After the 1862 auction to 1909

It’s not until 1869 that Kenley starts to be identified as a distinct area in the Croydon Directory, although it is still listed under the Coulson ward. There are a mere 11 entries in 1869, including Mr John Hough at Welcomes Farm and Mr Henry Laycock, at Eastcott, on Valley Road just at the bottom of Welcomes Road.

The advert (left) in the Caterham Directory of 1872/73 shows how development is being encouraged along the Caterham branch line.

It is at this point that the early properties in the immediate area start to appear, including Elmwood (on Abbots Lane opposite the end of ZigZag Road), Hillside (building itself near Kenley Lane opposite the church, but with driveway down to Welcomes Road) and The Mount (Hermitage Road). No road names are included yet, building was sparse enough that the property name was sufficient to identify each property within Kenley.

By 1876 the list has expanded to 54 entries, with properties being listed as Hayes Lane, Godstone Road and Valley Road.

In 1882 the Waddenden Arms appears in the Directory (now, of course, the Wattenden Arms) although the Village History refers to the landlord there being Thomas Hill from 1876, followed by Sophia Hill from 1895. Within another couple of years Woodhurst, Elmhurst and Benthall appear, grouped around what is now ZigZag Road but just listed as property names.

1886 brings the arrival of a local school, with a Mr Walter Smith as the schoolmaster.

During the 1880’s, the number of entries for Kenley continues to increase, reaching 243 by 1890.

In the early 1900’s, properties begin to appear specifically listed as Welcomes Road, some with names still in use today:

  • 1901
    • Ravenscroft (listed as a school at this point)
  • 1904
    • The Copse (no 22 Welcomes Road)
    • WyssWood (no 78 Welcomes Road)
    • Woodend (no 80 Welcomes Road)
    • Alwyne Cottage (no 163 Welcomes Road)
    • Babbecombe (Uplands Road)
    • The Nest
    • The Cottage
  • 1905
    • Kenilworth (no 165 Welcomes Road)
    • Ridgehurst (Uplands Road)
    • The Hermitage (Uplands Road)
    • Kings Close
  • 1906
    • Sherwood Mount (Uplands Road)
  • 1907
    • The Garth (no 12 Welcomes Road)
    • Barrington (no 36 Welcomes Road)
    • The Homestead (nos 151 & 153 Welcomes Road)
    • The Glen (Now Uplands Road, with 102 Welcomes Road & others in front)
    • Morven (Uplands Road)
  • 1908
    • The Chestnuts (nos 155 & 157 Welcomes Road)
  • 1909
    • The Old Place (Uplands Road)
    • the Woodhurst and Elmhurst listings move to ZigZag Road
    • Hillside Stables

The 1901 Census provides supporting information. It shows Mrs F Dyer as the head of the household at Hazelea. My Henry Laycock is still at Eastcott, Mr George Maw at Benthall, Mr Charles Thomes at Woodhurst and Harriet Wilson at Elmshurst. It logs a population for Kenley of 1299 people.

The WURA website is indebted to local history expert John Carr for making his research into the Croydon Register and 1901 Census information available and also acknowledges the Bourne Society Village Histories 6: Kenley (Ed Grahame Brooks).

The 1862 plan in the modern era

Our previous history post showed the individual lots from the Wellcomes and Garston Farm, sold at auction in 1862.

The same plots are shown below, superimposed on a modern map to show their location.

Lot 1, the original farm house with surrounding yard and buildings, can still be seen in Hayes Lane, between the junction with Welcomes Road and before Frosbisher Close. The Kitchen Meadow, lot 2, extended back towards Welcomes Road from there, covering the land now occupied by Kearton Close.

Lot 4, Wyse Wood, would have been near where ZigZag road is now, with the Shaw and Pit of Lot 6 being near Uplands Road.

Lot 8, the two cottages and gardens, can still be seen on Hayes Lane at the junction with Welcomes Road.

Lots 11 to 13 are located between Hayes Lane and Old Lodge Lane.

Lots 9 and 10 are now covered by Kenley Aerodrome, together with the plots further south and east, lots 18 to 21.

The name of Garston Farm, of course, has remained with Garston Lane and Garston Gardens, just off the Godstone Road.

Gabriel Lovelock, who farmed 300 acres from 1841, is commemorated in the name of Lovelock Close, off Hayes Lane near the top of Welcomes Road before the Welcomes Farm properties.

The name of Welcomes Road itself is derived from the word ‘combe’, originally meaning a hollow but then used to mean a deep wooded valley.

The WURA website is indebted to local history expert John Carr for making his map and auction schedule available.

The WURA area and the land auction of 1862

Much of the land now occupied by Welcomes and Uploads Roads was part of the Wellcomes Farm and Garston Farm estate.

The very early ownership of Wellcomes Farm is documented as being with the Gresham family from 1545. Michael Thornton and his son John are listed as the owners from 1682 to 1718, followed by Thomas Clemonts and his son Thomas between 1718 and 1780. James Roberts was the owner from 1780 to 1792, during which time it was actually farmed by Capt Coombs.

The Bourne Society list the owners of Kenley Farm during this early period as Henry Polsted, from 1547, through Sir Francis Carew in 1553 and Joseph Hodgkins in 1750. Hodgkins was also the owner of Garston Hall at this point. The Bourne Society’s Kenley Village History book includes a plan of Kenley Farm from 1762 in their Village History book of Kenley.

In 1817 ownership of Wellcomes and Garston Farms passed to John Keen and subsequently to his son Thomas. It is during this time that the land begins to be divided. In 1841, 300 acres go to Gabriel Lovelock and in 1861 a further 300 acres go to John Sallows.

Click on the image above to see a larger, zoom-able version. Welcomes Road is labelled ‘New Road To Kenley and Welcomes’. This is the road built by both Thomas Keen and Mr Marson, his neighbour in Kenley House. It is believed that the new road was constructed because Kenley Lane was proving too steep for horses drawing carriages.

At the time of the documented auction of the property in 1862, the Wellcomes and Garston Farm land comprised over 318 acres, spread over two main areas. The first area is the land between Old Lodge Lane and Welcomes Road, extending into part of what is now Kenley Common. The second area was distinct, to the south and east of what was recognised as Kenley Common then, extending towards Whyteleafe.

The land was bordered to the south and west by land owned by Thomas Byron of Coulsdon Manor, with the southern-most border being with W Chrystal. To the east and north it was land owned by G H Drew. Interestingly, Kenley House is shown as such, rather than as Kenley Farm.

The auction of the land was held on Tuesday, 13th May 1862 on the death of the owner, Thomas Keen. The land was parcelled into a total of 27 lots, itemised in the auction brochure of the time, produced by Messrs Blake, the auctioneers. It’s interesting to note that the auction itself was held in a coffee house, at Cornhill in London (click on the image below to see a larger, zoom-able version).

Land at that time was measured in acres, roods and perches. One acre was originally the area which could be ploughed by a team of 8 oxen in 1 day, but then this needed to be more standardised and it came to be defined as 40 poles long (1 furlong – in other words 1 ‘farrow long’ – 600ft ) by 4 poles (66ft) wide. There were 4 roods in 1 acre, and 40 perches in a rood. A perch is the equivalent of 25.3 sq m. The grand total covers 318 acres, 2 roods and 14 perches.

no.description cultivationa    r    p
1Farm house, buildings, yards and garden 2    0    2
2Kitchen meadow Meadow6    0    29
3King’s Close, Barn Field, Great and Little Lieu, Slade Wood, The Slade and Heath Field Arable2    1    27
4Wyse Wood Wood2    1    27
5Kitchen Meadow Shaw  Wood 0    2    39
6Shaw and Pit  Wood 0    1    19
7Shaw in Heath Field  Wood 0    2    21
8 Two cottages and garden  0    1    5
9Garston Meadow (including Pond) and Garston and Slade Meadows Meadow & pasture14    2    3
10Two cottages and garden 0    1    26
11North Hide, Gill’s Croft (including Pond) and Sibretts Pasture28    1    31
12Shaw and Pit  Wood 0    3    38
13New Hill and part of Long Common Arable14    1    7
14Part of Lower Common Pasture1    0    38
15Friland’s and Border Arable11    2    17
16Friland’s Shaw  Wood 2    2    8
17King’s Field Shaw and Pit  Wood 0    2    36
18Harrow Garden Shaw  Wood 2    3    8
19King’s Field and Borders Arable15    1    26
20Mesne Field and Border Arable12    0    5
21Smith’s Field, including 2 cottages, buildings and yard, Great and Little Size Ties, Stamp Wood and borders Arable72    1    8
21aHog Trough Field, Upper and Lower Baydowns and Borders Arable26    1    4
22Stamp Wood Shaw, Pit and Kiln Wood0    2    37
23Addery Hill Arable23    2    27
24Baydown Shaw Wood2    3    16
25Upper Baydown (part of) Arable3    0    37
26Goss Field and Border Rough pasture6    3    30

The descriptions of the lots include terms no longer in common use. A shaw is a small wood or copse. The pits were quite likely for flint or chalk and the kiln would have been for limestone.

The sequence below shows each of the parcels of land from the schedule – the map has been re-oriented to show north at the top, the direction more familiar with users of online maps.

The next post will show how this land fits in to the current landscape.

The WURA website is indebted to local history expert John Carr for making his map and auction schedule available.

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