South Croydon
Swan and Sugar Loaf
South Croydon Location withinGreater London
Population	15,790 (South Croydon ward)
OS grid reference	TQ325633
London borough	Croydon
Ceremonial county	Greater London
Region	London
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	SOUTH CROYDON
Postcode district	CR2
Dialling code	020
Police	Metropolitan
Fire	London
Ambulance	London
UK Parliament	Croydon South
London Assembly	Croydon and Sutton
List of places UK England London 51°21′12″N0°05′46″W / 51.3532°N 0.0962°W /51.3532; -0.0962

South Croydon insouth London is the area surrounding the valley south of centralCroydon and running as far south as the former Red Deerpublic house on the Brighton Road. It is bounded byWaddon to the West andSelsdon andSanderstead to the East. It is part of the South Croydon (CR2)post town and in theLondon Borough of Croydon.

The area was developed in the 19th century out of land lying in two ancient manors, Croham and Haling. The names of these can still be seen in the area today, and the locations of the manor houses can be found in the Croham Manor Road conservation area and inWhitgift School. Much of the land of South Croydon has been associated through the years with theWhitgift Foundation whose charitable work has benefited and influenced Croydon since its foundation in 1596.

The placenameCroydon is recorded as early as 809 and is listed in the 1086Domesday Book,^[1] where it is described as the land held inDemesne byLanfranc, the Archbishop of Canterbury in Waletone (that isWallington) hundred.^[2]: 6 In themedieval andearly modern periods the town limits, within which the inhabitants enjoyed certain privileges ofself-government andtenure, were defined byboundary markers known as the "four crosses": beyond these markers, the more restrictive rules ofmanorial tenure applied.^[3] The southernmost marker, Hern Cross, was cut in an elm tree at the southern end of the High Street. Plaques marking the sites of the crosses (including that of Hern Cross, on the former Blacksmiths Arms, now the Corner House, at the corner of Coombe Road and South End) were erected by the CroydonRotary Clubs in 1977.^[4]

South Croydon as a distinct area south of Hern Cross is found much later, in the 19th century, when the area was developed as a residential suburb in land lying within the ancient manors of Croham and Haling.^[5] Croham Manor and the Croham area were purchased in 1601 by the Whitgift Foundation.^[6] Croham was one of four manors in the parish of Sanderstead, and included surrounding farm land and Croham Hurst.^[7] The Whitgift Foundation was and remains a charity providing care for the elderly and education for young people in Croydon. Land in South Croydon supported the foundation's work elsewhere in Croydon but in 1931 Whitgift School moved to its current South Croydon site, Haling Park.^[8] The manor of Haling lay in the parish of Croydon, and covered 400 acres.^[9]: 452 It was notable in Tudor times as the home toLord Howard of Effingham, theLord High Admiral of the Fleet sent against theSpanish Armada,^[10] and was host to a succession of royalty and notable visits.^[11] The estate was sold for building in 1850^[9]: 452 and Whitgift school now occupies manor house buildings dating to the 17th century.^[12]

With the advent of stage coaches, a London to Brighton route was established, with horses being changed in Croydon. Stables were built in South Croydon at Crunden Place, near the Red Deer inn on the Brighton Road; these were used by the coaching business.^[2]: 9 These stables would later become the location of South Croydon bus garage, which now opens on to Crunden Road as well as the Brighton Road.^[13]

Croham Hurst was bought as an open space for local people from the Whitgift Foundation by Croydon Corporation in 1901, an area of 34 hectares. This was after three years of local campaigning by residents against development of the area by the Whitgift Foundation.^[7]

The area is bounded by theSouth Croydon electoral ward of the London Borough of Croydon. To the west and south it is bounded by the historic Croydon parish boundary, which runs from Conduit Lane to Croham Hurst, crossing Croham Road where it becomes Croham Valley Road, then across to the railway line, crossing Selsdon Road where it becomes Upper Selsdon Road and crossing Carlton Road where it becomes Mayfield Road. Thereafter the old parish boundary roughly follows the railway south as far as the Red Deer public house, beyond which lies Purley Oaks. Curiously, Purley Oaks Primary School lies on the South Croydon side of the boundary and not inPurley Oaks and Riddlesdown ward.^[14]

The much larger postal district of South Croydon includesSanderstead,Selsdon and two remnants ofAddington, Croham Valley and Monks Hill.^[15] Green space is provided to the west by the Purley Way Playing Fields^[16], Croham Hurst^[17] and the hidden green space with gardens that is Haling Grove sandwiched between Pampisford Road and the A23:^[18] the extensive Whitgift School playing fields frequently host international cricket and rugby matches.^[19]

The Wandle river, a tributary of the Thames, found its source in South Croydon in modern times. A meeting of two streams at the Swan and Sugar loaf is one traditional site for the source,^[20] whereas a chalk spring closer to the Red Deer, one of the two streams that meet at the Swan, is also discussed as the source. Extraction of water from chalk aquifers, however, has caused the spring to dry up and the Wandle is culverted and not visible within South Croydon.^[21]

South Croydon has the following schools:

Current South Croydon Schools^[22]

Name	Type	Mix	Status	Enrollment[23]
Atwood Primary	Primary	Mixed	Academy	n.d.
Elmhurst School	Primary	Mixed	Independent	n.d.
Greenvale Primary	Primary	Mixed	Maintained	217
Gresham	Primary	Mixed	Maintained	247
Gilbert Scott Primary	Primary	Mixed	Maintained	224
Harris Academy Purley[a]	Secondary	Mixed	Academy	n.d.
Howard Primary	Primary	Mixed	Maintained	408
Purley Oaks[b]	Primary	Mixed	Maintained	642
Regina Coeli Catholic	Primary	Mixed	Catholic	411
Ridgeway	Primary	Mixed	Maintained	660
St Peter's	Primary	Mixed	Academy	n.d.
St Giles School (specialist for disabled)		Mixed	Special	102
Selsdon Primary	Primary	Mixed	Maintained	n.d.
The Quest Academy[c]	Secondary	Mixed	Academy	n.d.
Whitgift	Secondary	Boys	Independent	n.d.

Church schools (Catholic and C. of E.) areVoluntary aided schools, which means that they are maintained by the local education authority (LEA) but received additional voluntary funding from church sources.

The electoral ward of South Croydon now omits Whitgift School but includesRoyal Russell School in theShirley postcode area.^[25]

A number of landmarks are recognised within South Croydon, including the following.

Emmanuel Church was opened in 1897. The church was funded by the Watney Sisters whose family ran the eponymous brewery firm.^[26]

This flint walled church was designed byJohn Oldrid Scott and built in 1884.^[27]

St Peter's Church is aGrade II listed building. It was designed byGeorge Gilbert Scott^[28] and dedicated in 1851.^[29]

Croham Hurst is a 33.6hectare (83.02 acre) biologicalSite of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and aSite of Metropolitan Importance for Nature Conservation. Its SSSI designation is due to its importance for nature conservation,^[30] but it is also aRegionally Important Geological Site.^[31]

The site is a steep hill, which is ancient woodland, although there are few very old trees because until the railways made cheap coal available, the timber was used for fuel. On the lower slopes there is a diverse community of plants dominated by oak and hazel on rich soils overlying chalk. Further up the trees are mainly beech onThanet Sands, and towards the top the main trees are oak and birch on the acidic Blackheath pebble beds.^[32][33]

The Thanet Sands have eroded, but the Blackheath beds are bound by a natural cement, and this has resisted erosion to make a natural cap to the hill. The top is mainly bare of trees, with rounded pebbles made when the area was the base of shallow seas in theEocene epoch around 50 million years ago. The sparse vegetation at the top is mainlywavy hair-grass,heather andbilberry.^[34]

The Croham Manor Road Conservation Area lies in South Croydon, running from the junction with the Selsdon Road along the West side ofCroham Hurst. The area is notable for its distinctive and planned 1930s architecture.^[35]

South Croydon bus garage is located on the corner ofBrighton and Napier Roads. The site was previously the location of Crunden Place stables that were used bycoaching companies.^[2]: 9 Built by theLondon General Omnibus Company, the garage was handed over toThomas Tilling upon opening on 23 January 1916 as part of an agreement between the two operators.^[13][36] In 1933 it passed with the business to theLondon Passenger Transport Board and each subsequent operator of theLondon Transport brand.

The garage underwent roof reconstruction in the early 1930s to allowdouble decker buses to use it. The building was destroyed in May 1941 in an air raid that killed seven staff.^[37] The reconstruction was not completed until the mid-1950s. As part of theprivatisation of London bus services, in January 1995 it was sold toArriva London with the South London business unit as their Croydon (TC) garage.^[38] Arriva continue to use it to operate services under contract toTransport for London.^[39]

46 South End isCroydon's oldest surviving shop.^[40] The building isGrade II listed, dating back to the 17th century. It retains its original timber framing and the front has distinctive and attractive elevations. The rear of the building is partly of modern construction.^[41] Since 1985 it has been home to Just Flutes, a music shop.^[42]

This Victorian era inn was open by 1851 in a prominent location on the Brighton Road. It acted as a local landmark as a tram and train terminus and also gave its name to bus stops. The inn and pub were closed in 2013.^[43]

Although not the original hotel, the Swan and Sugarloaf is a landmark in South Croydon that gave its name to the surrounding area, now known as The Swan. The hotel stands at the junction of the Brighton and Selsdon Roads and the original hotel began as a farm house. It was part of the property that ArchbishopJohn Whitgift devoted to his hospital in the 16th century. Much of South Croydon was such Whitgift land. The building was decorated with the Archbishop's arms, which were a cone or sugarloaf hat and a crook, which resembled in shape the curve of a swan's neck. It was this resemblance that led to local people misunderstanding the heraldic symbols and the farmstead became known as the Swan and Sugarloaf, a name that was retained when it was later licensed as a public house and hotel.^[d] The Swan and Sugar Loaf no longer operates as an inn, and was converted to a branch of the Tesco Express Minimarket in 2012; despite local pressures against the conversion to preserve locally owned shops in the area. Despite this, the area is still known locally as "Swan and Sugar Loaf" and it still lends its name to the nearby bus stops.^{[citation needed]}

Whitgift School was founded in 1596 by theArchbishop of CanterburyJohn Whitgift and opened in 1600^[44] as part of the Whitgift Foundation, which had the aim of building a hospital and school in Croydon for the "poor, needy and impotent people" from the parishes of Croydon andLambeth.^[45] Originally located inNorth End, Croydon in 1931 it moved to its current site, Haling Park, which was once home toLord Howard of Effingham, theLord High Admiral of the Fleet sent against theSpanish Armada.^[46]

• South Croydon
• Purley Oaks
• Sanderstead
• Riddlesdown
• Selsdon Road – closed
• Spencer Road halt – closed
• Coombe Road railway station – closed

• Lloyd Park tram stop

The area is largely covered by theSouth Croydon ward of Croydon Council, which elected 3 Conservatives in the last local elections in May 2018. Parts of the area are also inFairfield ward, which elected 3 Labour Councillors in May 2018 and two Green and one Labour MP in 2022.^[47]

The area is split between the Parliamentary Constituencies of Croydon Central and Croydon South, with the area near South End located in Croydon Central, and the rest of the area located in Croydon South.^[48]

• Whitgift School
• The Woodside & South Croydon Railway - describes Selsdon Road Station and Spencer Road Halt

• Districts of the London Borough of Croydon
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