Croydon

Its area is 34sq m (87km²). Population: (1998) 338,200.

The name of Croydon derives originally from the Anglo-Saxon croeas deanas, meaning "the valley of the crocuses", indicating the fact that, like Saffron Walden[?] in Essex, it was a centre for the collection of saffron. The crocuses are long gone, however. Croydon had a growth spurt in the 1960s and remains a good place to observe concrete buildings of that era.

Addington Palace is a Palladian-style mansion between Addington Village and Shirley, surrounded by park landscapes and golfcourses, within the boundaries of Croydon. After an Act of Parliament enabled the mansion to be purchased for the Archbishops of Canterbury in 1807, it became the official residence of six Archbishops until it was sold again in 1898.
In 1953, it was leased to the Royal School of Church Music[?] until 1996 when it was leased to a private company who are currently developing the site for public use.

Croydon Airport on Purley Way[?] used to be the main airport for London before it was superseded by London Heathrow Airport and London Gatwick Airport. Starting out during World War I as an airfield for the protection against Zeppelins, and developing into one of the great airports of the world during the 1920s and 1930s, it welcomed the world's pioneer aviators in its heyday. As aviation technology progressed, however, and aircraft became larger and more numerous, it was being recognized in 1952 that the airport would be too small to cope with the ever-increasing volume of air traffic. It was decided it would have to close, and so the last scheduled flight departed on September 30, 1959.

The air terminal, now known as Airport House, has been restored and may be visited at certain times.

The following suburbs are in the London Borough of Croydon:

• Addington
• Addiscombe
• Broad Green[?]
• Coulsdon
• Croydon
• Forestdale[?]
• Kenley[?]
• New Addington[?]
• Norbury[?]
• Purley
• Sanderstead[?]
• Selhurst[?]
• Selsdon
• Shirley[?]
• South Croydon[?]
• South Norwood[?]
• Thornton Heath
• Upper Norwood[?]
• Waddon
• Woodcote[?]
• Woodside[?]

see also Croydon Tramlink

External Link

• Croydon Local Government Website (http://www.croydon.gov.uk)

There are a number of towns/suburbs named Croydon in Australia. One Croydon is a small country town in northern Queensland (zie Croydon, Queensland[?]), and there are Croydons in Melbourne, Sydney and Adelaide.