Heavers Meadow

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Heavers Meadow is a meadow located in South Norwood and Selhurst in the London Borough of Croydon. South Norwood Recreation Ground is on the other side of the road. The meadow covers an area of 8 3/4 acres 3.34 hectares. Of course by the name you can guess that it's a meadow, and with meadows there are'nt usually many facilities. Heavers is no exception, the only Facility stated on the councils website is a Footpath through a flood meadow[1].

However the meadow is good for commuters from Tennison Road and the surrounding area who are going to Victoria as Selhurst railway station is on the other side of the meadow. There is no gate on the Tennison Road side so it is never closed at night. The path through the meadow is very popular to cyclists.

[edit] History

The area of Heavers Meadow and the adjacent allotments were conveyed to the Croydon Corporation in 1935 by the Ecclesiastical Commissioners for use as an open space or recreation ground and allotments or allotment gardens.

In the eighteenth and nineteenth century the western side of the site was covered by a wood called Dragnet Wood in 1800 and Selhurst Wood in 1867 by which time it had been split in two by the railway.

Norbury Brook runs north west along the bottom of the site before disappearing beneath Selhurst Road. The Brook reappears in Thornton Heath Recreation Ground and behind several private houses in between.

The Brook is fenced off because it can be very dangerous; after a rain storm the water level can rise several feet in a few minutes as the water rapidly drains from the roads and hard surfaces around and into the surface water drains[2].

To see a map of the location of the meadow click here