Addiscombe shown within Greater London
| Addiscombe | |
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Addiscombe shown within Greater London |
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| OS grid reference | |
|---|---|
| London borough | Croydon |
| Ceremonial county | Greater London |
| Region | London |
| Constituent country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | CROYDON |
| Postcode district | CR0 |
| Dialling code | 020 |
| Police | Metropolitan |
| Fire | London |
| Ambulance | London |
| European Parliament | London |
| UK Parliament | Croydon Central |
| London Assembly | Croydon and Sutton |
| List of places: UK • England • London | |
Addiscombe is a suburb in the London Borough of Croydon, England. It is situated just to the northeast of central Croydon, and is home to a high proportion of people who commute to Central London, owing to its proximity to the busy East Croydon railway station and Tramlink, linking Addiscombe with other parts of Croydon and Wimbledon, as well as extensive bus routes into Central Croydon and surrounding areas.
There are several local schools, including the Trinity School of John Whitgift, Tenison's School, Ashburton Community School and Oval Road Primary.
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Three hundred years ago Addiscombe was a rural area. Its main industries were farming and brick-making. Clay deposits at Woodside provided the raw materials for the latter.
In 1702 'Addiscombe Place' was built to Vanbrugh's design. He was best known for Blenheim Palace and was a prime exponent of the English Baroque style. The house was built on a site which is now the corner of Outram Road and Mulberry Lane. It replaced a fine Elizabethan mansion.
Sir John Evelyn recorded in his diary "I went to Adscomb 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 gentlemen'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.
This was one of three great houses which once stood in the area, the others being 'Ashburton House' and 'Stroud Green House'.
In 1809 Emelius Ratcliffe sold Addiscombe Place to the British East India Company, whereupon it became a Military Seminary - the Addiscombe Military Academy. The company dealt in the importation of tea, coffee, silk, cotton and spices, and maintained its own private army. The officers of this army were trained at Addiscombe before setting off for India. In 1858, after the Indian Rebellion of 1857 (also called the First War of Indian Independence and best known as the Indian Mutiny), the British East India Company went out of existence.
The college closed in 1861 and was sold to developers in 1863 for £33,600. They, regrettably, razed it to the ground with dynamite. All that is left are the two buildings 'Ashleigh' and 'India' on the corner of Clyde Road/Addiscombe Road and the former gymnasium on Havelock Road, now private apartments.
Five parallel roads were laid out, to the south of the former college site – Outram, Havelock, Elgin, Clyde and Canning Roads. They were all named after individuals who were prominent in the suppression of the Indian Mutiny but not actually college alumni. Given the disgrace the mutiny brought upon the East India Company, and the fact that the company played no part in dealing with the uprising, this is hardly surprising.
Nearby Nicholson Road was presumably named after General John Nicholson, who played a prominent part in the storming of Delhi. Grant Road is probably named after General Sir James Hope Grant who commanded a cavalry division at the relief of Lucknow, but a Private P Grant and a Sergeant R Grant both won VCs in the mutiny, as did a Lieutenant C Grant, so further research is needed. Inglis Road is almost certainly named after Colonel John Inglis who played a major part in the relief of Lucknow, as did James Outram and Henry Havelock. Hastings Road most likely is after Edward Hastings who won his VC at the relief of Lucknow.
Some long-standing eating and drinking establishments in Addiscombe include the Builders Arms, a pub owned by Fullers brewery, and the Banana Leaf, a South Indian (Goan) restaurant.
There is also the independent Claret Free House, near Addiscombe tram stop.
Next door is the "Welcome Friends" Chinese restaurant where takeaways and seated meals have been serving Addiscombe for over 35 years.
Other long-standing pubs in Addiscombe include The Cricketers and the Oval Tavern.
Since early 2006, several parts of Addiscombe have been in the process of extensive regeneration, notably the addition of housing to the site of the former Black Horse Pub, which is thought by some to be the oldest site of a pub in the borough and the demolition of church buildings on Bingham Road in order to renovate the church halls and provide luxury retirement apartments. The demolition of the old Bingham Road railway station several years ago was to make way for the new tramlink line.The station achieved fame in the opening scenes of the Tony Hancock film "The Rebel" The addition of Addiscombe Railway Park along the disused railway line between Blackhorse Lane tram stop, Morland Road and Lower Addiscombe Road will further regenerate the area.
R. F. Delderfield (1912-1972), author, lived in Addiscombe between 1918 and 1923. The area later inspired him to write his Avenue series of novels.
D. H. Lawrence (1885–1930), author, lived at 12 Colworth Road, Addiscombe from 1908 to 1912 and was a teacher at Davidson Road School for some time.
In 1974 supermodel Kate Moss was born in Addiscombe.
Ethel Le Neve, mistress to Dr Crippen, lived out her days in Addiscombe.
Paul Nihill was Addiscombe and Croydon's first-ever Olympic medallist. In 1964 he won a silver medal in Tokyo for the 50km walk.
Another local walker, Phil Goddard (1958- ), completed a 3,091-mile walk from New York to Los Angeles on May 6, 2007. He lived in Addiscombe for the first 23 years of his life.
Addiscombe railway station - about 500 metres west of Addiscombe's main parade and the present tram station - was demolished following the withdrawal of services from Elmers End. In the section between Woodside and Addiscombe railway station, part is now Addiscombe Railway Park and part redeveloped for housing as East India Way.
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