Park Hill Recreation Ground

The public park that is now Park Hill Recreation Ground was created in two stages. The land was once part of the former deer park of the Archbishops of Canterbury from the time when Croydon Old Palace was one of their chief summer residences. The Old Palace was sold in 1780 and soon afterwards Addington Palace replaced it as the Archbishop's summer residence. The original Park Hill House was probably built for the Keeper of the deer park, but was rebuilt many times before it was finally demolished in 1949. The use of the parkland for deer gradually diminished and much of the land was used for agriculture, and also for horse racing from c.1860, although the racecourse later moved to Woodside. The land around the edge of the park was gradually developed for housing and was owned by the Ecclesiastical Commissioners. As London was increasingly built up, the provision of public open space became an important consideration. In June 1832 a Parliamentary Report was produced by the Select Committee 'appointed to consider the best means of securing open spaces in the vicinity of populous towns as public walks and places of exercise, calculated to promote the health of the inhabitants'.

The Croydon Board of Health began its efforts to provide public open space from 1849, including an unsuccessful attempt to purchase part of Park Hill, but it was not until Croydon Corporation was formed in 1883 that part of Park Hill was finally purchased for public use in 1887. Public access to the old parkland had been limited when, after the mid C19th cholera epidemic, the town reservoir was constructed here in 1851 to supply fresh water to Croydon. Later, in 1867/69, Baldwin & Latham's water tower was built on Park Hill. 15 acres of the deer park were purchased by Croydon Corporation for £4000 from the Church Commissioners and opened as Park Hill Recreation Ground in July 1888, its layout of paths and planting of trees supervised by Mr Powell, the new Borough Road Surveyor. At the opening, the only decorative feature was an old fountain brought from Broad Green but a bandstand was donated by Councillor F T Edridge the following year.

The public park was enlarged in 1930 when Croydon Corporation purchased the house and gardens of neighbouring Coombe Cliff. The house had been built c.1860 by E C Robins for the tea merchant John Horniman (1803-93) who had bought land called The Warren next to Park Hill in 1850. An avid collector, he established the Horniman Museum at Forest Hill for his collections. Coombe Cliff became his home for 40 years, where he had a conservatory for his botanical collection. After his death in 1893 his son Frederick John Horniman (1835-1906) lived at Coombe Cliff, although he later moved out finding it too expensive to run and the house was empty for some years. It was the residence of Alderman C L Allen before Croydon Corporation purchased it for a Convalescent Home for Children and it was later an Adult Education Centre in 1960.

Park Hill Recreation Ground and Coombe Cliff Gardens were combined and renamed Park Hill in 1964, but since then the park's name has reverted to Park Hill Recreation Ground. The park has many specimen trees and shrubs around the house including araucaria, Lebanon cedar, yew, and notable old mulberry. There is a modern rose garden, a herb garden in the much repaired walled garden, a 1930s wooden refreshment kiosk and shelter. The bandstand was demolished in the 1960s; Coombe Cliff's conservatory of 1894 was removed to Horniman Museum and has recently been restored. Next to the house was an area of Victorian glass houses that were used for many years by the Parks Department for growing bedding and other plants. Unfortunately the glass houses were all so close together that everything had to be done by hand and so when more intensive production was required the nursery was closed down and moved to a more modern site. An Old English Garden was planted in the walled garden, which also has a garden in memory of Cicely Mary Barker (1895-1973), the Croydon-born artist and illustrator famous for her Flower fairies.

Following its use as an Adult Education Centre, the house was later sold and is in the ownership of a motor company, used for apprentice training.