Where to Stay in Croydon, England

What is Croydon known for?

It holds one of the largest commercial districts in Greater London, and the extensive shopping area is what most arrivals come for rather than any single monument. Croydon Minster is the exception. The Museum of Croydon and the Honeywood Museum hold the local record, with Ruskin House and Wrencote House among the listed buildings.

Church dedications run to more than twenty across the borough, from the Church of All Saints and the Church of St Alban to the Baptist Church of West Croydon and the Oshwal Mahajanwadi.

What are the main landmarks in Croydon?

Croydon Minster leads. Beyond it the listed record runs long: the Church of All Saints, the Church of St Augustine, the Church of St Mary Magdalene and the Church of St Luke among them. The Parish Church of St Mary the Virgin and the Parish Church of St Michael and All Angels take the parish titles, with the Church of the Holy Trinity close behind.

The Church of St Mark, the Church of St Alban and the Church of St George join them. Ruskin House and Wrencote House are the secular pair. The Museum of Croydon, the Honeywood Museum, the Oshwal Mahajanwadi and the Croydon Common Athletic Ground complete it.

What is the history of Croydon?

Croydon's oldest thread runs through its churches, and Croydon Minster stands at the head of a list long enough to map the town's growth parish by parish. The parishes came in waves. The Parish Church of St Mary the Virgin, the Parish Church of St Michael and All Angels and the Church of St Peter belong to the older ground.

Wrencote House survives among them. The Church of All Saints, the Church of St Augustine, the Church of St Mary Magdalene, the Church of St Luke, the Church of St Mark, the Church of St Alban and the Church of St George mark the spread that followed. The London Borough of Croydon made the town a local government district of Greater London, and the commercial district that grew inside it became one of the largest in the capital.

Shops took the centre. The Museum of Croydon and the Honeywood Museum hold what is left of the earlier account, and Ruskin House keeps its name on the listed record. St Andrew's, Croydon, the Church of St Saviour, the Church of the Holy Innocents, the Church of the Holy Trinity and the Baptist Church of West Croydon date from the same expansion.

The Oshwal Mahajanwadi, the South Norwood Leisure Centre and the Croydon Common Athletic Ground belong to the wider borough rather than the old parish.

Where is Croydon?

Croydon lies in South London, nine and a half miles south of Charing Cross, and the London Borough of Croydon takes in a good stretch of ground on that side of Greater London. The centre is dense. South Norwood sits at one end of the borough and West Croydon names another corner of it.

No river or coast defines the place; the shopping district and the churches do that job instead.

What is the climate of Croydon?

The city sets the terms. Built-up Greater London wraps Croydon on the northern side, so the seasons here arrive through streets rather than open ground, in a temperate year already short on extremes. Croydon Common Athletic Ground fills in the warmer months.

The South Norwood Leisure Centre takes the rest, and walks between the borough's churches work in most weather.

How do you get to Croydon?

Charing Cross lies nine and a half miles north, which puts Croydon inside the daily reach of central London and makes the run in a short one from any direction. West Croydon names one approach. South Norwood marks the other end of the borough, with the South Norwood Leisure Centre and the Croydon Common Athletic Ground out that way.

Most arrivals end up in the commercial district, a few minutes from Croydon Minster and the Museum of Croydon.