South Norwood
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South Norwood

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South Norwood

South Norwood is a district of South London, England, within the London Borough of Croydon, Greater London and formerly in the historic county of Surrey. It is located 7.8 miles (12.5 km) south-east of Charing Cross, north of Woodside and Addiscombe, east of Selhurst and Thornton Heath, south of Crystal Palace/Upper Norwood and Anerley, and south-west of Penge.

Together with Norwood New Town, it forms the electoral ward of South Norwood in the local authority of Croydon. The ward as a whole had a resident population in 2001 of just over 14,000.

The south-eastern side of the district is dominated by the 125-acre (0.51 km2) country park which opened in 1989. At the northern end of the town is South Norwood Lake, which was created after the reservoir for the unsuccessful Croydon Canal went out of use. It is used by the Croydon Sailing Club and local anglers who fish for carp, bream and perch.

There are two secondary schools in the area along with a public leisure centre. South Norwood has a high street which forms part of Selhurst Road. It is a commuter district, with many residents travelling to either the financial and insurance districts of Croydon or the City of London for employment via Norwood Junction railway station. South Norwood and surrounding areas are covered by the London SE25 postcode. It is also the southernmost location of the London post town.

The area was originally covered by the Great North Wood, which was a natural oak forest that covered four miles (6 km) of south London. Apart from South Norwood, the wood covered Upper Norwood, West Norwood (known as Lower Norwood until 1885) and the Woodside and Gipsy Hill areas.

References to rents being paid for a coppice called Cholmerden in the area date to the 1400s. By the 1670s the site had been developed into the grounds of Goat House. Handley's Brickworks' seven chimneys once dominated the landscape of the area. It has been demolished and the site changed into grassland and a lake, called Brickfields Meadow.

The Croydon Canal was constructed in the early 19th century, running from New Cross to the site of West Croydon station. As it passed through South Norwood, pubs sprang up near its course. The Jolly Sailor still stands at the intersection of South Norwood Hill and High Street. The Ship, a few yards to the east, was beside the loading point for bricks from a nearby brick field across what is now the High Street.[citation needed] The passageway through which bricks passed to the canal is still there. The Goat House pub (which has since been demolished) was said to have been named after an island in the canal on which goats were kept.[citation needed]

Jolly-sailor station opened in 1839 by the London and Croydon Railway.[citation needed] It was listed as Jolly-sailor near Beulah Spa on fare lists and timetables and renamed 'Norwood' in 1846.[citation needed] The station was immediately adjacent to a level crossing over Portland Road, making it slightly further north than the site currently occupied by Norwood Junction station. As part of the construction works for the atmospheric-propulsion system, the world's first railway flyover was constructed south of Tennison Road, to carry the new atmospheric-propulsion line over the conventional steam line below. In 1847, the atmospheric propulsion experiment was abandoned.

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