36-521: Addington Hills (also referred to as Shirley Hills ) is a park in Upper Shirley , London , England. It is managed by the London Borough of Croydon . It was part of the old parish of Addington before the suburb of Shirley was developed in the 1930s. The site consists largely of woodland on a gravel bed, with London's largest area of heathland at its heart. It is a Site of Metropolitan Importance . In
72-518: A 80 acres (32 ha) site; it contained its own school. In 2014 allegations of abuse emerged, and the Shirley Oaks Survivors Association (SOSA) was set up. Between then and 2020, 1,760 people have described suffering sexual, physical and racial abuse while at the home. Children were "drugged, tortured and sexually assaulted." The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse "heard that despite widespread mistreatment of children,
108-494: A Redress Scheme open until January 2022. The scheme is assisted by child abuse lawyers Ann Olivarius and Jeff Anderson of AO Advocates. As of January 2020, £30.7 million has been paid directly to victims. Upper Shirley is situated to the south-west of Shirley proper and is centred on the junction of Upper Shirley Road and Oaks Road, adjacent to the Addington Hills and Shirley Park and Addington golf courses. The settlement
144-611: A cricket connection is a 1745 match there on Thursday, 23 May between Addington and London . Little about the match is known except that Addington won. The venue was used for matches on at least four occasions between 1745 and 1752, a period which coincided with Addington Cricket Club having one of the strongest teams in England. The last match known to have been played there was Addington v Dartford on 12 August 1752. The heathland areas are dominated by heather and gorse , with some bilberry and goldenrod . Drier spots are indicated by
180-615: A library, several shops and restaurants and two pubs - The Crown and the Shirley Inn. Shirley Oaks is situated north of central Shirley, abutting Monks Orchard . The land here was traditionally the property of the Archbishop of Canterbury . The area gets its name from Oaks Farm, which lay here circa 1800. The area began to be developed in the early 20th century, with the opening of the Shirley Oaks Children's Home in 1903. Following
216-421: A population of 1,329,000. This definition is used by organisations such as Connexions . Between 2008 and 2011 it was replaced with a South East sub-region consisting of Southwark, Lewisham, Greenwich, Bexley and Bromley and a South West sub-region consisting of Croydon, Kingston, Lambeth, Merton, Sutton, Richmond and Wandsworth. In 2011 a new south London region was created consisting of Bromley, Croydon,
252-428: A wide range of insects, spiders and other invertebrates, each well adapted to the warm, dry conditions at ground level. The invertebrate fauna plays an important part in supporting a range of birds and reptiles – and all benefit from the varied mosaic of open and scrubland habitats. In open areas, common lizards and slowworms thrive. Green woodpeckers may be seen in the woods and on the heath, and goldcrests among
288-466: Is far more extensive tree cover, and heather is limited to the slopes and ridges where it tolerates the harsh conditions provided by the very dry and acidic poor soil. Shirley, London Shirley is an area of south London , England, within the London Borough of Croydon . It lies north of Spring Park and Addington , east of Addiscombe , south of Monks Orchard and west of West Wickham , and 10 miles south-southeast of Charing Cross . Prior to
324-474: Is served by Coombe Lane tram stop on the London Tramlink route to New Addington which runs along the southern edge of the land. The park covers an area of 130 acres (53 ha). The London Loop path runs through the park. The park is fully accessible at all times. Addington Hills reaches 460 feet (140 m) above sea level. The terrain drops sharply to the north, exposing the hills' pebbly composition at
360-400: Is the tower mill , which was built by Richard Alwen to replace the first mill on the site (built by his grandfather William Alwen in 1808) after it burnt down in 1854. By 1893, Alfred Rayson, the owner, was forced to abandon the mill as unviable. After closure the mill was allowed to deteriorate, being struck by lightning in 1899 and again in 1906. In 1951 the mill and land were acquired by
396-494: Is thought to have originated in the mid-18th century, originally under the name 'Badger's Hole'. The area was home to a brewery in the mid-18th century. In 1865 the Surprise pub opened. There was another pub in the area - The Sandrock - which was located at the junction of Upper Shirley Road with Sandpits Road, which closed in 2018. The area is largely affluent, especially along Bishops Walk. Upper Shirley's most prominent landmark
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#1733092960436432-605: The Heritage Lottery Fund for the mill. The grant money has helped restore the mill to working order and open it to the public. Shirley Windmill is open to the public on the first Sunday of each month June to October open in May on National Mills weekend (Sunday) and usually open for the annual Open House Weekend (Sunday) in September. South London South London is the southern part of Greater London , England , south of
468-546: The River Thames . The region consists of the boroughs , in whole or in part, of Bexley , Bromley , Croydon , Greenwich , Kingston , Lambeth , Lewisham , Merton , Richmond , Southwark , Sutton and Wandsworth . South London originally emerged from Southwark , first recorded as Suthriganaweorc , meaning 'fort of the men of Surrey '. From Southwark , London then extended further down into northern Surrey and western Kent . South London began at Southwark at
504-589: The Whitgift Foundation in 1965 to become Trinity School in a new building constructed on the site. Neighbouring the Trinity School grounds is Shirley Park Golf Course. To the south of Shirley are large areas of woodland, including Addington Hills and Threehalfpenny Wood. Parks and open spaces are dotted across the area, including Miller's Pond in Spring Park. Central Shirley (along Wickham Road) contains
540-576: The Croydon Corporation. The mill was threatened with demolition when the new John Ruskin School was built but it was protected by its Grade II listed status and strong public interest. The school, now the John Ruskin College, later left the site and housing was built around the mill. In August 1996, it was announced that the London Borough of Croydon was to receive a grant of £218,100 from
576-554: The Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, Richmond upon Thames, Merton, Sutton, Wandsworth, Bexley, Greenwich and Lewisham. South London is, like other parts of London and the UK in general, a temperate maritime climate according to the Köppen climate classification system . Three Met Office weather stations currently collect climate data south of the river; Kew, Hampton and Kenley Airfield, on
612-609: The Thames. Often snow can be seen to lie on the North Downs near Croydon when central London is snow free. The record high temperature at Greenwich is 37.5 °C (99.5 °F) recorded during August 2003. Sunshine is notably lower than other London area weather stations (by about 50–100 hours a year), suggesting Greenwich may be a fog trap in winter, and that the hillier land to the south may obscure early morning and late evening sunshine. The highest temperature recorded across south London
648-521: The Tower' (East London) . The area now usually referred to as North London developed later. As late as the mid 18th century, however, there were no other bridges crossing the river and as a result urban growth was considerably slower in the south than in areas north of the Thames . The opening of Westminster Bridge and other subsequent bridges to the west encouraged growth in the south-west, but only Tower Bridge
684-637: The Vikings. Southwark was also known as the Borough due to be it being an incorporated (nationally represented) Borough from 1295. From 1550 to 1899 it was administered as part of the City of London and referred to as the ward of Bridge Without . In 1720, John Strype's 'Survey of London' described Southwark as one of the then four distinct areas of London; in it he describes the City of London , Westminster (West London) , Southwark (South London) , and 'That Part Beyond
720-429: The area. The 12 boroughs included, in whole or part are: (Outer London for statistics) A small area of land, on which the southern end of Blackfriars Bridge stands, is not part of Southwark. It forms part of the City of London , a sui generis local authority which is mainly located north of the Thames. The term 'south London' has been used for a variety of formal purposes with the boundaries defined according to
756-465: The authority ( Lambeth Council ) failed to investigate any allegations at the time." The Metropolitan Police inquiry, Operation Midland , which examined all the borough's children's homes, concluded at least 35 men and women had abused children over a 20-year period. SOSA believes that over a 60-year period, over 120 abusers were involved. To compensate victims of the abuse at Shirley Oaks (and also Lambeth Children's Home), Lambeth Council has set up
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#1733092960436792-471: The closure of the Home in 1982, the site was demolished and replaced with modern housing by Heron Homes. Part of the site was set aside for Shirley Oaks Hospital, a private healthcare centre which opened in 1986. The Shirley Oaks Children's Home opened in 1903 and was run by the London Borough of Lambeth until its closure in 1982. It was the largest in the country. The children's home consisted of 38 cottages on
828-460: The creation of Greater London in 1965, Shirley was in the administrative county of Surrey . The Shirley area is split into Shirley proper (centred on Wickham Road), Shirley Oaks (to the north) and Upper Shirley (to the west); the suburbs of Monks Orchard and Spring Park are sometimes also considered to be sub-districts of Shirley. The name Shirley, first recorded in 1314, is thought to mean 'shire clearing', referring to its position adjacent to
864-544: The end of the gullies. Addington Hills borders Coombe Park / Lloyd Park on its west and Coombe Wood on its south. The area was originally called the hill of Pripledeane or Prible Dean , a name meaning "Gravel Valley" that came from the Middle English words prebel ("gravel") and dene ("valley"). The land was acquired by Croydon Board of Health in four parts over a 45-year period. Addington Hills facilities include: The first definite mention of Addington Hills in
900-537: The first half of the 20th century, towns in the Home Counties such as Kingston, Croydon and Bromley gradually coalesced with South London, until Greater London was formed in 1965. A significant feature of south London's economic geography is that while there are more than thirty bridges linking the area with West London and the City , there is only one, Tower Bridge , linking the area with East London . Very little of London's underground rail network lies south of
936-462: The mid-18th century, it was a noted cricket venue used by the then-prominent Addington Cricket Club . Addington Hills and Croham Hurst , a short distance to the southwest, form popular open spaces in Croydon . It is a peaceful area with many pathways, close to central Croydon. There is a viewpoint with fine views across Croydon and across to north London, including Docklands and Parliament Hill . It
972-527: The needs of the growing community, replacing a smaller chapel dating from 1835. Shirley House was converted into the Shirley Park Hotel in 1912. In the 1930s. House building in the area rapidly expanded, largely consisting of suburban-style semi-detached houses, with the Monks Orchard estate also being built in this period. However some land escaped the building boom; Shirley Park Hotel was bought by
1008-404: The occurrence of bell heather . Fine-leaved fescues , wavy hair-grass and purple moor-grass dominate the acid grassland areas with a mix of wood sage , heath bedstraw and other typical species. Marsh violet and hard fern (both London rarities) occur in the damper areas. Burrowing bees and wasps occur in the bare patches of soil and the bushy heathers and acid-loving grasses provide home to
1044-463: The purposes of the designation. In 2017 the government asked the Boundary Commission for England to reconsider the boundaries of parliamentary constituencies. The commission's study, was to start with existing regions of England and then group the local authorities within that area into sub-regions for further sub-division. The south London sub-region included the 11 boroughs which lay south of
1080-525: The river, largely due to the challenging geology; however, 21st-century technology makes tunnelling much cheaper (though stations are still expensive) and this may lead to an improved underground provision in south London with the Crossrail 2 line proposed alongside extensions to the Northern and Bakerloo Lines . South London contains an extensive overground rail network and all of London's trams operate within
1116-507: The river, plus the parts of cross-river Richmond upon Thames that did so. An earlier 2013 study, whose recommendations were not adopted, took a different approach by including all of Richmond in its south London sub-region. For the purposes of progress reporting on the London Plan , there was a south London sub-region in operation from 2004 to 2008 consisting of Bromley, Croydon, Kingston, Merton, Richmond and Sutton. In 2001 this area had
Addington Hills - Misplaced Pages Continue
1152-444: The southern edge of the urban area. Long term climate observations dating back to 1763 are available for Greenwich, although observations ceased here in 2003. Temperatures increase towards the Thames, firstly because of the urban warming effect of the surrounding area, but secondly due to altitude decreasing towards the river, meaning the southern margins of south London are often a couple of degrees cooler than those areas adjacent to
1188-566: The southern end of London Bridge , the first permanent crossing over the river, with early development of the area being a direct result of the existence and location of the bridge . Southwark was first known as Suthriganaweorc , the fortress of the men of Surrey , mentioned in the Burghal Hidage as part of military system created by Alfred the Great to defeat the Great Heathen Army of
1224-400: The traditional Kent - Surrey border, though it may instead mean 'bright clearing'. It was long a small hamlet, with a large mansion (Shirley House) being built here in 1721; this was purchased by the businessman and member of parliament, John Maberley , in the mid-1800s. Around this period the population was growing, with more housing being built. St John's Church was built in 1856 to serve
1260-449: The woodland edges and in the gorse. The northern area of woodland is by far the oldest, in particular the very old oak pollards near Oaks Road. Other wooded areas are comparatively recent, and the small pine plantations near the southern boundary were only established during the mid-19th century. Until the 1920s, there were only a few scattered oak, pine and birch on the hills, which were then almost entirely covered in heather. Now there
1296-535: Was built to the east of London Bridge , so south-east London grew more slowly, at least until the Surrey Commercial Docks were built. The development of a dense network of railway lines in the mid nineteenth century significantly accelerated growth. The County of London was formed in 1899, which incorporated these boroughs south of the river: Wandsworth, Lambeth, Battersea, Camberwell, Southwark, Bermondsey, Deptford, Lewisham, Greenwich and Woolwich. During
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