Norbury

For other places with the same name, seeNorbury (disambiguation).

Norbury
Norbury Location withinGreater London
Population	16,476 (2011 Census. Ward)
OS grid reference	TQ315695
London borough	Croydon
Ceremonial county	Greater London
Region	London
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	LONDON
Postcode district	SW16
Dialling code	020
Police	Metropolitan
Fire	London
Ambulance	London
UK Parliament	Croydon North
London Assembly	Croydon and Sutton

Norburyis anarea of south London.It shares the postcodeLondon SW16with neighbouringStreatham.Norbury is 6.7 miles (10.8 km) south ofCharing Cross.

Etymology

The name Norbury derives fromNorthBurh,(North Borough). Some local histories note that this was due to Norbury's position on the northern boundary of the former Manor ofCroydon.Others state that it takes its name from a split in the borough of Bensham, one of the former seven boroughs of Croydon. "Northbenchesham" became the Northborough, then Norbury; "Southbenchesham" later becameThornton Heath.

History

For most of its history Norbury was rural countryside through which theLondon to Brighton WayRoman road passed. At Hepworth Road, the intact road, 32 feet wide, was excavated in 1961. Remnants of a metalled ford across the stream were found further south at Hermitage Bridge on theRiver Graveneywhich forms part of the boundary between Norbury and Streatham, before flowing on to theRiver Wandle,then theRiver Thames.

Norbury Manor

By the early thirteenth century, Norbury was a sub-manor within the chief manor of Croydon. The first recorded mention of Norbury Manor was in 1229 when Peter de Bendings conveyed the Manor to John de Kemsing and his wife Idonea and is referred to as the "lands stretching out either side of the London Road".In 1269 the Manor comprised 91 acres of arable land inPollards Hill,30 acres inGrandon,55 acres of pasture, 36 acres of heathland, 2 acres of woodland and 17 acres of meadow land.In 1337, Norbury Manor was granted to Nicolas de Carew, who also held neighbouringBeddington Manor.The Carew family remained Lords of the Manor of Norbury until 1859 except for a brief interlude during the reign ofHenry VIII.Norbury remained rural and agricultural throughout this period. By 1800 most of the land in Norbury was owned by a handful of people; approximately half was owned by the Carew family, and the remaining large landowners were Peter du Cane, Croydon Hospital andPembroke College.

Victorian period

Norbury railway station

At the start of the Victorian period, the population consisted of fifty six people and three main dwellings; the Hermitage, Norbury Manor Farm House and Norbury Hall.The Hermitage was situated alongside Green Lane and backed onto Hermitage Sports Ground (now Norbury Park). The last resident of The Hermitage wasJenny Hill,a famous music hall performer in the 1890s.In 1894 the North Surrey Golf Club built a 90-acre golf club on Hermitage Sports Ground and in 1896 purchased The Hermitage to use as their club house. The following year it was destroyed by fire.Norbury Manor Farm House was situated on the corner where Norbury Avenue meets Kensington Avenue and was the Norbury Manor House until Norbury Hall was built in 1802.The Farm House was demolished in 1914. Only Norbury Hall remains, now used as a retirement home and protected as aGrade II listed building.

In 1859, the first Victorian villa, known as Norbury Villa, was built on the London Road. A second villa followed in 1878, and thereafter followed the construction of clusters of large villas along both sides of the London Road. In 1867, the Committee of Croydon Steeple Chase and Hurdle Races leased approximately 100 acres at Lonesome Farm. The following year, the first Streatham Horse Race meeting was held and a temporary grandstand was built on Northborough Road. The two day meets, held four or five times a year, proved successful and attracted large crowds from London.To cater for the crowds,Norbury railway stationopened in 1878, built on a railway line which had run through Norbury since 1862. The increased crowds however led to an increase in anti-social behaviour, and local residents lobbied politicians to enact a new law in 1879 banning horse racing within ten miles ofWestminster,effectively ending the Streatham Races.

Urbanisation

St Oswald's Parish Church

By 1900, Norbury was an affluent semi-rural suburb boasting two golf courses and cricket, football, tennis and bowls clubs.The first shopping parades on the London Road were constructed in 1900 and side roads behind the parades began to be laid out.Electric trams were introduced in 1901 connecting the town toPurley,however as Croydon trams andLondon tramsused different systems and could not use the same tracks, when going to London passengers had to change in Norbury. During the next thirty years most of the housing in Norbury was constructed, with the houses and roads in different areas forming part of several residential estates. The most notable estate was theNorbury Cottage Garden Estatebuilt in 1901 in thirty acres of land between Northborough Road and Semley Road, and which was the first cottage estate built by theLondon County Council.The population of Norbury had risen from 475 people in 1901 to 15,538 by 1931.

During the second half of the twentieth century, many of the large Victorian villas were demolished and office blocks were built on their sites. Later many of the office blocks were themselves converted into residential apartments. In 1970 Norbury Fire Station was built to replace nearby Streatham Fire Station.

Modern Norbury

Today, Norbury is a built-up residential area housing a diverse and multi-cultural community. It has a variety of local commerce, with most of Norbury High Street consisting of newsagents and various independent businesses, as well as one or two pubs.It is also very well connected to other areas, such as Crystal Palace, Croydon, Streatham and Central London. Norbury Station is infare zone 3.Some locals consider the area to be in decline, with increased fly-tipping and anti-social behaviour, and a campaign has been started to reverse these changes.

Demography

In the2011 census,Norbury wasWhiteorWhite British(37.4%),AsianorAsian British(28%),BlackorBlack British(24.8%),Mixed/multiple ethnic groups(6.5%), and Other ethnic group (2.2%). The largest single ethnicity is White British (24.1%).

Of those living in Norbury, the most common place of birth isEngland(55%), followed byIndia(5%),Pakistan(4%),Jamaica(4%) andKenya(2%).The main first language spoken isEnglish(76.5%), followed byPolish(4%),Urdu(3.3%) andGujarati(2.8%).

The largest religious groupings areChristians(52 per cent), thenMuslims(17.8 per cent), those ofno religion(12.6 per cent),Hindus(7.6 per cent), no response (7.6 per cent),Sikhs(0.9 per cent), other (0.8 per cent),Buddhists(0.5 per cent) andJews(0.1 per cent).

Politics

Norbury is part of theCroydon Northconstituency and the current MP is the Labour politicianSteve Reed.The constituency replaced theCroydon North Eastconstituency in 1997 and has returnedLabour PartyMPs since it was re-instated.

Norbury includes two of the twenty-eightwardswhich make upCroydon London Borough Council.These two wards, both created in 2018, areNorbury and Pollards HillandNorbury Park.

Norbury and Pollards Hill

Norbury and Pollards Hill by election, 14 March 2019

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Leila Ben-Hassel	1,379
	Conservative	Tirena Gunter	324
	Independent	Mark O’Grady	162
	Green	Rachel Chance	91
	Duma Polska	Margret Roznerska	72
	Liberal Democrats	Guy Burchett	70
	UKIP	Kathleen Garner	40
Majority
Turnout
	Labourhold		Swing

Norbury and Pollards Hill - 2018 (2)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Maggie Mansell	1,981
	Labour	Shafi Khan	1,934
	Conservative	Calum Bardsley	644
	Conservative	Mike Mogul	638
	Green	Stephen Amor	299
	Green	Cheryl Zimmerman	291
Majority			1,290	22.29
Turnout
	Labourhold		Swing
	Labourhold		Swing

Norbury Park

Norbury Park - 2018 (2)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Sherwan Chowdhury	1,730
	Labour	Alisa Flemming	1,697
	Conservative	Blake O'Donnell	1,039
	Conservative	Ola Kolade	976
	Liberal Democrats	Anne Viney	259
	Green	Rebecca Weighell	249
	Green	Graham Jones	199
	Liberal Democrats	Stephen Viney	121
Majority			658	10.66
Turnout
	Labourhold		Swing
	Labourhold		Swing

Nearest places

• Brixton
• Streatham
• Streatham Common
• West Norwood
• Crystal Palace/Upper Norwood
• Mitcham
• Pollards Hill
• Thornton Heath
• Croydon

Notable people and residents

• Kingsley Amis(1922–1995), novelist
• Correlli Barnett(1927–2022), military historian
• Derek Bentley(1933–53), a burglar who was controversially hanged for the death of a police officer in 1952 (subject of the filmLet Him Have It).
• Edwy Searles Brooks(1889–1965), novelist
• Samuel Coleridge-Taylor(1875–1912), composer
• John Creasey(1908–1973), detective-story writer
• Dave(1998–), rapper
• Janet Francis(1947–), actress
• Deryck Guyler(1914–1999), actor
• Wee Willie Harris(1933–), singer
• Will Hay(1888–1949), comedian and actor
• Libera,boys' choir
• Michael Moorcock(1939–), writer and musician
• Osh(1995–), singer
• Robert Prizeman(1952–2021), composer
• Ralph Reader(1903–1982), actor
• Stormzy(1993–), rapper
• Roxanne Tataei(1988–), singer

Nearest railway stations

• Norbury railway station
• Mitcham Eastfields railway station
• Streatham Common railway station
• Streatham railway station
• Mitcham Junction railway station
• Thornton Heath railway station

In fiction

Norbury is portrayed in aSherlock Holmesshort story, "The Adventure of the Yellow Face",as one of the few places in which the detective turned out to be wrong regarding his theories (as referenced in the episode"The Six Thatchers"of theBBCtelevision seriesSherlock).

Norbury is mentioned inPenelope Fitzgerald'sThe Beginning of Spring(1988). The character of Nellie Reid, who is central to the plot, but who does not appear until the book's final sentence, is from Norbury; and it is repeatedly mentioned throughout the book in contrast to a very different type of life in Moscow.

Norbury station features in the song "Lesley", from rapperDave's debut albumPsychodrama(2019).