Reedham is located southwest of Purley town centre and northeast of Coulsdon, connected by Brighton Road, which connects the two townships. North and west of Brighton Road are straight, wide streets, lined with detached suburban houses. Reedham railway station lies just south of Brighton Road, and south of that station, the railway line parallels the road. South and east of Brighton Road, the houses remain similar, although the road layouts are less regular and straight. Furthermore, the suburban area is interrupted with green and open spaces – such as Reedham Park Sports Club, a few school grounds, Coulsdon Manor and Golf Club in the western side of the southern tip as well as Betts Mead to its right. Old Lodge Lane runs from Brighton Road vertically down the postcode sector, and divides the green areas of the southern tip (i.e. Coulsdon Manor and Betts Mead) from the suburban housing zone. The lane ends about a kilometre south of Reedham at the Kenley Aerodrome.

Reedham is quite peculiar in comparison to other parts of south London, in that its name is not derived from an Old English or ancient variant, but rather from an orphanage of the same name, which in turn took its name from a person, Andrew Reed. Andrew Reed had opened The Asylum for Fatherless Children in 1858, and passed away four years after, whereupon the asylum changed its name to Reedham to honour him. When the railway station came in the early 20th century, it took the name Reedham, as did the village that grew around it. All that is left of the orphanage today is the Lodge, sponsored by the Reedham Trust, which provides support to vulnerable children throughout the country, typically by enrolling them in modern boarding schools.

No mention of famous people in Reedham would be complete without of course talking about the man who gave his name to the place itself – Andrew Reed. Despite having trained as a watchmaker and in clock repairs, he chose to become a Congregationalist minister, his first pastorate being with New Road Chapel in East London, located just a few blocks away from the worst slums of London, where the life expectancy was 22 years old. In his time there he saw first-hand the fate of orphans in Victorian England, and would found the aforementioned Asylum for Fatherless Children, and Reedham Trust still exists today, still doing good; in his own words, taken from his journal on the day of his ordination: “Setting out is something, holding out is more.”

Reedham railway station was the least used station in Croydon in 2016, with an average of 681 passengers going through its gates every day; however, with the Thameslink now stopping at nearby Purley Station, the frequency of trains servicing the area has increased dramatically.

Prices in the area are said to be increasing, and the area in general is becoming more and more expensive. This is in contrast to many areas around, and doesn’t help when moving out of the city to suburban London for cost issues. Some of the smaller bungalows are in the process of being converted into flats, being able to build up to 3-storeys. These tend to be luxury apartments. In 2022, Croydon Council announced that it would be scrapping a number of council-led development initiatives. Canceled plans would have provided more than 470 homes on 23 sites across the borough, including in Reedham. Brick by Brick, which was set up in 2016 by the Council with the aim of building more homes in the borough, is also expected to close its door in Summer 2023.

New development in the area, as a result of the council’s difficult position, is predominantly led by private developers, with new schemes being concentrated in Purley, leaving Reedham relatively untouched by new construction for now.