No sniggering back there, yes Croydon does have heritage, quite a lot of it in fact, and some of the hidden bits will be shown off next month.
As befits a local heritage festival, its a mix of talks in halls, walks and some special buildings opening up — including tours of the Croydon tram depot.
The festival runs from 18th-26th June 2016.
The tram depot — which I visited in 2015 — has not released their tour booking details yet, but their blog confirmed that it will be added. Eventually.
My pick of the best are:
Croydon Town Hall – behind the scenes
Sat 18th & Sat 25th June (Booking required)
A behind the scenes tour of Croydon’s Town Hall taking in the Council Chamber, Committee Rooms and the Braithwaite Hall.
Undiscovered Webb Estate – Historic Walk
18th June (Booking required)
Tim Kidd leads an Historic Walk of the Undiscovered Webb Estate, from Purley Library.
18th June (Booking required)
Join this tour to find out more about Archbishop John Whitgift; his connections with Croydon and The Whitgift Foundation; the architectural features found on the exterior of the building and the fascinating historical artefacts found in some of the Almshouses main rooms.
18th June
St Mary Magdalene Church is a stunning example of Victorian Gothic architecture in Canning Road, a residential street near East Croydon Station.
Guided tours at noon, 1pm and 2pm.
St Paul’s United Reformed Church
18th June
St Paul’s is throwing open the doors of our beautiful turn-of-the century Church for all to enjoy the peace, splendour and fabulous stained glass.
Tours of the church, stalls, refreshments and entertainment in the adjacent halls.
19th June
Join the Wandle Park Volunteering and Learning Officer for an afternoon walk around central Croydon to marvel at the diverse concrete blocks that make Croydon famous.
25th June
Croydon Minster welcomes you to tour their stunning building as you unlock its long and distinguished history dating back as far as 1086. There will be tours of the church and tower followed by refreshments.
26th June
The halls will be open for the public to view an exhibition about the halls and their little known founder William Ford Robinson Stanley, with tours of the building.
Tours will run at: 10.15am, 12.15pm, 2.15pm and 4.15pm.
26th June
Displays include a timeline, with numerous Croydon artefacts, from the earliest Palaeolithic through the Romans. There are displays of Medieval and post-Medieval finds excavated in the Croydon area.
