Norwood Grove (also known as Streatham Grove)

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An early 20th century public park formed from a 19th century estate which was purchased by an Acquisition Committee when threatened with development and formally opened by the Prince of Wales in 1926.

DESCRIPTION

LOCATION, AREA, BOUNDARIES, LANDFORM, SETTING

Norwood Grove lies to the north of the London Borough of Croydon, on the border with the London Borough of Lambeth. The lodge to the west of the house and the area of open space to the south-west of the lodge is within the London Borough of Lambeth. The 14ha site is bounded on three sides by intensive early to mid C20 development: Covington Way to the south and south west; Gibson's Hill to the east and south-east; and Ryecroft Road to the north. The north-west bounday borders The Rookery, a public open space owned by the London Borough of Lambeth. Trees grow along the boundaries and the site is enclosed with iron railings.

ENTRANCES AND APPROACHES

What was the main thoroughfare from Beaulah to Streatham now provides the main entrance to the site at the eastern corner. The drive runs west then north-west through the northern part of the site from Gibson's Hill, up to and past the mansion to the C19 lodge where it ceases to be metalled but continues past The Rookery to Streatham Common. Additional access is provided by gates in the iron railings which enclose the site.

PRINCIPAL BUILDING

The mansion (listed grade II), or White House as it is known locally, is a C19 stuccoed building with a bow in the middle of the entrance facade. It is set in rising ground to the north of the site with views over suburban London and the Wandle valley. An engraving by John Hassell of 1804 shows a house similar in size to the one that survives today (1997), but a later map (OS 1868) shows a larger house with two bays and a glass conservatory attached to the west wing and the orangery on the east side. During the Second World War the west wing and the conservatory were destroyed by enemy action. The first floor has been converted into flats (late C20) and the ground-floor rooms are now (1997) used for various local activities.

GARDENS AND PLEASURE GROUNDS

The ground adjacent to the south-west front of the mansion slopes gently to the south and south-west. The central area is laid to lawn and the cupressus planted by the Prince of Wales when he opened the site in 1926 has been replaced by a blue cedar. Access to the lawn from the orangery is by way of a flight of steps, the piers of which have been rebuilt and no longer support the sphinx and lion shown on a photograph of the 1870s. The steps lead south-east to a tree-lined path which meanders through shrubberies and a grove of trees, some of which are recorded on the OS 1st edition map of 1868, to make a circuit of the lower, steeper slopes of the grounds as far as the south boundary, then north alongside Gibson's Hill, eventually meeting up with the main entrance.

Ornamental gardens to the south-west and west of the central lawn focus on a C19 fountain 60m to the south of the house. The fountain, which is set within three circular flower beds, has figures below the rim depicting the four seasons, and the rim is inscribed with appropriate months above them. Originally there was an ornamental head above the basin, but this has not been replaced since it was damaged in the Second World War. This part of the garden is screened to the south-west by ornamental shrubberies.

Some 20m to the north-west of the fountain is a stone bird bath dedicated to Stenton Covington, and a further 5m to the north-west is an iron rose arbour with a central rose bed and seats. To the north of the rose arbour, enclosed by brick walls on two sides, are flower beds and borders with a rockery which are planted out with herbaceous plants and Ericas. The high wall to the north of this area was once part of the extensive glasshouses recorded on the OS map of 1868. Beyond the ornamental gardens to the south and west the grassed slopes fall more steeply down to the boundary fences; some mature trees survive especially to the north near the lodge. Some 60m to the south-west of the fountain the site of a bowling green has been made into a sunken shrubbery.

KITCHEN GARDEN

The kitchen garden was situated to the north-west of the house; all of the C19 glasshouses which existed until c 1940 have been removed.

OTHER LAND

Across the main drive, to the north of the mansion, is an area of ground divided by a footpath leading to Ryecroft Road. To the east is a grassed area which slopes down to the north-east, while immediately to the west of the footpath is a mid C20 public bowling green. To the north-west lies another area of grass, the entrance to which is opposite the lodge.

REFERENCES

D E Holmes, Norwood Grove, guide leaflet, (London Borough of Croydon 1979)

D Mojon, Norwood Grove, (Streatham Society 1980)

B Cherry and N Pevsner, The Buildings of England: London 2 South (1983), p 234

M A Winterman, Croydon Parks, an Illustrated History (nd), pp 63-66

Maps

J Rocque, Twenty Miles around London, 1745

OS 6" to 1 mile: 3rd edition published 1913

1933 edition

OS 25" to 1 mile: 1st edition surveyed 1864, published 1868

2nd edition published 1894

Illustrations

J Hassell, The seat of ... Stockwell Esq, 1804 (Croydon Local Studies Centre)

Description written: 1997

Edited: November 2001