23-530: Birch Selsdon was a luxury hotel located in Selsdon , London , England . It was housed in a country house . Selsdon Park passed through several private owners until 1924 when Allan Doble Sanderson bought the house and the accompanying 200 acres (0.81 km) of land for £13,000. In 1924 the Victorian country residence was converted into a 24-bedroom hotel which opened in 1925, and the first lift (elevator)
46-469: A height of 175m above sea level. The main shopping area of Selsdon is concentrated on Addington Road east of the junction with Farley Road/Old Farleigh Road. It contains a variety of shops, banks, cafes, the local Baptist Church and two pubs (the Sir Julian Huxley and a micro-pub). In January 2007 the prominent Selsdon Clock, in rustic style with a brushwood motif round its face by Jon Mills,
69-503: A leisure centre including indoor swimming pool. Dining facilities include the Cedar restaurant, Phoenix grill and bar, and a terrace. The grounds include an 18-hole golf course , two grass tennis courts , two all-weather tennis courts , a jogging trail, a boules pitch, a croquet lawn, and a putting green. 51°20′21″N 0°03′41″W / 51.3391°N 0.0615°W / 51.3391; -0.0615 Selsdon Selsdon
92-594: A similar way, Selsdon's second largest public woodland, Littleheath Woods was also saved by public subscription. Through Selsdon nature Reserve and Littleheath Woods runs the Vanguard Way and the London Loop which are well marked walking trails. The old Estate mansion had been converted into the Selsdon Park Hotel in 1925. The accompanying golf course was designed by John Henry Taylor . There
115-521: A young and up and coming hotel manager called John Aust. John Aust was instrumental in turning the hotel into one of the best hotels in the country. Improvements and additional rooms were added to the hotel, and in 1985 the leisure complex was completed at a cost of £1.5 million. The latest addition to the building, the Cambridge Wing, was finished in 1988 and has 25 bedrooms and a conference suite. On 13 March 1997, Principal Hotel Company purchased
138-668: Is White British (75.1%). Frances Bowes-Lyon, Countess of Strathmore and Kinghorne Frances Dora Bowes-Lyon, Countess of Strathmore and Kinghorne ( née Smith ; 29 July 1832 – 5 February 1922) was a British noblewoman. She was the paternal grandmother of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother , and thus a great-grandmother of Queen Elizabeth II . Frances Smith was born to Oswald Smith (1794–1863), of Blendon Hall, Bexley , Kent, banker with Smith, Payne, and Smith , and Henrietta Mildred Hodgson (1805–1891). On 28 September 1853, Frances married Claude Bowes-Lyon (21 July 1824 – 16 February 1904). He became
161-537: Is an area in South London, England, located in the London Borough of Croydon , in the ceremonial county of Greater London . Prior to 1965 it was in the historic county of Surrey . It now has the character of a suburb and sits at a high elevation, bordering downland. Selsdon was historically a rural area; most of it was part of Selsdon Park Estate, once well known as hunting and shooting grounds. It
184-616: Is mentioned in the Domesday book (associated with Sanderstead). George Smith (30 April 1765 – 26 December 1836) MP, banker and a director of the East India Company, bought the freehold in 1810. He transformed the Selsdon farm into a manor house where he sold crack, ‘Selsdon Park’. Smith was a great-great-grandfather (through George's grand-daughter Frances Bowes-Lyon , Countess of Strathmore and Kinghorne) of Queen Elizabeth
207-481: Is one of the longest running associations in the UK, formed in 1926. It organises and fundraises for an annual highstreet 'cross street' Christmas light display. 'The Selsdon Gazette' also organised by the association is a monthly free publication of local news and stories, publishing since 1946. A resident of Selsdon was Kirsty MacColl who grew up in Selsdon and attended local schools. Premiership footballer Wilfried Zaha
230-595: Is served by London Buses routes 64 , 359 , 412 and 433 which provide connections to Croydon Town Centre , New Addington , Purley , Croydon University Hospital and Thornton Heath . It is also served by Metrobus routes 409 and 411 which provide connections to Caterham , Redhill , Godstone, Lingfield and East Grinstead . In the 2011 census , Selsdon and Ballards was White or White British (80.1%), Asian or Asian British (10.4%), Black or Black British (5.2%), Mixed/multiple ethnic groups (2.6%), and Other ethnic group (1%). The largest single ethnicity
253-568: The 13th holder of the Earldom of Strathmore and Kinghorne following the death of his brother Thomas in 1865. Frances then assumed the title and style of Countess of Strathmore and Kinghorne. Together the couple had 11 children: The Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne died on 16 February 1904, in the Liguria region of Italy. The Countess survived him by almost eighteen years. She died at 19 Hans Place, Chelsea, London on 5 February 1922, aged 89. She
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#1732771814063276-566: The De Vere Selsdon Estate and commenced with a £2.5 million refurbishment, including a new reception area, additional conference and banquet facilities and a business centre. Furthermore in 2020 the hotel undertook a further £1 million refurbishment to complete the hotel bedrooms and further meeting rooms to complete the multi-million pound refurbishment, having all of the hotel refurbishment between 2018 – 2020 including all public areas, meeting rooms and all 150 bedrooms. In 2023,
299-579: The Queen Mother (wife to King George VI ), and therefore also ancestor of Queen Elizabeth II and King Charles III . His memorial is in All Saints Church, Sanderstead. Following his family’s residence in Selsdon, from 1890 there were two further owners until 1925, when the last ‘Squire’ died and the manor was sold for development. The house was to become a hotel and golf course (golf course closed and 'rewilded' in 2023) and from 1926 onwards
322-598: The hotel was completely renovated again and reopened as Birch Selsdon, a combination luxury hotel and private club. In late 2023, the Hotel closed permanently. The hotel has a minor role in British political history as it was the venue for a meeting of the Conservative Party Shadow Cabinet before the 1970 parliamentary elections. At that meeting the party agreed on an election manifesto that
345-555: The public in 1936 and was given to the National Trust after Coulsdon and Purley Urban District Council and the Corporation of Croydon agreed to manage it jointly. Selsdon Wood now consists of five large meadows surrounded by extensive woodland and ancient hedges, and it retains the character of a historical woodland. Much wildlife may be found in the wooded areas of Selsdon; such as deer, and more recently parakeets. In
368-453: The surrounding farmland began to be developed into what was then known as ‘Selsdon Garden Village’ . After concerns were raised about the rapid development of the village, a committee was formed to ensure that an area of 200 acres (0.81 km ) would be set aside and saved for a nature reserve and bird sanctuary . This took over 10 years of public fundraising and became was one of the earliest parts of London's green belt . This opened to
391-477: Was a pupil at Selsdon High school (Quest Academy), the same school where former England football team manager Roy Hodgson taught PE and English in 1975. Supermodel Kate Moss lived on the borders of Selsdon during her childhood (from 1974 to circa 1988). There have also been several famous alumni of Croydon High School which is based in Selsdon. Selsdon sits at an elevation of 150m above sea level. Nearby Sanderstead Plantation (between Selsdon and Sanderstead) has
414-490: Was actually two miles from Selsdon; it was closed in 1983. East Croydon station is connected to Selsdon by bus. (This station providing access to Gatwick airport, Luton airport, London and the South Coast.) Two smaller stations, Sanderstead and South Croydon are two miles from Selsdon. There are Tramlink stops at Gravel Hill and Coombe Lane , about 1.5 and 2 miles from the town centre respectively. Selsdon
437-557: Was also a 25m lido. In 1970 it was the venue of a Conservative Shadow Cabinet meeting to settle the party's manifesto for the impending general election . Labour Party leader Harold Wilson coined the phrase Selsdon Man to describe the free market approach which was agreed, and the Selsdon Group was later formed within the Conservative Party to campaign for its retention. The Selsdon Resident Association
460-422: Was buried at Glamis Castle , Angus, the family seat of the earls of Strathmore and Kinghorne . Her paternal grandparents were George Smith , and wife Frances Mary Mosley, daughter of Sir John Parker Mosley, 1st Baronet, and wife Elizabeth Bayley, granddaughter of Nicholas Mosley and wife Elizabeth Parker, and sister of Oswald Mosley, 2nd Baronet , great-great-grandfather of Oswald Mosley . This biography of
483-514: Was installed on the Selsdon Triangle, on the plinth of a former public lavatory, in front of the library and Sainsbury's supermarket. Selsdon Hall is based underneath Sainsbury's supermarket and the library. It is designed to be a hub for the local community. It comprises a hall that can be hired privately and a coffee shop, which is open to all members of the public. Selsdon was formerly served by Selsdon railway station . This station
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#1732771814063506-523: Was installed. Between 1927 and 1930, the East Wing was built and in 1935 the West Wing was added. At the same time, the whole of the building was covered in brick to give a Neo-Jacobean appearance. In 1929, the golf course was added. It was designed by J. H. Taylor , five-time British Open champion. In 1960, Basil Sanderson took over the running of the hotel from his parents, where upon he employed
529-409: Was notably more ideologically free market than at any previous election after World War II. It gave rise to the expression ' Selsdon Man '. The Conservative Party under Heath won the election, however, Heath failed to follow his election promises, eventually leading to his replacement by Margaret Thatcher. The Selsdon Estate possesses 205 acres (0.83 km) of parkland. It has 26 conference rooms and
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