Maps

An introduction to some of the thousands of historic maps of Croydon available at Croydon Local Studies Library and Archives Service.

• Introduction
• Maps before the 19th Century
• The 19th Century: the Croydon Enclosure Map
• The 19th Century: Tithe Maps
• The 19th Century: Ordnance Survey Maps
• The 20th Century
• Planning
• Transport
• Gallery of Maps of Central Croydon
• Ordnance Survey
• Tithes and Enclosures
• Printed Maps

Introduction

The best way to see how the Borough of Croydon has changed over the centuries, or how the area around your neighbourhood, house or school has altered, is through maps. Small scale maps will show how the built up part of Croydon has grown, and when canals, railways and new roads and housing estates first appeared.   Larger scale maps will show individual houses, shops, industrial premises and other buildings, field boundaries, areas of woodland and much more.  There are thousands of maps and plans of Croydon dating back to the 17th century, which you can study and, in most cases, take copies from.

Maps before the 19th Century

Before the nineteenth century, there are no Ordnance Survey maps of Croydon.  The best available map showing all parts of the modern London Borough of Croydon was produced in 1762 by Rocque.  It covers the whole of Surrey, and shows in some detail the town of Croydon (now central Croydon) and what were then the separate villages or hamlets of Broad Green, Thornton Heath, Shirley, Coulsdon, etc.  Most other maps for this period only show much smaller, more defined areas. Jean Baptiste Say's sketch map of 1785 shows the streets, and some landmarks, of central Croydon, from North End to South End, and from Duppas Hill to Park Lane.  We also have maps of Shirley (17th and 18th centuries), Upper Norwood (1678 and 1745), Coulsdon Manor (1762), Coombe Farm (1750s) and Waddon (1692 and 1799).

The 19th Century: the Croydon Enclosure Map

Portion of 1800 Enclosure Map showing Central Croydon

Under an Act of 1797, 2,950 acres of open field, commons, marshes, heath, waste land and woods in the parish of Croydon were enclosed.  Most of the land was divided into plots to be privately cultivated by its new owners, and some of it was subsequently leased to builders.  A map was produced in 1800, showing the boundaries of the plots, the names of some landowners, roads and some buildings.  It covers the whole of what was then the parish of Croydon (now the northern part of the London Borough of Croydon, excluding Addington, Sanderstead, Coulsdon and Purley).

The 19th Century: Tithe Maps

Tithes were traditionally a proportion of a landowner's or farmer's produce handed over annually to the vicar of his/her parish.  By the nineteenth century, this ancient system of supporting the local clergy had become confused and deeply unpopular. In an attempt to reform it, Parliament passed the Tithe Commutation Act of 1836.  The Act resulted in many parishes being mapped (usually on a scale of about 25" to 1 mile) and valued, with the tithe burden being divided among landowners according to the extent and use of their land.  With each map came an apportionment, listing the owner, occupier, size, name and land use of every individual parcel of land, including buildings.   There are maps and apportionments of the parishes of Croydon (1838), Addington (1837), Sanderstead (1844) and Coulsdon.

The 19th Century: Ordnance Survey Maps

Portion of 1868 Ordnance Survey map, showing East Croydon Station

The first large scale Ordnance survey maps of Croydon were surveyed and published in the 1860s.  On a scale of 25.344" to 1 mile (1:2500) they show virtually every feature, including buildings, trees, and flower beds, in immense detail.  A set of smaller scale 6" to 1 mile (1:10560) were also produced, based on the same survey.   There are both 6" and 25" maps of Croydon from the late 1860s and the mid-1890s.

The 20th Century

There are Ordnance Survey maps and street plans of Croydon from the early years of the century up to the 1980s.

Planning

There are plans of local housing estates, road schemes, factories, offices, sports grounds, municipal buildings, schools, etc, dating back to 1852.

Transport

There are canal plans dating back 1800, railway plans dating back to 1801, tramway plans and sections dating back to 1894, and bus, trolley bus and tram route maps.

• Bus, Trolley bus and Tram route maps - 1926-current
• Tramway plans and sections - 1894-current
• Railway plans - 1801-1996
• Canal plans - 1800-1801

Gallery of Maps of Central Croydon

• Rocque's map of Surrey - Croydon section, 1745
• Roberts' map of Croydon, 1847
• Ordnance Survey map of Croydon, 1868
• Ordnance Survey map of Croydon, 1914

Ordnance Survey

• 1" (1:63000) - 1816-1967
• 1¼" (1:50000 Landranger Series) - 1978-86
• 2" (1:30000) - 1816 surveyor's drawings on which 1" was based
• 2½" (1:25000) - 1947-1970
• 6" (1:10000) - 1860s-1970s
• 25" (1:2500) - 1868-c1981
• 50" (1:1250) - 1960s-1970s

Tithes and Enclosures

• 1800 - Croydon Enclosure
• 1838 - Croydon Tithe Map (sealed 1844)
• 1837 - Addington Tithe Map (sealed 1842)
• 1837 - Coulsdon Tithe Map
• 1844 - Sanderstead Tithe Map

Printed maps (pre-1900)

• 1745 - Rocque's Great North Wood - Norwood and neighbourhood
• 1762 - Rocque's Map of Surrey - Croydon area
• 1816 - Mudge's Map of Surrey - Croydon area
• 1847 - Roberts' Plan of the Town of Croydon
• 1849 - General Board of Health Plan of the Town of Croydon
• 1868 - Latham's Plan of the Parish of Croydon
• 1884 - Walker's map of Croydon (6":1 mile)
• 1880s-1890s - Bacon's maps of Croydon

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Friday, 25 July, 2008

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