Ashburton Playing Fields
Introduction
The photograph on this page of Ashburton Playing Fields by Marathon as part of the Geograph project.
The Geograph project started in 2005 with the aim of publishing, organising and preserving representative images for every square kilometre of Great Britain, Ireland and the Isle of Man.
There are currently over 7.5m images from over 14,400 individuals and you can help contribute to the project by visiting https://www.geograph.org.uk
Ashburton Playing Fields
Image: © Marathon Taken: 14 Apr 2012
What is now Ashburton Playing Fields and adjacent areas was, until well into late Victorian times, the setting for a racecourse. King James I is supposed to have established public horse racing at Croydon early in his reign. Woodside station ( see http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/2524945 ), which was opened in 1871, brought racegoers to the course. Because the down side of the station was below road level, a ramp was constructed to enable horses to be brought out of the station, and the exit from the platform is noticeably high, high enough for a horse to be ridden through it. The race course closed following pressure from the Mayor of Croydon who considered that the races only brought a lot of undesirables down from London. The race track was brought by Beckenham Golf Course and was used as a golf course for a number of years. The area was acquired by the Council for housing and playing fields in 1942. This view looks towards the houses in Woodmere Avenue and Merewood Gardens. Despite the threatening looking clouds it did not rain.
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Image Location
Latitude
51.38317
Longitude
-0.053527