The land was formerly the grounds of Haling Grove, once part of the much larger Haling Park country estate, most of which was sold for building in 1850 and now largely occupied by Whitgift School. The house at Haling Grove was probably very early Victorian, and was occupied by a succession of owners, the last being Mr Sydney Shorter, a London merchant, who was frequently seen exercising his horses at the Grove, or riding a high trap through the town. Mr Shorter was also a breeder of horses and apart from the breeding he carried out at Haling Grove he also owned a Stud Farm at Cookham. He employed a coachman, two grooms and a stable boy at Haling Grove. Mr Shorter died in 1929 and his wife, who was not interested in horses, did not continue to keep them. She bequeathed Haling Grove to the Playing Fields Association in 1933, who transferred it to Croydon Corporation to maintain.
The house was demolished in 1936 and the lawn was extended over its site. Colourful displays of bedding and herbaceous plants are laid out on the lawn and below this there is a meadow with many fine mature trees. The house and garden was separated by a bank of trees from the old kitchen garden, which has been developed as a rose walk. The original bequest requires the meadow to the south to be used as a playing field for organized games although this was temporarily interrupted when the field was used for allotments during and just after the war when food was scarce.
The small park to the east of the house is shown on the first edition Ordnance Survey plan of 1868. The structure of the formal garden to the south, with a straight walk aligned onto a mature Sycamore, is shown on the same plan. Other mature trees found in the grounds include an Oak and Sycamore clump, vestiges of two Beech clumps to the east and single Oaks, and Cedar of Lebanon. There is a yew shrubbery on the south side of the house platform, a ha-ha and two walled gardens, one with a rectangular Arts and Crafts pond and terrace. A wooden shelter, formerly thatched, stands on the site of the house. The ha-ha still exists as does the original coach house, the former visible behind the children's playground.
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This cache is a quick easy find at our local park. My children love this park and we are regular visitors (most days!) It's a nice quiet part of Croydon you almost forget where you are!
Great for dog walkers as well!