Latest craze: indoors and outdoors, with trees and viewing bridges, the Croydon skating rink drew large crowds in the years after its opened in 1875
SUNDAY SUPPLEMENT: Town centre attractions and installations are nothing new, as DAVID MORGAN demonstrates with a delve into the archives from 150 years ago
Grand opening: how the event was publicised in the Advertiser in 1875
There was no such thing as Costa Del Croydon for our Victorian predecessors. But they knew how to enjoy themselves through the summer months 150 years ago or so. In fact, they really got their skates on…
Readers of the Croydon Advertiser in June 1875 would have been very excited to discover the coming of a dedicated roller skate rink. “Rinkomania”, as the national press dubbed it, was about to arrive on their doorsteps.
The craze for roller skating had begun in New York with a four-wheeled skate which could be strapped to the foot and allow the skater to turn. Patented by James Plimpton, his invention revolutionised roller skating. At one point in the 1870s, there were more than 50 rinks in London.
The site chosen for the first Croydon rink was in Park Lane, between the disused Central Croydon Railway Station and Mint Walk. A newspaper report outlined how the rink would be built. Twenty or 30 men were engaged in “turning a flat pasture meadow into an ornamental skating rink”.
The rink was to be constructed of Portland cement in a serpentine shape, so that a circuit could be made around two trees which already grew on the site. Turfed earthworks and gravel paths were built to provide an attractive area, two or three feet above the surface of the rink itself. A number of young trees were planted, so that in due course a shady promenade would be developed.
Hot news: how the local paper reported on the opening of ‘as we hope, a permanent institution’
The investors were thrilled with what they got for their outlay. The site, a stone’s throw from the Town Hall, was still secluded enough and rural in its aspect for its visitors to think they were going somewhere very special.
The grand opening was planned for Saturday August 7, when the rink was to open from 3pm until 7pm. The opening day admission price was 2/6 – half a crown, or two shillings and six pennies, 12½p in current currency, but worth closer to £20 by modern prices. The cost included the hire of the skates.
A band was contracted and was to commence playing “punctually at 3.15”.
For the rest of August and most of September, the rink would be open six days a week, but closed on Sundays. There would be three sessions each day: mornings 10.30am until 1pm, afternoons 3pm until 6pm and evenings 7pm until 10pm.
The cost of admission to each session was 1/6d and the hire of the skates, 6d.
There were special tickets available, too. A ladies’ only session was planned to run from 9.30am until 10.30am each day. Children under 12 would be admitted for half price for a morning session. A weekly ticket could be purchased for 2/6, which would allow entry at any of the sessions, but didn’t include skate hire.
A band was advertised as performing every Thursday and Saturday afternoon.
Never caught on: ‘bicycle skates’ were the invention of an east London businessman that never caught on
One month after its opening, another advertisement was placed in the local paper announcing that a club was to be formed to make the roller skating rink even more popular. A hundred people had already signed up to take advantage of the club-only sessions, with free admission on public holidays and the ability to bring along friends for a small payment.
A maximum of 500 places were to be made available for the club, and a committee was set up. Rev John Hodgson, the Vicar of Croydon, together with other local dignitaries, agreed to join the board to manage the club.
The proprietor of the rink, a Mr Cleaver, and the new manager, Mr Ross, were praised for their work. In the Spring of 1876, an article was published stating that the rink was one of the prettiest that had been built and it acknowledged how well the people of Croydon supported the new venture.
“Wet or dry, fair or foul, the roll of wheels is constant until late in the evening,” read one report.
“When the evening grows dim, the covered rink bursts out all aglow with gas lamps and those who have been enjoying the outdoor rink with its pretty island with large overhanging elms and rustic seats and bridge, flock in and the nightly promenade commences to the lively strains of the band.”
Gas heaters ensured that the indoor rink was kept warm in the winter. Some people went to the venue not to skate but to enjoy the spectacle. Seats in the rockery were popular.
During the warmer weather, colourful sunshades were erected to give shade for those who were seated by the bandstand.
One report described the outside rink: “It is a pretty oval lake-like piece of ground, with a grassy island in the centre, on which are arranged inviting seats. The island is reached by means of a rustic bridge high above the heads of the skaters, the steps of it leading down to the raised path which runs around the skating ground.”
Other attractions: as years passed, and ticket sales slowly dwindled, other attractions were put on to pull in the punters
The dimensions of the indoor rink were given as 70ft by 46ft.
One feature which didn’t go down so well with some people in the first year was the bar, or rather the lack of one. Coffee or lemonade wasn’t to everyone’s taste. Something stronger, though, might have had an adverse effect on the skating.
The introduction of the roller skating rinks allowed men and women to skate together, either as a couple or in a group, something which challenged the moral attitudes of the time. Couples could even hold hands to stop each other from falling over! And in public too!
In March 1876, it was announced that additional music would be provided at the Croydon rink to add to the skaters’ pleasure. In the afternoons, at 3pm, a military band would play each day. In the evenings, at 7.30pm, a string band would play. On Saturday afternoons, the two bands would combine and play from 3pm until 7pm.
The following month, it was announced that the rink would be open as usual during Easter week, by kind consent of the committee (which probably meant the vicar). The general admission price was now one shilling, but with skate hire still six pence.
The success put a strain not only on the skates for hire but also on the surface of the rink itself. This necessitated a short period of closure in autumn 1876 for the indoor trackway to be resurfaced, while the skates were overhauled and repaired.
The rink reopened on Saturday November 3, with the band playing from 3pm to 6pm and 7.30pm to 9.30pm.
Other entertainments were planned from time to time, too. On April 15, 1877, Chinese Bicycle skaters began a short residency at the rink, brought in by the management to give the takings a boost. Fresh from appearances in Dublin, Paris and other “high-class places of amusement”, they were to appear throughout the following week. Prices for admission were kept at the usual rates.
In reality, they were not Chinese at all, but three friends who dressed in Chinese costumes for what amounted to a new circus-style act that would tour Europe. The trio’s leader, a Mr Kemp, ran a business in Shoreditch High Street and was the man who invented the “bicycle skate”.
These special skates had much larger front wheels than the back pair, a 20-inch diameter one compared to the usual five-inch one. Each wheel had rubber tyres and ran noiselessly. Kemp built the skates to be used on the open road as well as in rinks – even with some attempting to skate from Croydon to Brighton.
But the bicycle skates were never the commercial success which he had hoped for, although the reviews of the act were usually very good.
The Croydon Advertiser reported that the comic ending to their routine was particularly funny, with some spectacular slapstick falls.
Themed nights appeared to be popular at the Croydon rink, too. In September 1879, a Grand Venetian Fete was planned. On Tuesday 30, the doors were open at 7pm for what was advertised as the “last night of the season”. The town band, the first time the name of the musicians was ever given, performed that night. And all for an entry ticket of just a shilling.
Going, going…: after just six years, Croydon’s skating rink was being auctioned off, to be put to other uses
The following year, 1880, a Grand Fancy Dress Fete was held on December 14, with music provided by the City of London Brass Band and Russell’s String Band. Limelight Illuminations were also advertised to attract the punters.
But like all “manias”, “Rinkomania” was beginning to run out of steam, the novelty was wearing off. By October 1881, just six years after it had opened, advertisements were placed putting the Croydon rink up for sale.
“The Croydon Skating Rink, Park Lane, very attractively laid out, together with the stock of skates, tools, fittings and furniture will be offered in one lot, but if not sold will immediately be offered in lots,” read the ad.
The auction was to be held on October 28 at the rink. The auctioneers were Messrs Trythall and King, who were based at 42 North End.
The sale ended the days of the Croydon Skating Rink. The premises, converted into a large hall, were used subsequently by a variety of groups. With the venue usually advertised as Skating Rink Hall, one of the leading celebrity cooks of the day, Mrs Page, gave a talk there promoting her book The Aid to Good Cooking.
The Liberal Party held a large meeting there in 1889 protesting at the brutal treatment of Irish political prisoners.
The venue was also used as a concert hall, with locally organised promenade concerts being held there in the summer of 1892.
It wasn’t the end of roller skating in Croydon, however. In 1909, a new rink opened on Cherry Orchard Road. The story of that rink that can be saved for another day.
David Morgan, pictured right, is a former Croydon headteacher, now the volunteer education officer at Croydon Minster who offers tours or illustrated talks on the history around the Minster for local community groups
If you would like a group tour of Croydon Minster or want to book a school visit, then ring the Minster Office on 020 688 8104 or go to the website on www.croydonminster.org and use the contact page
Some previous articles by David Morgan:
- George Street family business that put Croydon in the picture
- Best Polonius you’ll never see: Miles Malleson’s classic clown
- YouTuber Swallow is taking us on a Croydon walk through time
- The church fire that consumed a thousand years of history
PAID ADS: To advertise your services or products to our 10,000 weekday visitors to the site, as featured on Google News Showcase, email us inside.croydon@btinternet.com for our unbeatable ad rates
- If you have a news story about life in or around Croydon, or want to publicise your residents’ association or business, or if you have a local event to promote, please email us with full details at inside.croydon@btinternet.com
As featured on Google News Showcase
- Our comments section on every report provides all readers with an immediate “right of reply” on all our content. Our comments policy can be read by clicking here
Inside Croydon is a member of the Independent Community News Network
Rollerskating is an increasingly popular way to get around today but it doesn’t go down well with pedestrians. See Bethnal Green on a Friday evening, the parks are full of skaters and a lot of them travel in skates on the tube!
I once came up with a fantastical idea for a roller skyway, a network of rooftop paths for skaters to get around the city. They would look similar to the elevated walkways of the 70s, as seen today in parts of Newcastle town centre and the barbican among other places. Aside from ramps you could devise a slightly risky ski lift type thing to get onto them but there’s danger in all forms of transport! I
hope one day my dream becomes a reality because it would be a fun if totally mad way to get around town!
Interesting, but the days of rollerskaters are well and truly over. I haven’t seen one for years. By the way – I once worked at a place in Sutton where a very cool guy used to skate in from Earl’s Court every day. How about that?!