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England London  Croydon)

Guide to London Borough of Croyden history, family history, and genealogy: parish registers, census records, birth records, marriage records, and death records.



History
Croydon is a large town south east of London, England, 9.5 miles (15.3 km) south of Charing Cross. Croydon has one of the largest commercial districts outside Central London, with an extensive shopping district and night-time economy.

As with most of the other London Boroughs, the Central Government extensively modified town and borough boundaries when the town was amalgamated into Greater London in 1965. From a historic and family history perspective, researchers should be looking at Croydon as a town in the county of Surrey.

Historically part of the hundred of Wallington in the county of Surrey, at the time of the Norman conquest of England Croydon had a church, a mill, and around 365 inhabitants, as recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086. The name of this place in Doomsday, is called Croindone, and is frequently so spelt in records of a later date.

The town of Croydon had a market on Wednesdays, as early as the reign of Edward I. procured by archbishop Kilwardby, and a fair which began on the eve of St. Botolph, and lasted nine days. Another market on Thursdays, was granted to archbishop Reynolds, by Edward II. and a fair on the eve and morrow of St. Matthew. A third market upon Saturdays, the only one of the three now continued, was granted by Edward III. to archbishop Stratford, and a fair on the Feast of St. John the Baptist. Of the fairs, the two last only are now held.

The church, which is dedicated to St. John the Baptist, is built of stone and flint; it is situated at the bottom of the town, near the source of the Wandle. The church is a Grade I listed building within the UK. See picture on right.



It consists of a nave, two aisles, and three chancels; at the west end is a handsome square tower, with pinnacles. The nave is separated from the aisles, by light clustered columns, with pointed arches, between which are several grotesque heads and ornaments. The church appears to have been rebuilt in the time of archbishop Chicele, who was a great contributor to the work; his arms are upon the west door, under the tower. The old font, which stands at the west end of the south aisle, appears to be of the same date.

In the Survey of 1646, it is described as being "830 acres, in which the inhabitants of "Croydon have herbage for all manner of cattle, and mastage for swine without stint." Shirley Heath Common is said, in the same Survey, to contain 300 acres; Croydon Heath 340 acres. The soil, as may be supposed in so extensive a parish, is very various: indeed it is so various, that chalk, gravel, sand, clay, and peat, may be found in the same field. About a mile from the town, near the road to Addington, is a large chalk-pit, which produces a great variety of extraneous fossils.

Croydon expanded in the Middle Ages as a market town and a center for charcoal production, leather tanning and brewing. The Surrey Iron Railway from Croydon to Wandsworth opened in 1803 and was the world's first public railway. Later nineteenth century railway building facilitated Croydon's growth as 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 center in London until 2008. Croydon was amalgamated into Greater London in 1965.

Croydon was the site of one of the most important airfields in the London area, and was thus bombed extensively. Croydon airport took an active role in the Battle of Britain, as well as providing a base for subsequent WWII raids.

Cemeteries (Civil)
Croydon Cemetery and Crematorium


 * Mitcham Road
 * London CR9 3AT
 * Phone: +44 20 8684 3877

Queen's Road Cemetery


 * Queen's Rd
 * Croydon CR0 2PR

Bandon Hill Cemetery


 * Plough La
 * Wallington SM6 8JQ
 * Phone: +44 20 8647 1024

Bromley Hill Cemetery


 * Bromley Hill
 * Bromley BR1 4JU
 * Phone: +44 1689 853617

Hither Green Cemetery


 * 206 Verdant Ln
 * London SE6 1LL
 * Phone: +44 20 8314 9635

Parishes
St Michael's


 * 7 Poplar Walk
 * Croydon CR0 1UA
 * Phone: +44 20 8680 2848

St Mary the Blessed Virgin


 * Addington Village Rd
 * Croydon CR0 5AS
 * Opened: 1080 A.D.
 * Phone: +44 1689 842167

St Matthew's


 * 1 Chichester Rd
 * Croydon CR0 5NQ
 * Phone: +44 20 8688 5055

St George's


 * Elstan Way
 * Croydon CR0 7QJ
 * Phone: +44 20 8654 8747

Croydon Minster


 * Church St
 * Croydon CR0 1RN
 * Phone: +44 20 8688 8104

St Stephen's


 * 9 Warwick Rd
 * Thornton Heath CR7 7NH
 * Phone: +44 20 8684 3820

St Augustine's


 * St. Augustines Ave
 * South Croydon CR2 6BA
 * Phone: +44 20 8688 4715

St Peter's


 * St Peter's Rd
 * Croydon CR0 1HH
 * Phone: +44 20 8688 4715

St Mary Magdalen with St Martin's


 * Hereford Court, 18 Canning Rd
 * Croydon CR0 6QD
 * Phone: +44 20 8654 3459

Non Conformists
Other Christian groups follow:


 * Baptists
 * Christian Science
 * Church of Christ
 * Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints
 * Jehovah's Witnesses
 * Methodist
 * Pentecostal
 * Presbyterian
 * Rehoboth International Christian Center
 * Roman Catholic
 * Salvation Army
 * Seventh Day Adventists
 * Unitarian

Non Christian faiths include the following:


 * Ba'Hai
 * Buddhist
 * Hindu
 * Jewish
 * Muslim
 * Sikh

Civil Registration
Croydon has its own Registry Office:


 * Croydon Town Hall
 * Fell Rd
 * Croydon CR0 1NX
 * Phone: +44 20 8726 6300

Other useful sites for area BMD records follow:


 * ukbmd.org: Surrey


 * Surrey Count yCouncil BMD records

Local Histories

 * British History on line: Croydon


 * visionofbritain.org.uk History of Croydon


 * Croydon Airport and the Battle for Britain by Douglas Cluett


 * Croydon and Waddon by Raymond Wheeler


 * Croydon; the Golden Years by A. Lax

Maps and G azetteers

 * viamichelin maps: Croydon


 * streetmapof.co.uk: Croydon


 * oldmapsonline: Croydon


 * visionofbritain.org: Croydon Gazetteer


 * Croydon Council: Highway Gazetteer

Newspapers

 * The Croydon Guardian


 * The Croydon Advertiser


 * Your Local Guardian: Croydon


 * The Evening Standard for Croydon

Occupations
Historically, the North of England provided the workers and industries for the country, while the south of England consisted more of the landed gentry and the nobility. When England lost most of its manufacturing base, shortly after the end of WWII, and as the manufacturing might of first, Japan, and then China emerged, it was the North that suffered the most.

Fortuitously, Stockport is located in the larger megalopolis of Manchester, and has benefited from both the national drive to rebuild the major cities of the north, but also due to the ease of commuting either into Manchester or from Manchester, commuting into workplaces in Stockport.

Such large companies as P. International Holdings Ltd, Beckhall Property Management Ltd., Broadstone Mills Ltd, Central Glass Ltd., and Potomac Capital Ltd., have chosen to make Stockport their National Headquarters. Others, such as SKY TV, Payzone, Landys and Gyr, the Royal Mail, and British Gas have selected Stockport as their regional headquarters.

This has provided employment for, and attracted qualified candidates to Stockport in such disciplines as: Engineering, IT, architectural planning, pharmaceutical manufacture, banking and finance, and education. In fact, Stockport has been one of the fastest growing towns in North England, and has had steady economic and population growth for the past seven years.

Societies

 * East Surrey Family History Society; Croydon Group


 * Surrey County history Societies

Archives

 * Croydon Council Archives


 * The National Archives; Croydon Museum


 * newspaperarchives.com: Croydon

Web Sites

 * Croydon Council


 * Surrey County Council


 * London Councils