The Past and Present of Croydon's London Road

Almost entirely vacant since the 2004 demolition of the hospital buildings, the old General Hospital site on the east side of London Road is finally being brought back into use with the construction of a new school.

Pre-1865: the Oakfield Estate

The area around the General Hospital site has been associated with the name of Oakfield since at least 1543, when the Archbishop of Canterbury’s Manor of Croydon Terrier listed one “Thomas Heryngeman in Okefielde northe” as tenant of an area covering half an acre.[1]

This land would almost certainly have consisted entirely of fields at that point and for some centuries after, but by 1794 a house had been constructed: a “modern built Brick Villa House” accompanied by outhouses, stables, coach houses, gardens, pleasure grounds, a granary, an orchard, a farmyard, cowhouses, sheds, pens, and “other appurtenances”. The “six closes of land adjoining, 23 acres by est. [estimate]” also comprised part of this estate, which “in the whole [...was...] called Oakfield Place”. The occupant was Robert Smith.[2]

1790s–1800s: Elizabeth Panton

In summer 1794, Oakfield Place was sold to Isaac Lefevre for £6,502 [£780,000 in 2015 prices]. Although Isaac was the purchaser, the money came from Elizabeth Panton, and it was she who became the new occupier.[3] Her estate was considered notable enough to be mentioned, along with others, in a guidebook known as The Ambulator:[4]

In this parish, at North End, is Oakfield Place, the seat of Mrs. Elizabeth Panton, and near the town are the handsome villas of Chris. Taddy, Esq. and Lady Blunt, but who does not reside there; near this place John Brickwood, Esq. has an elegant seat, and at no great distance are the residences of the Hon. Mrs. Walpole, Joseph Leeds, Esq. Sir John Bridger, and Thomas Walker, Esq.

As made clear by the map and quotation above, Elizabeth was married. She had, however, “been living apart from” her husband Thomas for “many years”, and they had no children. Thomas himself lived at Newmarket in Cambridgeshire, where he had a large estate inherited from his father (and, according to Charles Pigott’s The Jockey Club, a live-in mistress).[5]

Elizabeth moved to Hampshire around 1804, and died on 2 June 1805. Her will included the “desire to be buried at Poplar in the same Vault with my late Dear Father and Mother in as private a manner as possible”.[6]

1800s–1830s: Charles, Rachel, and William Minier

A brief period of ownership by John Hodsdon Durand followed, but in February 1805 he sold the estate on to Charles Minier.[7] Charles also remained only briefly, but in his case this was because he died in November 1808, “aged about 70”.[8]

It’s unclear what happened to the ownership of Oakfield Place in the years immediately after Charles’ purchase. His last will and testament was drawn up in August 1793, before he bought the estate, and hence makes no mention of it. He left “All the Rest Residue and Remainder of my Estate and Effects both Real and Personal not herein before or herein after by me otherwise disposed of” to his wife Rachel, “for and during the term of her natural life or until she shall marry again”.[9]

Rachel does seem to have spent at least some time living at Oakfield Place after her husband’s death, though also retaining her London house at Adelphi Terrace.[10] She did not marry again, but died a widow in 1838.[11]

By 1812, however, Land Tax records make it clear that William Minier was the only member of the family either owning or occupying property in the area. It seems possible that Charles may in fact have transferred his Croydon property to his brother before his death. William expanded the estate even further, acquiring three more parcels of land in February 1809, February 1813, and May 1813.[12] At some point during this time, too, the house became known as Oakfield Lodge. William died here on 5 September 1835, at the age of 70. His will left Oakfield Lodge and all its “appurtenances” to three trustees who were directed to sell it off “as soon as conveniently may be” after his death.[13]

1830s–1860s: Richard Sterry

The last person to occupy the full extent of the estate, stretching from London Road in the west to St James’s Road in the northeast, and from beyond the modern Kidderminster Road in the north to the railway line in the south, was Richard Sterry.[14] Fittingly, given the later use of the land, Richard was one of the first members of Croydon’s Local Board of Health, elected at its initial creation in August 1849 and serving on the board for the next half-decade.[15] Following his purchase in 1836, Richard and his family lived in Oakfield Lodge until his death on 23 February 1865.[16]

Rickett, Smith & Co advertisement in Warren’s 1869 Directory of Croydon, reproduced courtesy of the Museum of Croydon.

1860s–1870s: The end of the Oakfield Estate

Richard Sterry’s death signalled the end of the Oakfield Estate. Although Oakfield Lodge retained its immediately surrounding gardens, the rest of the land was split up into lots and sold off to housing developers. New side roads were constructed running through the site, including Oakfield Road — the sole reminder today of a name surviving for half a millenium.[17]

Oakfield Lodge itself, along with its gardens, passed into the hands of Joseph Rickett, a “colliery owner and coal merchant” whose company — Rickett, Smith & Co — had “coal depôts” at major railway stations which allowed commuters to place their coal orders on their way to or from work.[18]

Joseph, his wife Cordelia, and their children remained in Oakfield Lodge for several years while housing gradually rose up around them, lining the newly-constructed side roads.[19]

1867–1873: Meanwhile, elsewhere, the beginnings of Croydon General Hospital

During this carving-up of the old Oakfield Estate, events were occurring elsewhere in Croydon that would soon determine the future of Oakfield Lodge and its gardens. The Croydon workhouse, which had been operating on Duppas Hill Lane in South Croydon since 1727, moved in September 1866 to larger purpose-built premises on Queen’s Road, near the Croydon/Thornton Heath boundary.[21]

Advertisement for Croydon General Hospital in Warren’s 1869 directory, reproduced courtesy of the Museum of Croydon.

The newly-vacated Duppas Hill premises were taken over by a committee of twelve Croydonians and used to open a hospital on 22 August 1867 for “the relief of those sufferers whose circumstances will not allow them to obtain necessary medical treatment, but whose social position is above that of paupers”.[22]

Paupers would be treated in the workhouse infirmary, which had moved to Queen’s Road along with the workhouse itself, while better-off people would be able to pay for private treatment. The new Croydon General Hospital thus aimed to cater for those in the middle — too poor to pay doctors’ fees, but too well-off to be considered destitute.

According to an article in the 17 August 1867 Croydon Chronicle, “Accommodation [...was] provided for 12 patients” in the new hospital. It had “two commodious wards [...] for the reception of patients”, with a third planned but “not yet [...] fitted up, owing to a lack of funds”, as well as “a convalescent ward, a dispensary, and apartments for the matron, [...] a nurse, and a messenger and his wife, who will act as cook.”

Eligible patients were those “engaged in the industrial occupations of life, (Including Domestic Servants.)” They were expected to make some financial contribution towards their treatment; in-patients were charged 3 shillings per week, while out-patients were charged sixpence per week (£16.10 and £2.68 respectively in 2015 prices).[23]

Aside from accidents and emergencies, and those considered deserving enough to secure one of the “four free beds” established in August 1868, in-patients were admitted only with a letter of recommendation from a hospital governor. Becoming a governor required either a life subscription of at least 10 guineas, or a yearly subscription of at least a guinea (£1,127 or £113 respectively in 2015 prices).[24]

1873: The General Hospital moves to London Road

The Duppas Hill premises were only leased on a temporary basis, to give “the opportunity of testing the necessity for hospital accommodation”.[25] This necessity proved to be a real and significant one; in 1868 alone, 89 patients were admitted, 624 others received outpatient treatment, and 236 dental operations were performed.[26] It was clear that permanent premises would be needed, and this became more urgent as the Croydon Board of Guardians notified the hospital committee that they would soon need to reoccupy their old workhouse.

In 1871, a building committee was appointed to choose a location for the new hospital. Several options were considered, including Blunt House on South End, Duppas House near the parish church, and sites at Addiscombe and Duppas Hill, but the committee finally settled on Oakfield Lodge and its grounds.[27]

This choice of site was not universally popular. The Croydon Chronicle of 4 October 1873 noted that:[28]

Many will remember the “battle of the sites” which took place among the committee, and it was not without some little dismay that Oakfield Lodge was heard of as the spot fixed upon. Taken from the Hospital point of view, it is unexceptional; but viewed from the point at which holders of property in the immediate vicinity will take, it is altogether objectionable. In reality, there is nothing in a Hospital detrimental to the neighourhood in which it is placed, but there is a dislike to it which is difficult to allay. There must also be a feeling of disappointment that such a building, standing as it does in magnificent grounds, is lost as a residential place to the town.

It was also not cheap. Joseph Rickett originally asked for £12,000 for Oakfield Lodge and its grounds, and although building committee member Dr Alfred Carpenter managed to persuade him down to the price he had originally paid for it — £10,305 — another £1,300 was estimated as the cost of converting the house to a hospital, making a total of £11,605 (£1.2m in 2015 prices).[29]

The purchase was completed on 1 March 1873, and following alterations designed by architect J Berney, the new hospital was opened by the Archbishop of Canterbury on 27 September.[30]

1880s onwards: Expansion

The hospital rapidly outgrew its new premises, and by the early 1880s it was clear that more space was required, as “the kitchen and offices, the operating ward, house surgeon’s rooms, out-patients’ department and dispensary, and other important administrative arrangements of a hospital were crowded into a range of outhouses and stables. The medical staff [...] pressed for the complete alteration of this portion”.[31]

F W James, porter at Croydon General Hospital, on page 3 of the 3 December 1908 Surrey Evening Echo (British Library hard copies).

The foundation stone of the Royal Alfred Wing was laid by the Duke of Edinburgh in November 1883, and the wing was opened by the Archbishop of Canterbury on 15 October 1884. As well as the new facilities described above, this increased the in-patient capacity of the hospital from 30 to 50 beds.[32]

Further expansion took place in the remaining years of the nineteenth century, with a new wing on the east side opened in October 1894 and “the rebuilding of the administrative block and yet another extension [...] formally opened by H.R.H. Princess Christian in 1900.”[33]

Following a fundraising campaign led by the Mayor of Croydon “in memoriam of the late King Edward VII”,[34] in 1912 the Royal Alfred Wing was extended and another new wing added, the King Edward VII Memorial Wing. The British Journal of Nursing reported that:[35]

For some time past the work of the hospital has been hampered by the absence of isolation wards and the limited accommodation for its new departments. This has now been remedied as the result of the Mayor’s ardent efforts in the cause.

1910s onwards: Collaboration with the County Borough of Croydon

It should be remembered that Croydon General Hospital was independent of the County Borough of Croydon. Indeed, it came under some criticism from the latter’s Medical Officer of Health, who stated in his report for the year 1908 that:[36]

[...] the excellent work done by the General Hospital is somewhat marred by the fees demanded from out-patients, a system to which there are many objections, of which the chief — from our point of view — is the fact that many children are thereby deprived of the special help which an institution of this kind, with its excellent equipment, can alone afford. Thus the Health Visitors sometimes find that, after hospital letters have been procured, the children are refused treatment because they have not brought the necessary sixpences, and this is particularly the case when treatment is prolonged, or when more than one member of a family is in need of advice.

Nevertheless, the two bodies did provide some services in collaboration with each other. A treatment centre for venereal diseases was established in late 1917, initially treating only women and children aged up to 18 but extending its services to men from early 1920. The centre dealt with 103 cases in its first full year, including 53 of syphilis and 31 of gonorrhea. It was situated in Croydon General Hospital’s outpatient department, but funding came from the Borough.[37]

June 1918 saw the creation of a throat clinic specifically for surgical treatment of enlarged tonsils and adenoids in school children, with all cases being referred by school nurses. Croydon’s Medical Officer of Health reported approvingly on this in his report for 1919, stating that “This institution saves the parents much trouble and expense. Formerly many of the children were taken to London hospitals, which often have long waiting lists.” It was run by the Borough’s Education Committee, which rented space at the hospital.[38]

1920s: A new pathology laboratory and outpatient departmemt

By 1922, the Borough’s Tuberculosis Officer was sending patients to Croydon General Hospital for x-rays to aid in diagnosis.[39] The Borough had its own hospital, dedicated to infectious diseases, which had opened in 1896,[40] and in 1924 plans were announced for a new pathology laboratory as a collaboration between the Borough Fever Hospital and Croydon General. This would be situated at Croydon General, but staffed with a pathologist salaried by the Borough, and would perform laboratory work for both bodies.[41]

The new laboratory was opened by the Archbishop of Canterbury on 25 June 1927, along with a new outpatient department “built from brick [...] with a decorative stone frontage under a slate roof” and “lined [inside] with tiles of a soft green shade”.[42]

Appeal for funds on page 3 of the 17 February 1940 Croydon Times. Reproduced courtesy of the Museum of Croydon.

Advertisement for the June 1945 Hospital Carnival, Croydon Times, 2 June 1945, page 4. Reproduced courtesy of the Museum of Croydon.

1948: The National Health Service

Until the creation of the National Health Service, Croydon General Hospital was entirely privately-funded; indeed, the façade of the abovementioned 1920s outpatient department bore the prominent legend “Supported by Voluntary Contributions”. As well as fees paid by patients, money came from donations, endowments, subscriptions, and fundraising events.

In 1945 alone, fundraising efforts included a carnival in Wandle Park, attended by “Thousands of Croydon people” who “cheerfully dug deep into pockets and handbags to help swell the funds of Croydon General Hospital”,[44] a “Victory ball and cabaret” which raised over £2,000 (£77,863 in 2015 prices),[45] the launch of a “Penny-a-Week Fund” (16p in 2015 prices),[46] a bowling club gala day which raised nearly £350 (£13,626 in 2015 prices),[47] and a whist drive.[48]

The same year also brought cash donations from individuals, churches, golf clubs, home guard regiments, workplace collections, and box collections, as well as various ad-hoc donations including toys, children’s books, magazines, sweets, books, writing paper, cigarettes, lavender bags, tin foil, chocolate, powdered milk, cakes, jam, fruit, vegetables, bread, and even a pumpkin.[49]

In 1948, however, Croydon General finally became a publically-funded body, as it joined the NHS “under the control of the Croydon Group Hospital Management Committee, part of the South West Metropolitan Regional Health Board”.[50]

1960s: Roger Perriss’ memories

Roger Perriss, who took a summer job at Croydon General as a hospital porter after leaving school in 1966, shared some memories of this time:[51]:

The porters had a basement room with access just by the main front door. There were usually 2 or 3 porters on each shift, so between 9.00 & 5.00 the numbers of porters doubled [due to overlap between shifts].

I remember arriving once at 6.00 [for the early shift] and before the other porter arrived I got a phone call to remove a body from a ward. You used a trolley with a closed metal top that hid the body from sight. I had to wait until the other porter arrived before we could do the task. When you got to the ward the curtains were pulled around all the beds (about 15 in a ward) so that those in beds did not see you arrive or leave. Of course you could be heard.

The mortuary was across a yard from the wards and you had to be accompanied by a nurse until you had entered the mortuary. It always seems strange to me that some nurses, who must have dealt with patients dying, nevertheless were nervous about entering the mortuary. I think it held about 12 bodies. [...]

I also remember that the hospital had about 6-8 wards and there were two private wards on the top (second) floor. If a patient needed a abdominal shave before an operation, the porters would be called to do this on the men’s private ward and were paid a sum, I think it may have been 10 shillings. I was only asked to do this once. I already had a beard at that age and so when I arrived to do the shave on a man, he assumed that I was experienced at this kind of shaving but it was my one and only ever shave on that part of the body. He asked me “Do you do many shaves?” I replied “Not many,” and nervously got on with it.

If you were on the evening shift you might be asked to go over to the nurses’ homes across the road at the rear and man the switchboard for the evening. There were not many calls and it was mostly just taking messages or getting a nurse to come and speak to the person. I used to think it was a fairly easy evening’s work. Though to be fair, the evening shift in the main hospital was not a busy one. There were two porters that were permanently on night shifts so they arrived when the day porters left. I thought it must be strange working nights all the time.

There was a small accident and emergency department on the road side, left of the main entrance. The porters occasionally went there to take patients onto wards but I don’t remember doing this often.

1980s: Funding difficulties

In December 1982, the Croydon Advertiser reported on a “plan to open the new Mayday by approving massive bed closures at almost all Croydon’s other hospitals.” One of the “[w]orst hit by the plan” would be the “170-bed Croydon General Hospital, which would stop operations and be used for geriatric patients instead”. The report stated that “The crisis has been caused by a Government ban on extra cash for health services improvements.” According to “hospital administrators”, savings of £2m would be needed in order to fully open the new buildings constructed as part of the Mayday Hospital modernisation plan.[52]

By early 1984, this plan had been put into action, as 73 geriatric patients were transferred from Waddon Hospital, which itself was to close for good. This took up less than half the capacity of Croydon General, which now had three wards sitting completely empty.[53]

1990s: The final closure

As well as the need to save money, the hospital now had to contend with changes in professional opinion on the most appropriate way of caring for older people. In July 1990, the Croydon Health Authority Director of Public Health told a meeting of the Croydon Community Health Council that:[54]

“The length of stay in geriatric beds has been inappropriately long and are [sic] no good to patients. We want to have shorter lengths of stay.”

Shorter lengths of stay would, obviously, mean less need for hospital beds. While arguably good for the individuals, who would now be “looked after at home or in private nursing homes”,[55] the effect on Croydon General would be rather less beneficial.

A consultation document published by Croydon Health Authority shortly after the abovementioned meeting made it clear that “action [...had...] already started” on moves including “Running down Croydon General itself”. Despite a 5,000-signature petition asking for the hospital to remain open, the last in-patient left in September of that year.[56] Out-patient treatment continued for a few years longer, but the last clinic finally closed in July 1996.[57] The Croydon and Carshalton College of Nursing, which had occupied the old wards after their closure to in-patients, moved out a couple of months later.[58]

1990s–2000s: Plans for the future

Several suggestions were made for new uses, prompted not only by the waste of such a central location but also by the six-figure yearly capital charge imposed by the NHS on the empty hospital buildings. Croydon Community Health Council produced a six-page report suggesting options such as rental to voluntary groups, office use by the local health authority, and even parking. However, the condition of the buildings made most of these implausible, as the health authority’s executive director explained to the Croydon Advertiser in July 1997:[59]

“There is no longer any heating, for a start,” he said. “And unfortunately we had burst pipes last winter, the weekend before maintenance staff were due to go in and drain down the system.”

Although a public meeting at Fairfield Halls voted overwhelmingly to sell the site, and Croydon Health Authority agreed to declare the site surplus and allow the NHS to sell it, no progress had been made on this by the end of 1998.[60] By mid-1999, alternative proposals had been drawn up to build a new centre for rehabilitation and mental health services on part of the grounds,[61] and the business plan for this was given formal approval by the Croydon and Surrey Downs Community NHS Trust in March 2000.[62]

In September 2002, Croydon Council published a planning and design brief for the old General Hospital site, offering non-statutory guidelines for future development of the site. As well as the proposed uses for rehabilitation and mental health care, these guidelines included “the provision of high density residential development [...] including a significant element of affordable housing” with environmentally-friendly features such as rooftop solar water heaters, triple glazing, and rainwater and greywater recycling. A combined urban sculpture park and playground was also suggested, “[b]uilding on the drama of the existing mature cedar tree”.[63]

Early 2000s: Deterioration

Throughout this, the old hospital buildings remained standing, though in a dilapidated state. The chief officer of Croydon Community Health Council described them in April 2001 as “largely decaying”, noting that “It pulls down the whole image of the area to see it in that state.”[64], while a February 2002 Croydon Advertiser article stated that the buildings had “remained in a sorry state for years” and were now “festooned with graffiti”.[65] Little had changed two years later, when a letter to the Croydon Guardian bemoaned the fact that the “valuable site [...] disintegrates year by year [...and...] has become an eyesore for people on their way through litter-strewn streets [...] used only by mountaineering graffiti scribblers”.[66]

2004: Demolition

Croydon Council’s 2002 planning and design brief assessed the “main hospital building” as being “imposing, but not of great architectural significance” and the other buildings on the site as being “of no particular architectural merit”. However, it praised the “well detailed stone façade” of the outpatients department, and recommended that this should be retained in any redevelopment, along with other features such as the London Road boundary, consisting of “a low wall with well detailed railings over, with entrances marked by substantial brick and stone piers”, as well as “stone entranceways, porticoes, columns, carved stone panels and two commemorative stones (on the front elevation of the main building and the rear elevation of the veranda)” and three mature trees: a lime, a plane, and the abovementioned cedar.[67]

It’s unclear how much of an attempt was made to follow the council’s recommendation of retaining stonework features when demolition finally began in June 2004, though bricks, timber, and tiles were salvaged to help offset costs.[68] By October, the old General Hospital had been reduced to “a crumbling old building surrounded by rubble”,[69] and demolition was complete by the end of the year.[70]

2006–present: Croydon Voluntary Action

The grand plans for medical facilities and hundreds of housing units, drawn up as long ago as 1999, eventually came to nothing. However, one aspect survived. The proposals had included the setting-aside of “a corner of the site” for a Healthy Living Centre, a “£75,000 drop-in centre aimed at helping people to help themselves to a healthy lifestyle”.[71] By April 2001, the estimated cost of this had risen to £1.5m, and Croydon Community Health Council along with another body, Croydon Voluntary Action, had already begun to raise funds.[72]

By mid-2004, the project was being referred to as the Healthy Croydon Resource Centre, and local voluntary groups were eagerly looking forward to its opening. The Croydon Advertiser reported that:[73]

Dozens of local health and welfare groups have already expressed interest in using its facilities, which will include conference and meeting rooms, activity spaces, a cafe and offices.

Early interest has been enthusiastic.

Elizabeth Njenga, from the Kikiwa Counselling Centre, which helps African refugees, said: “It is very hard to get suitable office accommodation in Croydon, especially in a good location which people can get to easily. We are looking forward to this development.”

Plans now included 16 flats, nine of which were intended to be offered via a shared ownership scheme.[74] Work began in early 2006 and continued until at least mid-2008.[75]

By September 2008 the flats were being advertised under the name of “Zed Space”, available “to residents of Croydon on a part rent, part buy basis”, and by March 2009 Croydon Council’s Your Croydon magazine was advertising the facilities available in what was now known as the Croydon Voluntary Action Resource Centre:[76]

Whether your organisation needs to rent an office or book rooms for meetings or seminars, new space is available for rent from Croydon Voluntary Action at the CVA Resource Centre in London Road, Broad Green. It is open to voluntary organisations and social enterprises.

It has rooms for meetings and training sessions plus a board room or conference room for more formal events. The centre can accommodate anything from small regular or one-off meetings to conferences and exhibitions.

The centre was formally opened on 29 July 2009 by Croydon councillor Steve O’Connell and Volunteer Centre Croydon co-founder Angela Bothwell.[77]

2014–present: Harris Invictus

In early 2013, the Harris Federation was given approval to open a new secondary school, Harris Invictus, under the coalition government’s “free schools” concept — schools which, although publically funded, are not under the control of local government.[78] This opened in September 2014 in temporary portacabins on the eastern side of the General Hospital site, with entrance via Lennard Road. Meanwhile, construction of a permanent school began on the rest of the site.[79] At the time of writing, this is still ongoing, but work is hoped to be completed by September 2017.[80]

Administrative note: Regular readers may have noticed that according to my article-every-four-weeks schedule, this one should have gone out on 17 June. I decided to postpone it a couple of weeks because the previous one, on Stonemead House, ended up being nearly twice as long as usual, so I thought people might want more time to read it. The present article is even longer, and so the next one in this series will appear on Friday 12 August.