicular
In geometry, two geometric objects are perpendicular if they intersect at right angles, i.e. at an angle of 90 degrees or π/2 radians. The condition of perpendicularity may be represented graphically using the '' perpendicular symbol'', � ...
-style church, which was remodelled in 1849 but destroyed in a great fire in 1867, after which only the tower, south porch, and outer walls remained. A new church was designed by Sir
George Gilbert Scott
Sir George Gilbert Scott (13 July 1811 – 27 March 1878), largely known as Sir Gilbert Scott, was a prolific English Gothic Revival architect, chiefly associated with the design, building and renovation of churches and cathedrals, although he ...
, one of the greatest architects of the
Victorian age
In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the reign of Queen Victoria, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. Slightly different definitions are sometimes used. The era followed th ...
, and opened in 1870. His design loosely followed the previous layout, with knapped
flint
Flint, occasionally flintstone, is a sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as the variety of chert that occurs in chalk or marly limestone. Historically, flint was widely used to make stone tools and start ...
facing and many of the original features, including several tombs. Croydon Parish Church is the burial place of six Archbishops of Canterbury:
John Whitgift
John Whitgift (c. 1530 – 29 February 1604) was the Archbishop of Canterbury from 1583 to his death. Noted for his hospitality, he was somewhat ostentatious in his habits, sometimes visiting Canterbury and other towns attended by a retinue of 8 ...
,
Edmund Grindal
Edmund Grindal ( 15196 July 1583) was Bishop of London, Archbishop of York, and Archbishop of Canterbury during the reign of Elizabeth I. Though born far from the centres of political and religious power, he had risen rapidly in the church durin ...
,
Gilbert Sheldon
Gilbert Sheldon (19 June 1598 – 9 November 1677) was an English religious leader who served as the Archbishop of Canterbury from 1663 until his death.
Early life
Sheldon was born in Stanton, Staffordshire in the parish of Ellastone, on 19 J ...
,
William Wake
William Wake (26 January 165724 January 1737) was a minister in the Church of England and Archbishop of Canterbury from 1716 to his death.
Life
Wake was born in Blandford Forum
Blandford Forum ( ) is a market town in Dorset, England, o ...
,
John Potter and
Thomas Herring
Thomas Herring (baptised 10 October 169323 March 1757) was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1747 to 1757.
Early life and education
He was the son of John Herring, rector of Walsoken in Norfolk, who had previously been vicar of Foxton, near Camb ...
.
Historically part of the
Diocese of Canterbury
The Diocese of Canterbury is a Church of England diocese covering East Kent, eastern Kent which was founded by St Augustine of Canterbury in 597. The diocese is centred on Canterbury Cathedral and is the oldest episcopal see, see of the Chur ...
, Croydon is now in the
Diocese of Southwark
The Diocese of Southwark ( ) is one of the 42 dioceses of the Church of England, part of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The diocese forms part of the Province of Canterbury in England. It was created on 1 May 1905 from part of the ancient ...
. In addition to the
suffragan
A suffragan bishop is a type of bishop in some Christian denominations.
In the Catholic Church, a suffragan bishop leads a diocese within an ecclesiastical province other than the principal diocese, the metropolitan archdiocese; the diocese led ...
Bishop of Croydon, the Vicar of Croydon is a
preferment.
Addington Palace
Addington Palace is an 18th-century mansion in Addington located within the London Borough of Croydon. It was built close to the site of an earlier manor house belonging to the Leigh family. It is particularly known for having been, between ...
is a
Palladian-style mansion between
Addington Village and
Shirley, in the
London Borough of Croydon
The London Borough of Croydon () is a London borough, borough in South London, part of Outer London. It covers an area of and had a population of 397,741 as of mid-2023, making it the most populous London borough. It is London's southernmost ...
.
Six archbishops lived there between 1807 and 1898, when it was sold.
Between 1953 and 1996 it was the home of the
Royal School of Church Music
The Royal School of Church Music (RSCM) is a Christian music education organisation dedicated to the promotion of music in Christian worship, in particular the repertoire and traditions of Anglican church music, largely through publications, tr ...
. It is now a conference and banqueting venue.
Croydon was home to the
Addiscombe Military Seminary
The East India Company Military Seminary was a British military academy at Addiscombe, Surrey, in what is now the London Borough of Croydon. It opened in 1809 and closed in 1861. Its purpose was to train young officers to serve in the East India ...
(1809–1861), at which young officers were trained for the army of the
East India Company
The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company that was founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to Indian Ocean trade, trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (South A ...
.
Croydon was a leisure destination in the mid 19th century. In 1831, one of England's most prominent architects,
Decimus Burton
Decimus Burton (30 September 1800 – 14 December 1881) was one of the foremost English architects and landscapers of the 19th century. He was the foremost Victorian architect in the Roman revival, Greek revival, Georgian neoclassical and Reg ...
, designed a spa and pleasure gardens below
Beulah Hill and off what is now Spa Hill in a bowl of land on the south-facing side of the hill around a spring of
chalybeate
Chalybeate () waters, also known as Iron oxide, ferruginous waters, are mineral spring waters containing salts of iron.
Name
The word ''chalybeate'' is derived from the Latin word for steel, , which follows from the Ancient Greek, Greek word ...
water. Burton was responsible for the Beulah Spa Hotel (demolished around 1935) and the layout of the grounds. Its official title was The Royal Beulah Spa and Gardens. It became a popular society venue attracting crowds to its ''fêtes''. One widely publicised event was a "Grand Scottish Fete" on 16 September 1834 "with a tightrope performance by
Pablo Fanque
Pablo Fanque (born William Darby; 30 March 1810 – 4 May 1871) was a British Equestrianism, equestrian performer and Circus, circus proprietor, becoming the first recorded Black circus owner in Britain. His circus was popular in Victorian Brit ...
, the black circus performer who would later dominate the Victorian circus and achieve immortality in
the Beatles
The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...
song, ''Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!''" The spa closed in 1856 soon after the opening nearby of
the Crystal Palace
The Crystal Palace was a cast iron and plate glass structure, originally built in Hyde Park, London, to house the Great Exhibition of 1851. The exhibition took place from 1 May to 15 October 1851, and more than 14,000 exhibitors from around ...
which had been rebuilt on
Sydenham Hill
Sydenham Hill forms part of Norwood Ridge, a longer ridge and is an affluent Human settlement, locality in southeast London. It is also the name of a road which runs along the northeastern part of the ridge, demarcating the London Boroughs of ...
in 1854, following its success at the
Great Exhibition
The Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations, also known as the Great Exhibition or the Crystal Palace Exhibition (in reference to the temporary structure in which it was held), was an international exhibition that took ...
in
Hyde Park.
Horse racing
Horse racing is an equestrian performance activity, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its bas ...
in the area took place occasionally, notably during visits of Queen
Elizabeth I
Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was List of English monarchs, Queen of England and List of Irish monarchs, Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. She was the last and longest reigning monarch of the House of Tudo ...
to the archbishop. Regular meetings became established first on a course at
Park Hill in 1860 and from 1866 at
Woodside, where particularly good prizes were offered for the races run under
National Hunt
National Hunt Racing, also known as Jump Racing, is a form of horse racing particular to many European countries, including, but not limited to: France, Great Britain and Ireland. Jump Racing requires horses to jump over fences and ditches.
In ...
rules. In that sphere its prestige was second only to
Aintree
Aintree is a village and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton, Merseyside, England. Historically in Lancashire, it lies between Walton and Maghull on the A59 road, northeast of Liverpool city centre. In 2011 the parish had a p ...
, home of the
Grand National
The Grand National is a National Hunt horse race held annually at Aintree Racecourse in Aintree, Merseyside, England. First run in 1839, it ...
. Increasing local opposition to the presence of allegedly unruly racegoers coupled with the need to obtain a licence from the local authority led to it being closed down in 1890.

The Elizabethan
Whitgift Almshouses, the "Hospital of the Holy Trinity", in the centre of Croydon at the corner of North End and George Street, were erected by Archbishop John Whitgift. He petitioned for and received permission from Queen
Elizabeth I
Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was List of English monarchs, Queen of England and List of Irish monarchs, Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. She was the last and longest reigning monarch of the House of Tudo ...
to establish a hospital and school in Croydon for the "poor, needy and impotent people" from the parishes of Croydon and
Lambeth
Lambeth () is a district in South London, England, which today also gives its name to the (much larger) London Borough of Lambeth. Lambeth itself was an ancient parish in the county of Surrey. It is situated 1 mile (1.6 km) south of Charin ...
. The foundation stone was laid in 1596 and the building was completed in 1599.
The premises included the Hospital or Almshouses, providing accommodation for between 28 and 40 people, and a nearby schoolhouse and schoolmaster's house. There was a Warden in charge of the well-being of the almoners. The building takes the form of a courtyard surrounded by the chambers of the almoners and various offices.
Threatened by various reconstruction plans and road-widening schemes, the Almshouses were saved in 1923 by intervention of the
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...
. On 21 June 1983,
Queen Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...
visited the Almshouses and unveiled a plaque celebrating the recently completed reconstruction of the building. On 22 March each year the laying of the foundation stone is commemorated as Founder's Day.
In 1864, the Catholic St Mary's Church in Croydon was opened. It was designed by
E. W. Pugin and
Frederick Walters Frederick Arthur Walters (5 February 1849–3 December 1931) was a Scottish architect working in the Victorian and Edwardian eras, notable for his Roman Catholic churches.
Life
Walters was born on 5 February 1849 at 6 South Terrace, Brompton, Lond ...
in the
Gothic Revival style
Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half of the 19th century ...
. The Grade II listed West Croydon Baptist Church was built in 1873 by J. Theodore Barker. It is a red brick building with stone dressings. Its three bays are divided by paired Doric pilasters supporting a
triglyph
Triglyph is an architectural term for the vertically channeled tablets of the Doric frieze in classical architecture, so called because of the angular channels in them. The rectangular recessed spaces between the triglyphs on a Doric frieze are ...
frieze
In classical architecture, the frieze is the wide central section of an entablature and may be plain in the Ionic order, Ionic or Corinthian order, Corinthian orders, or decorated with bas-reliefs. Patera (architecture), Paterae are also ...
and panelled parapet.
The Parish Church of St Michael and All Angels by
John Loughborough Pearson
John Loughborough Pearson (5 July 1817 – 11 December 1897) was a British Gothic Revival architect renowned for his work on churches and cathedrals. Pearson revived and practised largely the art of vaulting, and acquired in it a proficie ...
in West Croydon was built between 1880 and 1885, and is Grade I listed.
Industrial Revolution and the railway

The development of
Brighton
Brighton ( ) is a seaside resort in the city status in the United Kingdom, city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England, south of London.
Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Age Britain, Bronze Age, R ...
as a fashionable resort in the 1780s increased Croydon's importance as a halt for
stage coach
A stagecoach (also: stage coach, stage, road coach, ) is a four-wheeled public transport coach used to carry paying passengers and light packages on journeys long enough to need a change of horses. It is strongly sprung and generally drawn by ...
es on the road south of London. At the beginning of the 19th century, Croydon became the terminus of two pioneering commercial transport links with London. The first, opened in 1803, was the horse-drawn
Surrey Iron Railway
The Surrey Iron Railway (SIR) was a horse-drawn narrow-gauge plateway that linked Wandsworth and Croydon via Mitcham, all then in Surrey but now suburbs of south London, in England. It was established by Act of Parliament in 1801, and opened p ...
from
Wandsworth
Wandsworth Town () is a district of south London, within the London Borough of Wandsworth southwest of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London.
Toponymy
Wandsworth takes its name ...
, which in 1805 was extended to
Merstham
Merstham is a town in the borough of Reigate and Banstead in Surrey, England. It lies 17 miles south of Charing Cross just beyond the Greater London border. Part of the North Downs Way runs along the northern boundary of the town. Merstham has ...
, as the Croydon, Merstham and Godstone Railway. The second, opened in 1809, was the
Croydon Canal
The Croydon Canal ran from Croydon, via Forest Hill, to the Grand Surrey Canal at New Cross in south London, England. It opened in 1809 and closed in 1836, the first canal to be abandoned by an act of Parliament.
Authorised in 1801, the can ...
, which branched off the
Grand Surrey Canal at
Deptford
Deptford is an area on the south bank of the River Thames in southeast London, in the Royal Borough of Greenwich and London Borough of Lewisham. It is named after a Ford (crossing), ford of the River Ravensbourne. From the mid 16th century ...
. The
London and Croydon Railway
The London and Croydon Railway (L&CR) was an early railway in England. It opened in 1839 and in February 1846 merged with other railways to form the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway (LB&SCR).
Origins
The Croydon line and other railways
...
(an
atmospheric
An atmosphere () is a layer of gases that envelop an astronomical object, held in place by the gravity of the object. A planet retains an atmosphere when the gravity is great and the temperature of the atmosphere is low. A stellar atmosphere ...
and steam-powered railway) opened between
London Bridge
The name "London Bridge" refers to several historic crossings that have spanned the River Thames between the City of London and Southwark in central London since Roman Britain, Roman times. The current crossing, which opened to traffic in 197 ...
and
West Croydon in 1839, using much of the route of the canal (which had closed in 1836). Other connections to London and the south followed.
The arrival of the railways and other communications advances in the 19th century led to a 23-fold increase in Croydon's population between 1801 and 1901.
This rapid expansion of the town led to considerable health problems, especially in the damp and overcrowded working class district of Old Town. In response to this, in 1849 Croydon became one of the first towns in the country to acquire a
local board of health
A local board of health (or simply a ''local board'') was a local authority in urban areas of England and Wales from 1848 to 1894. They were formed in response to cholera epidemics and were given powers to control sewers, clean the streets, regulat ...
. The Board constructed
public health
Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals". Analyzing the de ...
infrastructure including a
reservoir
A reservoir (; ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam, usually built to water storage, store fresh water, often doubling for hydroelectric power generation.
Reservoirs are created by controlling a watercourse that drains an existing body of wa ...
,
water supply network
A water supply network or water supply system is a system of engineered hydrologic and hydraulic components that provide water supply. A water supply system typically includes the following:
# A drainage basin (see water purification – sour ...
,
sewers, a pumping station and
sewage disposal works. The
Surrey Street Pumping Station is Grade II listed; it was built in four phases. starting with the engine house in 1851, with a further engine house in 1862, a further extension in 1876–7 to house a compound horizontal engine and a further extension in 1912.
A growing town
In 1883 Croydon was incorporated as a borough. In 1889 it became a county borough, with a greater degree of autonomy. The new county borough council implemented the Croydon Improvement scheme in the early 1890s, which widened the High Street and cleared much of the "Middle Row" slum area. The remaining slums were
cleared shortly after
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, with much of the population relocated to the isolated new settlement of
New Addington
New Addington is an area of South London, England, within the London Borough of Croydon. It is located 5 miles south east of Croydon and is adjacent to the Greater London boundary with Surrey.
History
Until the 1930s, the area now known as New ...
. New stores opened and expanded in central Croydon, including
Allders
Allders was an independent department store operating in the United Kingdom.
The original store was established in 1862 in Croydon by Joshua Allder. In the second half of the 20th century, this parent store was developed into a chain of depart ...
, Kennards and Grade II listed
Grants
Grant or Grants may refer to:
People
* Grant (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters
* Grant (surname), including a list of people and fictional characters
** Ulysses S. Grant (1822–1885), the 18th president of the U ...
, as well as the first
Sainsbury's
J Sainsbury plc, trading as Sainsbury's, is a British supermarket and the second-largest chain of supermarkets in the United Kingdom.
Founded in 1869 by John James Sainsbury with a shop in Drury Lane, London, the company was the largest UK r ...
self-service shop in the country.
There was a market on
Surrey Street.
Croydon was the location of London's main airport until the Second World War. During the war, much of central Croydon was devastated by German
V-1 flying bomb
The V-1 flying bomb ( "Vengeance Weapon 1") was an early cruise missile. Its official Reich Aviation Ministry () name was Fieseler Fi 103 and its suggestive name was (hellhound). It was also known to the Allies as the buzz bomb or doodlebug a ...
s and
V-2
The V2 (), with the technical name '' Aggregat-4'' (A4), was the world's first long-range guided ballistic missile. The missile, powered by a liquid-propellant rocket engine, was developed during the Second World War in Nazi Germany as a " ven ...
rocket
A rocket (from , and so named for its shape) is a vehicle that uses jet propulsion to accelerate without using any surrounding air. A rocket engine produces thrust by reaction to exhaust expelled at high speed. Rocket engines work entirely ...
s, and for many years the town bore the scars of the destruction. After the war,
Heathrow Airport
Heathrow Airport , also colloquially known as London Heathrow Airport and named ''London Airport'' until 1966, is the primary and largest international airport serving London, the capital and most populous city of England and the United Kingdo ...
superseded
Croydon Airport
Croydon Airport was the UK's only international airport during the interwar period. It opened in 1920, located near Croydon, then part of Surrey. Built in a Neoclassical architecture, Neoclassical style, it was developed as Britain's main airp ...
as London's main airport, and Croydon Airport quickly went into a decline, finally closing in 1959.
By the 1950s, with its continuing growth, the town was becoming
congested, and the Council decided on another major redevelopment scheme. The Croydon Corporation Act was passed in 1956. This, coupled with national government incentives for office relocation out of Central London, led to the building of new offices and accompanying road schemes through the late 1950s and 1960s, and the town boomed as a business centre in the 1960s, with many multi-storey office blocks, an
underpass
A subway, also known as an underpass, is a grade-separated pedestrian crossing running underneath a road or railway in order to entirely separate pedestrians and cyclists from motor or train traffic.
Terminology
In the United States, as ...
, a
flyover and
multi-storey car park
A multistorey car park (Commonwealth English) or parking garage (American English), also called a multistorey, parking building, parking structure, parkade (Canadian), parking ramp, parking deck, or indoor parking, is a building designed fo ...
s. The redeveloped town centre has since been identified as an "
edge city
An edge city is a concentration of business, shopping, and entertainment outside a traditional downtown or central business district, in what had previously been a suburban, residential or rural area. The term was popularized by the 1991 boo ...
" – a significant urban and commercial centre in its own right, located on the outskirts of a larger metropolitan area (in this case, London).
In 1960 Croydon celebrated its millennium with a pageant held at Lloyd Park and an exhibition held at the old Croydon Aerodrome.
Modern Croydon
The growing town attracted many new buildings. The
Fairfield Halls
Fairfield Halls is an arts, entertainment and conference centre in Croydon, London, England, which opened in 1962 and contains a theatre and gallery, and a large concert hall regularly used for BBC television, radio and orchestral recordings. F ...
arts centre and event venue opened in 1962. Croydon developed as an important centre for shopping, with the construction of the
Whitgift Centre
The Whitgift Centre is a large shopping centre in the town centre of Croydon, opening in stages between 1968 and 1970. The centre comprises of retail space, and was the largest covered shopping development in Greater London until the opening of ...
in 1969.
No. 1 Croydon (formerly the NLA Tower)
designed by
Richard Seifert & Partners was completed in 1970. The
Warehouse Theatre opened in 1977.
The 1990s saw further changes intended to give the town a more attractive image. These included the closure of
North End to vehicles in 1989 and the opening of the
Croydon Clocktower arts centre in 1994. An early success of the centre was the "
Picasso
Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, Ceramic art, ceramicist, and Scenic ...
's Croydon Period" exhibition of March–May 1995.
The Croydon
Tramlink
Tramlink, previously Croydon Tramlink and currently branded as London Trams, is a light rail tram system serving Croydon and surrounding areas in South London, England. It is the first operational tram system serving the London region since 195 ...
began operation in May 2000 (see Transport section below).
The Prospect West office development was built in 1991 to 1992, and its remodelling planned in 2012 has now been completed. Renamed Interchange Croydon when it was reopened in 2014, the 180,000 square foot office development was the first new grade A office development of its size to open in Croydon for more than 20 years.
Another large shopping centre,
Centrale, opened in 2004 opposite the Whitgift Centre, and adjoining the smaller
Drummond Centre.
House of Fraser
House of Fraser (rebranding to Frasers) is a British department store chain with 23 locations across the United Kingdom and 2 in Ireland, part of Frasers Group. It was established in Glasgow, Scotland, in 1849 as Arthur and Fraser. By 1891, it ...
and
Debenhams
Debenhams plc was a British department store chain that operated in the United Kingdom, Ireland and Denmark, as well as franchised locations across Europe and the Asia Pacific.
The company was founded in 1778 as a single store in London and gr ...
are the anchor stores in the combined centre. In addition, there are plans for a large, new one billion pound shopping centre, in the form of a new
Westfield shopping mall to add to the two which the company currently has in Greater London; Westfield plans to work jointly with
Hammerson
Hammerson PLC is a major British property development and investment company. The firm switched to real estate investment trust (REIT) status when they were introduced in the United Kingdom in January 2007. It is listed on the London Stock Excha ...
and to incorporate the best aspects of the two companies' designs. In November 2017, Croydon Council gave permission for the new Westfield shopping centre to be built and in January 2018, the
Mayor of London
The mayor of London is the chief executive of the Greater London Authority. The role was created in 2000 after the Greater London devolution referendum in 1998, and was the first directly elected mayor in the United Kingdom.
The current ...
,
Sadiq Khan
Sir Sadiq Aman Khan (, ; born 8 October 1970) is a British politician serving as Mayor of London since 2016. He was previously Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Tooting (UK Parliament constituency), Tooting ...
, approved the regeneration scheme. Work to demolish the existing Whitgift Centre was due to begin in 2018 and Westfield Croydon was initially to open by 2022. The Westfield plans were delayed and the planning permission elapsed: however, in 2021, Croydon Council confirmed they were committed to see the Westfield Centre proceed. There are several other major plans for the town including the redevelopment of the
Croydon Gateway site; and extensions of Tramlink to Purley Way,
Streatham
Streatham ( ) is a district in south London, England. Centred south of Charing Cross, it lies mostly within the London Borough of Lambeth, with some parts extending into the neighbouring London Borough of Wandsworth.
Streatham was in Surrey ...
,
Lewisham
Lewisham ( ) is an area of southeast London, England, south of Charing Cross. It is the principal area of the London Borough of Lewisham, and was within the Historic counties of England, historic county of Kent until 1889. It is identified in ...
and
Crystal Palace.
Croydon has many tall buildings such as the former
Nestlé Tower (St George's House). The London Borough of Croydon's strategic planning committee in February 2013 gave the go-ahead to property fund manager Legal and General Property's plans to convert the empty 24-storey St George's House office building, occupied by Nestlé until September 2012, into 288 flats.
In 2007, events were held under the label of
Croydon Exp07 to promote billions of pounds of promised projects, including swimming pools and a library. However, plans for a new shopping centre, to be called
Park Place, had already been abandoned amid a scandal about
cash for peerages
The Cash-for-Honours scandal (also known as Cash for Peerages, Loans for Lordships, Loans for Honours or Loans for Peerages) was a political scandal in the United Kingdom in 2006 and 2007 concerning the connection between political donations an ...
. Also abandoned were plans for an arena near the East Croydon station, after a compulsory purchase order was rejected in 2008 at Cabinet level.
On 22 November 2011, then Mayor of London
Boris Johnson
Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (born 19 June 1964) is a British politician and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 2019 to 2022. He wa ...
announced £23m of additional funding to help redevelop the town at the Develop Croydon Conference.
Several apartment developments, for instance
Altitude 25 (completed 2010), have been built in recent years, and several more are being built or planned. The construction of
Saffron Square,
which includes a 43-storey tower, began on Wellesley Road in 2011 and was completed in 2016. Other developments with towers over 50 floors high have been given planning approval. These include the 54-storey "Menta Tower" in Cherry Orchard Road near East Croydon station, and a 55-storey tower at One Lansdowne Road, on which construction was set to begin in early 2013. The latter is set to be Britain's tallest block of flats, including office space, a four-star hotel and a health club.
In May 2012 it was announced that Croydon had been successful in its bid to become one of twelve "
Portas Pilot" towns and would receive a share of £1.2m funding to help rejuvenate its central shopping areas.

In November 2013, Central Croydon MP
Gavin Barwell
Gavin Laurence Barwell, Baron Barwell (born 23 January 1972) is a British politician and former Downing Street Chief of Staff to Prime Minister Theresa May. A member of the Conservative Party, he was Member of Parliament for Croydon Central ...
gave a presentation at a public meeting on the Croydon regeneration project, detailing various developments underway due to be completed in coming years.
On 26 November 2013, Croydon Council approved a redevelopment of the Town Centre by The Croydon Partnership, a joint venture by the
Westfield Group
Westfield Group was an Australian shopping centre company that existed from 1960 to 2014, when it split into two independent companies: Scentre Group, which owns and operates the Australian and New Zealand Westfield shopping centre portfolio; ...
and Hammerson. London Mayor Boris Johnson approved the plan the following day. The ''
Croydon Advertiser'' listed the approval as an "Historic Night for Croydon".
At
Ruskin Square, a
Boxpark
Boxpark is a food and retail park made out of refitted shipping containers in Britain. It was founded by Roger Wade, who described it as the "world's first pop-up mall". The first Boxpark was launched in Shoreditch in 2011, another was built ...
made of sea containers opened in 2016 as a temporary measure until new buildings are constructed for shops, offices and housing. The ''
London Evening Standard
The ''London Standard'', formerly the ''Evening Standard'' (1904–2024) and originally ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), is a long-established regional newspaper published weekly and distributed free of charge in London, England. It is print ...
'' said that this and other developments were reviving the town which was in the process of gentrification.
Future
A Croydon Vision 2020 plan was drawn up by
Croydon Council
Croydon London Borough Council, which styles itself Croydon Council, is the local authority for the London Borough of Croydon in Greater London, England. It is a London borough council, one of 32 in London. Croydon is divided into 28 wards, elect ...
after a 1999 study by town planning consultants
EDAW
EDAW was an international landscape architecture, urban and environmental design firm that operated from 1939 until 2009. Starting in San Francisco, United States, the company at its peak had 32 offices worldwide. EDAW led many landscape architec ...
. The plan includes new office blocks, apartment buildings, shopping centres and other developments, some of which have already been built. More than 2,000 new homes are planned.
A redeveloped
Fairfield Halls
Fairfield Halls is an arts, entertainment and conference centre in Croydon, London, England, which opened in 1962 and contains a theatre and gallery, and a large concert hall regularly used for BBC television, radio and orchestral recordings. F ...
has been planned to be the linchpin of a cultural quarter encompassing nearby College Green. Plans include an art gallery, a
new college, shops and offices, with a multi-storey car park set for demolition to make space for 218 homes.
Economy
As of 2011, Croydon's annual retail turnover from
comparison goods In retail economics and geography, comparison goods are products which are usually higher value was £353 million, the fifth-highest in Greater London behind the
West End,
Shepherd's Bush
Shepherd's Bush is a suburb of West London, England, within the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham west of Charing Cross, and identified as a major metropolitan centre in the London Plan.
Although primarily residential in character, its ...
,
Stratford and
Kingston upon Thames
Kingston upon Thames, colloquially known as Kingston, is a town in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, south-west London, England. It is situated on the River Thames, south-west of Charing Cross. It is an ancient market town, notable as ...
. Croydon had as of 2012 of total town centre floorspace, the second highest in Greater London only behind the West End.
Apart from its large central shopping district, Croydon has a number of smaller shopping areas, especially towards the southern end of the town in which are many restaurants. As of 2011, two of Croydon's restaurants were listed in ''
The Good Food Guide''.
In a 2015 study by
CACI
CACI International Inc. (originally California Analysis Center, Inc., then Consolidated Analysis Center, Inc.) is an American multinational corporation, multinational professional services and information technology company headquartered in Nor ...
, Croydon was ranked 12th in the "Hot 100 UK retail locations" with a score of 90%.
The
Zotefoams company has its headquarters in Croydon.
Government
Status
For centuries the area lay within the
Wallington hundred, an ancient
Anglo-Saxon
The Anglo-Saxons, in some contexts simply called Saxons or the English, were a Cultural identity, cultural group who spoke Old English and inhabited much of what is now England and south-eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. They traced t ...
administrative division of the county of
Surrey
Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...
.
In the later
Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...
– probably from the late 13th century onwards – residents of the town of Croydon, as defined by
boundary marker
A boundary marker, border marker, boundary stone, or border stone is a robust physical marker that identifies the start of a land Border, boundary or the change in a boundary, especially a change in direction of a boundary. There are several ...
s known as the "four crosses", enjoyed a degree of
self-government
Self-governance, self-government, self-sovereignty or self-rule is the ability of a person or group to exercise all necessary functions of regulation without intervention from an external authority. It may refer to personal conduct or to any ...
through a town court or ''portmote'', and a form of free
tenure of property. These privileges set the area of the town apart from its rural hinterland, where the more usual and more restrictive rules of
manorial tenure applied. However, Croydon did not hold any kind of formal
borough
A borough is an administrative division in various English language, English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely.
History
...
status.
In 1690, the leading inhabitants petitioned
William III and
Mary
Mary may refer to:
People
* Mary (name), a female given name (includes a list of people with the name)
Religion
* New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below
* Mary, mother of Jesus, also called the Blesse ...
for Croydon to be
incorporated as a borough. The application was initially approved, the king authorising the drafting of a
charter
A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified. It is implicit that the granter retains superiority (or sovereignty), and that the ...
, but the process was then abruptly halted, apparently through the intervention of Archbishop
John Tillotson
John Tillotson (October 1630 – 22 November 1694) was the Archbishop of Canterbury from 1691 to 1694.
Curate and rector
Tillotson was the son of a Puritan clothier at Haughend, Sowerby, Yorkshire. Little is known of his early youth; he stu ...
, who probably feared a threat to his own authority over the town. The application was revived the following year, when Queen Mary again authorised a charter, but once again it was abandoned. A second petition in 1707 was effectively ignored.
Croydon's growth in the 19th century brought the issue of incorporation back on to the political agenda, and in 1883 the ancient parish of Croydon, apart from its
exclave
An enclave is a territory that is entirely surrounded by the territory of only one other state or entity. An enclave can be an independent territory or part of a larger one. Enclaves may also exist within territorial waters. ''Enclave'' is s ...
of Croydon Crook or
Selsdon
Selsdon is a village in South London, England, located in the London Borough of Croydon, in the ceremonial county of Greater London. Prior to 1965 it was in the historic county of Surrey. It now has the character of a suburb and sits at a high e ...
, was created a
municipal borough
A municipal borough was a type of local government
Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of governance or public administration within a particular sovereign state.
Local governments typically constitute a subdivision of ...
within Surrey. In 1889, because the population was high enough, it was made a
county borough, exempt from county administration.
In 1965 (under the terms of the
London Government Act 1963
The London Government Act 1963 (c. 33) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which created Greater London and a new local government structure within it. The Act significantly reduced the number of local government districts in the ...
) 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.
His ...
was abolished and the area was transferred to
Greater London
Greater London is an administrative area in England, coterminous with the London region, containing most of the continuous urban area of London. It contains 33 local government districts: the 32 London boroughs, which form a Ceremonial count ...
and combined with the
Coulsdon and Purley Urban District
Coulsdon and Purley Urban District was a local government district in northeast Surrey from 1915 to 1965. The local authority was Coulsdon and Purley Urban District Council. The former area of the district is now mostly part of the London Boroug ...
to form the
London Borough of Croydon
The London Borough of Croydon () is a London borough, borough in South London, part of Outer London. It covers an area of and had a population of 397,741 as of mid-2023, making it the most populous London borough. It is London's southernmost ...
.
The borough has on several occasions sought
city status
City status is a symbolic and legal designation given by a monarch, national or subnational government. A municipality may receive city status because it already has the qualities of a city, or because it has some special purpose.
Historically, ci ...
. (This would be a purely
honorific
An honorific is a title that conveys esteem, courtesy, or respect for position or rank when used in addressing or referring to a person. Sometimes, the term "honorific" is used in a more specific sense to refer to an Honorary title (academic), h ...
change of title, making no practical difference to the borough's governance). A draft petition was submitted by the
County Borough to the
Home Office
The Home Office (HO), also known (especially in official papers and when referred to in Parliament) as the Home Department, is the United Kingdom's interior ministry. It is responsible for public safety and policing, border security, immigr ...
in 1951, a more formal petition in 1954, and two more applications in 1955 and 1958. When the
London Borough
The London boroughs are the current 32 districts of England, local authority districts that together with the City of London make up the administrative area of Greater London, England; each is governed by a London borough council. The present ...
was created in 1965, the Council endeavoured to have it styled a City, as was the
City of Westminster
The City of Westminster is a London borough with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in Greater London, England. It is the site of the United Kingdom's Houses of Parliament and much of the British government. It contains a large par ...
. Further bids for city status were made in 1977, 1992, 2000, 2002, and 2012. All have failed. The borough's predominant argument has always been its size: in 2000 it pointed out that it was "the largest town which does not have the title of City in the whole of Western Europe". The grounds on which it has been turned down have invariably been that it is (as was stated in 1992) merely "part of the London conurbation, rather than a place with a character and identity of its own". Undeterred, council representatives have more than once described Croydon as "a city in all but name". In 2008,
Boris Johnson
Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (born 19 June 1964) is a British politician and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 2019 to 2022. He wa ...
, then Mayor of London, said he would support Croydon being awarded city status.
Modern governance
The London Borough of Croydon has a Labour-controlled council with 41 Labour councillors and 29 Conservative councillors elected on 3 May 2018.
Until 2024
Most of the town centre lies within the
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.
...
and
Fairfield wards, which form part of the
Croydon Central
Croydon Central was a constituency created in 1974 and represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament from 2017 until its abolition for the 2024 general election by Labour MP Sarah Jones. The seat bucked the trend in national result ...
constituency.
The rest of the town centre is in the
Croham ward, which is part of the
Croydon South constituency. These wards are all in the London Borough of Croydon, which is responsible for services along with other agencies such as education, refuse collection, road maintenance, local planning and social care. The Addiscombe ward is currently represented by Labour
Councillor
A councillor, alternatively councilman, councilwoman, councilperson, or council member, is someone who sits on, votes in, or is a member of, a council. This is typically an elected representative of an electoral district in a municipal or re ...
s . The Fairfield and Croham wards have, by contrast, habitually elected Conservative members. The sitting Member of Parliament for
Croydon Central
Croydon Central was a constituency created in 1974 and represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament from 2017 until its abolition for the 2024 general election by Labour MP Sarah Jones. The seat bucked the trend in national result ...
is
Sarah Jones, a member of the
Labour Party. The sitting Member of Parliament for Croydon South is
Chris Philp
Christopher Ian Brian Mynott Philp (born 6 July 1976) is a British politician who has served as Shadow Home Secretary since November 2024. He held the post of Minister of State for Crime, Policing and Fire from October 2022 to July 2024. He w ...
, a member of the Conservatives. The Member of Parliament for Croydon North is
Steve Reed, for the Labour Party.
Since 2024
From 1974 to 2024, Croydon was represented by three MPs. Under the
2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies
The 2023 review of Westminster constituencies was the most recent cycle of the process to redraw the Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, constituency map for the House of Commons of the United Kingdom. The new constituency b ...
, Croydon is now covered by four parliamentary constituencies from the
2024 general election
This is a list of elections that were held in 2024. The National Democratic Institute also maintains a calendar of elections around the world.
* 2024 United Nations Security Council election
* 2024 national electoral calendar
* 2024 local electo ...
:
Croydon East,
Croydon West,
Croydon South and
Streatham and Croydon North.
Public services
The
territorial police force
A territorial police force is a police service that is responsible for an area defined by sub-national boundaries, distinguished from other police services which deal with the entire country or a type of crime. In countries organized as federation ...
is the
Metropolitan Police. Their Croydon Police Station is on Park Lane opposite the Croydon Flyover.
The
statutory
A statute is a law or formal written enactment of a legislature. Statutes typically declare, command or prohibit something. Statutes are distinguished from court law and unwritten law (also known as common law) in that they are the expressed wil ...
fire and rescue service in Croydon is the
London Fire Brigade
The London Fire Brigade (LFB) is the Fire department, fire and rescue service for London, the capital of the United Kingdom. It was formed by the Metropolitan Fire Brigade Act 1865 (28 & 29 Vict. c. 90), under the leadership of superintendent ...
(LFB) who have a fire station in Old Town, with two pumping appliances.
The nearest
hospital
A hospital is a healthcare institution providing patient treatment with specialized Medical Science, health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically ...
is
Croydon University Hospital
Croydon University Hospital, known from 1923 to 2002 as Mayday Hospital and from 2002 to 2010 as Croydon Hospital, is a large NHS hospital in Thornton Heath in south London, England run by Croydon Health Services NHS Trust. It is a District Gene ...
(known from 1923 to 2010 as Mayday Hospital) in nearby
Thornton Heath
Thornton Heath is a district of South 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 Coun ...
, which is part of Croydon Health Services NHS Trust.
The London Ambulance Service provides the ambulance service.
Demography and population
The town of Croydon includes its neighbourhoods Addiscombe East, Addiscombe West (ward), Addiscombe West, Bensham Manor,Broad Green, London, Broad Green, Coulsdon, Crystal Palace and Upper Norwood (ward), Crystal Palace and Upper Norwood,
Fairfield, Kenley, New Addington North (ward), New Addington North, New Addington South (ward), New Addington South, Norbury and Pollards Hill (ward), Norbury and Pollards Hill, Old Coulsdon, Park Hill and Whitgift (ward), Park Hill and Whitgift, Purley and Woodcote (ward), Purley and Woodcote, Sanderstead, Selhurst, Selsdon and Addington Village (ward), Selsdon and Addington Village, Selsdon Vale and Forestdale (ward), Selsdon Vale and Forestdale, Shirley North (ward), Shirley North, Shirley South (ward), Shirley South, South Croydon, South Norwood,
Thornton Heath
Thornton Heath is a district of South 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 Coun ...
, Waddon, West Thornton (ward), West Thornton and Woodside (Croydon ward), Woodside.
Croydon is ethnically diverse. Those who are from Black, Asian and minority ethnic, BAME minority background range from 19.5% in Sanderstead ward to 68.6% in Broad Green. West Thornton ward (part of
Thornton Heath
Thornton Heath is a district of South 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 Coun ...
) is one of the most ethnically diverse areas of England.
Fairfield ward, which is the major ward covering the central town, was ethnically 40% White British, 16% Indian, and 10% Other White in the 2011 UK Census. Religiously, 46% was Christian, 21% irreligious, 13% Hindu and 8% Muslim. The most common household tenure type was either owned or privately rented. The median age was 33. In addition, the Broad Green ward was ethnically 23% White British, 13% Indian, 13% Other Asian, and 11% Black African. About 41% of household tenures were owned, while privately and socially rented each made up 29% each. The median age was 31. The Addiscombe ward was ethnically 45% White British and 10% Other White. Religiously, 52% of the population was Christian, 24% irreligious, 7% Muslim and 6% Hindu. 52% of house tenures were owned. There are 10 other wards that cover Croydon's neighbourhoods.
The median house price as of 2014 was £212,998 in Selhurst ward, one of London's lowest. The highest in the town was in Sanderstead ward, £392,500. The mean age in 2013 ranged from 32 years in Broad Green and Fieldway wards, to 43.2 years in Selsdon and Ballards ward.
Geography

Croydon town centre is near the centre of the borough of Croydon, to the north of the
North Downs
The North Downs are a ridge of chalk hills in south east England that stretch from Farnham in Surrey to the White Cliffs of Dover in Kent. Much of the North Downs comprises two Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, Areas of Outstanding Natural Be ...
and the Pilgrims' Way path. To the north of Croydon are typical London districts, whereas a short distance southeast (such as Coombe, Croydon, Coombe and
Selsdon
Selsdon is a village in South London, England, located in the London Borough of Croydon, in the ceremonial county of Greater London. Prior to 1965 it was in the historic county of Surrey. It now has the character of a suburb and sits at a high e ...
) is green, hilly and rural land. To the west are industrial areas, part of which are in the London Borough of Sutton. The southern suburbs are mainly affluent and also hilly.
The town centre is bordered by Waddon immediately southwest of central Croydon. To the west, inside the London Borough of Sutton lies Beddington. To the north are Broad Green, London, Broad Green,
Thornton Heath
Thornton Heath is a district of South 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 Coun ...
and Selhurst. To the south lies South Croydon, and going further south are
Purley and Sanderstead. To the east lie Addiscombe and
Shirley.
Croydon High Street runs from South Croydon up to the point where it meets the street called
North End. North End is the main shopping street, while Croydon High Street is the main restaurant quarter.
The High Street is also home to Wrencote House, a Listed building, Grade II* listed building. Dating from the late 17th or early 18th centuries, and probably built as a merchant's house, it has a distinctive "H" plan form over its four floors (including basement and attic storey). External features include a rich red brick facade with black Brickwork#Orientation, headers, and a heavily carved and enriched wooden eaves cornice.
Wellesley Road on the A212 road forms a north–south axis through the town centre. In line with London Plan policy, there have been a number of proposals to create greater integration between East Croydon station, which lies on one side of the A212, and the town centre of Croydon, which lies on the other side of it. Croydon Vision 2020 aims to tackle this though such solutions as making the road easier for pedestrians to cross by creating a centre island pathway.
Topographically, central Croydon generally lies between (in the north) and (in the south) above sea level. Elevation significantly climbs towards the east of the town – Coombe Park peaks at about above sea level, whereas the Addington Hills, Coombe Wood and Addington Golf Course are as high as , with the southern end of
New Addington
New Addington is an area of South London, England, within the London Borough of Croydon. It is located 5 miles south east of Croydon and is adjacent to the Greater London boundary with Surrey.
History
Until the 1930s, the area now known as New ...
having an elevation of over . To the south, Croham Hurst has a hill of , and the highest area of Croydon is the Sanderstead Plantation at . The lowest elevation is around Broad Green, London, Broad Green, about above sea level.
River Wandle
The River Wandle is a tributary of the River Thames, flowing some 9 miles (14 km) to
Wandsworth
Wandsworth Town () is a district of south London, within the London Borough of Wandsworth southwest of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London.
Toponymy
Wandsworth takes its name ...
and Putney from its source in Croydon. It roughly forms the borough's western boundary with the London Borough of Sutton, and for part of its length also forms the boundary between the London Boroughs of Croydon and London Borough of Lambeth, Lambeth. One of its tributaries rises in Selhurst.
Culture
Arts

There are several arts venues. Foremost is the
Fairfield Halls
Fairfield Halls is an arts, entertainment and conference centre in Croydon, London, England, which opened in 1962 and contains a theatre and gallery, and a large concert hall regularly used for BBC television, radio and orchestral recordings. F ...
, opened in 1962, which consists of a large concert hall frequently used for BBC recordings, the Ashcroft Theatre and the Arnhem Gallery. Fairfield is the home of the London Mozart Players. Many famous faces have appeared at the Fairfield Halls, including
the Beatles
The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...
, Bucks Fizz (band), Bucks Fizz, Omid Djalili, Robert Cray, JLS, Chuck Berry, B. B. King, Don McLean, The Monkees, Johnny Cash, Dionne Warwick, Gladys Knight, Morecambe and Wise, Tom Jones (singer), Tom Jones, The Stylistics, Status Quo (band), Status Quo, Level 42, A-HA, John Mayall, Jools Holland, Kenny Rogers, James Last, and Coolio. The main concert hall was used for the conference scene in the Ron Howard film ''The Da Vinci Code (film), The Da Vinci Code'' (2006). The Fairfield Halls reopened in 2019, following a programme of modernisation and refurbishment. Prior to the construction of The Fairfield Halls theatre entertainment was provided by the Theatre Royal (1868–1959) based on the high street on a site previously housing a venue known as 'the theatre'.
Croydon Clocktower, developed by the London Borough of Croydon in the mid-1990s, houses a state-of-the-art library, a performance venue in the old reference library, the David Lean Cinema (a small, independent, art-house cinema) and the Museum of Croydon, which details Croydon's history. The building links into Croydon Town Hall and some areas of the building, most notably the Braithwaite Hall, are part of the original town hall and library complex, built in 1892–1896 to a design by Charles Henman. A bronze statue of Queen Victoria was erected outside the buildings in 1903.
The
Warehouse Theatre (which closed in 2012), was a studio theatre known for promoting new writing, comedy and youth theatre. It had to close because of the major
Ruskin Square redevelopment, but will re-open in the future in a new larger theatre building within the new development.
The Pembroke Theatre had many productions with well-known actors before its closure in about 1962.
There are several local and small venues for comedy and community events dotted around Croydon and its districts. Croydon Youth Theatre Organisation celebrated its 40th birthday in 2005. There are several community arts groups, particularly in the large British Asian, Asian community.
The Spread Eagle Theatre is a new 50-seat studio theatre. Opened in October 2013, it is situated in the town centre, 10 minutes' walk from East Croydon Station. The Spread Eagle works closely with its sister venue, the Old Joint Stock Theatre in Birmingham. Both venues champion 'big plays for small spaces' with an emphasis on new writing, supporting emerging artists and theatre companies.
A calendar titled "Rare Roundabouts of Croydon", with a picture of a different Croydon roundabout each month, has enjoyed some success.
Public art

About 60 murals were added to Croydon town centre in 2018, as part of the Rise street art festival coordinated by the Rise art gallery in Croydon.
Literature
Croydon is the setting of two poems by British Poet Laureate Sir John Betjeman, "Croydon" and "Love in a Valley".
The borough has been the residence of many renowned authors and novelists, including Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, who set up house in Norwood, D.H. Lawrence, and French novelist Émile Zola, who lived for a time in the Queen's Hotel, Upper Norwood. Cicely Mary Barker, author and illustrator of the Flower Fairies series of books, was born in Croydon.
Croydon is the setting of various novels. The now defunct airport lent itself to the mysteries ''The 12.30 from Croydon'' and ''Death in the Clouds'', and the town is mentioned in some Sherlock Holmes mysteries.
Croydon is referred to in a rhyme dating back to the 18th century, revised in the Victorian era to:
In Jane Austen's unfinished novel ''The Watsons'' (written ''c''.1803–1805), the heroine, Emma Watson, has a brother and sister-in-law who live in Croydon, and who urge her to join them for an extended visit. Another sister, Elizabeth, encourages the idea, commenting "there is always something lively going on at Croydon". It would appear that the plot was intended to continue with Emma moving to Croydon.
Music
The composer Samuel Coleridge-Taylor (1875–1912) lived at 30 Dagnall Park, Selhurst, until his death. He grew up in Croydon and sang in the church choir at St George's and taught at the Crystal Palace School, Crystal Palace School of Music and many other schools of music. He died from pneumonia after collapsing at West Croydon station. There is an impressive grave with a poem at Bandon Hill Cemetery, and exhibits about him in the Museum of Croydon.
Addington Palace
Addington Palace is an 18th-century mansion in Addington located within the London Borough of Croydon. It was built close to the site of an earlier manor house belonging to the Leigh family. It is particularly known for having been, between ...
housed The
Royal School of Church Music
The Royal School of Church Music (RSCM) is a Christian music education organisation dedicated to the promotion of music in Christian worship, in particular the repertoire and traditions of Anglican church music, largely through publications, tr ...
from 1953 to 1996, when it moved to Salisbury.
In addition to the Fairfield Halls, several venues in Croydon have hosted rock acts. Established in 1976, the Cartoon was a popular live music venue that closed in 2006. The Greyhound in Park Lane played host to acts such as Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix, The Who, David Bowie, Queen (band), Queen, Siouxsie and the Banshees, The Damned (band), The Damned, The Boomtown Rats, A-ha in (1987) and others during the 1960s and '70s. Mott The Hoople paid tribute to the town's music scene in the song Saturday Gigs. The Greyhound also saw the debut of the Electric Light Orchestra in 1972.
In the punk era Croydon had its own scene including bands such as Johnny Moped, which at one point had member Captain Sensible who later released the song "Croydon" in 1982 in tribute to his home town.
Croydon has been at the centre of the development of the dubstep genre, a relatively recent musical development that traces its roots from Jamaican dub music, UK Garage and drum and bass. Artists such as Benga (musician), Benga and Skream, who honed their production and DJing skills whilst working at the now defunct ''Big Apple Records'' on
Surrey Street, along with Norwood's Digital Mystikz, DJ Chef, Timi Korus and Thornton Heath's Plastician, form the core roster of dubstep DJs and producers. Moreover, UK rappers and grime artists Stormzy, Krept and Konan, Nadia Rose and Section Boyz all hail from or can trace their roots to the London Borough of Croydon.
In 1993, ''Music Week'' reported that Croydon's record shops were thriving. The town centre was for 30 years home to Europe's largest second-hand record store, Beano's, offering rare vinyl, CDs and books. In November 2008, it was announced that Beano's would close. The premises, off Church Street near the Grant's cinema complex, became a "market place" with stalls for rent by small business and individuals. Another, now closed, record shop was Shake Some Action which specialized in punk records at 100 Church Street.
Continuing Croydon's tradition of dubstep record shops, are Reggaemasters, which opened in 2004 on Drummond Road and moved to Frith Road in 2019, and Addiscombe's DnR Vinyl, which cites Big Apple Records as its main inspiration. Ten Pin Records opened in Purley in 2022.
The oldest currently surviving shop in Croydon is 46 South End, which is a music shop. Dating back to the 16th century, this Grade II listed building still retains all its original Tudor features. Records show that the premises has been a shop for at least 163 years, where street directories from 1851 give the names of E. C. Johnson & Thorpe.
Croydon is home to the BRIT School for performing arts and technology, based in Selhurst, which has produced stars such as Adele, Jessie J, Amy Winehouse, Leona Lewis, Katie Melua, Katy B, Kate Nash, Imogen Heap, Rizzle Kicks, Dane Bowers and members of the Feeling & the Kooks. Independent of such institutions, Croydon is also the home of artists such as Nosferatu D2, Frankmusik, Noisettes, and Saint Etienne (band), Saint Etienne.
Club Soda is a music charity supporting artists with learning disabilities, their artists include The Carbonators. They run a regular club night called Soda Beat.
Media
The ITV police drama ''The Bill'', although set in East London, was filmed in Croydon and many of the town centre locations were filmed around Surrey Street and St George's House (the Nestle building). Sun Hill Police Station is in nearby Mitcham. The opening credit sequence for the sitcom ''Terry and June'' featured the eponymous stars walking around the Whitgift Centre and the Fairfield Halls. In 2007, the music video for pop star Mika (singer), Mika's single "Big Girl (You Are Beautiful)" was shot in various locations around the town, including High Street and Surrey Street Market. The Delta Point building, close to West Croydon station appeared in the film ''The Dark Knight Rises'' as Gotham City, Gotham General Hospital. Croydon was the setting and frequent filming location for the Channel 4 sitcom ''Peep Show (British TV series), Peep Show'' (2003–2015). The 2018 interactive film, ''Black Mirror: Bandersnatch'' featured several scenes shot in Croydon, such as St George's Walk and No.1 Croydon.
Croydon has its own fully independent television station: it does not receive any government or local authority grant or funding and is supported by donations, sponsorship and by commercial advertising. In 2012, Croydon Radio, an internet radio station, began in the area.
Sport and leisure
Parks and open spaces

The borough has many woods for walking in, which together account for 8.5% of Greater London's woodland resource (626.46 hectares). These include Lloyd Park (Croydon), Lloyd Park and Croham Hurst.
Among several other parks and open spaces around Croydon, there is an area of landscaped green space in the town centre called Queens Gardens; it is adjacent to the town hall and Clocktower art centre.
Croydon holds one of the sources of the River Wandle. The river being a rare chalk stream. The Wandle Trail enables walkers to walk main off-road to London. The Vanguard Way is an off-road walk from Croydon to Newhaven (Britain's South Coast) intersecting the London Outer Orbital Path, North Downs Way and the Pilgrims' Way.
Clubs and teams
The most prominent sports club in the borough is Crystal Palace F.C., Crystal Palace Football Club, based in the north of the borough since 1918. Palace play at the purpose-built stadium of Selhurst Park, which the club moved to in 1924 from Croydon Common Athletic Ground, the Nest, its first Croydon-based stadium. The Nest had previously been the home of the defunct Croydon Common, Croydon Common Football Club and sat next to Selhurst railway station, Selhurst station. Palace won promotion to the Premier League (the top tier of football in England) at the end of the 2012–13 season. Croydon has a Non-League football club, Croydon F.C. who play at South Norwood#Croydon Sports Arena, Croydon Sports Arena. Sunday League team Purley Saint Germain also play at Croydon Sports Arena.
Streatham-Croydon RFC, founded in 1871, is one of Greater London's oldest extant rugby union clubs, playing just north of the town centre at Frant Road in
Thornton Heath
Thornton Heath is a district of South 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 Coun ...
.
There are a number of field hockey clubs based in and around Croydon that are part of the Southern_Counties_Hockey_Association, South East Hockey and the London_Hockey_League, London Hockey league structures.
Current hockey clubs in and around the area are Addiscombe, Croydon Trinity Whitgiftian, Kenley, Purley, Purley Walcountians and Sanderstead.
Croydon Amphibians SC plays in Division 2 British Waterpolo League. In 2008, the team won the National League Division 3.
The borough also has a women's roller derby team called Croydon Roller Derby, which trains in Carshalton. The team was established in the early part of this decade and has played both national and international teams including Roller Derby Madrid, Stuttgart Valley Rollergirlz and Oxford Roller Derby. The sport is full-contact and played on quad skates with players skating round an elliptical track.
Transport
Rail
Heavy Rail
Croydon is served by
East Croydon, South Croydon railway station, South Croydon and West Croydon railway station, West Croydon railway stations. East Croydon and South Croydon are served by Govia Thameslink Railway, operating under the Southern (train operating company), Southern and Thameslink brands via the Brighton Main Line. West Croydon is served by London Overground and Southern services. The largest and busiest of the three stations is East Croydon, although West Croydon is located closer to Croydon's main shopping district.
Light Rail
The
Tramlink
Tramlink, previously Croydon Tramlink and currently branded as London Trams, is a light rail tram system serving Croydon and surrounding areas in South London, England. It is the first operational tram system serving the London region since 195 ...
tram system opened in 2000; Croydon is its hub. Its network consists of two main lines, from Elmers End tram stop, Elmers End or Beckenham Junction tram stop, Beckenham to Wimbledon tram stop, Wimbledon, and from New Addington tram stop, New Addington to West Croydon, with all trams running via a loop in central Croydon. It is the only tram system in Greater London. It serves Mitcham,
Woodside, Addiscombe and the Purley Way retail and industrial area.
The system was previously known as the "Croydon Tramlink", having been established under the Croydon Tramlink Act 1994.
Road
A few miles to the south of Croydon is a small gap (landform), gap in the
North Downs
The North Downs are a ridge of chalk hills in south east England that stretch from Farnham in Surrey to the White Cliffs of Dover in Kent. Much of the North Downs comprises two Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, Areas of Outstanding Natural Be ...
, a route for transport from London to the south coast. The London to Brighton road used to pass through the town on
North End before the
A23 Purley Way was built to the west. Transport for London operates many bus routes in and around Croydon. Most buses serve West Croydon bus station, next to the railway station and tram stop.
Croydon's early transport links
The horse-drawn
Surrey Iron Railway
The Surrey Iron Railway (SIR) was a horse-drawn narrow-gauge plateway that linked Wandsworth and Croydon via Mitcham, all then in Surrey but now suburbs of south London, in England. It was established by Act of Parliament in 1801, and opened p ...
was an early public railway. It was opened in 1803, had double track, was some long and ran from Wandsworth to Croydon, at what is now Reeves Corner. In 1805 it was extended to Merstham as the Croydon, Merstham, and Godstone Railway. The railway boom of the 1840s brought superior and faster steam lines and it closed in 1846. The route is followed in part by the modern
Tramlink
Tramlink, previously Croydon Tramlink and currently branded as London Trams, is a light rail tram system serving Croydon and surrounding areas in South London, England. It is the first operational tram system serving the London region since 195 ...
. The last remaining sections of rail can be seen behind railings in a corner of Rotary Field in Purley.
With the opening of the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway line to London Victoria railway station, London Victoria in 1860 extra platforms were provided at East Croydon, which the LBSCR treated as a separate station named ''New Croydon''. The South Eastern Railway, UK, South Eastern Railway (SER) was excluded from this station, which ran exclusively LBSCR services to London at fares cheaper than those the SER offered from the original station.
[White, H.P., op. cit. p. 79.] In 1864, the LBSCR obtained authorisation to construct a -mile long branch line into the heart of the town centre near Katharine Street, where Croydon Central railway station, Croydon Central station was built. The line opened in 1868 but enjoyed little success and closed in 1871, only to reopen in 1886 under pressure from the Town Council before finally closing in 1890. The station was subsequently demolished and replaced by the Town Hall. In 1897–98, East Croydon and New Croydon were merged into a single station with three island platforms, which remain today, but the two stations kept separate booking accounts until 1924.
The
Croydon Canal
The Croydon Canal ran from Croydon, via Forest Hill, to the Grand Surrey Canal at New Cross in south London, England. It opened in 1809 and closed in 1836, the first canal to be abandoned by an act of Parliament.
Authorised in 1801, the can ...
ran for from what is now West Croydon station. It travelled north largely along the course of the present railway line to New Cross Gate, where it joined the
Grand Surrey Canal and went on into the River Thames. It opened in 1809 and had 28 canal lock, locks. It had a strong competitor in the Surrey Iron Railway and was never a financial success. It sold out to the London & Croydon Railway in 1836. The lake at South Norwood is the former reservoir for the canal.
Croydon Airport
Croydon Airport was the UK's only international airport during the interwar period. It opened in 1920, located near Croydon, then part of Surrey. Built in a Neoclassical architecture, Neoclassical style, it was developed as Britain's main airp ...
on Purley Way was the main airport for London until it was superseded by
Heathrow Airport
Heathrow Airport , also colloquially known as London Heathrow Airport and named ''London Airport'' until 1966, is the primary and largest international airport serving London, the capital and most populous city of England and the United Kingdo ...
and Gatwick Airport. It opened on 29 March 1920 by combining two smaller airfields used for defence in World War I. It developed into one of the great airports of the world during the 1920s and 1930s. It welcomed the world's pioneer aviators in its heyday. As aviation technology progressed and aircraft became larger and more numerous, it was recognised in 1952 that the airport would be too small to cope with increasing air traffic and its role was decreased.. The last scheduled flight departed on 30 September 1959. The air terminal, now known as Airport House adjoining Purley Way to the west of the town, has been restored and has a museum open one day a month. The name "Croydon Airport" is still used as a landmark and as a bus stop designation.
RAF Kenley was another significant airfield during the war years, and now is used for gliding.
Notable people

* Peggy Ashcroft (1907–1991), actress, was born in Croydon, lived in George Street as a child and attended Croydon High School; honoured in the name of the Ashcroft Theatre, part of the
Fairfield Halls
Fairfield Halls is an arts, entertainment and conference centre in Croydon, London, England, which opened in 1962 and contains a theatre and gallery, and a large concert hall regularly used for BBC television, radio and orchestral recordings. F ...
* Lionel Atwill (1885–1946), stage and screen actor, was born in Croydon
* Robert Barclay (historiographer), Robert Barclay (1833–1876), an English Quaker historiographer
* Jon Benjamin (Jewish leader), Jon Benjamin (1964–), Chief Executive of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, born and grew up in Croydon
* Alex Brooker (1984–), Journalist, born in Croydon
* Raymond Chandler (1888–1959), American detective fiction writer, lived in Upper Norwood as a schoolboy
* Anne Clark (poet), Anne Clark (1960–), electronic music artist and poet, was born in Croydon
* Carlton Cole (1983–), English footballer, born in Croydon
* Kit Connor (2004–), Actor known for Rocketman (film), ''Rocketman'' and Heartstopper (TV series), ''Heartstopper'' on Netflix, born and raised in Croydon
* Roger Ward Crosskey (1930–2017), entomologist, born in Croydon
* Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (1859–1930), Scottish-born fiction writer, lived at No. 12 Tennison Road, South Norwood and featured the area in some of his Sherlock Holmes detective stories
* Jane Drew (1911–1996), modernist architect, born in
Thornton Heath
Thornton Heath is a district of South 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 Coun ...
and head girl at Croydon High School
* Havelock Ellis (1859–1939), sexologist, born in Croydon
* Russell Floyd (1962–), actor & director
* Paul Garelli (1924–2006), French Assyriologist, born in Croydon
* Ben Haenow (1985–), pop singer, winner of The X Factor (UK series 11), ''The X Factor'' (UK series 11), born in Croydon
* Andrew Haigh (1973–), filmmaker, grew up in Croydon
* Roy Hodgson (1947–), Crystal Palace F.C., Crystal Palace and former England manager, born and grew up in Croydon
* Tom Holland (actor), Tom Holland (1996–), actor in five Marvel Cinematic Universe films, educated at the BRIT School
* William Forster Lanchester, (1875–1953), zoologist, born and raised in Croydon
* Eden Kane (born Richard Graham Sarstedt) (1940–), singer and older brother of Peter and Robin Sarstedt
* Rachel Khoo (1980–), cook, editor-in-chief of online lifestyle magazine ''Khoollect'', with her own BBC series
* George Arthur Knowland, George Knowland (1922–1945), Victoria Cross recipient, went to Elmwood Junior School
* Nish Kumar (1985–), comedian, born in
Wandsworth
Wandsworth Town () is a district of south London, within the London Borough of Wandsworth southwest of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London.
Toponymy
Wandsworth takes its name ...
and raised in Croydon
* D. H. Lawrence (1885–1930), novelist, lived at 12 Colworth Road, Addiscombe, 1908–1912 whilst a teacher at Davidson Road School
* David Lean (1908–1991), film director, born in Croydon
* Mike Leeder, Hong Kong based Casting Director and Film Producer, born and raised in Croydon. Worked at Allders of Croydon, before relocating to Hong Kong in 1989.
* Miles Malleson (1888–1969), actor, playwright. (Born in Avondale Road)
* Kirsty MacColl (1959–2000), singer and songwriter, born and grew up in Selsdon, Croydon
* Pat Marsh (ice hockey), Pat Marsh (1934–2017), secretary of the British Ice Hockey Association, lived in Croydon
* David McAlmont (1967–), singer, songwriter, writer, historian; born at St Mary's Maternity Hospital, attended Broadmead Primary
* Ralph McTell (1944–), musician, composer of "Streets of London (song), Streets of London", was brought up in Croydon
* Katie Melua (1984–), musician, singer and songwriter, attended the BRIT School
* Kate Moss (1974–), model, attended Riddlesdown High School
* Malcolm Muggeridge (1903–1990), author and media personality, the son of H. T. Muggeridge, a prominent Croydon Labour councillor, and taught at John Ruskin College, John Ruskin Central School in the 1920s
* Sue Perkins (1969–), broadcaster, comedian. Raised in Croydon.
* Lucy Porter (1973–), comedian, born in Croydon
* Jason Puncheon (1986–), professional footballer playing in midfield for Pafos FC (Cyprus)
* Susanna Reid (1970–), TV journalist and presenter, raised and educated in Croydon
* Flora Sandes (1876–1956) British WW1 Sergeant Serbian Army lived in Thornton Heath
* Peter Sarstedt (1941–2017), singer, winner of Ivor Novello Award, lived in Croydon as a teenager
* Robin Sarstedt (1944–), singer and younger brother of Peter
* Hannah Schmitz (1985–), Principal Strategy Engineer at Red Bull Racing, attended Croydon High School
* Captain Sensible (born Raymond Burns) (1954–), guitarist with The Damned, attended school in South Norwood
* Ashraf Sinclair (1979–2020), Malaysian actor, born in Croydon
* Emile Smith Rowe (2000–), professional football player, born in
Thornton Heath
Thornton Heath is a district of South 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 Coun ...
before relocating to North London
* Dan Stevens (1982–), actor, born in Croydon
* Stormzy (1993–) UK grime rapper, born in Croydon
* Aaron Wan-Bissaka (1997–), English footballer, born in Croydon
* Alfred Russel Wallace (1823–1913) naturalist, scientist lived in Croydon for three years
* Algy Ward (born Alaisdair Terry Mackie Ward) (1959–2023), bass guitarist and musician with The Saints (Australian band), The Saints, The Damned (band), The Damned, and Tank (band), Tank, born in Croydon
* Amy Winehouse (1983–2011), singer, attended the BRIT School
* Edward Woodward (1930–2009), actor, born and for many years lived in Croydon
* Wilfried Zaha (1992–), professional football player, grew up in
Thornton Heath
Thornton Heath is a district of South 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 Coun ...
and attended Selsdon High School
Education
The town is home to Croydon College, with its main site on Park Lane and College Road near East Croydon station. It has over 13,000 students attending one of its three sub-colleges. The sub-colleges were created in 2007. The three sub-colleges are the Croydon Sixth Form College, Croydon Skills and Enterprise College and the Croydon Higher Education College. The Higher Education College offers university-level education in a range of subjects from Law through to Fine Art. Croydon Skills and Enterprise College delivers training and education opportunities.

The town has several fee-paying schools, three of which are part of the Whitgift Foundation. Two are boys' schools (though Trinity School has a co-educational sixth form): Whitgift School was situated near the Almshouses until 1931 when it moved to its current site in Haling Park in South Croydon, the Middle School (renamed Trinity School of John Whitgift in 1954) remained on the site until 1965 when it moved to Shirley Park. A direct grant grammar school until 1968, it is now a member of the Headmasters' Conference.
Old Palace School, an independent girls' school situated in the old Summer Palace of the Archbishops of Canterbury, joined the Whitgift Foundation group of schools in 1993.
Croham Hurst School, an independent girls' school in South Croydon, became part of Old Palace in 2007 and its old buildings are now used as the Old Palace junior school.
The site of the old Whitgift grammar school is now the Whitgift shopping centre whose freehold is owned by the Whitgift Foundation. Croydon High School is an independent (fee paying) girls' school in
Selsdon
Selsdon is a village in South London, England, located in the London Borough of Croydon, in the ceremonial county of Greater London. Prior to 1965 it was in the historic county of Surrey. It now has the character of a suburb and sits at a high e ...
, and a member of the Girls' Day School Trust. Royal Russell School is a co-educational independent (fee paying) boarding and day school in South Croydon and is a member of the Headmasters' Conference.
Croydon is also home to three single-sex Catholic State-funded schools (England), state schools. The formerly independent The John Fisher School, John Fisher School in Purley has not charged fees since the late 1970s, but during the 1990s was selective, choosing boys via exams, interviews, tests, previous school reports and written statements. The school ended its selection policy in 1999, and now accepts pupils under a Catholic points-based admission school, points system, which favours those who have high mass attendance. Coloma Convent Girls' School is a Catholic girls' school formerly a grammar school, it has now, like John Fisher, adopted points-based admission criteria. St Joseph's College, Upper Norwood, St Joseph's College, on
Beulah Hill in Upper Norwood, is a boys' school with a mixed sixth form. Thomas More Catholic School, Purley, Thomas More is a Catholic mixed state school.
References
Notes
Citations
Further reading
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External links
Croydon Council
Areas of London
Districts of the London Borough of Croydon
History of the London Borough of Croydon
Metropolitan centres of London
Market towns in London
{{LB Croydon