Description
* on The National Heritage List for England, Parks & Gardens
The Promenade de Verdun was created as a memorial landscape in 1922 on the Webb Estate to commemorate French sacrifices on the Western Front in WWI. The only straight road on the private estate, it has a wide grass verge, and extends a third of a mile. The soil was brought over from France for the purpose and it is planted with a line of Lombardy Poplars. At the south-east end is a tall obelisk, dedicated to the French soldiers who died in Petain's stand against the Germans in 1916, and inscribed: 'Aux soldats de France morts glorieusement pendant la Grande Guerre'. Responsibility for the maintenance of the Promenade was vested in Croydon Council in 1925.
The Promenade de Verdun was created as a memorial landscape in 1922 on the Webb Estate to commemorate French sacrifices on the Western Front in WWI. The only straight road on the private estate, it has a wide grass verge, and extends a third of a mile. The soil was brought over from France for the purpose and it is planted with a line of Lombardy Poplars. At the south-east end is a tall obelisk, dedicated to the French soldiers who died in Petain's stand against the Germans in 1916, and inscribed: 'Aux soldats de France morts glorieusement pendant la Grande Guerre'. Responsibility for the maintenance of the Promenade was vested in Croydon Council in 1925.
Practical Information
| Site location | Upper Woodcote, leading off Foxley Lane into Rose Walk, Purley |
|---|---|
| Postcode | CR8 3LN |
| What3Words | ///stay.posed.tasty |
| Type of Site | Private Open Land |
| Borough | Croydon |
| Open to Public | Yes |
| Opening Times | unrestricted (public thoroughfare) |
| Public Transport | Rail: Purley. Bus: 289, 127 |
| Research Updated | 1 February 2016 |
| Last Updated | 18 October 2026 |
Full description
Site on The National Heritage List for England, Parks & Gardens, for Register Entry see https://www.historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list
The Promenade de Verdun is a roadway within the Webb Estate (q.v.), an upmarket private residential development in Purley that was laid out from 1888 onwards by William Webb (1862-1930). Webb was a local chartered surveyor and horticulturist who planned his estate according to his 'Garden First' system. 'The name Garden First means that the garden shall not only have prominence but that partial garden construction shall be carried out before any buildings are erected… the house is but the complement of the garden in a general survey of the estate' (William Webb, Garden First in Land Development, 1919).
Webb created the Promenade de Verdun in 1922 after WWI to commemorate French sacrifices on the Western Front, the soil brought over from France especially for the purpose. The only straight road on the estate, it has a wide grass verge almost the same width as the carriageway, and extends a third of a mile. It is planted with a line of Lombardy Poplars and has a tall obelisk at the south eastern end. Webb conceived the idea of creating an Anglo-French memorial as a tribute 'to our fallen neighbours', and hoped that the tribute would cement the friendship between the two nations. Webb wrote a short article on the memorial for the Purley Review in 1927, on the occasion of a visit to England by the French President, in which he explained the rationale behind the construction of the monument. When relations between England and France, which King Edward VII had fostered and the war reinforced, might become strained in the future, Webb hoped that the tribute would cement the friendship between the two nations. He referred to the year 1923 when differences of opinion between France and England were acute and some of the French papers mentioned the Promenade de Verdun as evidence that public opinion in England was more sympathetic to France than the utterances of Britain's best known politicians of the time would lead them to believe. The 19ft high granite obelisk was carved in a Cornish quarry by The London Granite Co. Ltd from a single piece of stone and is set on a crescent shaped piece of grass planted with privet, laurel and other evergreen shrubs. Dedicated to the French soldiers who died in Pétain's stand against the Germans in 1916, it is inscribed with the words: 'Aux soldats de France morts glorieusement pendant la Grande Guerre'. It is named after Verdun, the town where almost a million French and German soldiers were killed as the Germans made desperate attempts to reach Paris.
The Lombardy Poplars are growing in a mixture of French and English soil. About ten tons of French soil was transported to Purley from the 'Field of Explosion' near Armentières The soil was so laden with shrapnel and bullets that to prevent the trees being damaged by souvenir hunters the soil was sifted and two sacks of missiles extracted. The British Consul at Lille and the Institut français du Royaume-Uni both helped to execute the project. It was a news item in the Croydon Advertiser in 1922 and in Country Life the following year where it was mentioned that the memorial demonstrated ‘we have not forgotten our comradeship in arms’. Responsibility for the maintenance of the Promenade was vested in Croydon Council in 1925. The grass verge is set behind low hanging chains suspended on posts made from the poplars uprooted in the hurricane of October 1987. Replanting of trees has been carried out in recent years.
On February 2016, the Promenade de Verdun was designated for inclusion on the Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest as part of Historic England's First World War Commemoration project.
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.
The Promenade de Verdun is a roadway within the Webb Estate (q.v.), an upmarket private residential development in Purley that was laid out from 1888 onwards by William Webb (1862-1930). Webb was a local chartered surveyor and horticulturist who planned his estate according to his 'Garden First' system. 'The name Garden First means that the garden shall not only have prominence but that partial garden construction shall be carried out before any buildings are erected… the house is but the complement of the garden in a general survey of the estate' (William Webb, Garden First in Land Development, 1919).
Webb created the Promenade de Verdun in 1922 after WWI to commemorate French sacrifices on the Western Front, the soil brought over from France especially for the purpose. The only straight road on the estate, it has a wide grass verge almost the same width as the carriageway, and extends a third of a mile. It is planted with a line of Lombardy Poplars and has a tall obelisk at the south eastern end. Webb conceived the idea of creating an Anglo-French memorial as a tribute 'to our fallen neighbours', and hoped that the tribute would cement the friendship between the two nations. Webb wrote a short article on the memorial for the Purley Review in 1927, on the occasion of a visit to England by the French President, in which he explained the rationale behind the construction of the monument. When relations between England and France, which King Edward VII had fostered and the war reinforced, might become strained in the future, Webb hoped that the tribute would cement the friendship between the two nations. He referred to the year 1923 when differences of opinion between France and England were acute and some of the French papers mentioned the Promenade de Verdun as evidence that public opinion in England was more sympathetic to France than the utterances of Britain's best known politicians of the time would lead them to believe. The 19ft high granite obelisk was carved in a Cornish quarry by The London Granite Co. Ltd from a single piece of stone and is set on a crescent shaped piece of grass planted with privet, laurel and other evergreen shrubs. Dedicated to the French soldiers who died in Pétain's stand against the Germans in 1916, it is inscribed with the words: 'Aux soldats de France morts glorieusement pendant la Grande Guerre'. It is named after Verdun, the town where almost a million French and German soldiers were killed as the Germans made desperate attempts to reach Paris.
The Lombardy Poplars are growing in a mixture of French and English soil. About ten tons of French soil was transported to Purley from the 'Field of Explosion' near Armentières The soil was so laden with shrapnel and bullets that to prevent the trees being damaged by souvenir hunters the soil was sifted and two sacks of missiles extracted. The British Consul at Lille and the Institut français du Royaume-Uni both helped to execute the project. It was a news item in the Croydon Advertiser in 1922 and in Country Life the following year where it was mentioned that the memorial demonstrated ‘we have not forgotten our comradeship in arms’. Responsibility for the maintenance of the Promenade was vested in Croydon Council in 1925. The grass verge is set behind low hanging chains suspended on posts made from the poplars uprooted in the hurricane of October 1987. Replanting of trees has been carried out in recent years.
On February 2016, the Promenade de Verdun was designated for inclusion on the Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest as part of Historic England's First World War Commemoration project.
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.
Further Information
| Grid Reference | TQ299614 |
|---|---|
| Size in hectares | 0.4 |
| Site Ownership | LB Croydon |
| Site Management | Parks and Open Spaces |
| Dates | 1922 |
| Designers | William Webb |
| On National Heritage List for England (NHLE), Parks & Gardens | Yes |
| NHLE grade | Grade II |
| 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 | Yes |
| Conservation Area Name | The Webb Estate |
| Tree Preservation Order | No |
| Nature Conservation Area | No |
| Green Belt | No |
| Metropolitan Open Land | No |
| Special Policy Area | No |
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
The Webb Estate was laid out from 1888 onwards by William Webb, a chartered surveyor and horticulturist who purchased 260 acres of land in Purley. He developed this as an upmarket residential estate according to his 'Garden First' system whereby landscaping and infrastructure should be established before house-building began. He set up a nursery to grow hedging, trees, shrubs and flowers for the estate. Houses were gradually built from 1901 onwards when the landscape infrastructure was maturing and the estate was completed by 1925. All roads but one were curving and names given to 'floral roads' reflected their planting schemes, such as Silver Lane, Rose Walk, and The South Border. The garden aspect of the estate endures today and it remains an important example within early town planning that recognised landscape as an essential component.
Woodcote Village Green was laid out in 1903 as the focal point for the Upper Woodcote Model Village within the Webb Estate, a high-class residential development by estate agent and horticulturalist William Webb. The Green was provided with whipping post and stocks, a see-saw, pond with flock of geese opposite the smithy shaded by a chestnut tree. The Lord Robert, a Temperance Inn and General Stores opened in 1907. There was an estate blacksmith from 1904-1914 but the smithy, pond and geese are now gone although the stocks remain. A War memorial is located near the Lord Robert. The Green is overlooked by 9 mainly half-timbered houses, intended by Webb for occupation by workmen on the estate.
Great Woodcote Park is an open grassed space dotted with various mature ornamental trees laid out c.1930. Other trees include huge poplars in the spacious grassland. The OS map of 1867 shows the site as open land close to the settlement at Great Woodcote.