Thornton Heath
Coordinates: 51°24′01″N 0°06′31″W / 51.4002°N 0.1086°W
| Thornton Heath | |
 High Street, Thornton Heath. |
|
 Thornton Heath
Thornton Heath shown within Greater London |
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| OS grid reference | TQ315685 |
|---|---|
| - Charing Cross | 7.2 mi (11.6 km) NNW |
| London borough | Croydon |
| Ceremonial county | Greater London |
| Region | London |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | THORNTON HEATH |
| Postcode district | CR7 |
| Postcode district | SW16 |
| Postcode district | SE25 |
| Dialling code | 020 |
| Police | Metropolitan |
| Fire | London |
| Ambulance | London |
| EU Parliament | London |
| UK Parliament | Croydon North |
| London Assembly | Croydon and Sutton |
Thornton Heath is a district of south London, England, in the London Borough of Croydon. It is situated 7.2 miles (11.6 km) south-southeast of Charing Cross.
Contents |
History [edit]
Geography [edit]
The nearest places are Mitcham, Croydon, South Norwood, Norbury, Pollards Hill, Selhurst, Upper Norwood and Eastfields.
Transport [edit]
At Thornton Heath Pond is a London Bus garage. The nearest railway stations are Thornton Heath, Norbury, Norwood Junction and Selhurst. Croydon's Tram system is also just a short walk away, which links to places such as Wimbledon.
Culture and architecture [edit]
Architecturally, Thornton Heath is predominantly Victorian in both its residential and commercial sectors. There are a number of imposing, even grand, buildings surviving from this period.
Two examples are St Paul's Church and St Alban's Church. St Alban's is an Anglican church and is listed Grade II. Built in 1889, it was the first church designed by the late Victorian architect Sir Ninian Comper. It is situated on a busy junction (of Grange Road and the High Street), as can be seen in the photograph. It is described as being of a red-brick perpendicular style with stone dressing.
At the junction of the High Street and Parchmore Road, on a site previously called Walker's Green, stands the Clocktower, which was built in 1900, financed partly by public subscription.
However, one example that has not survived is the town's historic Victorian baths,[1] which were replaced by a more modern sports and leisure centre in 2004. Thankfully of an architectural standard likely to be pleasing to most eyes, the new building now arguably constitutes a significant town-centre landmark. [2] It cost £8 million to build, of which £2.8 million came from the British National Lottery Good Causes Fund through Sport England.[2][3] The project was supervised by Croydon's Director of Environment, Culture and Public Protection, Steve Halsey.[4] Huntley Cartwright (Chartered Quantity Surveyors) provided a Quantity Surveying Service, and assisted the council in obtaining the Sport England Grant, as well as managing the OJEU process for selecting tenderers.[1] In early option appraisals, consideration was given to whether the existing centre should be refurbished or redeveloped.[1] However, it became clear as work got under way that the old building would have to be demolished in its entirety.
Sport and Leisure [edit]
As described above under Architecture, Thornton Heath gained a new state-of-the-art leisure centre in May 2004.[2] In the first month of opening, there were 5,200 admissions to swim and 9,500 walking tours of the centre, with around 700 people joining as members.[2] The popularity was such that turnstiles had to be fitted to improve security.[2] The official opening ceremony was attended by Iain Dowie (manager of Crystal Palace F.C.), and Crystal Palace players Andrew Johnson, Danny Butterfield and Shaun Derry.[5] The centre is owned by Croydon Council, but was originally run by Parkwood Leisure,[2] although it is now run by Fusion Lifestyle in partnership with the Council.[6]
Thornton Heath formerly had a Non-League football club, Croydon Athletic F.C., who played at the Keith Tuckey Stadium; but the club ceased to exist at the end of the 2010/11 season.
References [edit]
- ^ a b c "Thornton Heath Leisure Centre". Huntley Cartwright Charted Quantity Surveyors. Retrieved 2009-09-13.
- ^ a b c d e f Menhinnitt, Daniel (30 June 2004). "New centre success". The Croydon Guardian (Newsquest Media Group). Retrieved 2009-09-13.
- ^ Menhinnitt, Daniel (3 November 2004). "National Lottery's benefit to the borough". The Croydon Guardian. Newsquest Media Group. Retrieved 2009-09-13.
- ^ "Go east, young Halsey". The Croydon Guardian (Newsquest Media Group). 6 September 2007. Retrieved 2009-09-13.
- ^ "Hurry for tickets to see Manchester Utd". The Croydon Guardian (Newsquest Media Group (via Factiva - subscription required)). 10 November 2004. Retrieved 2009-09-13.
- ^ "London Borough of Croydon: Thornton Heath Leisure Centre". London Borough of Croydon. Retrieved 2009-09-13.
