A century of Selsdon: this is a view down Selsdon Lane which linked Selsdon with Addington Village. The buildings on the right housed workers for the farm and the mansion
CHRIS JONES, Editor of The Selsdon Gazette, the publication of the area’s residents’ association, outlines a century of suburban growth, which is now the subject of a free exhibition at the local library
One hundred years ago, in 1925, Selsdon was a small hamlet comprising a mansion (about to be converted into a hotel) with associated lodges and cottages, a farmhouse flanked on either side with small cottages and a couple of largish Edwardian houses.
It was surrounded by fields and woods and crossed by two narrow lanes.
A Liverpool firm of builders, Richard Costain and Sons, had come south to seek fame and fortune around London. Their first venture was an estate of upmarket housing in Kingswood, but then enticed by a government subsidy of £75 per house they embarked upon the Selsdon Garden Village estate of cheaper houses that the middle classes and better-paid manual workers could afford to buy and own.
Selsdon was one of the first such estates on the fringes of London, but was different in that building started on a greenfield site two or more miles from the nearest suburbia, moving down later to join up with South Croydon.
Modern shops: by the 1950s, the parade of shops in Selsdon included a laundrette – essential in those days before washing machines in every home
The first houses in Selsdon were occupied in September 1925.
At the weekend, at Selsdon Library, an exhibition opened, displaying photos taken over the past 100 years, covering the development of Selsdon.
Councillor Robert Ward has led the project for putting on the exhibition, with help from the Selsdon Residents’ Association and the media students at John Ruskin College under the guidance of Tracy Carrington.
The photos include pictures of what Selsdon looked like before Costains came to town.
The first photograph (at the top of this page), shows the view down Selsdon Lane which linked Selsdon with Addington Village. The Victorian buildings on the right housed workers for the farm and the mansion on the hill – what became known as Selsdon Park Hotel.
Selsdon Garden Village was a brand new development with no infrastructure in place. For the new inhabitants, Costains built two blocks of shops, five to a block, with one in 1926 and the second in 1927.
This second photo, above, is believed to be from the late 1950s.
Two doors down from the South Suburban Co-operative Society is the Selsdon Launderette. Launderettes were a feature of the late 1950s when washing machines were an expensive luxury item out of the reach of many households. Bobbies, the milliners and fashion store, was still a feature of Selsdon’s high street into the 1970s.
Wide and broadway: by the 1960s, with many more people driving cars, The Broadway was beginning to resemble the high street that we know today, as Selsdon celebrates its centenary
Much more can be learned about the development of Selsdon by visiting the exhibition at Selsdon Library
- The exhibition is free to enter, with opening times 10am to 6pm Monday, Wednesday and Friday, and 9am to 5pm on Saturdays
- The exhibition is open until Friday May 2
- For more about the Selsdon Residents’ Association, visit www.selsdon-residents.co.uk, where you can also find a link to The Selsdon Gazette
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Is the exhibit open on the usual days and times over the Easter weekend?
It appears to be library opening hours, David. Hopefully a Selsdon-ite might confirm.
I enjoyed the exhibition which is in an attractive, easy to enjoy précis form. I reckon normal library opening hours (no Tuesdays or Thursdays), with no bank holiday opening.
Looks good. I’ll go to that