Addington, London
|
|
| Addington | |
|---|---|
| OS Grid Reference: | Template:Gbmappingsmall |
| Administration | |
| Borough: | Croydon |
| County: | Greater London |
| Region: | Greater London |
| Nation: | England |
| Other | |
| Ceremonial County: | Greater London |
| Traditional County: | Surrey |
| Post Office and Telephone | |
| Post town: | CROYDON |
| Postcode: | CR0 |
| Dialling Code: | 020 |
Addington is a village in the London Borough of Croydon in South London.
Addington is thought to be named after Edda, a Saxon chieftain. In the Domesday Book, two manors are mentioned, linked with the names Godric and Osward, which can still be noted in local street names.
St. Mary the Blessed Virgin Church (1080) was the centre of a large and important parish covering much of Shirley and South Croydon, which now has been reduced to Addington itself, Fieldway on the New Addington estate and Forestdale. It has an 11th Century chancel and windows. The South Aisle, built in the early 13th Century is narrow as it once had a thatched roof, hence its falling roofline. The belltower assumed its current form in 1876. The crypt is now inaccessible, but the church is the burial place of five of the six Archbishops of Canterbury who lived at nearby Addington Palace. There is also a memorial to the Archbishops in the graveyard.
Addington Palace dominates the village above the church and pub. There had been an important manor house and royal hunting lodge here since at least the Tudor period, for it is said that King Henry VIII wooed Anne Boleyn, whose family owned nearby Wickham Court by West Wickham Parish Church, in Addington. The mansion was rebuilt in the 18th Century and the grounds were originally laid out by Lancelot 'Capability' Brown. When Croydon Palace became too inconvenient and unsanitary, the house was bought for the Archbishops as a country residence. The last Archbishop to use it was Archbishop Benson.
There are still several old houses and buildings in Addington and some fairly sympathetic modern building has served to keep the village atmosphere intact in the 21st Century, despite being in Greater London. There is even a blacksmith's forge, mainly making ornamental ironwork these days. The cricket field is one of the oldest in England and still used. The hunt used to meet outside the pub, formerly The Cricketers. There was a village co-operative store and post office, akthough this is now a private house.
Nearby New Addington was developed from the 1930s as a municipal housing estate. There had been several experimental communes and the like in the area. Transport to the Village and estate had been poor, but Tramlink arrived in 2000, with a stop in Addington on the Croydon - New Addington route.