civic
Charles Henman, 1896
Croydon Town Hall, Katharine Street, Croydon, CR0 1NX
Will Noble, author of Croydonopolis and editor of Londonist, discusses how Croydon's reputation as a 'concrete hell' belies a truly remarkable town. Hear the amazing story of this much-maligned town, whose only fault was to be too far ahead of the curve. The greatest city that never was.
East Croydon, West Croydon
109, 119, 166, 312, 407, 466, 60
Will Noble, author of 'Croydonopolis' and editor of Londonist, discusses how Croydon's reputation as a 'concrete hell' belies a truly remarkable town.
David Bowie and Henry VIII hated it. Comedians wantonly use it as a punchline. Croydon is a convenient trope for the philistine and banal. Riots, tram tragedies and an unhealthy obsession with multi-storey car parks haven't helped.
And yet. Throughout history Croydon has proved itself a one-of-a-kind. A palatial stomping ground for the Archbishops of Canterbury. An Eden-esque spa designed by the architect who'd work on Kew Gardens and London Zoo. A swanky shopping mecca rivalling Oxford Street. A hub of continental air travel and magnet for Hollywood royalty. A daring experiment in futuristic 1960s brutalist architecture. Croydon produced the Damned, Stormzy and RAYE. It pioneered new forms of railways, gave us one of the funniest sitcoms ever and invented the predecessor to Lego.
Still want to diss Croydon?
Hear the amazing story of this much-maligned town, whose only fault was to be too far ahead of the curve. The greatest city that never was.
This talk will be held in the grand Braithwaite Hall in Croydon Town Hall, built in the Victorian style by Charles Henman.
