The London Borough of Croydon () is a borough within Outer London. It covers an area of and has a population of 397,741 as of mid-2023, making it one of London's two most populated boroughs (regularly alternating at number one, since 2000, with Barnet). At its centre is the historic town of Croydon, from which the borough takes its name. Other urban centres include Thornton Heath, Coulsdon, Purley, South Norwood, Norbury, New Addington, and Selsdon. Croydon is mentioned in the Domesday Book.
The borough developed from a small market town into what is now a significant business and cultural hub outside central London. Many contributions to entertainment and the arts have helped Croydon gain recognition as a metropolitan centre.
The borough was formed in 1965 from the merger of the County Borough of Croydon with Coulsdon and Purley Urban District (previously in Surrey). The local authority, Croydon London Borough Council, is now part of London Councils, the local government association for Greater London.
One significant factor in the development of Croydon as a business centre was the presence of Croydon Airport, opened in 1920, and once London's primary international airport. It closed on 30 September 1959 due to limited space for expansion. The former lodge to Croydon Airport Terminal is now a Grade II listed building and tourist attraction.
Croydon Council and its predecessor, Croydon Corporation, have applied for city status on multiple occasions, but without success. The area is currently undergoing a major regeneration initiative, Croydon Vision 2020, aimed at attracting more businesses and tourists.
While Croydon is predominantly urban, the borough's southern areas feature suburban and rural landscapes. Since 2003, Croydon has been certified as a Fairtrade borough by the Fairtrade Foundation. It was the first London borough to be awarded Fairtrade status.
The area has a cultural presence in London and South East England and is home to institutions such as the arts and entertainment centre Fairfield Halls. Its famous fringe theatre, the Warehouse Theatre, went into administration in 2012 due to lack of funding and the building was demolished in 2013.
The Croydon Clocktower was opened by Queen Elizabeth II in 1994 as an arts venue featuring a library and a museum. From 2000 to 2010, Croydon staged an annual summer festival celebrating the area's Black and Indian cultural diversity, with audiences reaching more than 50,000 people.
Premier League football club Crystal Palace F.C. has played at Selhurst Park since 1924. Other landmarks in the borough include what remains of Croydon Palace, an important residence of the Archbishops of Canterbury since around the 9th century CE. It was known as 'The Old Palace' during its time as a school. It served as the manor house of the manor of Croydon, held by the Archbishops from the Anglo-Saxon period onwards. Its local successor is Addington Palace, an eighteenth-century mansion that became the official second residence of six archbishops. The borough is also home to the large Shirley Windmill, and to the BRIT School – a creative arts institute that has produced artists such as Adele, Amy Winehouse and Leona Lewis.
History
The name Croydon comes from Crogdene, or Croindone, named by the Saxons in the 8th century when they settled there, although the area had been inhabited since prehistoric times. It is thought to derive from the Anglo-Saxon croeas deanas, meaning "the valley of the crocuses". This may indicate that, like Saffron Walden in Essex, it was a centre for the collection of saffron.
At the time of the Norman invasion, Croydon had a church, a mill and around 365 inhabitants, as recorded in the Domesday Book. The Archbishop of Canterbury, Archbishop Lanfranc lived at Croydon Palace. Visitors included Thomas Becket (another Archbishop), and royal figures such as Henry VIII of England and Elizabeth I. The royal charter for Surrey Street Market dates back to 1276.
Croydon continued as a market town, producing charcoal, tanned leather, and beer. In 1803 Croydon was served by the Surrey Iron Railway, the first public railway (horse-drawn) in the world, and by the London to Brighton rail link in the mid-19th century, helping it to become the largest town in what was then Surrey.
In the 20th century, Croydon became known for industries such as metalworking, car manufacturing and its aerodrome, Croydon Airport. Starting out during World War I as an airfield for protection against Zeppelins, the airport was merged with an adjacent airfield, and the new aerodrome opened on 29 March 1920. It developed into one of the busiest airports in the world during the 1920s and 1930s, and welcomed the world's aviators in its heyday. British Airways Ltd used the airport for a short period after redirecting from Northolt Aerodrome, and Croydon was the operating base for Imperial Airways. It was partly due to the airport that Croydon suffered heavy bomb damage during World War II. As aviation technology progressed and aircraft became larger and more numerous, it was recognised in 1952 that the airport would be too small to cope with the increasing volume of air traffic. The last scheduled flight departed on 30 September 1959. It was superseded as the main airport by both London Heathrow and London Gatwick Airport (see below). The air terminal, now known as Airport House, has been restored and contains a hotel and museum.
In the late 1950s and through the 1960s, the council commercialised the centre of Croydon with massive development of office blocks and the Whitgift Centre, formerly the largest in-town shopping centre in Europe. The centre was officially opened in October 1970 by the Duchess of Kent. The original Whitgift School there had moved to Haling Park, South Croydon in the 1930s; the replacement school on the site, Whitgift Middle School, now the Trinity School of John Whitgift, moved to Shirley Park in the 1960s, when the buildings were demolished.
Croydon was hit by extensive rioting in August 2011 during the England riots. Reeves, a historic furniture store established in 1867 that gave its name to a junction and tram stop in the town centre, was destroyed by arson.
Since a 1999 study by town planning consultants EDAW, Croydon has been the subject of a series of development projects ranging from £200 million to £3.5 billion, called Croydon Vision 2020. The scheme aims to change the urban planning of central Croydon, to make it "London's Third City" and the hub of retail, business, culture and living in both south London and south-east England. The plan was showcased in a series of events called Croydon Expo.
Administrative history The area of the modern borough broadly corresponds to the four ancient parishes of Croydon, Addington, Coulsdon and Sanderstead.
The parish of Croydon was governed by improvement commissioners from 1829 until 1849, when it was made a local board district. Croydon was incorporated as a municipal borough in 1883. When elected county councils were established in 1889, Croydon was considered large enough to provide its county-level services. It was therefore made a county borough, independent from the new Surrey County Council, whilst remaining part of Surrey for judicial and lieutenancy purposes. The borough was enlarged in 1928 to absorb the neighbouring parish of Addington.
Coulsdon and Sanderstead were governed as rural parishes within the Croydon Rural District until 1915, when the Coulsdon and Purley Urban District was created covering the two parishes. Purley itself was not a civil parish, being in the parish of Coulsdon, but was included in the urban district's name as it was one of the main built-up settlements in the district. There were subsequent adjustments to the boundaries with neighbouring areas, notably including in 1933, when the urban district absorbed the parish of Farleigh. This meant there were three urban parishes in the district, Coulsdon, Farleigh, and Sanderstead.
The London Borough of Croydon was created on 1 April 1965 under the London Government Act 1963, covering the combined area of the former Coulsdon and Purley Urban District and the County Borough of Croydon, both of which were abolished at the same time. The area was transferred from Surrey to Greater London to become one of the 32 London boroughs. The Farleigh area was removed from the borough in 1969 and transferred back to Surrey, becoming part of the parish of Chelsham and Farleigh.
The borough council has unsuccessfully applied for city status on several occasions: in 1965, 1977, 1992, 2000, 2002 and 2012. At present, the London Borough of Croydon is the second most populous local government district of England without city status. Croydon's applications for city status were refused to avoid the town having a separated identity from the rest of Greater London. In 1965, it was described as "...now just part of the London conurbation and almost indistinguishable from many of the other Greater London boroughs", and in 2000 as having "no particular identity of its own".
Governance
Croydon Council is the local authority for the borough of Croydon. The council holds its meetings at Croydon Town Hall, which is situated on Katherine Street in the centre of Croydon. The council's main administrative offices are located in the adjoining building, Bernard Weatherill House. Since 2022, the council has been led by the directly elected Mayor of Croydon.
Greater London representation Since 2000, for elections to the London Assembly, the borough forms part of the Croydon and Sutton constituency. It has been represented by Conservative AM Neil Garratt since May 2021. He is the leader of the Conservative Party in the London Assembly.
Westminster representation The borough is covered by four parliamentary constituencies: Streatham and Croydon North, Croydon West, Croydon East and Croydon South. Streatham and Croydon North by Labour MP Steve Reed, Croydon West is represented by Labour MP Sarah Jones, Croydon East is represented by Labour MP Natasha Irons and Croydon South by Conservative MP Chris Philp.
Government buildings
Croydon Town Hall, on Katharine Street in central Croydon, houses the committee rooms, the mayor's and other councillors' offices, electoral services, and the arts and heritage services. The present Town Hall is Croydon's third. The first town hall is thought to have been built in either 1566 or 1609. The second was built in 1808 to serve the growing town but was demolished after the present town hall was erected in 1895.
The 1808 building cost £8,000, which was regarded as an enormous sum at the time and was perhaps as controversial as the administrative building Bernard Weatherill House. Bernard Weatherill House opened for occupation in 2013 and is reputed to have cost £220,000,000. The early 19th-century building was known initially as "Courthouse" as, like its predecessor and successor, the local court met there. The building stood on the western side of a High Street near the junction with Surrey Street, the location of the town's market. The building became inadequate for the growing local administrative responsibilities and stood at a narrow point of the High Street in need of widening.
The present town hall was designed by local architect Charles Henman and was officially opened by the Prince and Princess of Wales on 19 May 1896. It was constructed in red brick, sourced from Wrotham in Kent, with Portland stone dressings and green Westmoreland slates for the roof. It also housed the court and most central council employees.