Addington Hills (also referred to as Shirley Hills) is a park in Upper Shirley,

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, England. It is managed by the

London Borough of Croydon The London Borough of Croydon () is a London borough, borough in South London, part of Outer London. It covers an area of and had a population of 397,741 as of mid-2023, making it the most populous London borough. It is London's southernmost ...

. It was part of the old parish of Addington before the suburb of Shirley was developed in the 1930s. The site consists largely of woodland on a gravel bed, with London's largest area of heathland at its heart. It is a Site of Metropolitan Importance. In the mid-18th century, it was a noted

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

venue used by the then-prominent

Addington Cricket Club Addington Cricket Club fielded one of the strongest cricket teams in England from about the 1743 season to the 1752 season although the village of Addington is a very small place in Surrey about three miles south-east of Croydon. The team was ...

. Addington Hills and Croham Hurst, a short distance to the southwest, form popular open spaces in

Croydon Croydon is a large town in South London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a Districts of England, local government district of Greater London; it is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater Lond ...

. It is a peaceful area with many pathways, close to central Croydon. There is a viewpoint with fine views across Croydon and across to north London, including Docklands and Parliament Hill. It is served by Coombe Lane tram stop on the London Tramlink route to

New Addington New Addington is an area of South London, England, within the London Borough of Croydon. It is located 5 miles south east of Croydon and is adjacent to the Greater London boundary with Surrey. History Until the 1930s, the area now known as New ...

which runs along the southern edge of the land. The park covers an area of . The London Loop path runs through the park. The park is fully accessible at all times.

Description

Addington Hills London Surrey UK Summer 2011

Tramlink tram no 2538 at Addington Hills

Addington Hills reaches 460 feet (140 m) above sea level. The terrain drops sharply to the north, exposing the hills' pebbly composition at the end of the gullies. Addington Hills borders Coombe Park / Lloyd Park on its west and Coombe Wood on its south. The area was originally called ''the hill of Pripledeane'' or ''Prible Dean'', a name meaning "Gravel Valley" that came from the

Middle English Middle English (abbreviated to ME) is a form of the English language that was spoken after the Norman Conquest of 1066, until the late 15th century. The English language underwent distinct variations and developments following the Old English pe ...

words ''prebel'' ("gravel") and ''dene'' ("valley"). The land was acquired by Croydon Board of Health in four parts over a 45-year period.

Facilities

Addington Hills facilities include: * Car parking – off Shirley Hills Road and Oaks Road, at the junction with Coombe Lane * London Loop path * Chinese restaurant * Takeaway coffee * Horse rides * Viewpoint

Cricket venue

The first definite mention of Addington Hills in a cricket connection is a 1745 match there on Thursday, 23 May between Addington and

. Little about the match is known except that Addington won. The venue was used for matches on at least four occasions between 1745 and 1752, a period which coincided with

having one of the strongest teams in England. The last match known to have been played there was Addington v

Dartford Dartford is the principal town in the Borough of Dartford, Kent, England. It is located south-east of Central London and is situated adjacent to the London Borough of Bexley to its west. To its north, across the Thames Estuary, is Thurrock in ...

on 12 August 1752.

Wildlife

The heathland areas are dominated by heather and gorse, with some

bilberry Bilberries () are Eurasian low-growing shrubs in the genus ''Vaccinium'' in the flowering plant family Ericaceae that bear edible, dark blue berries. They resemble but are distinct from North American blueberries. The species most often referre ...

and goldenrod. Drier spots are indicated by the occurrence of

bell heather ''Erica cinerea'', the bell heather, is a species of flowering plant in the heath family (biology), family Ericaceae, native plant, native to western and central Europe. Description It is a low, spreading shrub growing to tall, with fine needle ...

. Fine-leaved fescues, wavy hair-grass and purple moor-grass dominate the acid grassland areas with a mix of wood sage,

heath bedstraw ''Galium saxatile'' or heath bedstraw is a species of flowering plant in the family Rubiaceae. It is related to cleavers. ''Galium saxatile'' is a perennial mat-forming herb, found on grassland, moors, heaths and woods. It can reach a height of ...

and other typical species. Marsh violet and hard fern (both London rarities) occur in the damper areas.Taken from London Heathland Heritage websit
Croydon page
Burrowing bees and wasps occur in the bare patches of soil and the bushy heathers and acid-loving grasses provide home to a wide range of insects, spiders and other invertebrates, each well adapted to the warm, dry conditions at ground level.Adapted from London Biodiversity Partnership / London's Heathland Heritage / Croydon Council information board near the Addington Hills car park. The invertebrate fauna plays an important part in supporting a range of birds and reptiles – and all benefit from the varied mosaic of open and scrubland habitats. In open areas, common lizards and slowworms thrive. Green woodpeckers may be seen in the woods and on the heath, and goldcrests among the woodland edges and in the gorse.

Habitats

The northern area of woodland is by far the oldest, in particular the very old oak pollards near Oaks Road. Other wooded areas are comparatively recent, and the small pine plantations near the southern boundary were only established during the mid-19th century. Until the 1920s, there were only a few scattered oak, pine and birch on the hills, which were then almost entirely covered in heather. Now there is far more extensive tree cover, and heather is limited to the slopes and ridges where it tolerates the harsh conditions provided by the very dry and acidic poor soil.

References

External links

Croydon Online
{{Parks and open spaces in London 1745 establishments in England Cricket grounds in Surrey Defunct cricket grounds in England Defunct sports venues in Surrey Districts of the London Borough of Croydon English cricket venues in the 18th century History of Surrey Parks and open spaces in the London Borough of Croydon Sport in Surrey Sport in the London Borough of Croydon Sports venues completed in 1745 Sports venues in Surrey Hills of London