Shrublands
| Shirley | |
|---|---|
 Shirley
|
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| Shirley shown within Greater London | |
| Population | 14,296 (2011 Census. Ward) |
| OS grid reference | TQ361658 |
| London borough | |
| Ceremonial county | Greater London |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | CROYDON |
| Postcode district | CR0,CR9 |
| Dialling code | 020 |
| Police | Metropolitan |
| Fire | London |
| Ambulance | London |
| EU Parliament | London |
| UK Parliament | |
| London Assembly | |
Shirley is an area of south east London, within the London Borough of Croydon. It borders the London Borough of Bromley. It is located east of Croydon, and 10 miles (16.1 km) south south-east of Charing Cross.
Until the 1930s Shirley consisted of a few hamlets between farms and the estates of the large houses. These included Spring Park, Monks Orchard, Shirley Park, Shirley Lodge and Ham, names which are reflected in the names of neighbourhoods today. Originally part of Addington and contrary to popular opinion, Monks Orchard is not named after a monastery in the area, but probably commemorates a family named Monk, who owned some of the land at one time. When Lewis Lloyd acquired the land and had a mansion built in 1854, he adopted the name of a local wood, "Monks Orchard", for the whole estate.
Lloyd's Monks Orchard House was one of the most substantial mansions in the Croydon area. It had 19 bedrooms, a billiard room, library, and numerous other rooms. The Dining Hall alone was over 36 by 21 ft (11 by 4 m). The estate covered a huge area, 1,540 acres (6.2 km²), stretching northwards from the Wickham Road almost to Elmers End, southwards nearly as far as Addington, and eastwards across the Borough boundary into West Wickham. It also included several other major residences, such as Spring Park; farms, including Eden Park, Ham Farm, Shirley Farm, Spring Park Farm and Oak Lodge Farm; two dozen or so cottages; The Rising Sun, The Cricketers and the White Hart; and Beckenham Golf Course.
As late as 1923, the area was described in the following way:
When the estate came up for sale in 1920, only parts of it found buyers, and the rest, including the part we now call Monks Orchard was offered again in 1924. This was purchased by the City of London Corporation for the relocation of the Bethlem Royal Hospital, which had long outgrown its Lambeth home. Building of the new hospital started in 1928, and, sadly, this involved pulling down the old mansion. The hospital development did not need all the land and parts of it were sold off for housing development. There are still substantial grounds around the Hospital largely undeveloped, although planning permission was recently granted amid local controversy. The Hospital and grounds were transferred into Bromley in the 1990s in exchange for South Norwood Country Park.
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Wikipedia