The Croydon Canal
9) The route past Forest Hill Station
Forest Hill was an important location on the canal, with a wharf and swingbridges. Nowadays its just an urban crossroads with shops and a railway station
Looking back towards Davids Road. Immediately in front stood the site of Forest Hill Swing Bridge. The main road seen here is Dartmouth Road, but the section to the right was still called Canal Road long after the waterway had closed. The buildings on the opposite side curve away from Dartmouth Road into the alignment on Davids Road
Although a bit of a dog-leg layout nowadays, we can see the canal route (above) as it made its way through the swing bridge towards Sydenham Park. This is between WH Smith's (on the right) and William Hill's (out of sight to the left) with Davids Road directly opposite. This perspective is seen more clearly in the right hand view, but Davids Road cannot be seen because of the 'dog-leg' layout
The passageway behind the shops is clearly a descendant of the old canal towpath. The canal itself passed through the yard whose gates are seen on the right. The footpath on the left runs for a short distance along the railway boundary, and it is indicative of the towpath's alignment, as shown above right
The canal route briefly encroached on the railway alignment, but stayed mainly to the west of it - and a large pool was a main feature of the canal. This was where the feeder emerged from the reservoir near Sydenham Park
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