Description and History of Site:-
'Preserved' section of canal cut, 1809, to connect Grand Surrey Canal at New Cross with Croydon. Unused since 1836, now converted to ornamental water.

A section, 190 yards long, of the former Croydon Canal has been rebuilt with concrete base and sides to form a decorative feature in the park. The canal was opened in 1809 from the Grand Surrey Canal near New Cross to Croydon. It was closed in 1836 and the London & Croydon Railway built along part of the route. As the canal curved round the contours here, this section was not suitable for the railway. Traces of the bridge under Anerley Road may also be seen here.

Information panel:

The stretch of water behind this sign is the only surviving part of the former Croydon Canal. It was opened on 22nd October 1809 following an Act of Parliament in 1801, 'for the making and maintaining of a navigable Canal from, or near the town of Croydon, onto the Grand Surrey Canal in the Parish of St Paul, in Deptford'.

Its 9½ mile length enabled lime, timber, chalk, clay, fullers earth and agricultural produce to be sent to London, in return for coal being handled to Croydon, then an ancient market town.

The canal took eight years to build and meandered through the long lost picturesque beauty of Penge Common and Forest, along its route to the capital.

Regretfully the canal never made a profit, and was sold to the new London and Croydon Railway Company in 1836, for £40,259. The railway opened in 1839, much of it along the straighter sections of the old waterway; which had now been filled in. Many of the loops and shorter section of the old canal were left, silted up and eventually became sites for the mammoth housing boom in the 19th century as London expanded into the suburbs.

Had it not been for the canal and railway, it is likely that the tiny hamlets of both Penge and Anerley would never have grown in importance so early, with their stations and connections to London.

Further Reading and References:-
Ashdown, John; Bussell, Michael; Carter, Paul. 'A Survey of Industrial Monuments of Greater London'. Thames Basin Archaeological Observers' Group, 1969
Falconer, Keith. 'Guide to England's Industrial Heritage'. Batsford, 1980

https://www.pengeheritagetrail.org.uk/the-trail-sites/betts-park
https://www.bettspark.com/s-projects-side-by-side

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Key Words :- canal

Address :- Betts Park, Anerley Road, London, Greater London, SE20
Grid Ref :- TQ 34554 69573
Co-ordinates :- Lat 51.409225 , Long -0.066742
Local Authority :- Bromley London Borough Council
Pre 1974 County :- Greater London Council
Site Status :- Site extant - No Protection
Site Dates :- 1809 -
Contributor :- GLIAS Database - 2 June 2018

Copyright :- cc-by-nc-sa 4.0 © GLIAS Database