Forest Hill was an important location on the canal, with a wharf and swingbridges. Nowadays its just an urban crossroads with shops and a railway station
Looking back towards Davids Road. Immediately in front stood the site of Forest Hill Swing Bridge. The main road seen here is Dartmouth Road, but the section to the right was still called Canal Road long after the waterway had closed. The buildings on the opposite side curve away from Dartmouth Road into the alignment on Davids Road
Although a bit of a dog-leg layout nowadays, we can see the canal route (above) as it made its way through the swing bridge towards Sydenham Park. This is between WH Smith’s (on the right) and William Hill’s (out of sight to the left) with Davids Road directly opposite. This perspective is seen more clearly in the right hand view, but Davids Road cannot be seen because of the ‘dog-leg’ layout
The passageway behind the shops is clearly a descendant of the old canal towpath. The canal itself passed through the yard whose gates are seen on the right. The footpath on the left runs for a short distance along the railway boundary, and it is indicative of the towpath’s alignment, as shown above right
The canal route briefly encroached on the railway alignment, but stayed mainly to the west of it – and a large pool was a main feature of the canal. This was where the feeder emerged from the reservoir near Sydenham Park
THE CROYDON CANAL PAGES:
hatcham / new cross / barriedale / shardeloes rd / brockley / honor oak / boveney rd / davids rd / forest hill / sydenham / dacres wood / venner rd / penge / anerley / betts park / norwood / towpath way / spurgeons br / west croydon / route maps
