Relics of past Croydon transport


There's no denying that Croydon is extremely well connected, with trams, National Rail, Overground and numerous buses serving the borough. However, if you'd travelled the current Overground route to West Croydon in the early 19th century, you'd have needed a boat, as it was the Croydon Canal. If you'd visited Croydon between the two World Wars, you'd have found the UK's first (and only) international airport.

I'm no local history expert and I have limited resources to draw on, so I'm going to focus on the present day sites where it's possible to see bits of the past transport infrastructure.

Betts Park, Anerley, May 2020

There are few signs of the Croydon Canal remaining, as it was short-lived, being replaced by a railway line from West Croydon to London Bridge in 1836. The website London's Lost Rivers has more information. A short section of the canal still exists in Betts Park, which is just over the border with Bromley in Anerley.

South Norwood Lake, Dec 2020

South Norwood Lake was originally built as a reservoir for the canal and is now a popular recreational site which supports a wide variety of bird species including great crested grebes, mallards, tufted ducks, Egyptian geese, Canada geese, mute swans, coots and moorhens.  

A relaxed moorhen at South Norwood Lake, June 2019

Tram tracks near Ampere Way, on the old Wimbledon-Croydon line

A significant amount of the route the trams use is made up of former railways, including part of the Surrey Iron Railway, between Wimbledon and Croydon, and the line from Selsdon to Elmers End. 

Addiscombe Railway Park, Dec 2020

Addiscombe Railway Park, which opened in 2005, is a linear park running from East India Way, the former site of the Addiscombe Station, to Blackhorse Lane tram stop. The Woodside station building is still visible next to Ashburton Park on Spring Lane.

Tram leaving Woodside with former station building behind, Dec 2020

Intriguingly, when the Selsdon line closed in the 1980s, the track was retained. From Lloyd Park it has been repurposed as tram tracks. It is possible to see some of the old track while standing on public footbridges, most notably between Spencer Road and Birdhurst Rise. There is a footpath leading there from South Croydon, running perpendicular to the roads about half way along. Spencer Road Halt was a short-lived railway station between 1906 and 1915 - there's a detailed history on the Disused Stations website.

Overgrown railway tracks, May 2020

There are still some WWII tank traps underneath the footbridge, the concrete blocks in the photo below.

Tracks & WWII tank traps at Spencer Road Halt, May 2020

The line then crosses over Croham Road on a bridge. Sadly it's not possible to walk along the old line but you can get a good look at it from the Spencer Road footbridge and it's also visible from a footbridge at the end of Dornton Road. 

There's East Croydon, West Croydon and South Croydon, but no North Croydon station. There also used to be a Central Croydon station, on a short branch line to Katharine Street, from 1868 to 1890. The site of the station was where the Town Hall is now, but the railway cutting can still be seen where it forms the lower part of the Queens Gardens. This area is currently being renovated. 

Queens Gardens on a foggy day in December 2020

Croydon Airport is still a bus destination, even though no planes have used it for over 60 years. The old terminal building and hotel still stand and in normal times there are tours of Airport House, now a business centre. There's an old plane outside - see the Historic Croydon Airport website for more details.

Airport House, April 2013

A memorial to the Battle of Britain stands next to Purley Way, just at the border of the boroughs of Croydon and Sutton. On the Sutton side is the beautiful Roundshaw Downs. On a clear day, you can see across London from there. In the winter months, a herd of gentle Sussex cows graze there. It is home to many birds, including skylarks. 

Sussex cows on Roundshaw Downs, Jan 2019

On the far side of Roundshaw Downs is the Roundshaw Estate, with roads named after famous aviators and planes. 

It's hard to imagine the site as a busy airport, with the Downs being peaceful and relatively wild. 

I have a feeling I'll be writing a follow-up post at some point with more relics of Croydon transport.

Comments

  1. Susan SandersonDecember 29, 2020 at 10:28 AM

    I am enjoying reading about parts of Croydon I have never visited (and probably won't have the opportunity to visit in the future.)

    ReplyDelete

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