The Croydon Canal
18) The Bird in Hand and the walkway to Spurgeons Bridge
The Bird in Hand must be the only remaining hostelry in London that no longer has a canal whose boatmen it could serve!
This is the footpath that parallels the railway towards West Croydon. It must owe its origins to the canal which once ran along here. It is possible that the towpath afforded a popular route in this area and the railway may have been obliged to provide a suitable replacement between Gloucester Road bridge and Spurgeons bridge. At this point, the Croydon canal was on a low embankment as it crossed this particular area, known as Croydon Common. Traces of the embankment still exist, which was built because the canal was legally bound to cross the common in a way so as not to be injurious to any water sources that may arise on the common
A West Croydon bound EMU by Sydenham Road bridge. There is absolutely no trace of the canal crossing at all. The Bird in Hand is just a few yards away
This pub was formerly the Bird of Pride, but has reverted to its former name. It was built in 1825 and so must have served the waterway folk when the canal was in operation
It seems that the access road seen here by the side of the Bird In Hand was once an access road to the canal itself
Just about where Tavistock Road is, these piles of redundant rails mark roughly the site where there was a wharf known as Smith's
In this view showing a West Croydon bound train approaching Spurgeon's bridge, the Sydenham Road crossing can be seen in the distance. On the left was the entrance to a dock whilst the land on the right was once owned by the canal, thought to be for the purpose of extracting gravel
Spurgeons Bridge, also known as Brick bridge, whose name indicates it was possibly the only brick built bridge on the canal (the others seem to have been all stone or wooden structures.) It is rumoured that parts of this bridge were used in the railway bridge, but this has not been proven, as as this picture shows there isnt anything to indicate that this was the case. It may have been when the railway was first built. The present railway bridge is not quite in the position that the canal bridge was, because the elevation and alignment of both canal and railway are different
We now head towards West Croydon and the end of the route
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