South Norwood

South Norwood is a district of south-east London, England, within the London Borough of Croydon and the historic county of Surrey. It is located 7.8 miles (12.5 km) south-east of Charing Cross, north of Woodside and Addiscombe, east of Selhurst and Thornton Heath, south of Crystal Palace/Upper Norwood and Anerley, and west of Elmers End and Penge.

South Norwood

South Norwood Clock tower in 2007
South Norwood
Location within Greater London
Population16,518 (South Norwood ward 2011)[1]
OS grid referenceTQ340684
London borough
Ceremonial countyGreater London
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townLONDON
Postcode districtSE25
Dialling code020
PoliceMetropolitan
FireLondon
AmbulanceLondon
UK Parliament
  • Croydon Central
  • Croydon North
London Assembly
  • Croydon and Sutton

Together with Norwood New Town, it forms the electoral ward of South Norwood in the local authority of Croydon. The ward as a whole had a resident population in 2001 of just over 14,000.[2]

The south-eastern side of the district is dominated by the 125-acre (0.51 km2) country park which opened in 1989. At the northern end of the town is South Norwood Lake, which was created after the reservoir for the unsuccessful Croydon Canal went out of use.[3][4] It is used by the Croydon Sailing Club and local anglers who fish for carp, bream and perch.

There are two secondary schools in the area along with a public leisure centre. South Norwood has a high street which forms part of Selhurst Road, and which includes a number of banks, cafes, shops and other amenities. It is a commuter district, with many residents travelling to either the financial and insurance districts of Croydon or the City of London for employment via the large railway station. South Norwood and surrounding areas are covered by the London SE25 postcode. It is also the southernmost location of the London post town.

History

The area was originally covered by the Great North Wood, which was a natural oak forest that covered four miles (6 km) of south London. Apart from South Norwood, the wood covered Upper Norwood, West Norwood (known as Lower Norwood until 1885) and the Woodside and Gipsy Hill areas.[5]

References to rents being paid for a coppice called Cholmerden in the area date to the 1400s.[6] By the 1670s the site had been developed into the grounds of Goat House.[6] Handley's Brickworks' seven chimneys once dominated the landscape of the area. It has been demolished and the site changed into grassland and a lake, called Brickfields Meadow.[6]

The Jolly Sailor pub

The Croydon Canal was constructed in the early 19th century, running from New Cross to the site of West Croydon station.[6] As it passed through South Norwood, pubs sprang up near its course. The Jolly Sailor still stands at the intersection of South Norwood Hill and High Street. The Ship, a few yards to the east, was beside the loading point for bricks from a nearby brick field across what is now the High Street. The passageway through which bricks passed to the canal is still there. The Goat House pub (which has since been demolished) was said to have been named after an island in the canal on which goats were kept.

Jolly-sailor station opened in 1839 by the London and Croydon Railway. It was listed as Jolly-sailor near Beulah Spa on fare lists and timetables and renamed 'Norwood' in 1846. The station was immediately adjacent to a level crossing over Portland Road, making it slightly further north than the site currently occupied by Norwood Junction station. As part of the construction works for the atmospheric-propulsion system, the world's first railway flyover was constructed south of Tennison Road, to carry the new atmospheric-propulsion line over the conventional steam line below.[7] In 1847, the atmospheric propulsion experiment was abandoned.

In 1848 South Norwood remained a small hamlet, however the following 10–20 years rapid development occurred with the construction of roads and the Selhurst Park estate.[6] The area gained its own parish church, Holy Innocents, in 1895.[8] Much of the growth of the area was the result of William Ford Stanley, who constructed a factory in the area in 1867 and established a technical school here in 1902 (now the Stanley Halls).[6]

Further development occurred throughout the 20th century with the building of terraced houses and public housing developments.[6] Large numbers of immigrants from the Caribbean settled here and the area retains a large black population.[6]

In 1966, a dog called Pickles discovered, under a bush in Beulah Hill, the FIFA World Cup Jules Rimet Trophy, which had been stolen from an exhibition of rare stamps at Westminster Central Hall.[9]

South Norwood today
Caprine-themed bench on Goat House Bridge

The area is centred on the junction where the High Street meets South Norwood Hill/Portland Road; the bulk of the shops and amenities are located along the High Street and Selhurst Road/Penge Road, with further shops, restaurants etc. lining Portland Road for some distance. South Norwood is now unofficially divided into the less deprived area in the north west side of the railway, which was the location of a private estate, and the generally more deprived area in the north east.[10] In the south east of the borough, where workers for a former brick factory lived, the entrance to the estate was between a pair of pillars, though they have long since been demolished. However the capitals were preserved and now sit on the two brick pillars at the Selhurst Road entrance to South Norwood Recreation Ground. In 2006, South Norwood Lakes in the north of the ward was the scene of a fatal stabbing.[11]

Governance

South Norwood was within the County Borough of Croydon until 1965 when, following the enactment of the London Government Act 1963, it became part the local government of Greater London. The town is now part of the wards of South Norwood and Woodside in the local authority of Croydon, which has the responsibility for providing services such as education, refuse collection, and tourism.

South Norwood Ward is part of the ethnically diverse Croydon North parliamentary constituency, which had one of the largest electorates in England at the 2010 general election, whereas Woodside Ward falls within the boundaries of the Croydon Central constituency. The sitting Member of Parliament (MP) for Croydon North is Steve Reed, a member of the Labour Party, following the death of Malcolm Wicks.[12] The sitting Member of Parliament for Croydon Central is Sarah Jones, also a member of the Labour Party.[13]

Policing services are provided by the Metropolitan Police via the Croydon Police Station branch in Park Lane, Croydon.[14] The London Fire Brigade provide services for the area and Greater London as a whole; the nearest fire station is at Woodside which has only one pumping appliance.

Geography

South Norwood is bordered by Anerley to the north, Selhurst to the south, Woodside due east and Thornton Heath to the west. The northernmost point of South Norwood is at Beaulieu Heights (alternatively spelt Beulah Heights, Beaulah Heights and Beulieu Heights) which contains Beulah Heights Park, overlapping with Upper Norwood and New Town. The northern part of the district is situated on the lower parts of the hill that forms Upper Norwood.

South Norwood lies on the southern slopes of the Norwood Ridge which forms the southern edge of the London Basin. This line of hills runs from north-east to south-west for about three miles (5 km) and rises to approximately 360 feet (110 m) above sea level at its highest point. It is formed by a ridge of grey silty deposits known as London Clay, capped in places with the gravel of the Claygate Beds.[15][16] Because of this gravel working was an important local industry and at one time the road along Beulah Hill was called Gravel Pit Road. South Norwood Hill is the most southerly spur of this ridge and the London Clay extends at its foot to the southern edge of the South Norwood Country Park. Here a brook marks the junction with the sands and gravels of the Blackheath Beds that rise to Shirley, Addington Hills and Croham Hurst. Streams join Chaffinch Brook and the Beck to form the River Pool, which eventually flows into the River Ravensbourne.[17]

Education
South Norwood Library

There are many primary schools in the South Norwood area including Priory Special School, Heavers Farm Primary School, South Norwood Primary School, Cypress Junior School and Cypress Infant School, St. Chad's Roman Catholic Primary School, St. Mark's Primary School and Oasis Academy Ryelands.

The former Stanley Technical High School (the legacy of local inventor and engineer William Stanley) has been replaced and turned into an academy as part of the Harris Federation. After deliberations with local residents it was originally going to be called Harris at Stanley, but the federation changed it to Harris Academy South Norwood, an act which created some controversy.[18] Many local residents are upset that the name Stanley was removed from the school, as Stanley, who had the original school built in 1907, is a famous and well regarded figure in South Norwood.[19] Harris City Academy Crystal Palace is a city academy in the north west of South Norwood, but to avoid confusion with the other school it uses the Crystal Palace name. Other secondary schools in the area include Oasis Academy Arena.

South Norwood is also the home of Spurgeon's College, a world-famous Baptist theological college, since 1923; Spurgeon's is located on South Norwood Hill and currently has some 1,000 students.[20] It is one of only four further education establishments in the borough.

South Norwood Library is located on Selhurst Road.[21] The building is arranged over five levels split across the front and rear of the building. The front part of the building has the ground floor entrance level, which houses the reception, and the second floor which houses the children's library. The rear of the building has the basement, first and third floors. The levels are offset so that the floors in the front and rear of the building appear like mezzanine levels to each other.

Sports and leisure

South Norwood F.C. were an amateur football club who were active in the 1870s and played their home matches at Portland Road.[22]

Selhurst Park, home ground of Crystal Palace FC, is located in South Norwood. The ground was also home to Charlton Athletic as part of a ground-sharing agreement between 1985 and 1991. It was also used by Wimbledon when they left Plough Lane and until 2003.

South Norwood Country Park

South Norwood contains a leisure centre which is owned and maintained by Better on behalf of Sport Croydon.[23] South Norwood Leisure Centre is situated on Portland Road and reopened in late 2007 after refurbishment. It had been closed in early 2006 and was due for demolition, so that it could be redesigned from scratch like the leisure centre in Thornton Heath, at a cost of around £10 million.[24] In May 2006 the Conservatives gained control of Croydon and decided that doing this would cost too much money, so they decided to refurbish the centre instead, although this decision came with controversy.[25][26] It now includes a 25m swimming pool and a gym.

South Norwood is also the home to South Norwood Country Park, a former sewage works which closed in 1966, and of a fireworks factory; it was the converted into a nature reserve. Other parks in the local area are South Norwood Recreation Ground, Heavers Meadow, Brickfields Meadow, Beaulieu Heights, South Norwood Lake and Grounds, Woodside Green and Ashburton Park.

Croydon Sports Arena

Croydon Sports Arena was first opened in 1953 and is a multiple-use sports arena in South Norwood.[27] The arena is located on the edge of South Norwood Country Park. Facilities include an eight-lane 400m running track, with a centre field and training area for throwing events. The stadium is floodlit. During the winter the inner field becomes a football pitch, home to Croydon F.C.[27] In the summer the stadium is mostly used for athletic events. It is used by athletics clubs Striders of Croydon[28] and Croydon Harriers.[29] The stands in the sports arena can hold up to 388 people. From 2018, the arena is being managed by Greenwich Leisure Limited.

South Norwood Tourist Board

South Norwood Tourist Board has spent the last few years trying to promote South Norwood, from organising "PicklesFest" with Dave Corbett, owner of Pickles; challenging the Lake District for their title; and more recently proclaiming ourselves the People's Republic of South Norwood. All these stories have been given media attention across the world, including the BBC, Wall Street Journal, Adam Smith Institute, New York Post and The Independent to name a few.

On 26 July 2014, South Norwood Tourist Board, in partnership with Crystal Palace Transition Town invited Captain Sensible to unveil 'The Sensible Seat' a bench within the Sensible Garden; a derelict piece of land in South Norwood, which had been turned into a garden through hard work of the local community.[30]

Culture, music and arts
Stanley Halls

Stanley Halls

Stanley Halls are a 250-seat and 60-seat theatre venues home to a theatre school, offices of resident theatre makers,[31] productions from local theatre clubs, a coffee shop, and other community activities.[32] The Halls are a grade II listed building.[33]

Screen25

Screen25 (formerly Stanley's Film Club) is a non-profit community cinema based at the Harris Academy South Norwood, with a weekly programme of independent and cultural film, as well as family screenings and special events.[34]

Transport

Roads

Two A roads, the A215 and the A213 are in the South Norwood area. The A213 is High Street, Penge Road and Selhurst Road. The A215 is Portland Road and South Norwood Hill.

The junction to the north of Arena. This tram is entering South Norwood Country Park.

Rail

Norwood Junction railway station is situated in the centre of South Norwood just off High Street. It has 7 platforms but only 6 are in use at the present time. Southern and London Overground trains run to London Bridge and Dalston Junction. Fast trains generally take 10 minutes to reach central London and slow trains 20 minutes. Also London Victoria station trains take 20 minutes. East Croydon and West Croydon stations and urban and rural stations thereafter including regular train service to Clapham Junction, Wandsworth Common, Balham and Streaham. Selhurst station is nearby, from which one can catch direct trains to Kensington Olympia and Shepherd's Bush via a train service to Milton Keynes.

The Thameslink Programme (formerly known as Thameslink 2000), is a £3.5 billion major project to expand the Thameslink network from 51 to 172 stations[35] spreading northwards to Bedford, Peterborough, Cambridge and King's Lynn and southwards to Guildford, Eastbourne, Horsham, Hove to Littlehampton, East Grinstead, Ashford and Dartford. The project includes the lengthening of platforms, station remodelling, new railway infrastructure (e.g. viaduct) and additional rolling stock. The new Thameslink timetable for Norwood Junction started 20 May 2018: "Norwood Junction gain[ed] an all-day-long Thameslink service to Bedford via Blackfriars and St Pancras, with two trains per hour to Epsom via Sutton" and timetables will continue being expanded and adjusted into 2019.[36][37]

Transport for London began work on the southern extension of the East London line in 2005 as part of the London Overground. On completion in May 2010, services run between West Croydon and Dalston Junction via London Docklands.[38]

Trains make an unpublicised stop at Selhurst from Victoria through the night to enable engineers at Selhurst to get to Gatwick and vice versa. This means that it is possible to board the train during the night all through the early hours of morning to South Norwood. However, the trains state East Croydon on the board. Trains run out of Victoria after 1.00 am on the hour until the train service starts up again officially.

Trams

Trams do not run through the town centre of South Norwood, with the nearest stops on the Tramlink network being Harrington Road, Arena and Woodside. In the mid-2000s there were proposals for an extension to Crystal Palace,[39] which would have resulted in the construction of an additional stop on Penge Road.

Notable people
12 Tennison Road
Close-up of plaque
12 Tennison Road, former home of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
  • Samuel Coleridge-Taylor (15 August 1875 – 1 September 1912) was an English composer and conductor. Of mixed race birth (his father was a doctor from Sierra Leone), Coleridge-Taylor achieved such success that he was referred to by white New York musicians as the "African Mahler" when he had three tours of the United States in the early 1900s. There are two blue plaques in his memory, one in Dagnall Park, South Norwood, and the other in St Leonards Road, Croydon, at the house where he died.
  • Hannah Arterton - actress, lives in South Norwood.[40]
  • Lionel Atwill (1885–1946) - actor, was born, and spent the early part of his childhood, at 2 Upton Villas, Albert Road.[41]
  • Alex Beckett (1982–2018) - actor, lived and died in South Norwood.[42]
  • Mary Bell - child murderer. The murders of two young boys was committed in Newcastle when she was 10 and 11. For a time, Bell lived in a girls' remand home at Cumberlow Lodge in South Norwood, off of Chalfont Road behind Stanley Halls.[43][44]
  • Captain Sensible - musician, attended school here.[6]
  • Arthur Conan Doyle (1859–1930) - author, lived at 12 Tennison Road in South Norwood, from 1891 to 1894 (commemorated with a blue plaque).[6] Contrary to popular belief, he did not use the area as the setting for the Sherlock Holmes short story "The Adventure of the Norwood Builder" (1903). This story, for the most part, takes place in Lower Norwood (today known as West Norwood). The only connection between this story and South Norwood is that South Norwood's railway station Norwood Junction is used by the character Jonas Oldacre.[45] The NatWest Bank on South Norwood High Street was, in Victorian times until the mid-1980s, the local police station and is the most likely candidate for the police station mentioned in the second Sherlock Holmes novel, The Sign of the Four (1890).[45] Conan Doyle's house was put up for auction on 28 February 2013 but the house failed to reach its reserve price.
  • Peter Grant (1935–1995) - music manager, most notably for Led Zeppelin, born and grew up in South Norwood.[46]
  • William Stanley (1829–1909) - inventor and architect, set up a technical institute and factory in the area.[47]
  • Stormzy - rapper, grew up in South Norwood.[48]
  • William Walker (1869–1918) - diver, most notable for shoring up Winchester Cathedral and thereby saving it from collapse. Lived at 118 Portland Road (commemorated with a plaque).[49]
  • Ellen E Ciss Wright - athlete, All England 440 yards champion, lived at 6 Clifford Road; a plaque on the Portland Road leisure centre commemorates her.[50]

References
  1. Census Information Scheme (2012). "2011 Census Ward Population Estimates". Greater London Authority. Retrieved 30 January 2013.
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  4. London Canals: Croydon: Norwood Archived 7 November 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  5. 'Norwood: Introduction', Survey of London: volume 26: Lambeth: Southern area (1956), pp. 167–173 Archived 12 September 2013 at the Wayback Machine British History Online
  6. Willey, Russ (2006). The London Gazzetteer. Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd. pp. 28–9.
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  9. REID, ALASTAIR (10 September 1966). "The World Cup". The New Yorker. Archived from the original on 24 February 2007. Retrieved 2 February 2007.
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  22. Collett, Mike (2003). The Complete Record of the FA Cup. Sports Books. p. 557. ISBN 1-899807-19-5.
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  29. "Croydon Harriers". Archived from the original on 6 April 2007. Retrieved 29 April 2007.
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  40. Watson, Fay (15 June 2018). "Hannah Arterton: 'I got to 18 and was like, 'Oh God, what am I going to do with my life?'". The Resident. Retrieved 14 September 2019.
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  42. Datson, Andy (8 August 2018). "W1A actor died in South Norwood just hours before he was due on stage". Croydon Advertiser. Retrieved 9 August 2018.
  43. Akpan, Eloïse (2000). The Story of William Stanley – A Self-made Man. London: Eloïse Akpan. p. 40. ISBN 0-9538577-0-0.
  44. "Cumberlow lodge, approved school and remand home south Norwood; General LCC/CH/D/CUM/1 [n.d.]". The National Archives.
  45. Duncan, Alistair (2009) Close to Holmes: A Look at the Connections Between Historical London, Sherlock Holmes and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, London: MX Publishing; ISBN 1-904312-50-0
  46. "A LED ZEPPELIN IN CROYDON'S SKIES". Croydonist. 25 October 2018. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
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  48. "A Glastonbury shout out from Stormzy to new talent of South London – South London News". Londonnewsonline.co.uk. 26 July 2019. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
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  50. "Leisure centre – Ellen (Ciss) Wright". People for Portland. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
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