Norwood Grove *

Site on The National Heritage List for England, Parks & Gardens, for Register Entry see https://www.historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list

Norwood Grove was once part of the Great Streatham Common, recorded in the Domesday Book in 1086 as Lime Common. In 1635 part of the common was enclosed by the Duke of Portland for his estate around the shooting box given to him by Charles II. A house called Copgate was recorded on the site of Norwood Grove on John Rocque's map of 1746, the name presumably from Cubgate Hill, the old name of Gibson's Hill. In 1800 the estate was known as Norbury Grove and owned by T Mills Esq. In 1847 the Grove was leased to Arthur Anderson, who with his partner Bradie Wilcox had formed the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company in 1840, later known simply as the P & O. In 1878 Norwood Grove was owned by Mr and Mrs Frederick Nettlefold, whose father had founded the brass foundry and ironmongers Nettlefolds Ltd in 1876. The mansion later passed to their daughter, who sold it to Croydon Corporation in 1913.

By 1924 Norwood Grove, then called Streatham Grove, was threatened with housing development but this was averted by the strenuous actions of the Norwood Grove Acquisition Committee, a committee that included some illustrious members with the Archbishop of Canterbury as its Patron and Croydon's Mayor as President. Convened by Mr Stenton Covington and other local residents, this group had originally been established in 1910 to save local open space at Streatham Common from development, which had resulted in preservation of The Rookery (q.v.) to the north of Norwood Grove. The committee raised £1215 towards the purchase by the LCC of an orchard and meadow that linked the two estates, and then raised a further £18,200. It then met with the trustees of the Nettlefold family, who agreed to sell for public use '30 acres of the higher and wooded portion of the park', later remeasured and found to be 32 acres.

Norwood Grove was opened on 16 November 1926 by The Prince of Wales, who was presented to local dignitaries in the drawing room and then led to a carved seat on a dais overlooking the park. The Standard of His Royal Highness was then broken and the National Anthem played by the RAF Band. After making a speech the Prince handed the Title Deeds to the Mayor of Croydon who in his turn presented the Prince with a golden key cigar cutter, modelled from a key of the Grove. The carved chair was later presented to Stenton Covington as a token of appreciation and he was also honoured by the construction of a bird bath in the garden and a road being named after him. The Prince planted a Cupresses macrocarpa Lutea near the French windows of the house, not on the main lawn as planned due to adverse weather. The same spade was used in 1987 when the Mayor of Croydon planted another tree to celebrate Norwood Grove's 50th anniversary as a public open space.

The mansion, known locally as the White House, was built in the early C19th, later enlarged considerably with the west wing and its identical bow front extending almost to the stable buildings, and another wing running off this at an angle. During the war one wing of the house was bombed and part of the garden also suffered damage. The fountain on the main lawn has small figures, depicting the months of the year, holding a large flat dish into which the water spills. Nearby is the bird bath commemorating Mr Covington and an iron rose arbour surmounted by the emblem of a raised arm with hand clenching a hammer, a motif also to be seen on the Lodge. At one time there was a stone sphinx at the side of the steps by the south-east corner of the house but this has since disappeared.

Norwood Grove had a small nursery used by the Parks Department until nursery production was centralised in the 1960s. During the war the glass houses were used for the production of tomato plants and onions. The stables were converted into a mess room and tool stores for the parks maintenance staff. On the eastern side of the house is The Orangery, originally used for displaying half-hardy plants and orange trees, and today a shelter surmounted by two glass domes. From the grounds there are extensive views to the south west.

The Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England was established in 1984 and was commonly called English Heritage. In April 2015 it split into 2 separate entities, Historic England (HE), which continues to champion and protect the historic environment, and the English Heritage Trust, whose role is to look after the 400+ historic sites and monuments owned by the state. HE manages the National Heritage List for England (NHLE) that includes over 400,000 items ranging from prehistoric monuments to office blocks, battlefields and parks, which benefit from legal protection.