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Croydon Leasing

Did You Know?

Croydon has the 13th largest shopping population in the UK. The Whitgift Centre is the third largest shopping mall in London behind the two Westfields. The Whitgift and Centrale are soon to be combined and turned into a Westfields themselves, which would make them the second biggest shopping centre in the UK.

It was believed that Croydon's name has an Anglo-Saxon origin, like most boroughs in the surrounding area, coming from the word croh meaning 'crocus' and denu meaning 'valley'. Another possible name origin is Brittonic in the form of Crai-dun meaning 'settlement near fresh water'.

For all those international jet setters departing the UK from 1920, their journey would begin at London's Croydon Airport.
The birthplace of air traffic control, Croydon Airport, was the place from which several world-record-breaking flights departed. Sadly, the airport bore the brunt of the Second World War's devastation on central Croydon.

The Dog and Bull pub in Surrey Street is the oldest surviving public house in Croydon and is said to date back as far as 1431, although it could be even older, as parts of the old Palace south of Surrey Street date from the 12th century. Still operating following an 18th-century refurbishment, the pub is now a magnet for real ale aficionados and a winner of a CAMRA Croydon Pub of the Year award.

Croydon has been the birthplace and home of many celebrities. A few of the biggest names to hail from Croydon include Kate Moss, Ronnie Corbett, Roy Hodgson, Ian Wright, the late Amy Winehouse and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (author of Sherlock Holmes).

There have also been many films shot in Croydon, such as The DaVinci Code, Batman – The Dark Knight Rises, 28 Days Later and Iron Man 3. Popular comedy show Peep Show was also filmed here and an episode of Charlie Brooker’s Black Mirror.

Croydon has a booming restaurant quarter, leading many people to state that it is the “food capital of South London”. There are all kinds of food options here, from fine dining all the way through to fast food.

People tend to see Croydon as primarily an urban space, but there is much more to it than this. Coombe Wood was named London’s best park and Croydon was voted the Royal Horticultural Society’s “greenest large city”.

St Mary’s the Blessed Virgin Church in Addington has long been a part of Croydon’s history – for nearly 1,000 years in fact. All six Archbishops of Canterbury which resided in the palace are buried at the church or churchyard, except Archbishop Benson, who is buried in Canterbury Cathedral.

Croydon has an estimated population of 381,000 people, strong transport links and a long history, but the debate of why the borough hasn’t achieved city status has raged on for years.

Another ever-popular crime writer who lived in Croydon. The creator of the British treasure Sherlock Holmes, he lived in Croydon for three years.