Shirley is an area of
south London
South London is the southern part of Greater London, England, south of the River Thames. The region consists of the Districts of England, boroughs, in whole or in part, of London Borough of Bexley, Bexley, London Borough of Bromley, Bromley, Lon ...
, England, within 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 lies north of
Spring Park and
Addington, east of
Addiscombe, south of
Monks Orchard and west of
West Wickham, and 10 miles south-southeast of
Charing Cross
Charing Cross ( ) is a junction in Westminster, London, England, where six routes meet. Since the early 19th century, Charing Cross has been the notional "centre of London" and became the point from which distances from London are measured. ...
. Prior to the creation of
Greater London
Greater London is an administrative area in England, coterminous with the London region, containing most of the continuous urban area of London. It contains 33 local government districts: the 32 London boroughs, which form a Ceremonial count ...
in 1965, Shirley was in the
administrative county
An administrative county was a first-level administrative division in England and Wales from 1888 to 1974, and in Ireland from 1899 until 1973 in Northern Ireland, 2002 in the Republic of Ireland. They are now abolished, although most Northern ...
of
Surrey
Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...
.
The Shirley area is split into Shirley proper (centred on Wickham Road), Shirley Oaks (to the north) and Upper Shirley (to the west); the suburbs of Monks Orchard and Spring Park are sometimes also considered to be sub-districts of Shirley.
[Willey, Russ. ''Chambers London Gazetteer'', p. 439.]
History
The name Shirley, first recorded in 1314, is thought to mean "shire clearing", referring to its position adjacent to the traditional
Kent
Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...
-
Surrey
Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...
border, though it may instead mean "bright clearing".
It was long a small hamlet, with a large mansion (Shirley House) being built here in 1721; this was purchased by the businessman and member of parliament,
John Maberley, in the mid-1800s.
Around this period the population was growing, with more housing being built.
St John's Church was built in 1856 to serve the needs of the growing community, replacing a smaller chapel dating from 1835.
Shirley House was converted into the Shirley Park Hotel in 1912.
In the 1930s. House building in the area rapidly expanded, largely consisting of suburban-style semi-detached houses, with the
Monks Orchard estate also being built in this period.
However some land escaped the building boom; Shirley Park Hotel was bought by the
Whitgift Foundation in 1965 to become
Trinity School in a new building constructed on the site.
Neighbouring the Trinity School grounds is Shirley Park Golf Course. To the south of Shirley are large areas of woodland, including
Addington Hills and Threehalfpenny Wood. Parks and open spaces are dotted across the area, including Miller's Pond in Spring Park. Central Shirley (along Wickham Road) contains a library, several shops and restaurants and two pubs - The Crown and the Shirley Inn.
Shirley Oaks

Shirley Oaks is situated north of central Shirley, abutting
Monks Orchard.
The land here was traditionally the property of the
Archbishop of Canterbury
The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the Primus inter pares, ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the bishop of the diocese of Canterbury. The first archbishop ...
.
The area gets its name from Oaks Farm, which lay here circa 1800.
The area began to be developed in the early 20th century, with the opening of the Shirley Oaks Children's Home in 1903.
Following the closure of the Home in 1982, the site was demolished and replaced with modern housing by Heron Homes.
Part of the site was set aside for Shirley Oaks Hospital, a private healthcare centre which opened in 1986.
Shirley Oaks Children's Home
The Shirley Oaks Children's Home opened in 1903 and was run by the
London Borough of Lambeth
Lambeth () is a London borough in South London, England, which forms part of Inner London. Its name was recorded in 1062 as ''Lambehitha'' ("landing place for lambs") and in 1255 as ''Lambeth''. The geographical centre of London is at Frazi ...
until its closure in 1982.
It was the largest in the country.
The children's home consisted of 38 cottages on an site;
it contained its own school. In 2014 allegations of abuse emerged, and the Shirley Oaks Survivors Association (SOSA) was set up. Between then and 2020, 1,760 people have described suffering sexual, physical and racial abuse while at the home.
Children were "drugged, tortured and sexually assaulted." The
Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse "heard that despite widespread mistreatment of children, the authority (
Lambeth Council) failed to investigate any allegations at the time."
The
Metropolitan Police inquiry,
Operation Midland, which examined all the borough's children's homes, concluded at least 35 men and women had abused children over a 20-year period. SOSA believes that over a 60-year period, over 120 abusers were involved.
To compensate victims of the abuse at Shirley Oaks (and also Lambeth Children's Home), Lambeth Council has set up a Redress Scheme open until January 2022. The scheme is assisted by child abuse lawyers
Ann Olivarius and
Jeff Anderson of AO Advocates. As of January 2020, £30.7 million has been paid directly to victims.
Upper Shirley

Upper Shirley is situated to the south-west of Shirley proper and is centred on the junction of Upper Shirley Road and Oaks Road, adjacent to the
Addington Hills and Shirley Park and Addington golf courses.
The settlement is thought to have originated in the mid-18th century, originally under the name "Badger's Hole".
The area was home to a brewery in the mid-18th century.
In 1865, the Surprise pub opened.
There was another pub in the area – The Sandrock – which was located at the junction of Upper Shirley Road with Sandpits Road, which closed in 2018. The area is largely affluent, especially along Bishops Walk.
Shirley Windmill
Upper Shirley's most prominent landmark is the
tower mill
A tower mill is a type of vertical windmill consisting of a brick or stone tower, on which sits a wooden 'cap' or roof, which can rotate to bring the sails into the wind.Medieval science, technology, and medicine: an encyclopedia (2005), 520
Thi ...
, which was built by Richard Alwen to replace the first mill on the site (built by his grandfather William Alwen in 1808) after it burnt down in 1854.
By 1893, Alfred Rayson, the owner, was forced to abandon the mill as unviable. After closure the mill was allowed to deteriorate, being struck by lightning in 1899 and again in 1906.
In 1951, the mill and land were acquired by the Croydon Corporation. The mill was threatened with demolition when the new John Ruskin School was built but it was protected by its
Grade II
In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...
listed status and strong public interest. The school, now the John Ruskin College, later left the site and housing was built around the mill.
In August 1996, it was announced that 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 ...
was to receive a grant of £218,100 from the
Heritage Lottery Fund
The National Lottery Heritage Fund, formerly the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), distributes a share of National Lottery funding, supporting a wide range of heritage projects across the United Kingdom.
History
The fund's predecessor bodies were ...
for the mill. The grant money has helped restore the mill to working order and open it to the public.
Shirley Windmill is open to the public on the first Sunday of each month June to October open in May on National Mills weekend (Sunday) and usually open for the annual Open House Weekend (Sunday) in September.
Local schools
Primary schools
* Forest Academy
* Harris Primary Academy Benson
* Monks Orchard Primary School
* Orchard Way Primary School
*
St John's Church of England Primary School
Secondary schools
*
Coloma Convent Girls' School
*
Orchard Park High School
*
Shirley High School
*
Trinity School of John Whitgift
The Trinity School of John Whitgift, also known as Trinity School, is a independent boys' day school with a co-educational sixth form, located in Shirley Park, Croydon. Part of the Whitgift Foundation, it was established in 1882 as Whitgift ...
Notable residents
*
John Maberly (1770–1839), Member of Parliament and owner of Shirley Park.
*
William Wilks (1843–1923), Vicar of Shirley, developed the
Shirley poppy, a common garden variety of the plant.
*
George Pilkington Mills (1867–1945), noted cyclist.
*
Ronnie Corbett (1930–2016), comedian, lived in Shirley for many years and died at Shirley Oaks Hospital.
*
John Surtees (1934–2017), world champion motor racing driver and motor cycle rider, grew up in Shirley.
*
Tom Wright (born 1957), architect, designed the
Burj Al Arab
The Jumeirah Burj Al Arab (, ), commonly known as Burj Al Arab, is a luxury hotel in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Developed and managed by Jumeirah, it is one of the tallest hotels in the world, although 39% of its total height is made up of ...
in
Dubai
Dubai (Help:IPA/English, /duːˈbaɪ/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''doo-BYE''; Modern Standard Arabic, Modern Standard Arabic: ; Emirati Arabic, Emirati Arabic: , Romanization of Arabic, romanized: Help:IPA/English, /diˈbej/) is the Lis ...
.
*
Ian Wright (born 1963), footballer, formerly lived on Bishop's Walk.
*
Ben Haenow (born 1985), singer and ''
X Factor
''The X Factor'' is a television music competition franchise created by British producer Simon Cowell and his company Syco Entertainment. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for '' Pop Idol'' (2001–200 ...
'' winner, grew up in Shirley.
Gallery
File:Church Of St John Q26484116 West Front and Clock Tower.jpg, St John's Church, Shirley
File:Surprise, Shirley, CR0 (13620985163).jpg, The Surprise Inn, Upper Shirley
File:Wickham_Road,_Shirley.jpg, Shops on the eastern end of Wickham Road
File:White_Lodge,_Shirley.jpg, The White Lodge, a grade II listed building dating to 1840
File:Shirley_Inn.jpg, The Shirley Inn pub
File:Eastern_shops,_Shirley.jpg, Shops at the western end of Wickham Road
References
External links
Map within Surrey
{{LB Croydon
Districts of the London Borough of Croydon
Areas of London