| Purley | |
|---|---|
 Street scene in town centre with localPizza Express branch, formerly theWestminster Bank in the foreground | |
  Purley Location withinGreater London | |
| OS grid reference | TQ313615 |
| London borough | |
| Ceremonial county | Greater London |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | PURLEY |
| Postcode district | CR8 |
| Dialling code | 020 |
| Police | Metropolitan |
| Fire | London |
| Ambulance | London |
| UK Parliament | |
| London Assembly | |
| 51°20′14″N0°06′51″W / 51.3373°N 0.1141°W /51.3373; -0.1141 | |
Purley is an area of theLondon Borough of Croydon inLondon, England, 11.7 miles (18.8 km) south ofCharing Cross, with a history going back at least 800 years. It was originally granted as an estate from holdings at Sanderstead and until as a district of Surrey and then, with neighbouringCoulsdon, as an urban district that became anelectoral ward of the London Borough of Croydon, becoming part of the ceremonial county of London, in 1965. In 2018 the Purley ward was divided into two:Purley and Woodcote, andPurley Oaks and Riddlesdown.
Purley is a suburban area of South London, and the quintessential suburban environment has been referenced in fictional and popular culture, most notably as the setting for the long runningTerry and June sitcom.
Purley had a population of 15,184 in 2022.
The name derives from an estate, mentioned in about 1200 when it was deeded to one William de Pirelea, son of Osbert de Pirelea by the abbot of St. Peter's monastery near Winchester.[1] The original meaning of Purley was probably a wood or clearing where pear trees grow,[2] derived from "Pirlea", which is from Anglo Saxonpir, pear orpirige, pear tree andleá, a clearing or a place.[3]
Under theLocal Government Act 1894, Purley became part of theCroydon Rural District ofSurrey. In 1915 Purley and the neighbouring town ofCoulsdon formed theCoulsdon and Purley Urban District which was based at thePurley Council Offices.[4] The council was abolished in 1965, under theLondon Government Act 1963, and its area transferred toGreater London and used to form part of the London Borough of Croydon.[5]
The urban district council was based in a colonial-style building opened in 1930. The building, on theA23 Brighton Road nearReedham Station, became the property of the London Borough of Croydon and was sold to developers. It was left derelict for many years but was converted into flats in 2012. Plans to dig under the building and build additional flats were refused in 2015.[6]
Kenley Aerodrome, to the south of the town, is currently official property of theMinistry of Defence. It was one of the key fighter stations – together withCroydon Airport andBiggin Hill – during theWorld War II support of Dunkirk, Battle of Britain and for the defence of London.[7][8]
Purley grew rapidly in the 1920s and 1930s, providing spacious homes in a green environment. Northeast Purley stretches into the chalk hill spurs of theNorth Downs.
One road,Promenade de Verdun, created by William Webb, has a distinction all of its own. It is 600 yards (550 m) long and has on one sideLombardy poplars planted in local soil mixed with French earth specially shipped over to the UK. A plaque at one end of the road explains that the French Ministry of the Interior donated the soil fromArmentières, as a memorial to the alliance ofWorld War One and the soldiers who died. At the other end stands an obelisk carved from a single piece of stone with the inscription "Aux soldats de France morts glorieusement pendant la Grande Guerre".[9]
InWorld War Two, the 32nd Surrey Battalion of theHome Guard was known as the Factory Battalion, and had the specific task of guarding the Purley Way factories: its units were mainly based on staff from the individual firms. The factories adjoiningCroydon Airport took the worst of the air raid of 15 August 1940: the British NSF factory was almost entirely destroyed, and theBourjois factory gutted, with a total of over sixty civilian deaths.[10]
A comprehensive history of Purley and its growth around Caterham Junction (now Purley Station) with the coming of the railways some 150 years ago is found in the Bourne Society's 'Purley Village History' and in its Local History Records publications.[citation needed]
The Webb Estate is agated community with around 220 homes.[11] It began as 260 acres of farmland before being purchased in the 1880s and transformed intoEdwardian homes and landscaped gardens by estate agent William Webb.Known for having a "garden village" feel with a high level of privacy, it also includes two private schools plus a restaurant and deli.[11]
The estate made headlines in a 2002 survey, which found that it had over the years attracted the highest-earning residents in the UK, having established itself as an attractive destination for wealthycity workers.[12]
Notable people to have lived on the Webb Estate include singerFrancis Rossi, footballerWilfried Zaha, television presenterLaura Hamilton, and formerDowning Street Press SecretaryBernard Ingham.[11]
The Purley postal district encompasses Purley high street and extends through Woodcote to the West, includes the Peaks Hill area to the North, and borders Purley Oaks in South Croydon. To the East it includesRiddlesdown and to the South it borders Kenley and Coulsdon.[13] The current electoral ward of Purley and Woodcote is largely co-extensive with the postal district,[14] but Riddlesdown is now in the neighbouring Purley Oaks and Riddlesdown ward.[15]
.jpg)
Woodcote is contained within Purley. Developed in the early 20th century, it is centred onWoodcote Village Green and is the location of Woodcote Model Village.[16] Purley's Webb Estate lies on Woodcote road, close to Upper Woodcote Village.[17]
The Bourne river runs through Purley. The river is culverted but can flood in Purley valley. A local history society take their name from this river.[18]
Purley is home to a number of schools;[19] including four Catholic schools. Two of which are in Peaks Hill neighbourhood of Purley, and these areThe John Fisher School an all boys' state school (formerly an independent and then a voluntary aided state school),[20] and Laleham Lea School a co-educational prep-school.[citation needed]
Purley has one of the UK's longest-established language schools, Purley Language College, founded in 1928.[21]
The current schools in Purley are:[19]
| Name | Type | Mix | Status | Enrollment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beaumont Primary School | Primary | Mixed | LEA | 128 |
| Christ Church Cofe Primary School | Primary | Mixed | C of E | 214 |
| Cumnor House School for Girls | Primary | Girls | Independent | 118 |
| Laleham Lea School | Primary | Mixed | Catholic Independent | 147 |
| Margaret Roper Catholic Primary School | Primary | Mixed | Catholic | 219 |
| Oakwood School | Primary/Prep | Mixed | Catholic Independent | 219 |
| Reedham Park School Limited | Primary | Mixed | Independent | 113 |
| Riddlesdown Collegiate | Secondary | Mixed | LEA | 1517 |
| St David's School | Primary/Prep | Mixed | Independent | 167 |
| St Nicholas School | Primary | Mixed | LEA/Special | 103 |
| The John Fisher School | Secondary | Boys | Catholic | 1004 |
| Thomas More Catholic School | Secondary | Mixed | Catholic | 717 |
| Tudor Lodge School | Mixed | Mixed | Independent | 8 |
| Wattenden Primary School | Primary | Mixed | LEA | 139 |
| West Dene School | Primary | Mixed | Independent | 107 |
.jpg)
Purley used to have many different kinds of shops such as greengrocers, butchers, toy shops, tobacconists, a restaurant and a cinema. There was an earlier Sainsbury's store that closed in the 1980s, when a new Sainsbury's was opened at Purley Fountain.[22] The new Sainsbury's closed in 2001.[23] ATesco superstore was opened in 1991, and there has been a shift in the town's retail offering towards charity shops, restaurants and non retail businesses.[24]
Purley retail and commerce interests are represented by the Purley Business improvement district. ThisBusiness Improvement District (BID) is in the second 5-year term having successfully been voted in favour in 2015 and 2020.[25]
The island opposite Purley Baptist Church has been refurbished and the Church, under the banner of 58:12[26] (a company and charity set up by the Church) are planning to redevelop it. Other partners in the development of a strategy for the regeneration of central Purley include the Purely Business improvement district, the Purley & Woodcote Residents' Association and Purley Rotary who actively participate in the Neighbourhood Partnership forums hosted by Croydon Council.[citation needed]
As of 2022, the largest ethnic group in Purley & Woodcote was‘White’, constituting 56.97% of the total population. The ‘Asian’ ethnic group was second largest, making up 20.13%, while ‘Black, Caribbean or African’ accounted for 11.73% of the population.Mixed/multiple ethnicities made up 7.5%. 'Other ethnic groups' account for 3% of the population. The smallest ethnic group was 'Arab', making up only 0.6% of the wards population.
71.4% of the wards population were born in the UK. The remaining 28.6% were from overseas, with the largest amount being listed as from 'The Middle East & Asia'.
The largest religion was listed asChristianity, at 51.3%. The second largest religion wasIslam, at 9.5%. Third wasHinduism, at 8.2%. Following that wereSikhism at 1%,Buddhism at 0.9%,Judaism at 0.2% and 'Other Religion' at 0.8%. As well as this, 'No Religion' accounted for 28% of the population.
Purley lies within theCroydon South parliamentary constituency, where voters have consistently returnedConservative Party MPs to the local seat since 1974. Purley has been staunchly conservative and its amalgamation into the London borough of Croydon in 1965 helped consolidate the middle class domination of that borough.[27] The Purley electoral ward returned Conservative party councillors inCroydon London Borough Council elections from 1965 up until the reorganisation of 2018. In 2018, Purley was split into two wards;Purley and Woodcote, andPurley Oaks and Riddlesdown.[28]
There are a number offootball clubs in the area.[29][30]
Purley John Fisher Rugby Football Club is based in Old Coulsdon.[31]
Purley Cricket Club is part of Purley Sports Club.[32] Purley Sports Club also providestennis,squash,padel andnetball.[33][34]
There are a number offield hockey clubs based in and around Purley that are part of theSouth East Hockey and theLondon Hockey league structures.[35][36][37] Current hockey clubs in and around the area are Kenley, Purley, Purley Walcountians and Sanderstead.[38][39][40][41]
Purley Cross gyratory connects routes leading south-east toEast Grinstead andEastbourne (theA22), west toEpsom andKingston (theA2022), south toRedhill andBrighton (theA23), and north toCroydon andCentral London (theA23 andA235). The A23 north from Purley forms thePurley Way, which leads to Croydon's trading and industrial hinterland and also to the formerCroydon Airport, the predecessor of the presentLondon Heathrow Airport andLondon Gatwick Airport.[65]
The town is on the mainLondon-to-Brighton railway line and is served byPurley andPurley Oaks stations on that line, andReedham station on theTattenham Corner Line.[65]
Another example of the late use of the termhida is that afforded by the Ad. Ch. 24,613 in the British Museum collection. In this deed John, abbot of St. Peter's monastery at Hyde, or Newminster, outside the city of Winchester, confirms a grant to William de Pirelea, son of Osbert de Pirelea, of "dimidiam hidam terre in Sandestuda," or Sanderstead, co. Surrey. The date is about A.D. 1200.
Purley House, on this estate, was formerly the property and residence of the late John Horne Tooke, esq.; whose celebrated philological work inituled, "Epea Pteroenta, or the Diversions of Purley," was written here, and first published, in octavo, in 1786.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Geographic | |
