IMAGES TAKEN NEAR TO
Verdant Mews, SE19 3FH

The name The Lawns does not give much indication of the history of this site but it was actually the location of the Beulah Spa. The properties of the mineral spring which was here had been known for many years and during a court case it was proved that the water contained more salts than the water at Cheltenham Spa. It could not rely though on income from people coming to take the waters so in 1831 it was opened as a place for entertainment. The gardens were laid out by Decimus Burton. Fine views were (and still are) to be had, and the entertainments included a maze, a circus and an orchestra. The water was bottled as Beulah Saline Water and sold for two shillings a gallon. The Spa’s popularity started to decline at the time that the Crystal Palace opened in 1854 and in 1858 the estate was put up for auction and much was subsequently developed. In 1939 ‘The Lawns Estate’ was conveyed to Croydon Corporation. More than half of the park is woodland as can be seen here.

As seen from Spa Hill Road. Large open-space surrounded by woodland.

In the distance on the right, the twin towers of the former Croydon power station, retained as a landmark by the branch of IKEA that now occupies the site.

A spring of high quality water was the centre attraction of a 25 acre pleasure garden at this location in the 1830s and 1840s. It was visited by royalty and many eminent people of the time. Queen Victoria came on four occasions; the first with Prime Minister, Lord Melbourne, and the last with her son and heir Prince Bertie – the future Edward VII. Others known to have visited were writers, Charles Dickens and William Makepeace Thackeray. In September 2018 a commemorative marker stone was placed on the long lost site of the well from which the water was drawn. The following shared description is provided by N Chadwick.