Addiscombe Croydon
Addiscombe is, about nine miles south of central London. Lower Addiscombe (hilariously referred to by some of the residents as ‘LA’, was completely rural and devoid of much at all until 300 years ago. It was farm land and a due to large clay deposits found at Woodside, also a brick-making area.
Famous previous residents have included: D. H. Lawrence (1885–1930), the author, lived at 12 Colworth Road, Addiscombe from 1908 to 1912 and was a teacher at Davidson Road School and In 1974 supermodel Kate Moss was born in Addiscombe. The famous occultist Alistair Crowley is also know to have lived at Eton Lodge, Outram Road with his Aunt, as mentioned in his work ‘The Fatherland’. In 1702 ‘Addiscombe Place’ was built, Sir John Evelyn recorded in his diary “I went to Addiscombee on 11 July 1703 to see my son-in-law’s new house. It has excellent brickwork and Portland stone features, that I pronounced it good solid architecture, and one of the very best gentleman’s houses in Surrey.” Distinguished guests who stayed at the mansion include George III, William Pitt and Peter the Great of Russia. Peter the Great was reputed to have planted a cedar tree in Mulberry Lane to record his visit. The area started to grow up in the late 1860s with the sale of the East India College coinciding with the arrival of the Croydon and Addiscombe railway lines. Many roads around the area are named after people who were prominent in the suppression of the Indian Mutiny which given the disgrace the mutiny brought upon the East India Company this is a surprising fact to some.
A large proportion of the current residents are regular commuters to central London daily for work as East Croydon Station is close by. Parts of Addiscombe still boasts large family houses however a good portion contains houses converted to flats, for single young professionals. Although it does have many shops and resturants, many find it to be void of character and in the evenings head to central Croydon instead for a night out. Although Addiscombe has been in the process of extensive regeneration, and will also be improved by the Railway Park which will help, many still find Addiscombe to have a dull, run down feel to it. It has to be pointed out however, that on the other hand, many people love living there and don’t view it negativly at all.
There is a proposed development called the East Croydon Gateway Site, the development of a 12,500 seat arena on the barren land next to East Croydon Station, which if it went ahead, would undoubtedly bring the area up and be a cause for further regeneration but is presently blocked by the secretary of state so its not known at this point if it will go ahead. Although some residents have voiced concerns, many feel it would be a good addition to the Addiscombe area. The area has its own cricket, cycling and field hockey clubs.
