Coordinates: 51°22′22″N 0°06′36″W / 51.3727°N 0.1099°W
Croydon is a large town in south London, England, the principal settlement of the London Borough of Croydon. It is located 9.5 miles (15.3 km) south of Charing Cross. It is one of the largest commercial districts outside of Central London, bearing one of the largest shopping districts and a developed night-time economy. It is identified in the London Plan as one of 11 metropolitan centres in Greater London. It has a population of 52,104 in the 2011 census, comprising the Addiscombe, Broad Green and Fairfield wards.
Historically a part 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. Croydon expanded during the Middle Ages as a market town and a centre 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 (including the City of London). By the early 20th century, Croydon was an important industrial area, known for car manufacture, metal working and its 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, for many decades the largest shopping centre in London until 2008. Croydon was amalgamated into Greater London in 1965.
Croydon is a district in the London Borough of Croydon, England. It may also refer to:
The County Borough of Croydon was a local government district in and around the town of Croydon in north east Surrey, England from 1849 to 1965. Since 1965 the district has been part of the London Borough of Croydon within Greater London.
A local board of health was formed for the parish of Croydon St John the Baptist in 1849. On 9 March 1883 the town received a charter of incorporation to become a municipal borough. The borough was granted a commission of the peace and a separate court of quarter sessions in 1885 and 1889 respectively. Under the Local Government Act 1888 it became an autonomous county borough in 1889. The area of the original borough included part of Norwood and Addiscombe, Bensham, Croham, Coombe, Haling, Norbury, Shirley, Waddon, and Woodside.
From 1894 to 1915 it was adjacent to Croydon Rural District to the south, east and west and the County of London to the north. The rural district was abolished in 1915, but the county borough was unsuccessful in its attempt to annex the area. The only significant extension of the borough boundaries was in 1925, when the parish of Addington was absorbed.
I attended Stanley Tech
in South Norwood Hill
I think it was, oh yeah
where the bronze bust was nicked
let me think, it must've been in my third year
lying in wait outside Virgo Fidelis
and the Lady Edridge Grammar School
I worked at the Fairfield Halls
cleaning toilets, but I understood some day
I'd be back in my own right
giving concerts in my own peculiar way
but I kept my rabbit back at home
and I cleaned it every other day
(other day, other day, other day)
and now the time has come to say
farewell Dad with your sardines
and the TV set that I blew
and now the time has come to say
farewell Mum to your baked beans
and the poppadums I never knew
I'll be in Los Angeles
where the famous people never quite get old
yeah, in Los Angeles
where they're all to rich to even feel the cold
but I'll still be dreaming of you Croydon
especially in the cold and rain
(cold and rain, cold and rain, cold and rain)
and now the time has come to say
I'll be leaving Croydon way
to the lovely town I once knew
and now the time has come to say
I'll be back another day
saying sod LA, what a day
what a day
what a day
what a day