The Unexpected Beauty of Croydon

As somebody who likes exploring different outdoor places, when we got locked down last year I realised I needed to do something to keep life interesting with the new restrictions. I decided it was time to search out places locally that I had overlooked in the past. One type of open space that I found was still quite quiet was churchyards. The quiet and the long-established trees make them good birdwatching sites.  Jay at St Peter's Church, South Croydon I have discovered that while there are a lot of churches in Croydon of varying ages, relatively few of them have graveyards. Some disused graveyards have been converted into public gardens, with the gravestones moved to the edges or used to create walls. St John's Memorial Garden, Croydon Minster In Croydon, the Minster graveyard was converted into a public memorial garden in 1956, in memory of those lost in World War II. There are still some gravestones along one side of the church, plus a war memorial. There's also some gr...

I know old hospitals aren't beautiful places but I think they're fascinating, in an eerie way. The website " Lost Hospitals of London " lists 680 hospitals in its index, nearly all of which no longer exist. The reasons for this are varied, but the establishment of the NHS in 1948 and subsequent centralisation of services is a major one. With the advent of new treatments such as antibiotics and vaccinations, isolation hospitals for infectious diseases such as tuberculosis aren't needed as much. People spend less time in hospital following surgery and more conditions can be treated in outpatient facilities or at home.  Croydon University Hospital, previously known as Mayday hospital, was originally an infirmary built for the nearby Croydon Workhouse. From London Road, the buildings look more modern, but the Woodcroft Wing behind is part of the original infirmary buildings. The stone below is located in a corridor in the Woodcroft Wing and proudly details the workhou...