The Bird in Hand must be the only remaining hostelry in London that no longer has a canal whose boatmen it could serve! This is the footpath that parallels the railway towards West Croydon. It must owe its origins to the canal which once ran along here. It is possible…
The start of the canal’s summit level was located on Croydon Common where two locks were supplemented by a pumping engine. The entire area is now the railway junction between the London Bridge and the East Croydon/West Croydon lines This mural is under Portland Bridge, and depicts a canal scene…
The street layout of Norwood has its origins in the lengthy canal loop here. The village was built around the canal and the present arrangement reflects the canal route strongly This is about the third lot of flats that we have seen built on or alongside the canal’s alignment. Whist…
The canal through Betts Park was considerably more attractive before the improved concrete trough was built! Moving on from the previous section, we are on the other side of these flats adjacent to Betts Park which stand on the actual course of the canal. There was a bridge here but…
Anerley Tea Rooms and Gardens were a popular tourist destination in Victorian times. A great day out for all was had with a boat trip on the canal, a walk through the gardens, beverages in the tea rooms, then a trip up to Crystal Palace to round off the day…
The pictures showing a horse grazing as the canal makes a very tight loop at Penge is a somewhat romanctised view of the canal. Maps of the canal show that the bends at Penge weren’t even acute. The artist who did the paintings had been drinking too much! The section…
The canal that wouldnt go away! The houses in Thriftwood kept subsiding and eventually the cause was attributed to poor drainage caused by the filling in of the old canal route The house, seen above, is in Thriffwood, just off Silverdale. Behind the house is a fence forming the Dacres…
There is a myth about the Croydon Canal which is quite wrong. It is asserted that the only remains of the canal are at Betts Park, further south near Anerley, where it is often cited that the Betts Park section “is the only surviving part of what used to be…
The is some debate as to the exact route the Croydon Canal took after Forest Hill. Some possible evidence shows it may have taken an alignment slightly further west, but this all depends on how large the ‘wide’ on the canal existed at this point The short passageway emerges by…
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,…