Brakspear brewers set to move in to former pub The Store

Posted on February 22, 2026 by insidecroydon

Brakspear, the traditional brewers and country inn operators, are to open a pub in Croydon.

Pumped up: Brakspear are about to re-open a pub in South Croydon

Henley-based Brakspear, who trace their company’s history back to 1769, have taken on the abandoned lease for The Store, on South End, which closed in October last year.

A sign has been pasted to the window of The Store, stating that WH Brakspear and Sons Ltd took possession of the premises earlier this month. No further details of what the company is planning for the pub, or an opening date, have yet been made public, though the venue is now listed among Brakspear’s 125 pubs on the company’s website. Continue reading →

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Gertrude Massey’s masterstrokes showed Royalty in best light

Posted on February 22, 2026 by insidecroydon

CROYDON CHRONICLES: A prize-winner at Croydon School of Art went on to become one of the most sought-after portrait artists in Edwardian London, and taught Evelyn Waugh and the Wizard of Oz’s Scarecrow.
DAVID MORGAN recalls the stellar career of Gertrude Massey

On an April evening in 1886, students of the Croydon School of Art, their friends and families, were gathered in the Croydon Public Hall for their annual prize giving ceremony,

The School of Art opened in 1868, above the Public Hall on the corner of George Street and Wellesley Road (where Norfolk House stands today), and it quickly gained a reputation for developing skilful artists. The prize-giving was an opportunity to recognise that year’s creative talents.

The air of anticipation and expectation was palpable. This was not only about who might receive recognition for their artistic prowess, but also about seeing the celebrity who was there to hand out the prizes.

Celebrity artist: Gertrude Massey, née Seth, was often commissioned by Queen Victoria and the Royal family

Lady de Grey was a prominent aristocrat, a close friend of Oscar Wilde and a keen supporter of the arts. Wilde would later dedicate his play, A Woman of No Importance, to socialite Lady de Grey. It was, perhaps, a typically Wildean, double-edged gesture.

Gertrude Seth was among those to collect a prize that night from Lady de Grey, and she would go on to forge a brilliant artistic career, becoming one of the greatest painters of miniatures in the country.

Seth received an honourable mention for her painting in monochrome and oils, and won a first prize for her still-life painting. Continue reading →

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Croydon Bach Choir Magnificats, St Matthew’s, Mar 21

Posted on February 22, 2026 by insidecroydon

C O M M U N I T Y
A D V E R T I S E M E N T

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Indoor Boot Sale, St Paul’s Church Hall, South Croydon, Mar 7

Posted on February 22, 2026 by insidecroydon

C O M M U N I T Y
A D V E R T I S E M E N T

 

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Women are boxing clever to punch through the glass ceiling

Posted on February 21, 2026 by insidecroydon

It’s Victorian London, 1869. At the Angel Amphitheatre, four women are preparing for the battle of their lives.

Polly Stokes has always been a fighter, ever since she was abandoned on a doorstep in Blackburn.

Irish-born Mattie Blackwell lives on the streets, every day is a struggle to survive.

Violet Hunter protests to gain the vote, fights to become a doctor, but no man will agree to either.

Anna Lamb has it all, husband, house, children, servants… but in reality, she has nothing.

Descending into the shadowy world of women’s boxing has given these four the opportunity to break away from the lives that have been pre-ordained for them by society. Held in by corsets, held back by men, the violent release they find in the boxing ring brings them a freedom they have never known.

But at the final bell, there can only be one Ladies’ Boxing Champion of the World.

Continue reading →

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Charity Quiz Night, St Peter’s Hall, South Croydon, Feb 28

Posted on February 21, 2026 by insidecroydon

C O M M U N I T Y
A D V E R T I S E M E N T

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Book now for Pizza and Red Wine Night at The Builder’s Arms

Posted on February 21, 2026 by insidecroydon

A D V E R T I S E M E N T

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Schools and parents on alert for next week’s ‘Croydon Wars’

Posted on February 20, 2026 by insidecroydon

Police and community groups are preparing for a week of “Croydon Wars”, after children aged as young as 12 have been encouraged on social media to take weapons with them to a series of “Red v Blue” fights between schools.

According to one online post, “It don’t look like play fighting. It looks more like war fighting.”

Croydon Wars: messaging similar to this, which appeared in Hackney, has appeared on social media for Croydon

Croydon police used a dispersal order last month to avoid a mass gathering of schoolchildren outside Centrale, following the disruption that had been caused by a previous “blind date” meet-up set up by TikTok influencer called BusyTV that took place in Sutton, which attracted crowds of more than 200 children after school.

Videos from that event showed police tussling with a large crowd of schoolchildren outside the St Nicholas shopping centre in High Street.

The Croydon Wars do not appear to be as benign.

The social media messages are targeted at children from Years 8 to 11, and appear very similar to some that appeared last week in Hackney. Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Centrale, Coloma, Coombe Wood School, Crime, Croydon Council, Harris Academy Beulah Hill, Harris Academy South Norwood, Norbury Manor, Oasis Academy, Orchard Park High, Schools, Whitgift Centre | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Campaign ‘delight’ as developers’ Glamorgan appeal is refused

Posted on February 20, 2026 by insidecroydon

Addiscombe residents are celebrating the Planning Inspector’s decision to refuse an appeal brought by developers who want to demolish the Glamorgan pub on Cherry Orchard Road.

Long-neglected, much-damaged: locals accuse the owners of allowing squatters to move in to The Glamorgan, to make it more difficult to restore as a pub

The appeal was brought by Butlers Walsall Ltd after the council’s planning committee rejected their latest redevelopment proposals, which included the demolition of the Glam and building a seven-storey block of flats on the site.

The Glamorgan was a viable business and a lively pub when it closed in 2016, only for it to be bought by property developers. The historic, Victorian heritage building has since been allowed to become derelict.

Hopes that a community-led pub company might buy the building when the council designated it as an Asset of Community Value floundered when the owners “didn’t meaningfully engage with the local community and set an unrealistically high price of over £2million”, according to the Save The Glamorgan Campaign. Continue reading →

Posted in Addiscombe West, Business, Community associations, Croydon Council, East Croydon, Planning, Property, Pubs, Sean Fitzsimons | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Bromley man charged with Valley Park murder of Lorik Abazi

Posted on February 20, 2026 by insidecroydon

Murder victim: Lorik Abazi was 22 when killed in Valley Retail Park on Sunday

A man has appeared at Bromley Magistrates Court charged with the murder of Lorik Abazi in the mass affray at Valley Retail Park in the early hours of Sunday morning.

Ellis Anim-Annor, 28, of Belgravia Gardens, Bromley, is one of 10 people the police have arrested this week in relation to the incident.

Two other men also needed hospital treatment for stab wounds following the incident..

Abazi was 22. In a statement earlier this week, his family described him as a “caring, smart young man”. Continue reading →

Posted in Crime, Knife crime, Nick Blackburn, Policing, Valley Park | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Labour refuse to respond to Cummings’s budget challenge

Posted on February 19, 2026 by insidecroydon

WALTER CRONXITE, Political Editor, on a sham challenge issued to rival political parties by a borrowing-dependent Conservative administration that is trying to con the public that they have ‘fixed the finances’

As Tory Mayor Jason Perry prepares to deliver what could very well be his final Town Hall budget, having hiked Council Tax by 33% since 2023 and asked for a total of £250million in “exceptional financial support” for the cash-strapped council, opposition parties are accusing him of “performative political gaslighting”.

According to one Katharine Street source: “In the four years that he has been Mayor, Perry has never yet managed to deliver a balanced budget.

“He is saying that he and Jason Cummings have been working all year on this year’s budget.

“Yet they have kept the council finance details under wraps until just a fortnight ago.” Continue reading →

Posted in 2026 council elections, 2026 Croydon Mayor election, Claire Bonham, Commissioners, Conrad Hall, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Croydon Greens, Crystal Palace and Upper Norwood, Esther Sutton, Fairfield, Jason Cummings, Mayor Jason Perry, Peter Underwood, Ria Patel, Section 114 notice, Stuart King | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Murder trial hears how Mitchell was shot at point-blank range

Posted on February 19, 2026 by insidecroydon

An Old Bailey jury yesterday heard how father-of-three Leroy Mitchell was shot in the head at point-blank range in an “act of petty revenge”.

Mitchell was 35 when he was killed at a silent disco in Birdhurst Road, South Croydon, in the early hours of October 2, 2021.

Despite a £20,000 reward offered for information that might lead to a conviction, arrests in connection with the shooting were not made until last summer.

Cimarron Dume-Gooden, 32, from Thornton Heath, was charged in June last year with murder and perverting the course of justice. In August, he and Alpacino Veii, 29, of Hassocks Road, Streatham, both pleaded not guilty to a charge of murdering Mitchell and perverting the course of justice.

Veii was arrested in May 2025 and charged with murder and possession of cannabis. Continue reading →

Posted in Crime, Policing, South Croydon | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

What it’s really like trying to get to work from New Addington

Posted on February 18, 2026 by insidecroydon

Track works: for whatever reason the trams are not running, again, to and from New Addington, causing huge delays and gridlock on the roads

Getting to or from New Addington by public transport has become a nightmare journey in the past week, due to the latest tram closures coinciding with road works. Reporter GIANELLA A BASILE has to make the trip into central Croydon every day

Bus stopped: even the buses are on diversion around New Addington and Shirley

It’s grey outside when I open the curtains to get ready to go into work. By the time I’m walking to the tram stop, the rain has eased off to a few droplets every so often. It isn’t enough to pull my hood up, but enough to be a reminder that February weather is awful to travel in when you don’t own a car. Or possess a driving licence.

I can see the bus stop ahead of me, and the queue’s looking long. This is a regular feature of working life in New Addington: this week there’s more tram works, or repairs, or whatever reason has been given for the trams not to be running again.

I join the back of the queue. It’s cold, as well as wet. I realise I’ve been waiting for 15minutes by the time I reach for my phone, my hands already feeling numb from the cold.

It’s fine. I’ve still got time to get in to work. My feet ache from standing for hours yesterday, but there’s nowhere to sit. So I shift my weight from one foot to the other. Continue reading →

Posted in Commuting, East Croydon, Gianella A Basile, New Addington, TfL, Tramlink, Transport | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 15 Comments

MP writes to TfL over New Addington’s ‘inadequate’ transport

Posted on February 18, 2026 by insidecroydon

Local MP Natasha Irons has fired off a letter of complaint to Transport for London over what she calls the “inadequate” replacement bus service being provided for her New Addington constituents while they endure “significant disruption” caused by the latest closure of the tram network for engineering works.

Asking questions: MP Natasha Irons has taken up the poor transport service for her New Addington constituents with managers at Transport for London

Irons describes the bus replacement service provided since last week’s closure of the New Addington tram branch line as “limited” and “often unreliable”.

Inside Croydon reported on Monday how a road closure at Kent Gate Way and a ruptured water main on Upper Shirley Road had caused traffic gridlock between New Addington, Addington Village and Selsdon, and had undermined the tram replacement buses, which were unable to use their diversion route. Continue reading →

Posted in Commuting, Croydon East, East Croydon, Natasha Irons, New Addington, TfL, Tramlink, Transport | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Croydon College gets ‘remarkable’ praise from Commissioner

Posted on February 18, 2026 by insidecroydon

Croydon College has been highlighted as a national case study of successful improvement and transformation in the Further Education Commissioner’s 2024–2025 annual report, published by the Department for Education.

Transformation: Commissioner’s annual report describes Croydon College’s turnround from ‘inadequate’ as ‘remarkable’

The Commissioner reports on how Croydon College, which includes Coulsdon Sixth Form College, went from an “Inadequate” Ofsted rating in February 2023 to being rated “Good” in all areas 20 months later, describing the turnaround as “remarkable”.

Croydon College is based near East Croydon Station. The report notes that Croydon College serves one of London’s most diverse and disadvantaged boroughs, and plays a vital role in its community, providing education and skills training across its Croydon and Coulsdon campuses.

The report says: “In February 2023, the college faced its biggest challenge – an Ofsted inspection graded it as ‘inadequate’. Whilst this judgement was unexpected, significant weaknesses at the Coulsdon campus had increased the risk of an inadequate grade. Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Caireen Mitchell, Coulsdon Sixth Form College, Croydon College, Education | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Bookings open for Scherzo Strings music courses: Apr and Jul

Posted on February 18, 2026 by insidecroydon

A D V E R T I S E M E N T

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Farage and Tories in calls for MP Reed to resign as minister

Posted on February 17, 2026 by insidecroydon

No laughing matter: The Times cartoonist’s take on the latest Labour scandal

It’s a case of Foxtrot Oscar for CLP chair Harman, as his former boss comes under increasing pressure over his role with Labour Together and his ‘deeply unprofessional and possibly unlawful’ handling of local elections. On the fifth anniversary of the hack of this website, our Political Editor, WALTER CRONXITE, reports

A proper B’stard: Steve Reed, possibly, according to the leader of Norfolk County Council

Steve Reed OBE, the MP for Streatham (and Croydon North if he can ever be bothered) is coming under increasing pressure to cling on to his role in Keir Starmer’s cabinet, as the scandals around Labour Together, the fringe group he helped to establish with Morgan McSweeney, threaten to undermine his political career terminally.

Reed’s flawed judgement has been called into question once again, this time over his decision to suspend local elections in 30 areas of England, which has seen Starmer’s government forced into yet another U-turn, while tax-payers have been left to foot Nigel Farage’s and Reform UK’s legal bill, estimated to be more than £100,000.

Reed has been compared to 1980s sitcom character Alan B’stard, as Kay Mason Billig, the Conservative leader of Norfolk County Council, has called the Secretary of State for local government a “two-faced bully” and a “bastard” (without the apostrophe), as Labour’s plans to delay local elections descended into farce. Continue reading →

Posted in Steve Reed MP, Streatham and Croydon North | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 13 Comments

Police name fatal stabbing victim as 22-year-old Lorik Abazi

Posted on February 17, 2026 by insidecroydon

Scotland Yard this morning named the victim of the fatal stabbing in an affray at Valley Retail Park in the early hours of Sunday morning as 22-year-old Lorik Abazi, from Croydon.

Murder victim: Lorik Abazi ‘had his whole life ahead of him’

Abazi was one of three men found with stab wounds when police and ambulance attended a call out to Hesterman Way, off the Purley Way, soon after 1am on February 15.

Seven arrests were made, three people on suspicion of murder.

“Lorik was a caring, smart young man with a good sense of humour and his whole future ahead of him,” his family said in a statement released today..

“We, his parents, brother, girlfriend, grandparents and extended family and friends loved him very much. A light has gone out in our lives, and we are devastated beyond words by his loss. We kindly ask for privacy at this time.”

Continue reading →

Posted in Crime, Knife crime, Nick Blackburn, Policing, Valley Park | Tagged , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Croydon among worst boroughs for measles vaccine uptake

Posted on February 17, 2026 by insidecroydon

The half-term break could not have come soon enough for some primary schools and health administrators in Croydon, where the vaccination rate for measles is lower than most of our neighbouring boroughs.

Rash outlook: all the measles cases confirmed in Enfield have involved under-10s who have not been vaccinated

Outbreaks of the measles virus among schoolchildren on the other side of the capital, in Enfield and in Haringey, have raised the alarm across London. A half-term week with children off school, an infection “fire break” of sorts, is hoped may help to stem or slow the spread of this nasty disease.

There is no treatment for measles, only the vaccination to prevent catching it.

The measles outbreak has raised the important issue of vaccination uptake, or the lack of uptake. Thirty, even 20 years ago, measles had become something of history, a folk memory of our grandparents, as the MMR vaccine – measles, mumps and rubella – had an uptake of 90% to 95%, enough to quell and prevent the risk of an outbreak as we are seeing now. Continue reading →

Posted in Health, London-wide issues, Schools | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Book now for Pizza and Red Wine Night at The Builder’s Arms

Posted on February 17, 2026 by insidecroydon

A D V E R T I S E M E N T

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Budget-buster Perry hires another six-figure salaried ‘interim’

Posted on February 16, 2026 by insidecroydon

KEN LEE, our Town Hall reporter, on the latest £150,000 per year staff signing by Croydon’s bankrupt council

Budget-buster: Jason Perry has hired another £150k exec, while axing front-line council posts

Jason Perry, Croydon’s £84,000 per year executive Mayor who has closed four public libraries to save money and axed lollipop road safety patrols at six primary schools, has welcomed the appointment of Jenny Rowlands, another “interim” council official on a rate of pay that could be as much as £3,000 per week.

Jenny Rowlands, Croydon’s new interim assistant chief executive, attended her first public council meeting last week, when Mayor Perry made warm comments to mark her arrival.

Rowlands was at the council cabinet meeting at which Perry confirmed his plan to hike Council Tax to record levels.

By April, Croydon Council Tax will have been increased by 33% during Perry’s mayoralty. A Band D household in Croydon will be paying £600 more Council Tax this year than they were before Perry became Mayor.

Mayor Perry has never managed to deliver a balanced council budget since he was elected in 2022, and he has needed to borrow hundreds of millions of pounds from central government, including going to Whitehall for £132million in emergency funding a year ago. Continue reading →

Posted in 2026 council elections, 2026 Croydon Mayor election, Commissioners, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Elaine Jackson, Jenny Rowlands, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry, Section 114 notice | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 13 Comments

Kent Gate Way closure compounds New Addington tram misery

Posted on February 16, 2026 by insidecroydon

A perfect storm of road works and diversions at the Kent Gate Way near Addington Village, the closure of the tram network from East Croydon to New Addington with an inadequate bus replacement service, plus a ruptured water main on a diversion route is causing massive delays  on the surrounding roads.

Locals in New Addington are becoming concerned that the blocked roads will significantly hamper the response time of emergency services in the area. while temporary crossings have been declared to be dangerous for pedestrians.

The Kent Gate Way is the road that runs from the bottom of Gravel Hill, past Addington Village and off towards Soparrows Den and Bromley. That road is closed for maintenance, the works expected to continue for the rest of this week.

Yesterday, TfL’s replacement bus plans were thrown off course when a water main ruptured on Upper Shirley Road. “This impacted local bus service and our tram replacement buses, and also meant we were unable to serve Coombe Lane or Lloyd Park stops,” TfL told Inside Croydon.

Lodge Lane, the road from New Addington north to the Gate Way, often has queues at busy times. “It was like a car park at the weekend,” according to one Inside Croydon reader. Continue reading →

Posted in Commuting, East Croydon, New Addington, TfL, Tramlink, Transport | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Cabinet Office to ‘look at the facts’ of Reed’s Labour Together

Posted on February 16, 2026 by insidecroydon

Journalist who wrote The Fraud calls for any investigation to be conducted completely independently of the government or Labour Party

Six months after journalist Paul Holden revealed that he had been followed by private investigators, today the Cabinet Office said it will be “looking at the facts” around Labour Together, the organisation established by Croydon MP Steve Reed and his former Lambeth Council aide, Morgan McSweeney.

All together now: Streatham and Croydon North MP Steve Reed was a leading figure in Labour Together

It has been reported that Prime Minister Keir Starmer has ordered the Cabinet Office probe. “It absolutely needs to be looked into,” Starmer said this morning.

The investigation comes only after McSweeney left his job at No10 as the Prime Minister’s Chief of Staff.

McSweeney was forced to resign last week over his part in the appointment of Peter Mandelson as Britain’s Ambassador to Washington. This was despite the Blairite peer’s known links to convicted paedophile and sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.

Late last year, Holden reported that he was under surveillance prior to the publication of his book The Fraud, which exposed the undeclared donations of more than £700,000 behind the selection of Keir Starmer as the Labour Party leader

Holden’s book, The Fraud: Keir Starmer, Morgan McSweeney and the Crisis of British Democracy, includes an entire chapter about how Inside Croydon’s emails and social media accounts had been hacked five years ago, with some figures in the Croydon Labour Party admitting their involvement in handling the stolen data.

Then, despite compelling evidence to prove who had received the stolen files, the Metropolitan Police and Information Commissioner declined to act.

Today’s announcement of a Cabinet Office investigation comes after further allegations of “dark arts” investigations against journalists appeared in yesterday’s Sunday Times. Continue reading →

Posted in Steve Reed MP, Streatham and Croydon North | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

1 dead, 3 stabbed, 7 arrested after Valentine’s at Valley Park

Posted on February 16, 2026 by insidecroydon

A 22-year-old man yesterday died in hospital from stab wounds suffered in an affray in Valley Retail Park the early hours of the morning of February 15, which saw two other men require hospital treatment and multiple arrests.

Murder scene: Valley Retail Park, off Purley Way, was closed all yesterday

Valley Retail Park, off the Purley Way, with its large Vue cinema, bowling alley, shops and restaurants, remained closed yesterday as the Metropolitan Police treated it as a crime scene.

By this morning, the Met had not yet named the dead man, though his next of kin had been informed.

According to the Met, they were called out to reports of a stabbing at 1.15am on Sunday. The police and London Ambulance Service attended the scene and found three men with stab wounds. Continue reading →

Posted in Crime, Knife crime, Valley Park | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

Charity Nickel Support is providing people with real life skills

Posted on February 15, 2026 by insidecroydon

Movement class: Nickel Support provides a wide range of activities at its base in Carshalton

CROYDON CHRONICLES: This week, DAVID MORGAN pays a visit to an organisation operating very much in the present, providing a future for dozens of young people

Upcycling: making old furniture fit for use is one of the first training tasks for those attending Nickel Support

It is rare that any of us don’t require some help to learn a new skill. Sometimes just watching will be enough. Often, though, we need to be talked through the process by someone who is proficient before practising it ourselves.

“Practice makes perfect” goes the old saying. But what if you are that person, who despite a multitude of attempts, still can’t master it? How soon before you just give up?

Imagine you are the parent of a child who struggles to master many of the basic skills of life. What is the future for young people who have been diagnosed with a learning difficulty?

One award-winning organisation, Nickel Support, exists to provide opportunities to those individuals and their families for whom learning skills have been a lifelong challenge. Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Charity, David Morgan | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment