Thornton Heath - Culture and Architecture

Culture and Architecture

Architecturally, Thornton Heath is predominantly Victorian in both its residential and commercial sectors. There are a number of imposing, even grand, buildings surviving from this period.

Two examples are St Paul's Church and St Alban's Church. St Alban's is an Anglican church and is listed Grade II. Built in 1889, it was the first church designed by the late Victorian architect Sir Ninian Comper. It is situated on a busy junction (of Grange Road and the High Street), as can be seen in the photograph. It is described as being of a red-brick perpendicular style with stone dressing.

At the junction of the High Street and Parchmore Road, on a site previously called Walker's Green, stands the Clocktower, which was built in 1900, financed partly by public subscription.

However, one example that has not survived is the town's historic Victorian baths, which were replaced by a more modern sports and leisure centre in 2004. Thankfully of an architectural standard likely to be pleasing to most eyes, the new building now arguably constitutes a significant town-centre landmark. It cost £8 million to build, of which £2.8 million came from the British National Lottery Good Causes Fund through Sport England. The project was supervised by Croydon's Director of Environment, Culture and Public Protection, Steve Halsey. Huntley Cartwright (Chartered Quantity Surveyors) provided a Quantity Surveying Service, and assisted the council in obtaining the Sport England Grant, as well as managing the OJEU process for selecting tenderers. In early option appraisals, consideration was given to whether the existing centre should be refurbished or redeveloped. However, it became clear as work got under way that the old building would have to be demolished in its entirety.