Editing Addiscombe

{{For|the military academy|Addiscombe Military Seminary}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2015}}
{{Use British English|date=August 2015}}
{{infobox UK place
| country                  = England
| region                   = London
| official_name            = Addiscombe
| london_borough           = Croydon
| constituency_westminster = [[Croydon East (UK Parliament constituency)|Croydon East]]
|post_town                = CROYDON
| postcode_area            = CR
| postcode_district        = CR0
| dial_code                = 020
| os_grid_reference        = TQ345665
| coordinates              = {{coord|51.381|-0.0663|display=inline,title}}
| charingX_distance_mi     = 9.1
| charingX_direction       = NNW
| static_image_name        = Addiscombe_sign_and_shops.jpg
| static_image_caption     = Village sign and shops on Lower Addiscombe Road
}}
'''Addiscombe''' {{IPAc-en|ˈ|æ|d|ᵻ|s|k|əm}} is an [[List of areas of London|area]] of south [[London]], England, within the [[London Borough of Croydon]]. It is located {{convert|9.1|mi|km|0}} south of [[Charing Cross]], and is situated north of [[Coombe, Croydon|Coombe]] and [[Selsdon]], east of [[Croydon]] town centre, south of [[Woodside, London|Woodside]], and west of [[Shirley, London|Shirley]].

==Etymology==
Addiscombe as a place name is thought to be [[Anglo-Saxon]] in origin, meaning "Eadda or Æddi's estate", from an Anglo-Saxon personal name, and the word ''camp'', meaning an enclosed area in [[Old English]]. The same Anglo-Saxon land-owner may have given his name to [[Addington, London|Addington]], around two miles to the south.<ref name="Mills">{{cite book|title=A Dictionary of London Place-Names|first=A.D.|last=Mills|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2010|isbn=9780199566785|page=3}}</ref><ref name="Willey">Willey, Russ. ''Chambers London Gazetteer'', p 4</ref>

==History==
First mentioned in the 13th century, Addiscombe formed part of Croydon Manor, and was known as enclosed land belonging to Eadda.<ref>''The London Encyclopaedia'' (3rd Edition) By Christopher Hibbert Ben Weinreb, John and Julia Keay, page 5</ref> The area was a rural and heavily wooded area for much of its history. Its main industries were farming and brick-making, clay deposits at [[Woodside, London|Woodside]] providing the raw materials for the latter. 

During the [[Tudor period]], Addiscombe was a large country estate and the seat of the Heron family.<ref name="Handbook to the Environs of London">Thorne, James. Handbook to the Environs of London: Alphabetically Arranged, Containing an Account of Every Town and Village, and of All Places of Interest, Within a Circle of Twenty Miles Round London. United Kingdom, J. Murray, 1876.</ref> Sir Nicholas Heron died there in 1568 and was interred at his family's chapel at [[Croydon Minster]].<ref>Lysons, Daniel. The Environs of London: pt. 2. Kent, Essex, and Herts. United Kingdom, T. Cadell and W. Davies, 1810.</ref>

The estate passed through several owners until 1650 when it was sold to Sir Purbeck Temple, a member of the [[Privy Council]] in the time of [[Charles II of England|Charles II]].{{citation needed|date=August 2020}} After the death of Sir Purbeck in 1695 and his wife Dame Sarah Temple in 1700, the estate passed to Dame Sarah's nephew, William Draper, who was married to the daughter of the famous diarist, [[John Evelyn]].<ref name="Willey"/> When Draper died in 1718, he left his estate to his son of the same name and it then passed to his nephew, Charles Clark.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.home.addiscombe.net/the-east-india-company---from-the-book-of-addiscombe.pdf#!history/cjn9|title=H.O.M.E Residents Association|access-date=12 January 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140112130612/http://www.home.addiscombe.net/the-east-india-company---from-the-book-of-addiscombe.pdf#!history/cjn9|archive-date=12 January 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref>

===Addiscombe Place===
In 1703, Addiscombe Place was built for William Draper to [[John Vanbrugh|Sir John Vanbrugh's]] design.<ref name="Willey"/> The house was built on a site which is now the corner of Outram Road and Mulberry Lane and became known as one of three great houses in Addiscombe, the others being 'Ashburton House' and 'Stroud Green House'. It replaced the [[Elizabethan architecture|Elizabethan]] mansion built by Thomas Heron in 1516. [[John Tunstall (usher)|John Tunstall]], a courtier of [[Anne of Denmark]], bought Heron's house and had a noted flower garden.<ref>George Steinman, ''A history of Croydon'' (London, 1833), p. 49.</ref>

John Evelyn recorded in his ''[[John Evelyn's Diary|Diary]]'', "I went to Adscomb on 11 July 1703 to see my son-in-law’s new house. It has excellent brickwork and [[Portland stone]] features, that I pronounced it good solid architecture, and one of the very best gentlemen's houses in Surrey."<ref name="Handbook to the Environs of London">Thorne, James. Handbook to the Environs of London: Alphabetically Arranged, Containing an Account of Every Town and Village, and of All Places of Interest, Within a Circle of Twenty Miles Round London. United Kingdom, J. Murray, 1876.</ref> Distinguished guests who stayed at the mansion include [[George III]], [[William Pitt the Elder]] and [[Peter the Great]] of [[Russia]].<ref>Addiscombe, its heroes and men of note; by Colonel H. M. Vibart... With an introduction by Lord Roberts of Kandahar.. (1894)</ref> Peter the Great was reputed to have planted a cedar tree in Mulberry Lane to record his visit. 

During the 18th century Addiscombe Place was successively the home to [[Charles Talbot, first Baron Talbot|The Lord Talbot]], [[Thomas Robinson, second Baron Grantham|The Lord Grantham]] and lastly [[Charles Jenkinson, first Earl of Liverpool|The Earl of Liverpool]], who died there in 1808.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.exploringsurreyspast.org.uk/GetRecord/SHILL_63|title=Exploring Surrey's Past|work=exploringsurreyspast.org.uk}}</ref>

===Addiscombe Military Seminary===
{{main|Addiscombe Military Seminary}}
[[File:Addiscombe Seminary photo c.1859.jpg|thumb|right|[[Addiscombe Military Seminary]], photographed ''c''.1859, with cadets in the foreground]]
In 1809, Emelius Ratcliffe sold Addiscombe Place to the [[British East India Company]] for £15,500, whereupon it became a military academy known as the [[Addiscombe Military Seminary]].<ref name="Willey"/> Cadets were trained as officers for one of the Company's three [[Presidency Armies]]. Its counterpart, [[East India Company College]] in Hertfordshire, trained the Company's administrators. The [[Indian Mutiny of 1857]] led to strong criticism of the Company, and in 1858 it was nationalised by the British government. The military seminary was closed in 1861 and the remaining cadets transferred to the [[Royal Military College, Sandhurst]].<ref name="Willey"/> 

In 1863, the seminary buildings were sold for £33,600 to developers who razed most of them to the ground.  Five parallel roads were laid out on the site, to the south of the former college site – Outram, Havelock, Elgin, Clyde and Canning Roads. They were all named after individuals who were prominent in either the military or civil governance of [[British India]] namely; [[James Outram (British officer)|Sir James Outram, Bt]], [[Henry Havelock|Sir Henry Havelock]], [[James Bruce, eighth Earl of Elgin|The Earl of Elgin]], [[Colin Campbell, first Baron Clyde|The Lord Clyde]] and [[Charles Canning, first Earl Canning|The Earl Canning]]. All that survives of the Seminary itself are two buildings called 'Ashleigh' and 'India', on the corner of Clyde Road and Addiscombe Road, and a former gymnasium on Havelock Road, now private apartments.<ref name="Willey"/>

===Suburban growth===
[[File:St Mary Magdalene, Addiscombe - geograph.org.uk - 891614.jpg|thumb|200px|St Mary Magdalene Church, Addiscombe.]]
With the advent of the railways in the 1830s, Cherry Orchard Road linking Addiscombe with Croydon ceased to be a quiet rural lane and railway workers' cottages sprang up, many with the still-visible date of 1838. However it was not until 1858 and the sale of the college, that significant urbanisation occurred.

There was formerly a small chapel attached to Addiscombe Military Seminary and to this, cadets paraded each morning and evening for a service conducted by the chaplain. On Sundays, cadets went down to the Parish Church in Croydon. By 1827, it became clear that Croydon Parish Church was too far away to minister to the college needs and St James' Parish Church was built and consecrated on 31 January 1829.{{citation needed|date=August 2020}} The population of Addiscombe at this time was about 1,000.{{citation needed|date=August 2020}} In 1870, the church of St Paul's (built by [[Edward Buckton Lamb]]) was opened and then rededicated in 1874 to St Mary Magdalene.{{citation needed|date=August 2020}} The parish of Addiscombe was formed in 1879.{{citation needed|date=August 2020}}

In the 1890s, the Ashburton Estate was gradually sold for redevelopment, and Ashburton House, which had previously hosted literary figures such as [[Alfred, Lord Tennyson]], [[Thomas Carlyle]] and [[Henry Wadsworth Longfellow]], was demolished in 1910.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.britainexpress.com/London/Addiscombe.htm|title=Addiscombe|work=Britain Express}}</ref>

===Modern Addiscombe===
Much of the land remaining in the area after the initial Victorian-era had been infilled with smaller housing developments by the 1930s.<ref name="Willey"/> [[Addiscombe railway station]] closed in the late 1990s and was replaced by housing. Since early 2006 several parts of Addiscombe have been in the process of extensive regeneration, notably the addition of housing to the site of the former Black Horse Pub and the demolition of former Church Halls and a small garden centre in Bingham Road allowing a new Church Hall and community complex to be built and providing luxury retirement apartments on adjoining land.

The area contains a number of parks and green spaces, notably [[Ashburton Park]] and [[Addiscombe Recreation Ground]]. The main shopping area is situated along Lower Addiscombe Road, containing a variety of shops, restaurants and pubs.

==Sport==

* Addiscombe Hockey Club, Field Hockey Club based in Addiscombe{{citation needed|date=August 2020}}
* Addiscombe Cricket Club est. 1866{{citation needed|date=August 2020}}
* Addiscombe Cycling Club est. 1929{{citation needed|date=August 2020}}

==Transport==
[[File:Croydon Tramlink Addiscombe Road.jpg|thumb|right|Tram on Addiscombe Road]]
The area is currently served by four [[Tramlink]] stations - [[Lebanon Road tram stop|Lebanon Road]], [[Sandilands tram stop|Sandilands]], [[Addiscombe tram stop|Addiscombe]] and [[Blackhorse Lane tram stop|Blackhorse Lane]]. Sandilands was the site of a serious [[2016 Croydon tram derailment|derailment]] in 2016 which resulted in seven deaths.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.itv.com/news/london/2016-11-09/tram-overturns-in-croydon-tunnel/|title=Two trapped and more than 50 injured as tram overturns in Croydon|work=[[ITV (TV network)|ITV]]|date=9 November 2016|access-date=17 August 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/11/09/croydon-tram-derailment-five-trapped-and-40-people-injured/|title=Croydon tram derailment: Police confirm 'some loss of life' as two remain trapped and 50 taken to hospital|publisher=Daily Telegraph|date=10 November 2016|access-date=17 August 2020}}</ref>

[[Addiscombe railway station]], located around 500 metres west of Addiscombe's main shopping parade, closed in 1997 following the withdrawal of services from [[Elmers End station|Elmers End]]. The station building was later demolished and replaced by housing (as East India Way).<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.kentrail.org.uk/addiscombe_2.html|title=Addiscombe|website=Kentrail.org.uk|access-date=30 May 2019}}</ref> Part of the trackbed between Woodside and Addiscombe railway stations is now [[Addiscombe Railway Park]]. [[Bingham Road railway station|Bingham Road station]] also formerly served the area; it was located roughly where Addiscombe tram stop now is, before closing in 1983.<ref name="Connor">{{cite book |last1=Connor |first1=J.E. |title=The South Eastern Railway |series=London's Disused Stations |volume=4 |date=2003 |publisher=Connor & Butler |location=Colchester |isbn=0-9476-9937-6 }}</ref> The former rail station featured in the opening scenes of the 1961 [[Tony Hancock]] film ''[[The Rebel (1961 film)|The Rebel]]''.<ref name="Connor"/> The nearest railway station is now [[East Croydon station|East Croydon]].

==Notable people==
* [[Frederick G. Creed|Frederick George Creed]] (1871-1957), electrical engineer and an inventor of the [[teleprinter]], who lived at 20 Outram Road where an [[English Heritage]] [[Blue Plaque]] commemorates him.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/blue-plaques/frederick-george-creed/|title=Frederick George Creed plaque|publisher=English Heritage|access-date=17 August 2020}}</ref>
* [[R. F. Delderfield]] (1912–1972), writer & dramatist lived at 22 Ashburton Avenue, Addiscombe from 1918 to 1923 (commemorated with a plaque). His  "Avenue" series is based on his life in Addiscombe & Shirley Park, and many of his works were adapted for television.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.londonremembers.com/memorials/r-f-delderfield|title=Plaque: R. F. Delderfield|publisher=London Remembers|access-date=17 August 2020}}</ref>
* [[Matthew Fisher (musician)|Matthew Fisher]], organist of [[Procol Harum]], was born in Addiscombe.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Encyclopedia of Popular Music|first=Colin|last=Larkin|publisher=Omnibus Press|year=2011|page=2201|isbn=978-0-8571-2595-8}}</ref>
* [[D. H. Lawrence]] (1885–1930), author, lived at 12 Colworth Road, Addiscombe from 1908 to 1912 whilst teaching at Davidson Road School; the house commemorates him with a plaque.<ref name="Willey"/>
* [[Kate Moss]], model, grew up in Addiscombe.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.croydonadvertiser.co.uk/news/croydon-news/10-coolest-people-ever-lived-1196063|title=10 of the coolest people ever to have lived in Croydon|publisher=The Croydon Advertiser|date=4 March 2018|access-date=17 August 2020}}</ref>
* [[Paul Nihill]], Olympic medallist who won a silver medal at the [[1964 Tokyo Olympics]] for the 50&nbsp;km walk; Nihill Place is named for him.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.yourlocalguardian.co.uk/news/14693617.croydons-first-olympic-hero-honoured-road-name/|title=Croydon's first Olympic hero Paul Nihill honoured with road name metres from where he grew up in Addiscombe|publisher=Sutton & Croydon Guardian|date=4 March 2018|access-date=19 August 2016}}</ref>
* [[David Prowse]] (1 July 1935 – 28 November 2020) actor who played [[Darth Vader]] lived in Addiscombe.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.surreylife.co.uk/people/celebrity-interviews/actor-dave-prowse-on-how-darth-vader-ended-up-happily-settled-in-croydon-turning-down-chewbacca-and-falling-out-with-george-lucas-1-3339319|title=Actor Dave Prowse on how Darth Vader ended up happily settled in Croydon|publisher=Surrey Life|date=20 February 2014|access-date=19 August 2016}}</ref>
* [[William Harris Rule]] (1802–1890), British Methodist missionary and writer, died in Addiscombe.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Dundas|first=Susan Irene|title=Methodism in Gibraltar and its mission in Spain, 1769–1842|journal=Durham Etheses|year=2000|url=http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/4242/|access-date=30 June 2013}}</ref>
* Betty Westgate MBE (1919-2000), founder of [[Breast Cancer Care]], lived at 1 Colworth Road (commemorated with a plaque).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.londonremembers.com/memorials/betty-westgate|title=Plaque: Betty Westgate|publisher=London Remembers|access-date=17 August 2020}}</ref>

==Gallery==
<gallery>
File:Our Lady of the Annunciation Church, Addiscombe - geograph.org.uk - 1192517.jpg|Our Lady of the Annunciation RC Church, Bingham Road, Addiscombe
File:Addiscombe_shops.jpg|Lower Addiscombe Road shopping parade, looking east from the tram stop
File:Sandilands_crash_memorial.jpg|Memorial to the victims of the Sandilands tram crash
File:Addiscombe_Farm_Cottage.jpg|A 17th-century farm cottage on Addiscombe Road, listed at grade II<ref>{{NHLE|num= 1358825|desc=Addiscombe Farm Cottage|access-date=18 August 2020}}</ref>
File:Ashleigh Addiscombe Road.JPG|Ashleigh House, one of the few remnants of the formerly extensive Military Seminary
File:Oval Tavern, Croydon, CR0 (6924846420).jpg|The Oval Tavern pub, Oval Road
</gallery>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
* [http://www.theaspra.org.uk ASPRA] Addiscombe and Shirley Park Residents' Association
* [http://www.home.addiscombe.net/ H.O.M.E.] Residents' Association
* [http://www.canni.addiscombe.net Canning and Clyde Road] Residents' Association

{{LB Croydon}}

[[Category:Districts of the London Borough of Croydon]]
[[Category:Areas of London]]
[[Category:District centres of London]]