This MedLibrary.org supplementary page on Addington, London is provided directly from the open source Wikipedia as a service to our readers. Please see the note below on authorship of this content, as well as the Wikipedia usage guidelines. To search for other content from our encyclopedia supplement, please use the form below:
Related Sponsors
| Addington | |
  Addington shown within Greater London |
|
| OS grid reference | |
|---|---|
| London borough | Croydon |
| Ceremonial county | Greater London |
| Region | London |
| Constituent country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | CROYDON |
| Postcode district | CR0 |
| Dialling code | 020 |
| Police | Metropolitan |
| Fire | London |
| Ambulance | London |
| European Parliament | London |
| UK Parliament | Croydon Central |
| London Assembly | Croydon and Sutton |
| List of places: UK • England • London | |
Addington is a village in south London, England, in the London Borough of Croydon.
Contents |
Village history
The village lay within the Anglo-Saxon administrative division of Wallington hundred. Addington is thought to be named after Edda, a Saxon. In the Domesday Book, two manors are mentioned, linked with the names Godric and Osward. These names are perpetuated by recent builders in street names. Addington is also another victim of gang crime with many connections with other South London boroughs and nearby areas (New Addington), (Selsdon) and Forestdale (actually in Addington) has led to a tense society in the Croydon area. Recently a young male (Billy Ward, 21) was stabbed and killed at Gravel Hill bus stop on 10th December 2007
Addington Place, later known as Addington Farm and now called Addington Palace, dominates the village above the church of St Mary the Blessed Virgin Church and the pub. The manor house was situated behind the church and was the residence of the Leigh family. From this Leigh family, Pamela, Countess Mountbatten is descended. There is an oft repeated, but false account of a royal hunting lodge, "where King Henry VIII supposedly wooed Anne Boleyn, whose family owned nearby Wickham Court" by West Wickham Parish Church. However Anne Boleyn of Wickham Court was the aunt of Queen Anne.
The Palladian mansion was built in the mid-18th century by Barlow Trecothick, from Boston, Massachusetts in the United States, who returned to England and became an MP and Lord Mayor of the City of London. After his death without heirs, his nephew James Ivers (later Trecothick), also of Boston, continued his uncle's work and had the grounds were laid out by Lancelot 'Capability' Brown. The estate was sold and eventually, as Croydon Palace became too inconvenient and unsanitary, the Addington house was bought for the Archbishops of Canterbury as a country residence. The last Archbishop to use it was Archbishop Benson.
There are still several old houses and buildings in Addington and, even though there has been some fairly modern building, the village atmosphere is intact in the 21st century, despite its being in Greater London. There is a blacksmith's forge, still mainly making ornamental ironwork. The hunt used to meet outside the pub, The Cricketers which has reverted to its former name once again after a temporary change of name. There was once a village co-operative store and post office, now a private house.
St Mary the Blessed Virgin Church
The church of St Mary the Blessed Virgin Church, built in 1080, in Addington village was once the only church as it was the centre of a larger parish then incorporating Shirley, which now has been reduced to Addington village, Fieldway on the New Addington estate and Forestdale. It has an 11th-century chancel and windows. The south aisle, built in the early 13th century, is narrow as it once had a thatched roof, hence its falling roofline. The belltower assumed its current form in 1876. The crypt is now inaccessible, but the church is the burial place of a Lord Mayor of the City of London, the armigerous Leigh family who were Lords of the manor and five of the six Archbishops of Canterbury who spent time at their residence nearby Addington Palace. There is also a memorial to the Archbishops in the graveyard.
Historic Cricket Club
The cricket field is one of the oldest in England and still used. The local cricket club was one of the strongest in England during the mid-18th century, frequently taking on opposition of county-strength. Its famous players at the time were Tom Faulkner, Joe Harris, John Harris, George Jackson and the enigmatic batsman Durling. See: Addington Cricket Club.
New Addington
Nearby New Addington was developed from the mid-1930s as a private rental housing estate known as 'The Boots estate'. Due to the war the 'garden city' dream was never fulfilled and the estate became neglected (and has been subsequently regenerated).
The estate had a nickname of Little Siberia due to its previous isolation in terms of public transport. Transport to both village and estate was poor in the early days; the only bus link for many years was to Croydon. More recently there has been an increase in bus routes connecting Addington and New Addington to surrounding areas and stations in the boroughs of Croydon and Bromley. These routes are focused on the Addington Interchange.
Tramlink (route 3) arrived in 2000, further linking the area with Croydon and Wimbledon, although a one way system for trams in central Croydon means that some stops there are only served in one direction. Several 'feeder' bus routes have been introduced in Addington and New Addington especially to connect with Tramlink.
When just a village the children went to the little village school, now demolished, or those on farms to the south went to Fairchilds village school (now a private residence). At first children from New Addington went to the village school until a new school was built in Overbury Crescent. This later became a senior school when Wolsey school opened in 1949. Later, more schools were built as the population increased. Children who passed the '11 plus', however, had to travel to Croydon.
New Addington is part of the ancient parish of Addington.
The Addington and Shirley Historical Society exists and welcomes those with an interest in the history of the area, with talks and walks. Details from Croydon Local Studies Events leaflet
Nearest places
Nearest stations
- Addington Village tram stop
- Gravel Hill tram stop
- West Wickham railway station
- East Croydon railway station
- South Croydon railway station
- Purley railway station
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||
Wikipedia content modification information:
- This page was last modified on 29 November 2008, at 01:34.
Wikipedia Authorship and Review
Wikipedia content provided here is not reviewed directly by MedLibrary.org. Wikipedia content is authored by an open community of volunteers and is not produced by or in any way affiliated with MedLibrary.org.
Wikipedia Usage Guidelines
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article on "Addington, London".
The URL for this specific entry is:
All Wikipedia text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License. (See Copyrights for details). Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.