Riddlesdown Common or Riddlesdown is a 43 hectare area of green space in

Kenley Kenley is a suburb within the London Borough of Croydon. It is located south of Charing Cross and within the southern boundary of London, England. Surrounded by the Metropolitan Green Belt on three sides, it includes the large open spaces of K ...

, towards the northern end of the

North Downs The North Downs are a ridge of chalk hills in south east England that stretch from Farnham in Surrey to the White Cliffs of Dover in Kent. Much of the North Downs comprises two Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, Areas of Outstanding Natural Be ...

in 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 is owned and maintained by the

City of London Corporation The City of London Corporation, officially and legally the Mayor and Commonalty and Citizens of the City of London, is the local authority of the City of London, the historic centre of London and the location of much of the United Kingdom's f ...

, apart from two small areas, one of which is operated by the

London Wildlife Trust London Wildlife Trust is an English wildlife charity based in London. Founded in 1981, London Wildlife Trust is one of 46 members of the Royal Society of Wildlife Trusts (known as The Wildlife Trusts), each of which is a local nature charity ...

and the other by Croydon Council. An area of 32 hectares is a biological

Site of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain, or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland, is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle ...

. The name Riddlesdown also applies to the local district of residential housing. A

trig point A triangulation station, also known as a trigonometrical point, and sometimes informally as a trig, is a fixed surveying station, used in geodetic surveying and other surveying projects in its vicinity. The station is usually set up by a map ...

at the site indicates that it is above sea level.

History

Discoveries of

Neolithic The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Ancient Greek, Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revo ...

stone axes and possible traces of

Iron Age The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...

fields show that occupation goes back thousands of years. The name Riddlesdown is first recorded in 1331 as ''Ridelsdoune'' meaning 'cleared woodland on a hill'. In medieval time Riddlesdown and the neighbouring Kenley Common formed part of the waste land of the manor of Watendone, and the commoners rights included pasture for their livestock and gathering of materials for fuel. In the nineteenth century the coming of the railways increased the value of the land, and the lord of the manor, Edmund Byron, began enclosing the area. One local landowner, William Hall, refused to sell his land to Byron, and in 1877 Hall and his brother brought a case against Byron in the

Court of Chancery The Court of Chancery was a court of equity in England and Wales that followed a set of loose rules to avoid a slow pace of change and possible harshness (or "inequity") of the Common law#History, common law. The Chancery had jurisdiction over ...

for encroaching on

Common Land Common land is collective land (sometimes only open to those whose nation governs the land) in which all persons have certain common rights, such as to allow their livestock to graze upon it, to collect wood, or to cut turf for fuel. A person ...

. They were successful, William Hall then asked the Corporation of London to purchase the land to preserve it as open space. In 1883 the Corporation bought Riddlesdown and Kenley Common.London Gardens Online, Riddlesdown
/ref>London Borough of Croydon, Riddlesdown
They became part of the ''City Commons'', seven green spaces in south London managed by the City Corporation of London.

Site of Special Scientific Interest

An area of 32 hectares is the Riddlesdown Site of Special Scientific Interest. It is the largest area of

calcareous Calcareous () is an adjective meaning "mostly or partly composed of calcium carbonate", in other words, containing lime (mineral), lime or being chalky. The term is used in a wide variety of Science, scientific disciplines. In zoology ''Calcare ...

scrub in Greater London, with a herb-rich chalk grassland. It includes a disused chalk quarry which is not open to the public. It has many mature yew trees,

Taxus baccata ''Taxus baccata'' is a species of evergreen tree in the family (botany), family Taxaceae, native to Western Europe, Central Europe and Southern Europe, as well as Northwest Africa, and parts of Southwest Asia.Rushforth, K. (1999). ''Trees of Bri ...

. It is one of the few places in London with juniper

Juniperus communis ''Juniperus communis'', the common juniper, is a species of small tree or shrub in the cypress family Cupressaceae. An evergreen conifer, it has the largest geographical range of any woody plant, with a circumpolar distribution throughout the coo ...

. There are two nationally rare herbs, early gentian (

Gentianella ''Gentianella'' is a plant genus in the Gentianaceae, gentian family (Gentianaceae). Plants of this genus are known commonly as dwarf gentians. there were about 256 species in this genus. They are herbs that occur in alpine and arctic habitat t ...

anglica) and round-headed rampion. Invertebrate species include the scarce

Roesel's bush-cricket Roesel's bush-cricket, ''Roeseliana roeselii'' (synonym ''Metrioptera roeselii'') is a European bush-cricket, named after August Johann Rösel von Rosenhof, a German entomologist. Morphology Adult insects Adult Roesel's bush-crickets are mediu ...

. Several rare

orchids Orchids are plants that belong to the family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant. Orchids are cosmopolitan plants that are found in almost every habitat on Earth ...

can be found within the woodland some of which were thought to be extinct in the area or throughout London.

Wider area

The site forms part of the ''Riddlesdown to Whyteleafe countryside area'', which is managed by wardens working for the City of London,

Croydon Council Croydon London Borough Council, which styles itself Croydon Council, is the local authority for the London Borough of Croydon in Greater London, England. It is a London borough council, one of 32 in London. Croydon is divided into 28 wards, elect ...

and Tandridge District Council.

Access

There is access from Riddlesdown Road, Tithepit Shaw Lane and Godstone Road.City of London Corporation, Map of Riddlesdown Common
/ref>

References

External links

*
Natural England, Riddlesdown SSSI citationNatural England, Riddlesdown Unit 1Natural England, Riddlesdown Unit 2Natural England, Riddlesdown Unit 3City of London Corporation, RiddlesdownCity of London Corporation, Map of Riddlesdown Common
{{coord, 51.323562, -0.092651, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title Sites of Special Scientific Interest in London Parks and open spaces in the London Borough of Croydon London Wildlife Trust Parks and open spaces of the City of London Corporation