Park Hill Recreation Ground

Park Hill Recreation Ground is a 15 acres (6.1 ha) park near the centre of Croydon, Greater London, managed by the London Borough of Croydon. It runs from Barclay Road to Coombe Road beside the railway line, with the main entrances on Water Tower Hill and Barclay Road. The nearest stations (equidistant to the park) are East Croydon to the north for Tramlink and National Rail services and South Croydon to the south for National Rail. The park was officially renamed as Park Hill in 1964. At the southern end, at the very top of the hill which forms the park, it joins the grounds of Coombe Cliff once the home of members of the Horniman Tea family. From there a steep drive winds down to Coombe Road where a footpath leads to South Croydon railway station for National Rail. The grounds now form part of the park and are open to the public, but the house itself, is not. As of October 2018, it is used for educational purposes. Where the drive meets Coombe Road there is a further entrance and a gatehouse, which is now privately owned for residential purposes. The house is grade II listed. Previously, the site was a reservoir, but in the 1880s, it was transformed into a public park. The park offers various amenities, such as refreshments, sports facilities, and a walled herb garden. In his memoirs, The Chronicles of Wasted Time (1973), Malcolm Muggeridge reminisces about the park being a childhood playground where he and his father would frequently walk together and engage in discussions about socialism and world affairs.