Kake’s tour of London Road moves on to the kebab shop at number 17, which was previously a grocer, bookseller, fishmonger, and TV rental shop.

17 London Road is the home of the Croydon Kebab Centre. This informatively-named shop is one of the longer-standing businesses on this part of London Road; it’s been a purveyor of grilled meats since at least the mid-1970s, under the current name since the … Read More »

Kake’s tour of London Road moves on to another payday loan shop, this one at number 16.

The final member of the payday loan shop cluster around West Croydon Station is at number 16. The Money Shop opened in late 2011 on a site that, several decades earlier, was occupied by a rather different type of financial institution.

The Money Shop, 16 London Road, December 2011. Photo: author’s own.

1:500 … Read More »

Kake’s tour of London Road takes in another member of the payday loan shop cluster around West Croydon Station.

While H & T Pawnbrokers at number 12 is a fairly new addition to London Road, Cash Converters at numbers 13–15 has a somewhat longer tenure in the area.

Cash Converters, 13–15 London Road, February 2013. Photo author’s own.

13–15 London Road was built in 1863[1], as part of a block with … Read More »

Kake’s tour of London Road moves on to the 1920s architecture at numbers 12–14.

As of 2013, 12 London Road is a branch of H&T Pawnbrokers, the pawnbroker and payday loan shop chain, and 14 London Road is a Ladbrokes betting shop. Given the intertwined history of these addresses, I’ve decided to cover them in the same article. Although now occupied by separate businesses, the premises were constructed as … Read More »

Kake’s tour of London Road nips around the side of Greggs to take in the two small properties both numbered 10a.

Alongside the Greggs branch at West Croydon Station, just around the corner from London Road, a couple of small kiosks sit firmly attached to the concrete side wall of the building.

Davis of Croydon Car Hire and N Tapper Shoe Repairs, March 2013.

The first definite evidence of kiosks on … Read More »

Kake’s tour of London Road moves from the Victorian architecture of the west side of the road to 1930s concrete at number 10.

The breezeblock building of West Croydon Station’s London Road entrance also houses a branch of Greggs, the UK-wide bakery and pasty-seller. I suspect most of their custom comes from people passing through the station, helped by the fact that the shop has a second entrance leading … Read More »

Kake’s tour of London Road moves on to the Ship of Fools pub at numbers 9–11.

The weary traveller who exits West Croydon Station in search of sustenance on London Road need look no further than the Ship of Fools. Almost directly opposite the station, this Wetherspoon’s pub is large and welcoming, with friendly staff, interesting real ales, and well-priced food.

The Ship of Fools, February 2012. Photo © Liz Tuffey, … Read More »

Kake’s tour of London Road skips past the non-existent number 8 to make its final visit to West Croydon Station.

As explained earlier in this series, numbers 2, 4, 6, and 8 London Road no longer exist — so instead of writing about 8 London Road, here I present the final instalment of my research into West Croydon Station, covering developments in the 2000s and looking at the role … Read More »

Kake’s tour of London Road moves on to number 7, at which she discovers she has something in common with the current occupant.

KFC, 7 London Road, June 2012.

7 London Road is currently a branch of KFC, the fried chicken chain so beloved of our own Jonny Rose (founder of Croydon Tech City, doyen of the Purley Breakfast Club, and of course Croydon Citizen author). Asked to provide an … Read More »

The author of the Citizen’s long-running series on the history of London Road explains how cuts for the Local Studies Library threaten both her work and Croydon’s future

The Local Studies Library has been one of my happiest discoveries since I moved to Croydon in mid-2011. The first time I visited, in search of information about the history of London Road, I was amazed not … Read More »