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105-703: East Croydon is a railway station, tram stop and associated bus station in Croydon , Greater London , England. It is located in Travelcard Zone 5. At 10 miles 28  chains (10.35 mi; 16.66 km) from London Bridge , it is the 20th busiest station in Britain , was the 10th busiest in 2020–21 (due to the COVID pandemic), is the busiest national rail station in London outside of fare zones 1 and 2 and

210-556: A commuter town for London. By the early 20th century, Croydon was an important industrial area, known for car manufacture, metal working and Croydon Airport . In the mid 20th century these sectors were replaced by retailing and the service economy , brought about by massive redevelopment which saw the rise of office blocks and the Whitgift Centre , the largest shopping centre in Greater London until 2008. Historically,

315-528: A local government district of Greater London , it is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater London, with an extensive shopping district. The entire town had a population of 192,064 as of 2011, whilst the wider borough had a population of 384,837. Historically an ancient parish in the Wallington Hundred of Surrey, at the time of the Norman conquest of England Croydon had a church,

420-507: A 43-storey tower, began on Wellesley Road in 2011 and was completed in 2016. Other developments with towers over 50 floors high have been given planning approval. These include the 54-storey "Menta Tower" in Cherry Orchard Road near East Croydon station, and a 55-storey tower at One Lansdowne Road, on which construction was set to begin in early 2013. The latter is set to be Britain's tallest block of flats, including office space,

525-514: A change to Transport for London , which is required for a station to be rezoned. A new entrance to the station was included as part of the Morello Quarter Phase II development being constructed to the east of the station, the plans stating: "New pedestrian entrance into East Croydon Station via a high quality landscaped public space, new stairs and a temporary link structure connecting to the existing station bridge"; however, at

630-478: A decline, finally closing in 1959. By the 1950s, with its continuing growth, the town was becoming congested , and the Council decided on another major redevelopment scheme. The Croydon Corporation Act was passed in 1956. This, coupled with national government incentives for office relocation out of Central London, led to the building of new offices and accompanying road schemes through the late 1950s and 1960s, and

735-618: A four-star hotel and a health club. In May 2012 it was announced that Croydon had been successful in its bid to become one of twelve " Portas Pilot " towns and would receive a share of £1.2m funding to help rejuvenate its central shopping areas. In November 2013, Central Croydon MP Gavin Barwell gave a presentation at a public meeting on the Croydon regeneration project, detailing various developments underway due to be completed in coming years. On 26 November 2013, Croydon Council approved

840-414: A generally poor service. The withdrawal of services on 1 September 1890 came therefore as little surprise; it was hoped that the station would give impetus to the development of High Street, but this never materialised and ironically it was only after the demolition of the station that plans for the area could be advanced. Two years before reopening, a "High Street Improvement Committee" had been set up with

945-490: A halt for stage coaches on the road south of London. At the beginning of the 19th century, Croydon became the terminus of two pioneering commercial transport links with London. The first, opened in 1803, was the horse-drawn Surrey Iron Railway from Wandsworth , which in 1805 was extended to Merstham , as the Croydon, Merstham and Godstone Railway. The second, opened in 1809, was the Croydon Canal , which branched off

1050-457: A large, new one billion pound shopping centre, in the form of a new Westfield shopping mall to add to the two which the company currently has in Greater London; Westfield plans to work jointly with Hammerson and to incorporate the best aspects of the two companies' designs. In November 2017, Croydon Council gave permission for the new Westfield shopping centre to be built and in January 2018,

1155-450: A lightweight steel structure that straddles the track and platforms to a much greater extent than was possible with its Victorian predecessor. Four steel ladder masts anchor the glass box and the whole gives the impression of a suspension bridge that stretches into the distance. External canopies cover the entrances, a café's open-air seating area and the approaches to the tram stop. 440 m (4,700 sq ft) of glass were used in

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1260-559: A mill, and around 365 inhabitants, as recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086. Croydon expanded in the Middle Ages as a market town and a centre for charcoal production, leather tanning and brewing. The brewing industry remaining strong for hundreds of years. The Surrey Iron Railway from Croydon to Wandsworth opened in 1803 and was an early public railway. Later 19th century railway building facilitated Croydon's growth as

1365-432: A much greater extent than was possible with its Victorian predecessor. Four steel ladder masts anchor the glass box and the whole gives the impression of a suspension bridge that stretches into the distance. External canopies cover the entrances, a café's open-air seating area and the approaches to the tram stop. 440 m (4,700 sq ft) of glass were used in the roof and 800 m (8,600 sq ft) for

1470-519: A nearby schoolhouse and schoolmaster's house. There was a Warden in charge of the well-being of the almoners. The building takes the form of a courtyard surrounded by the chambers of the almoners and various offices. Threatened by various reconstruction plans and road-widening schemes, the Almshouses were saved in 1923 by intervention of the House of Lords . On 21 June 1983 Queen Elizabeth II visited

1575-563: A pageant held at Lloyd Park and an exhibition held at the old Croydon Aerodrome. The growing town attracted many new buildings. The Fairfield Halls arts centre and event venue opened in 1962. Croydon developed as an important centre for shopping, with the construction of the Whitgift Centre in 1969. No. 1 Croydon (formerly the NLA Tower) designed by Richard Seifert & Partners was completed in 1970. The Warehouse Theatre opened in 1977. The 1990s saw further changes intended to give

1680-432: A police station and library on part of the land, hoping that the presence of public facilities would increase the value of the remainder. By 1890, the necessary agreements and consents for the sale were in place, drawing to a close Central Croydon's short history. The short section from the main line as far as Park Lane remained in use as "Fairfield Yard" engineers sidings until 1933, when they were abandoned. The site of

1785-565: A popular society venue attracting crowds to its fêtes . One widely publicised event was a "Grand Scottish Fete" on 16 September 1834 "with a tightrope performance by Pablo Fanque , the black circus performer who would later dominate the Victorian circus and achieve immortality in the Beatles song, Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite! " The spa closed in 1856 soon after the opening nearby of

1890-695: A redevelopment of the Town Centre by The Croydon Partnership, a joint venture by the Westfield Group and Hammerson. London Mayor Boris Johnson approved the plan the following day. The Croydon Advertiser listed the approval as an "Historic Night for Croydon". At Ruskin Square , a Boxpark made of sea containers opened in 2016 as a temporary measure until new buildings are constructed for shops, offices and housing. The London Evening Standard said that this and other developments were reviving

1995-489: A score of 90%. The Zotefoams company has its headquarters in Croydon. For centuries the area lay within the Wallington hundred , an ancient Anglo-Saxon administrative division of the county of Surrey . In the later Middle Ages – probably from the late 13th century onwards – residents of the town of Croydon, as defined by boundary markers known as the "four crosses", enjoyed a degree of self-government through

2100-501: A single station with the three island platforms that remain. The two stations kept separate booking accounts until the formation of the Southern Railway. On 4 July 1958, a passenger fell onto the running lines after attempting to leave his train on the wrong side. Station foreman Thomas Ashby saw that he was reaching for the live rail as he attempted to stand, and that an express train was approaching, and so jumped down onto

2205-467: A thriving market town of around 20,000 inhabitants on the southern fringe of London, Croydon was first connected with the railway network in 1839 when the London and Croydon Railway opened a station (now West Croydon ) on London Road. Two years later, the London and Brighton Railway opened a station (now East Croydon ) on the other side of town. Both stations were a fair distance from the town centre and

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2310-423: A town court or portmote , and a form of free tenure of property . These privileges set the area of the town apart from its rural hinterland, where the more usual and more restrictive rules of manorial tenure applied. However, Croydon did not hold any kind of formal borough status. In 1690, the leading inhabitants petitioned William III and Mary for Croydon to be incorporated as a borough. The application

2415-400: A weekly market , and this probably marks the foundation of Croydon as an urban centre. Croydon developed into one of the main market towns of north east Surrey. The market place was laid out on the higher ground to the east of the manor house in the triangle now bounded by High Street, Surrey Street and Crown Hill. By the 16th century the manor house had become a substantial palace, used as

2520-429: A £24 million expansion of the station with a new 'airport style' concourse above the tracks to the north of the station. Arrowcroft had agreed to contribute £500,000 to the build costs to offset the impact of their proposed Arena. The source of the remaining £23.5 million was not identified, and Network Rail had not committed this expenditure in its capital plans. The alternative scheme called Ruskin Square , by

2625-496: Is Grade II listed; it was built in four phases. starting with the engine house in 1851, with a further engine house in 1862, a further extension in 1876–7 to house a compound horizontal engine and a further extension in 1912. In 1883 Croydon was incorporated as a borough. In 1889 it became a county borough, with a greater degree of autonomy. The new county borough council implemented the Croydon Improvement scheme in

2730-516: Is a Perpendicular -style church, which was remodelled in 1849 but destroyed in a great fire in 1867, after which only the tower, south porch, and outer walls remained. A new church was designed by Sir George Gilbert Scott , one of the greatest architects of the Victorian age , and opened in 1870. His design loosely followed the previous layout, with knapped flint facing and many of the original features, including several tombs. Croydon Parish Church

2835-666: Is a footbridge connecting all platforms. There are three waiting rooms on the platforms with standard metal seats. There are refreshment stalls and vending machines in the seating areas on the platforms. Trolleys are available along with step-free access to buffets. Oyster Pay as you go (PAYG) and contactless payments are accepted on journeys within London Travelcard zones. There are electronic information displays showing departures to 80 stations. Several plans for station expansion have been put forward; none of which were confirmed to be happening by January 2015. As part of

2940-469: Is a red brick building with stone dressings. Its three bays are divided by paired Doric pilasters supporting a triglyph frieze and panelled parapet. The Parish Church of St Michael and All Angels by John Loughborough Pearson in West Croydon was built between 1880 and 1885, and is Grade I listed. The development of Brighton as a fashionable resort in the 1780s increased Croydon's importance as

3045-517: Is from George Street. Another entrance is next to the taxi rank on Billinton Hill just off Cherry Orchard Road , on the east side. There are several shops within the main building. After the new bridge was opened in 2013 (see 2010 revamp plans, above) a further entrance became available with a walkway leading to the junction of Lansdowne Road and Dingwall Road. The ticket office and the ticket machines usually become busy during peak hours. Disabled-accessible slopes to all platforms are provided and there

3150-472: Is one of the busiest non-terminal stations in the country. It is one of three railway stations in the London Borough of Croydon with Croydon in their name, the others being West Croydon and South Croydon . A Tramlink tram stop is located immediately outside the main station entrance. The present station building opened on 19 August 1992. It consists of a large steel and glass frame suspended from

3255-552: Is the burial place of six Archbishops of Canterbury: John Whitgift , Edmund Grindal , Gilbert Sheldon , William Wake , John Potter and Thomas Herring . Historically part of the Diocese of Canterbury , Croydon is now in the Diocese of Southwark . In addition to the suffragan Bishop of Croydon , the Vicar of Croydon is a preferment . Addington Palace is a Palladian-style mansion between Addington Village and Shirley , in

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3360-602: Is used for trams which are on diversion and terminate at East Croydon occasionally. Platform 3 is used for trams towards Wimbledon and West Croydon(loop). Services from London Bridge to Tunbridge Wells via Redhill were operated by Southeastern until December 2008, when they were transferred to Southern and curtailed at Tonbridge . In 2018, Southern withdrew the Victoria to Tonbridge via Redhill service, instead opting to run an hourly shuttle between Redhill and Tonbridge . CrossCountry services stopped at East Croydon on

3465-560: The Alemanni , who allegedly played a part in the proclamation of Constantine as emperor at York in AD 306. The town lies on the line of the Roman road from London to Portslade , and there is some archaeological evidence for small-scale Roman settlement in the area: there may have been a mansio (staging-post) here. Later, in the 5th to 7th centuries, a large pagan Saxon cemetery

3570-965: The Brighton Main Line from London to Gatwick Airport and Brighton , the Thameslink Route from Brighton to Bedford via London Bridge , and the Oxted Line to East Grinstead and Uckfield . East Croydon serves destinations mainly in East Sussex , West Sussex, Surrey and Brighton & Hove , including Gatwick Airport, Horsham , Caterham , Tattenham Corner , Brighton , Reigate , Redhill , Hastings , Eastbourne , Bognor Regis , Portsmouth , Tonbridge and many suburban stations in South London . Trains include Thameslink services to Brighton, Redhill , Bedford, Luton and London Luton Airport , which means that

3675-529: The Croydon Vision 2020 regeneration scheme, East Croydon is expected be expanded to both the west and the east. Work has been planned on the west side for some time to increase station capacity, made more urgent by likely additional traffic from the planned Croydon Gateway nearby. A proposal by Arrowcroft, which included the 12,500-seat Croydon Arena , was rejected in August 2008. Arrowcroft had proposed

3780-543: The Grand Surrey Canal at Deptford . The London and Croydon Railway (an atmospheric and steam-powered railway) opened between London Bridge and West Croydon in 1839, using much of the route of the canal (which had closed in 1836). Other connections to London and the south followed. The arrival of the railways and other communications advances in the 19th century led to a 23-fold increase in Croydon's population between 1801 and 1901. This rapid expansion of

3885-489: The London market, most probably for medicinal purposes, and particularly for the treatment of granulation of the eyelids . There is also a plausible Brittonic origin for Croydon in the form "Crai-din" meaning "settlement near fresh water" (cf Creuddyn, Ceredigion ), the name Crai (variously spelled) being found in Kent at various places even as late as the Domesday Book . Alternative, although less probable, theories of

3990-539: The London & Brighton Railway (L&BR) began passenger services through Croydon station (now East Croydon) on the Brighton Line from London Bridge to Haywards Heath . The station was designed by the architect David Mocatta , the second station in the town since the London and Croydon Railway (L&CR) had opened its Croydon station (now West Croydon) in June 1839. The station became jointly administered by

4095-622: The London Borough of Croydon . Six archbishops lived there between 1807 and 1898, when it was sold. Between 1953 and 1996 it was the home of the Royal School of Church Music . It is now a conference and banqueting venue. Croydon was home to the Addiscombe Military Seminary (1809–1861), at which young officers were trained for the army of the East India Company . Croydon was a leisure destination in

4200-460: The London, Brighton and South Coast Railway (Additional Powers) Bill which, amongst other matters, sought authorisation for the construction of a branch from East Croydon to Katharine Street, where a new "Central Station" would be built. The Act passed into law on 29 July 1864 and the LBSCR began purchasing the necessary land, a whole block between the present-day Mint Walk and Katharine Street up to

4305-525: The Mayor of London , Sadiq Khan , approved the regeneration scheme. Work to demolish the existing Whitgift Centre was due to begin in 2018 and Westfield Croydon was initially to open by 2022. The Westfield plans were delayed and the planning permission elapsed: however, in 2021, Croydon Council confirmed they were committed to see the Westfield Centre proceed. There are several other major plans for

East Croydon station - Misplaced Pages Continue

4410-540: The town hall . By the late 1880s the station was again congested due to the growth of traffic on the main lines, the expansion of the suburban network in South London and the new line from Croydon to Oxted . As a result, the station was rebuilt and the tracks remodelled during 1894/5. At the same time the suburban lines were extended from South Croydon to Coulsdon North , where they joined the new Quarry line . In 1897–98, East Croydon and New Croydon were merged into

4515-544: The A22 from Purley to the M25 Godstone interchange. Road traffic is diverted away from a largely pedestrianised town centre, mostly consisting of North End . East Croydon railway station is a hub of the national railway system, with frequent fast services to central London, Brighton and the south coast. The town is also at the centre of the only tramway system in southern England. As the vast majority of place names in

4620-568: The Almshouses and unveiled a plaque celebrating the recently completed reconstruction of the building. On 22 March each year the laying of the foundation stone is commemorated as Founder's Day. In 1864, the Catholic St Mary's Church in Croydon was opened. It was designed by E. W. Pugin and Frederick Walters in the Gothic Revival style . The Grade II listed West Croydon Baptist Church was built in 1873 by J. Theodore Barker. It

4725-593: The Crystal Palace which had been rebuilt on Sydenham Hill in 1854, following its success at the Great Exhibition in Hyde Park . Horse racing in the area took place occasionally, notably during visits of Queen Elizabeth I to the archbishop. Regular meetings became established first on a course at Park Hill in 1860 and from 1866 at Woodside , where particularly good prizes were offered for

4830-519: The Danish came our crook and crooked . This term accurately describes the locality; it is a crooked or winding valley , in reference to the valley that runs in an oblique and serpentine course from Godstone to Croydon." Anderson challenged a claim, originally made by Andrew Coltee Ducarel , that the name came from the Old French for "chalk hill", because it was in use at least a century before

4935-499: The East Croydon Community Organisation AGM on 16th July 2024, it was revealed by representatives of Network Rail that no ticket barrier would be installed by Network Rail at the Cherry Orchard Road (eastern) side of the bridge due to the cost of installation and subsequent staffing & maintenance. At the same AGM, it was also noted that Network Rail may review the provision of ticket barriers at

5040-612: The East Croydon station, after a compulsory purchase order was rejected in 2008 at Cabinet level. On 22 November 2011, then Mayor of London Boris Johnson announced £23m of additional funding to help redevelop the town at the Develop Croydon Conference. Several apartment developments, for instance Altitude 25 (completed 2010), have been built in recent years, and several more are being built or planned. The construction of Saffron Square , which includes

5145-585: The French language would have been commonly used following the Norman Conquest . However, there was no long-term Danish occupation (see Danelaw ) in Surrey, which was part of Wessex , and Danish-derived nomenclature is also highly unlikely. More recently, David Bird has speculated that the name might derive from a personal name, Crocus : he suggests a family connection with the documented Chrocus , king of

5250-505: The High Street. The line and station were initially intended to approach Katharine Street at an angle, but a realignment of the route made it parallel with Katharine Street, reducing the amount of land needed. The plot of land to the west of Park Street was purchased for £11,217 and a contract was awarded to Messrs John T Chappell of Steyning to construct the line and station for £4,089. An Ordnance Survey map surveyed in 1867–69 shows

5355-535: The L&;BR and the South Eastern Railway (SER) in 1842, who shared the Brighton Main Line as far as Redhill . Fares from Croydon to London were common to two railways. In 1846, the L&BR and the L&CR amalgamated to form the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway (LB&SCR), and the two stations were shortly renamed East Croydon and West Croydon to avoid confusion. With the completion of

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5460-466: The additional operating room. In 1864, the LB&;SCR obtained authorisation to construct a 0.5-mile (0.8 km) long branch line into the town centre near Katharine Street, where Central Croydon station was built. The line opened in 1868 but enjoyed little success and closed in 1871, only to reopen in 1886 under pressure from the council before finally closing in 1890. It was demolished and replaced by

5565-496: The aim of carrying out necessary civic improvements such as the widening of High Street and the laying of a tram line, and the station, which occupied the main road frontage, stood in the way. Anxious to rid itself of an unprofitable facility, in 1889 the LBSCR offered the land for sale for £12,500. A figure of £11,500 was agreed on condition that the LBSCR leave in place the retaining walls supporting part of Katharine Street. The council intended to erect its municipal offices, courts,

5670-559: The area are of Anglo-Saxon origin, the theory accepted by most philologists is that the name Croydon derives originally from the Old English croh , meaning " crocus ", and denu , " valley ", indicating that, like Saffron Walden in Essex, it was a centre for the cultivation of saffron . It has been argued that this cultivation is likely to have taken place in the Roman period, when the saffron crocus would have been grown to supply

5775-405: The church is also mentioned in Domesday Book . The will of John de Croydon, fishmonger, dated 6 December 1347, includes a bequest to "the church of S John de Croydon", the earliest clear record of its dedication . The church still bears the arms of Archbishop Courtenay and Archbishop Chichele , believed to have been its benefactors. In 1276 Archbishop Robert Kilwardby acquired a charter for

5880-527: The corner of North End and George Street, were erected by Archbishop John Whitgift. He petitioned for and received permission from Queen Elizabeth I to establish a hospital and school in Croydon for the "poor, needy and impotent people" from the parishes of Croydon and Lambeth . The foundation stone was laid in 1596 and the building was completed in 1599. The premises included the Hospital or Almshouses, providing accommodation for between 28 and 40 people, and

5985-495: The country. There was a market on Surrey Street . Croydon was the location of London's main airport until the Second World War. During the war, much of central Croydon was devastated by German V-1 flying bombs and V-2 rockets , and for many years the town bore the scars of the destruction. After the war, Heathrow Airport superseded Croydon Airport as London's main airport, and Croydon Airport quickly went into

6090-419: The early 1890s, which widened the High Street and cleared much of the "Middle Row" slum area. The remaining slums were cleared shortly after Second World War , with much of the population relocated to the isolated new settlement of New Addington . New stores opened and expanded in central Croydon, including Allders , Kennards and Grade II listed Grants , as well as the first Sainsbury's self-service shop in

6195-483: The east. In January 2006 the London Assembly issued statistics of crime in main-line railway stations outside Zone 1. East Croydon, Clapham Junction and Walthamstow Central were the worst affected. Both councils and railway companies were blamed. Croydon Croydon is a large town in South London , England, 9.3 miles (15.0 km) south of Charing Cross . Part of the London Borough of Croydon ,

6300-452: The empty 24-storey St George's House office building, occupied by Nestlé until September 2012, into 288 flats. In 2007, events were held under the label of Croydon Exp07 to promote billions of pounds of promised projects, including swimming pools and a library. However, plans for a new shopping centre, to be called Park Place , had already been abandoned amid a scandal about cash for peerages . Also abandoned were plans for an arena near

6405-510: The life of the town well into the early modern period , and as local patrons they continue to have an influence. Croydon appears in Domesday Book (1086) as Croindene , held by Archbishop Lanfranc . Its Domesday assets included 16 hides and 1 virgate of land; a church; a mill worth 5s; 38 plough -teams; 8 acres (3.2 ha) of meadow ; and woodland for 200 hogs . It had a recorded population of 73 households (representing roughly 365 individuals); and its value in terms of taxes rendered

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6510-588: The linchpin of a cultural quarter encompassing nearby College Green. Plans include an art gallery, a new college , shops and offices, with a multi-storey car park set for demolition to make space for 218 homes. As of 2011, Croydon's annual retail turnover from comparison goods was £353 million, the fifth-highest in Greater London behind the West End , Shepherd's Bush , Stratford and Kingston upon Thames . Croydon had as of 2012 320,991 square metres (3,455,120 sq ft) of total town centre floorspace,

6615-436: The line to Victoria between 1860 and 1862, extra platforms were needed to provide a terminal for LB&SCR suburban services to and from the West End of London whilst London Bridge trains continued to use the existing lines. The new platforms adjoined East Croydon but were treated by the LB&SCR as a separate station named New Croydon, with its own ticket office, and which ran exclusively LBSCR services. This device enabled

6720-463: The local stage coach , previously the dominant mode of transport but now undercut by the railway, sought to create new business by ferrying passengers to and from the stations. This situation prevailed until 1863 when, under pressure to provide a more convenient station, the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway (LBSCR) (formed in 1846 by a merger of the Brighton and Croydon companies) promoted

6825-453: The main summer home of the archbishops and visited by monarchs and other dignitaries. However, the palace gradually became dilapidated and surrounded by slums and stagnant ponds, and in 1781 the archbishops sold it, and in its place purchased a new residence at nearby Addington . Nevertheless, many of the buildings of the original Croydon Palace survive, and are in use today as Old Palace School . The Parish Church (now Croydon Minster )

6930-510: The mid 19th century. In 1831, one of England's most prominent architects, Decimus Burton , designed a spa and pleasure gardens below Beulah Hill and off what is now Spa Hill in a bowl of land on the south-facing side of the hill around a spring of chalybeate water. Burton was responsible for the Beulah Spa Hotel (demolished around 1935) and the layout of the grounds. Its official title was The Royal Beulah Spa and Gardens. It became

7035-530: The name's origin have been proposed. According to John Corbet Anderson: "The earliest mention of Croydon is in the joint will of Beorhtric and Aelfswth, dated about the year 962. In this Anglo-Saxon document the name is spelt [here he uses Old English characters] Crogdaene . Crog was, and still is, the Norse or Danish word for crooked, which is expressed in Anglo-Saxon by crumb , a totally different word. From

7140-400: The necessary funds for significant enhancements. In 2020, Network Rail revealed a proposal to move the station 100m north as part of a redevelopment of the nearby Selhurst Triangle junction, with the aim of increasing capacity and improving reliability. The rebuilt station would have two more platforms than today's station. The project is currently unfunded but if it goes ahead it is hoped that

7245-507: The owners of the site Stanhope Schroders, includes a planned contribution of £1.1 million for station capacity improvements that could be quickly implemented and integrated into their planned scheme for a new urban park, a rebuilt Warehouse Theatre , a doctors' surgery, housing (50% "affordable") and modern offices on the Croydon Gateway site. To the east, towards Cherry Orchard Road, the proposed towers result in an extension to

7350-538: The races run under National Hunt rules. In that sphere its prestige was second only to Aintree , home of the Grand National . Increasing local opposition to the presence of allegedly unruly racegoers coupled with the need to obtain a licence from the local authority led to it being closed down in 1890. The Elizabethan Whitgift Almshouses , the "Hospital of the Holy Trinity", in the centre of Croydon at

7455-481: The railway to avoid breaking an agreement with the SER, whilst offering cheaper fares than the SER from the original station. The terminal platforms at New Croydon proved difficult to operate, as there was limited space for locomotives to run around their trains. As a result, in 1863 the LB&SCR obtained Parliamentary authority to build a one-mile (1.6 km) extension to a new terminus at South Croydon , which provided

7560-625: The redeveloped station and junction would be complete by 2033. In late 2014 plans were made to rename the station "Croydon Central". East Croydon station is currently located in Travelcard Zone 5 , but there is an ongoing campaign for East Croydon and the smaller West Croydon station (also located in Zone 5) to be rezoned to Travelcard Zone 4 . It has been argued that the stations should be in Zone 4 because some stations currently in Zone 4 are further away from Central London, and that rezoning

7665-504: The roof and 800 m (8,600 sq ft) for the wall glazing. It was announced in 2010 that Network Rail had proposed a £20m project to revamp the station with an additional entrance and a shortcut into the town centre. The new bridge was officially opened in December 2013. Disabled-accessible slopes to all platforms are provided and there is a footbridge connecting all platforms. There are refreshment stalls and vending machines in

7770-421: The route to Brighton and Newcastle, until they were withdrawn in December 2008 (after the franchise passed from Virgin to Arriva ) Southern services to London Charing Cross were withdrawn in December 2009, and services between London Victoria and Southampton Central were withdrawn in June 2024. The typical off-peak service in trains per hour as of December 2022 is: During the peak hours and on Saturdays,

7875-399: The seating areas on the platforms, and trolleys are available along with step-free access to buffets. There are electronic information displays showing departures to 80 stations. The population of Croydon increased 14-fold (from 16,700 to 233,000) between the opening of the station in 1841 and 1921. As a result, the station has been enlarged and rebuilt on several occasions. On 12 July 1841,

7980-542: The second highest in Greater London only behind the West End. Apart from its large central shopping district, Croydon has a number of smaller shopping areas, especially towards the southern end of the town in which are many restaurants. As of 2011, two of Croydon's restaurants were listed in The Good Food Guide . In a 2015 study by CACI , Croydon was ranked 12th in the "Hot 100 UK retail locations" with

8085-517: The services between London Victoria, East Grinstead and Littlehampton are increased to 2 tph. Southern services at East Croydon are operated using Class 377 EMUs and Class 171 DMUs . The typical off-peak service in trains per hour as of December 2022 is: Thameslink services at East Croydon are operated using Class 700 EMUs . The typical off-peak service in trams per hour from East Croydon is: Services are operated using Bombardier CR4000 and Stadler Variobahn Trams . The main entrance

8190-571: The station as "Katharine Street Station", which may have been an early proposed name. The station opened as Central Croydon, leaving the map in error. The branch left the Brighton Main Line just south of George Street and curved sharply west, where the Fairfield Halls are today. It passed under Park Lane, through the present-day Queen's Gardens to the site of the Croydon Clocktower and Town Hall. Opened on 1 January 1868,

8295-543: The station has direct services to two airports. They also serve stations in or near the City of London , including St Pancras International , Farringdon , City Thameslink and London Blackfriars . Southeastern to London Charing Cross and Tunbridge Wells occasionally call at the station during periods of engineering work. There are six platforms in the National Rail station in form of three islands numbered from

8400-455: The station in the future. There is a large railway depot for Southern and Thameslink trains to the north at Selhurst . East Croydon is well served by both tram and bus, with a tram stop outside and a bus station close by. London Bus services reach Central London , Purley Way , Bromley , Lewisham and places to the south. Route SL7 , the longest London bus route, runs to Heathrow Airport via Sutton and Kingston. Immediately outside

8505-541: The station is the Tramlink stop, with services to Elmers End , Beckenham Junction , New Addington and Wimbledon . A major interchange, East Croydon has three tram platforms, two on an island, the other backing on to the station entrance. Following problems with the points in this area, in August 2006 they were fixed to route all eastbound trams into Platform 1, the concourse-side platform. The island platform can be used only by westbound trams and by trams terminating from

8610-409: The station was served from platforms 1 and 2 of New Croydon, an extension of East Croydon dealing with local traffic. Initially there were 12 trains per day, to and from London Bridge , but the commercial judgement that had created the station went unrewarded and services ceased after three years, on 1 December 1871. The station was mothballed until 1 June 1886 when, under pressure from the council, it

8715-558: The station. The architect is Make with the client Menta , engineer Knight Frank and GL Hearn . Originally the project was planned to start in 2009, but this was later put back to 2019. The mixed-use scheme is for approximately 93,000 sq m (1 million sq ft) of accommodation in a series of crystalline towers. Some 70% of the area is planned to be residential accommodation, with the remaining 30% mixed commercial use, including offices and retail. Critical to all proposals are improvements to transport interchange. No project has yet delivered

8820-406: The stations will save commuters living in Croydon large amounts of money, attract investment to Croydon, create jobs in the town and make living in the area more attractive. It is expected that those commuting to Croydon would be largely unaffected by such a change. The issue has been debated in the House of Commons , but current train operator Southern has not formally submitted a proposal for such

8925-623: The terms of the London Government Act 1963 ) the County Borough of Croydon was abolished and the area was transferred to Greater London and combined with the Coulsdon and Purley Urban District to form the London Borough of Croydon . The borough has on several occasions sought city status . (This would be a purely honorific change of title, making no practical difference to the borough's governance.) A draft petition

9030-554: The town a more attractive image. These included the closure of North End to vehicles in 1989 and the opening of the Croydon Clocktower arts centre in 1994. An early success of the centre was the " Picasso 's Croydon Period" exhibition of March–May 1995. The Croydon Tramlink began operation in May 2000 (see Transport section below). The Prospect West office development was built in 1991 to 1992, and its remodelling planned in 2012 has now been completed. Renamed Interchange Croydon when it

9135-412: The town boomed as a business centre in the 1960s, with many multi-storey office blocks, an underpass , a flyover and multi-storey car parks . The redeveloped town centre has since been identified as an " edge city " – a significant urban and commercial centre in its own right, located on the outskirts of a larger metropolitan area (in this case, London). In 1960 Croydon celebrated its millennium with

9240-584: The town formed part of the County of Surrey , and between 1889 and 1965 a county borough , but it was amalgamated into Greater London in 1965. Croydon lies on a transport corridor between central London and the south coast of England, to the north of two high gaps in the North Downs , one taken by the A23 Brighton Road and the main railway line through Purley and Merstham and the other by

9345-531: The town including the redevelopment of the Croydon Gateway site; and extensions of Tramlink to Purley Way, Streatham , Lewisham and Crystal Palace . Croydon has many tall buildings such as the former Nestlé Tower (St George's House). The London Borough of Croydon's strategic planning committee in February 2013 gave the go-ahead to property fund manager Legal and General Property's plans to convert

9450-434: The town led to considerable health problems, especially in the damp and overcrowded working class district of Old Town. In response to this, in 1849 Croydon became one of the first towns in the country to acquire a local board of health . The Board constructed public health infrastructure including a reservoir , water supply network , sewers , a pumping station and sewage disposal works. The Surrey Street Pumping Station

9555-409: The town which was in the process of gentrification. A Croydon Vision 2020 plan was drawn up by Croydon Council after a 1999 study by town planning consultants EDAW . The plan includes new office blocks, apartment buildings, shopping centres and other developments, some of which have already been built. More than 2,000 new homes are planned. A redeveloped Fairfield Halls has been planned to be

9660-468: The track and held the man down, safely, as the express passed. For his actions, Ashby was awarded the Order of Industrial Heroism , which was presented to him in the S.R.A. Club Hall at the station, on 7 October the same year. The present station building opened on 19 August 1992. It consists of a large steel and glass frame suspended from a lightweight steel structure that straddles the track and platforms to

9765-415: The wall glazing. The architects were Alan Brookes Associates and the structural engineers YRM Anthony Hunt Associates. It was announced in 2010 that Network Rail had proposed a £20m project to revamp the station with an additional entrance and a shortcut into the town centre. In September 2010, Croydon Council pledged £6m towards the revamp, ensuring that a bridge was included in the plans. The new bridge

9870-429: The west to the east. Platforms 1, 2, 4 are northbound platforms, with 1 and 2 on the fast line and 4 on the slow line, while platforms 3, 5, 6 are southbound platforms, with 3 on the fast line and 5 and 6 on the slow line. There are 3 Tram platforms. Platform 1 is used for trams towards Elmers End, Beckenham Junction and New Addington. Platform 2 is not routinely used although some trams may stop at this platform, mainly

9975-607: Was "the largest town which does not have the title of City in the whole of Western Europe". The grounds on which it has been turned down have invariably been that it is (as was stated in 1992) merely "part of the London conurbation, rather than a place with a character and identity of its own". Undeterred, council representatives have more than once described Croydon as "a city in all but name". In 2008, Boris Johnson , then Mayor of London, said he would support Croydon being awarded city status. Central Croydon railway station Central Croydon railway station in Croydon , England,

10080-467: Was a largely unsuccessful venture by the London Brighton and South Coast Railway to bring trains closer to the centre of Croydon, as East Croydon station was deemed too far from the busy town centre. It originally opened in 1868 and closed in 1871: it then reopened in 1886, before closing permanently in 1890. Its site was used for the building of Croydon Town Hall , erected in 1892–1896. Then

10185-542: Was a £6 billion major project to expand the Thameslink network from 51 to 172 stations spreading northwards to Bedford, Peterborough , Cambridge and King's Lynn . The project included the lengthening of platforms, station remodelling, new railway infrastructure (e.g. viaducts and tunnels) and new rolling stock . The project was completed in 2020 and has enabled 8 Thameslink trains per hour in each direction to service East Croydon. The station has frequent services on

10290-414: Was effectively ignored. Croydon's growth in the 19th century brought the issue of incorporation back on to the political agenda, and in 1883 the ancient parish of Croydon, apart from its exclave of Croydon Crook or Selsdon , was created a municipal borough within Surrey. In 1889, because the population was high enough, it was made a county borough , exempt from county administration. In 1965 (under

10395-399: Was initially approved, the king authorising the drafting of a charter , but the process was then abruptly halted, apparently through the intervention of Archbishop John Tillotson , who probably feared a threat to his own authority over the town. The application was revived the following year, when Queen Mary again authorised a charter, but once again it was abandoned. A second petition in 1707

10500-418: Was officially opened in December 2013, providing pedestrian transfer between platforms as well as a new entrance at the northern end of the platforms and a more direct link to the town centre. The new walkway may be accessed from the town centre on the west via Lansdowne Walk, with access from Cherry Orchard Road on the east included in local development plans. The Thameslink Programme (formerly Thameslink 2000)

10605-478: Was reopened in 2014, the 180,000 square foot office development was the first new grade A office development of its size to open in Croydon for more than 20 years. Another large shopping centre, Centrale , opened in 2004 opposite the Whitgift Centre, and adjoining the smaller Drummond Centre . House of Fraser and Debenhams are the anchor stores in the combined centre. In addition, there are plans for

10710-512: Was reopened. Around this time, the LBSCR sought to improve the usefulness of the branch by extending it under High Street to curve around to the right to join the West Croydon - Epsom line at West Croydon, but this plan, which might have seen it become a viable station, was not realised. The reopening of the station in 1886 was for London & North Western Railway and Great Eastern Railway (not LBSCR) trains, providing, by all accounts,

10815-474: Was situated on what is now Park Lane, although the extent of any associated settlement is unknown. By the late Saxon period Croydon was the hub of an estate belonging to the Archbishops of Canterbury . The church and the archbishops' manor house occupied the area still known as " Old Town ". The archbishops used the manor house as an occasional place of residence: as lords of the manor they dominated

10920-518: Was submitted by the County Borough to the Home Office in 1951, a more formal petition in 1954, and two more applications in 1955 and 1958. When the London Borough was created in 1965, the Council endeavoured to have it styled a City, as was the City of Westminster . Further bids for city status were made in 1977, 1992, 2000, 2002, and 2012. All have failed. The borough's predominant argument has always been its size: in 2000 it pointed out that it

11025-404: Was £37 10s 0d. The church had been established in the middle Saxon period, and was probably a minster church , a base for a group of clergy living a communal life. A charter issued by King Coenwulf of Mercia refers to a council that had taken place close to the monasterium (meaning minster) of Croydon. An Anglo-Saxon will made in about 960 is witnessed by Elfsies, priest of Croydon; and

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