Description
The original Christ Church was a flint-faced building of 1851-2, paid for by Archbishop Sumner. Due to structural problems it was closed in 1978 and, following a petition, approval to demolish the building was given in 1982. However, in 1983 the old church was listed and total demolition therefore not granted. The building was badly damaged by fire in 1985 and a new church retaining the undamaged portion at the western end was opened by the Bishop of Southwark in June 1991. There church has a garden with grass and flower border behind a flint wall to the road, with a few headstones in the shrubbery at the eastern boundary.
Practical Information
| Site location | Sumner Road/Longley Road, Broad Green |
|---|---|
| Postcode | CR0 3LJ |
| What3Words | ///taxi.rocket.salads |
| Type of Site | Churchyard |
| Borough | Croydon |
| Open to Public | Yes |
| Opening Times | unrestricted |
| Public Transport | Rail/London Overground: West Croydon. Tube: Colliers Wood |
| Research Updated | 1 May 2006 |
| Last Updated | 18 October 2026 |
Full description
The original church here was a flint-faced building designed by Teulon and built in 1851-2, paid for by Archbishop Sumner. Due to structural problems it was later closed in 1978 and following a petition, approval to demolish the building was given in 1982. However, in 1983 the old church was listed and total demolition therefore not granted although designs for the new church had been agreed by the end of 1982. In December 1985 the south transept caught fire and the building was badly damaged apart from the three bays at the west end and the chancel. Designs were then prepared by Maurice Taylor and the K C White Partnership for a new building that retained the undamaged portion at the western end. The new church was completed in April 1991 and was opened by the Bishop of Southwark in June 1991; presumably this is the date of the current landscaping.
Further Information
| Grid Reference | TQ315664 |
|---|---|
| Site Ownership | Diocese of Southwark |
| Site Management | church |
| Dates | 1851-2; 1990s? |
| Designers | [1991 Maurice Taylor] |
| On National Heritage List for England (NHLE), Parks & Gardens | No |
| Registered common or village green on Commons Registration Act 1965 | No |
| Protected under London Squares Preservation Act 1931 | No |
| Local Authority | Croydon |
| In Conservation Area | No |
| Tree Preservation Order | No |
| Nature Conservation Area | No |
| Green Belt | No |
| Metropolitan Open Land | No |
| Special Policy Area | Yes - Archaeological Priority Zone? To check |
Please note the Inventory and its content are provided for your general information only and are subject to change. It is your responsibility to check the accuracy.
Nearby parks and gardens
Wandle Park was laid out on the site of two old meadows purchased by Croydon Corporation in 1888 and 1889. It opened in May 1890, its chief attraction the River Wandle that ran through it and the popular boating lake formed in the south half of the park, both now gone. Other facilities were a bandstand, tennis courts and bowling green. An open air pool opened in 1913 but had closed by 1979. The Borough's Summer Show was held here during the 1930s; there was fishing in the summer and ice-skating in the winter when the lake froze. In 1967 the river was culverted, its original course now marked by willows, and the lake, by now depleted of water, was filled and grassed over.
St James's Church was built in 1828 on the last area of open space here, once extensive commonland. From 1890-1920 half an acre of the churchyard became the responsibility of Croydon Corporation to provide much-needed public open space. Finally, in 1959, it was agreed that the whole churchyard should become a public garden, although this was not laid out until 1966. The old churchyard walls remain and gravestones were laid as a paved area adjacent to the church.
Ramsey Court was formerly the Elis David Almshouses, originally founded in 1447 by Elias Davy, member of the Mercers' Company, for 7 poor men and women. The almshouses were rebuilt in the mid C18th and enlarged in 1875 when the number of residents was increased to 12. They are arranged as two parallel rows of red brick buildings, the north built in 1875, the south in 1887, which face each other across the garden. They ceased to be almshouses in the 1970s when residents moved to new almshouses in Duppas Hill.