The Croydon Canal

6) Honor Oak Park and the site of the top of the 28 locks

The top of the long climb from New Cross culminated in a staircase lock with a swing bridge across the lower chamber

      

The previous set of pictures looked at the canal route as it passed through the crematorium and out into the stadium ground. Here we look east down Honor Oak Park towards the railway station. On the far right is No. 193 Honor Oak Park (the white building) and in front are the pair of semi detatched houses. (191a etc.) No. 193 was built after the canal was closed, on land made vacant when the lock keepers house was demolished. The semi detatched houses, being more modern, were built on what was remaining unsold land - eg the canal route itself. The canal crossed (LH view) at an angle from north east to south west (left towards right) to pass through where the semi detatched houses are. The next picture (RH view) looks along the route of the canal - north east to south west. The entire view in this picture is the approximate location of the top chamber of the staircase lock. The long level pound towards Croydon began here at a level of about 161 feet above sea level. Directly behind the semi detatcheds, at the back of properties in Boveney Road and Hengrave Road, are traces of the canal route

- Used by permission of Croydon Local Studies Library -

 

'View towards Deptford' affords excellent views of Shooters Hill. Its not so so easily seen today - but a gap in trees affords a glimpse of it (left.) 'View towards Deptford' shows the bottom of the staircase lock at Honor Oak, identifable because of a swing bridge across the chamber. The small lane crossing the bridge is Honor Oak Park's precessdor. Despite being a 'pair' of locks, it was numbered as one lock contrary to canal practice - the Croydon canal had a total of 29 locks when these and the two Norbury locks are included. We must move on now towards the route of the canal at the rear of Honor Oak Park - once a spectacular stretch that took the Croydon Canal deep Into Forest Wood

THE CROYDON CANAL PAGES:
hatcham / new cross / barriedale / shardeloes rd / brockley / honor oak / boveney rd / davids rd / forest hill / sydenham / dacres wood / venner rd / penge / anerley / betts park / norwood / towpath way / spurgeons br / west croydon / route maps

Around Little Venice & Paddington: History and transport systems / Canute's 'Canal': The mythological waterway that wasnt / Croydon Canal: London's shortest-lived waterway, closing completely by 1837 / Cumberland Arm: A branch off the Regents Canal to Euston / Fleet River & Canal: The former Thames - Kings Cross waterway / Grand Surrey: The canal with an ambition to reach Portsmouth! / Grosvenor Canal: The Grosvenor linked Victoria to the Thames / Kensington Canal: The canal that became a railway and an underground route / London's Canal Tunnels: There are three canal tunnels in London / Paddington Arm: The Grand Junction/Grand Union from Bulls Bridge to London / Pudding Mill River: Requiem for London's lost waterway / Regents Canal: This runs between Little Venice, Camden Town & Limehouse / Romford Canal: The penultimate, yet unfinished, canal to be built in London / Ruislip Feeder: The former waterway that fed the canal / Westbourne River: The old waterway from Kilburn to the Thames / Woolwich's secret waterway: The Royal Arsenal Canal

Attractions near the London canals: Abbey Road / Bayswater / Edgware Road / Crockers Folly / Marylebone Goods / Nash Villas / Spitfire Works / St Pancras

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