Croydon Canal

A canal from Croydon to Rotherhithe was the idea of Ralph Dodd, who had been commissioned in 1799 to ascertain “… the most eligible part of the River Thames” for a canal from Croydon. Dodd’s canal was to be on a small scale, only 3+1/2 ft deep and 24 ft wide at the top for boats up to 20 tons (20.3 tonnes). It would start in today’s Tamworth Road, Croydon and head north to the west of London Road (A23) until Broad Green where it would swing northeast towards Selhurst, Woodside and the west of Beckenham. It would broadly follow the Ravensbourne valley to Lewisham and Deptford, finally turning west of north to join the Thames at Rotherhithe, a distance of about 12 miles. Instead of locks…

Following Dodd’s report, a meeting of prospective investors was held at the Croydon Greyhound where it was agreed that a canal from Croydon to Rotherhithe would be of great utility to Croydon, towns close to the canal and considerable parts of Kent, Surrey and Sussex. A detailed survey was made by Mr Warner, and John Rennie was hired as the consulting engineer. This canal took a more direct line to Rotherhithe along a ridge of higher ground, which could loosely be described as the west side of the Ravensbourne valley. It headed northeast from West Croydon to Selhurst, turned north to South Norwood, Sydenham, Forest Hill and New Cross to join the Thames at Rotherhithe. The canal would remain…

After the canal closed, sections were retained for leisure use, and some remained in water for a considerable time. The section at the Anerley Arms, Ridsdale Road in Anerley was used as a boating lake, and the area was called Anerley Tea Rooms. The canal in Betts Park was turned into a concrete trough in 1934, approximately 170m can still be seen at the northern corner of Betts Park. Another section exists as a long curved pond in the Dacres Wood Nature Reserve in Dacres Road, Forest Hill. This was considered for redevelopment in 1989, but research by Lewisham Council resulted in its identity being confirmed and it now forms an attractive wetland, having been returned to its former width.…