South Norwood Recreation Ground

South Norwood Recreation Ground is a traditional Victorian park, laid out on a site purchased by Croydon Corporation in 1889. The cost to lay it out was estimated by the Borough Road Surveyor as £1,326 19s 6d, over a quarter of which was to put land drainage, which suggests that the site was quite wet. It was laid out with sports facilities including cricket, football and hockey pitches, 2 grass netball pitches and a pavilion with changing rooms. A children's playground and paddling pool were donated by Mrs A C Hall in memory of her husband, a journalist. A refreshment kiosk and Victorian drinking fountain were located near the children's playground. Annual village fairs were held here, attracting large numbers of people.

In 1932 Croydon Council purchased 1.5 acres next to the recreation ground, some of which was used for allotments until 1949. Allotment gardens in the south and west were incorporated into the park after WWII following complaints about overcrowding on the ground in 1949/50. It is next to St Coloma School, and has ornamental gates at the Selhurst Road entrance, the gate piers rebuilt in the late 1980s. It formerly had a bandstand, now no longer in place. The old boundary trees remain with 2 mature plane trees at the entrance; to west and east are other original trees including two willows and the north/south and east/west paths are lined with trees from the original layout. However there are no longer floral displays and the layout is greatly simplified. A children's playground is in the south-west corner, with yew and four pine trees. A line of trees shows the old west boundary and along the south boundary is the railway. The bowling green is neglected and overgrown.