Description
Whitgift School occupies former parkland of Haling Park, and vestiges of the earlier planting remain in the school grounds and a copse from the medieval woodland. Haling Park was once the home of Lord Howard of Effingham, Lord High Admiral of the Fleet at the time of the Armada in 1588. The school was founded in Croydon in 1596 by John Whitgift, Archbishop of Canterbury, and opened in 1600; it moved to Haling Park in 1931. Andrew Quadrangle in the centre of the main block has undulating lawns, an ornamental pond, collection of bonsai and a Japanese garden, with aviaries and a variety of exotic birds. An Elizabethan-style Founder's Garden was created in 2000 on the site of Haling Park's walled garden. The Water Gardens opened in 2005 with a waterfall between upper and lower lakes and over 500 species of trees and shrubs.
Practical Information
| Previously known as | Haling Park |
|---|---|
| Site location | Haling Park Road, South Croydon |
| Postcode | CR2 6YT |
| What3Words | ///launch.lamp.trucks |
| Type of Site | Institutional Grounds |
| Borough | Croydon |
| Open to Public | Occasionally |
| Opening Times | Has opened for London Open Gardens. Otherwise private, school users/visitors only |
| Facilities | Whitgift Primary Schools Project enables local schools to see aviary, squirrels and other wildlife kept here. |
| Public Transport | Rail: East Croydon then bus; South Croydon then bus. Bus: 60, 166, 312, 405, 407, 469, 466, 468 |
| Research Updated | 1 June 2007 |
| Last Updated | 18 October 2026 |
Full description
Former C19th parkland now occupied by C20th school but retaining vestigial elements, including a copse from medieval woodland. The 1860s layout is recorded on the 1st edition OS Map. Haling Park had once been the home of Lord Howard of Effingham, Lord High Admiral of the Fleet at the time of the Armada in 1588. Whitgift School was founded in 1596 by John Whitgift, Archbishop of Canterbury, and opened in 1600; it moved to Haling Park in 1931. Since then the original buildings have seen numerous additions including the Music School and Concert Hall, an integrated science, technology, art and design facility in 1990, a separate Junior School, and most recently a major new sports complex.
The Founder's Garden was created in 2000 to celebrate Whitgift's 400th anniversary on the site of the walled garden of Haling House, its design and planting inspired by the Elizabethan period. On one side of the central path is a yew maze with central dovecote and on the other a lawn with statue of John Whitgift. Borders, trellises and pergolas are planted with lavender, rosemary, figs, agrimony, Herb-Robert, and a Weeping White Mulberry planted by the Duke of York, the school's patron.
In the centre of the main school block is Andrew Quadrangle, with undulating lawns, paths, an ornamental pond with koi carp, a collection of bonsai and a variety of exotic birds freely wandering. There have been peacocks at Whitgift since the 1930s and there are now (2007) also white peafowl, Crowned and Demoiselle Cranes and a variety of African and Asian species. Andrew Quadrangle also has a well-kept aviary and a breeding colony of red squirrels. In one corner of the Quadrangle Japanese Garden is in the process of being created, the first phase opened in October 2006.
The third new garden area to be created are the Water Gardens, opened in September 2005 by Sir David Attenborough, with a waterfall from an upper lake feeding into a lower lake, and a smaller still-water pond. Over 500 trees and shrubs are planted in this area, with wildfowl including species from every continent, a pair of Albino Bennett's Wallabies and breeding pairs of Caribbean Flamingos.
Playing fields dominate the level areas, but vestiges of the earlier planting remain: clump of beech, notable specimen trees, including several Lebanon Cedars, Sequoiadendron, Blue Atlas Cedars. There is a block of woodland to the south west and there are notable views back to St Peter's Church spire and the tower of Coombe Cliff in Park Hill (q.v.). A modern housing estate has been built around Whitgift House on the Brighton Road.
The Founder's Garden was created in 2000 to celebrate Whitgift's 400th anniversary on the site of the walled garden of Haling House, its design and planting inspired by the Elizabethan period. On one side of the central path is a yew maze with central dovecote and on the other a lawn with statue of John Whitgift. Borders, trellises and pergolas are planted with lavender, rosemary, figs, agrimony, Herb-Robert, and a Weeping White Mulberry planted by the Duke of York, the school's patron.
In the centre of the main school block is Andrew Quadrangle, with undulating lawns, paths, an ornamental pond with koi carp, a collection of bonsai and a variety of exotic birds freely wandering. There have been peacocks at Whitgift since the 1930s and there are now (2007) also white peafowl, Crowned and Demoiselle Cranes and a variety of African and Asian species. Andrew Quadrangle also has a well-kept aviary and a breeding colony of red squirrels. In one corner of the Quadrangle Japanese Garden is in the process of being created, the first phase opened in October 2006.
The third new garden area to be created are the Water Gardens, opened in September 2005 by Sir David Attenborough, with a waterfall from an upper lake feeding into a lower lake, and a smaller still-water pond. Over 500 trees and shrubs are planted in this area, with wildfowl including species from every continent, a pair of Albino Bennett's Wallabies and breeding pairs of Caribbean Flamingos.
Playing fields dominate the level areas, but vestiges of the earlier planting remain: clump of beech, notable specimen trees, including several Lebanon Cedars, Sequoiadendron, Blue Atlas Cedars. There is a block of woodland to the south west and there are notable views back to St Peter's Church spire and the tower of Coombe Cliff in Park Hill (q.v.). A modern housing estate has been built around Whitgift House on the Brighton Road.
Further Information
| Grid Reference | TQ324640 |
|---|---|
| Size in hectares | 18.225 |
| Site Ownership | Whitgift School |
| Site Management | Whitgift School |
| Dates | C19th/20th |
| Listed Structures | LBII: Haling Cottage (Whitgift School Headmaster's House). Local list: Whitgift School |
| 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 | Yes |
| Nature Conservation Area | Yes - Borough Importance II (Whitgift School Wood) |
| 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
St Peter's Churchyard is a well-planted churchyard, now closed to burial. St Peter's Church was built in 1849-51, later rebuilt in 1865, and is on a prominent site. The land for the churchyard was given by John Russell who died in 1864 and is buried near the tower. The churchyard has flint boundary walls and a good coverage of mature tree, its path layout little changed. Among those buried here are a number of prominent local businessmen, a former huntsman turned inn-keeper of the Stag and Hounds, and Colonel Edward Kelly, who fought in the Battle of Waterloo. A yew tree was planted to the south east side of the church to mark the Millennium.
The park was formerly the grounds of Haling Grove, an early Victorian house built on land originally part of the much larger Haling Park estate. Haling Grove had a succession of owners, the last being Sydney Shorter who bred horses here. After his death, his widow bequeathed the property to the Playing Fields Association in 1933, who transferred it to Croydon Corporation. After the house was demolished in 1936, the lawn was extended over its site and a small shelter erected. Remnants of the formal gardens, fine trees and shrubberies, and other features remain, such as a ha-ha, coach house and two walled gardens, one of which has an Arts and Crafts garden.
St Augustine's Church was built in 1881-84, when south Croydon was gradually being developed and there was need for a new church to serve the growing parish. It was designed by the architect John Oldrid Scott. In 1989 the church was re-modelled in order to accommodate a much-needed community centre. The church stands in pleasant grounds, which include a much-used footpath between Churchill Road and St Augustine’s Avenue, and has a large copper beech tree in front of the church entrance. The grounds are mainly grassed with mixed shrubs dotted around the borders. A community garden group has transformed the grounds in recent years, removing significant overgrowth and have sought to grow plants with links to the Bible and the Holy Land. St Augustine’s grounds have not been used for burials, and remain the responsibility of the PCC.
