Selsdon is located at the east side of South Croydon. The area is crossed by Old Farleigh Road, which travels from the northwest to southeast, and Addington Road, which is perpendicular to it, forming an ‘x’. The area is quite green, with Selson Wood Nature Reserve to the east, De Vere Selson Estate to the south (with a parkland including a golf course, tennis courts and other amenities) and farmlands to the north. Littleheath Woods and Edgecoombe Playground, a 64-acre woodland with footpaths, is also located in the north. Gravel Hill Tram Stop is located at the northeastern edge of the neighbourhood, with trams running to New Addington (a 10-minute journey) and Croydon (about 20 minutes). Despite these convenient tram routes, there is little by way of transport into central London, but the large houses and open space has made the area a popular destination for families looking for a quiet escape from the hustle and bustle. Selsdon is home to two old educational establishments – Croydon High School, a girls’ school which was founded in 1874; and John Ruskin College, a sixth form college, founded in 1920. The area used to be a large farm surrounded by the vast, dense Selsdon Wood. When it was being developed in the 20s, however, a conscious effort was set up in the form of a committee to ensure the preservation of a portion of the woodlands for future generations, in contrast to many other areas of London.

Today the area is home to many species of birds, as well as other wildlife such as roe deer. Many bombs fell on the area during the Second World War, leaving many hollows in the wood that can still be seen today. John Ruskin College and Croydon High School have produced many notable alumni over the years. Steve Kember, a footballer who played for Crystal Palace, went to John Ruskin, as did many other notable football-related professionals, such as Roy Hodgson, the former England football manager, and Bob Houghton, who was the head coach of India.

Croydon High School is a girls’ school, and has produced many successful women, such as Jane Drew, who was a notable architect and town planner, designing buildings all around the world (such as the housing in Chandigarh, then the new capital of Punjab) and in London. She was also the first female full Professor at Harvard and MIT. Today the Jane Drew Prize is named after her.

Selsdon’s name might have meant ‘dwelling on a hill’, which is logical given its relatively high elevation, particularly by London standards.

Selsdon Park Hotel, today De Vere Selsdon Estate, hosted the Conservative Shadow Cabinet in 1970, whose free-market-dominated manifesto emerged from the hotel, with pressures from the libertarian ‘Selsdon Group’. The Conservatives would go on to defeat the Labour government in the 1970 election, and the Selsdon Declaration would influence Margaret Thatcher later.

The area started to grow in the 1920s, particularly in 1923, after the single farm that had dominated Selsdon was sold off and split up. The neighbourhood’s lack of convenient transport links and distance from central London means that it can often feel isolated from the rest of the city.

The Croydon Council is currently engaged in regeneration projects throughout the area and its neighbouring towns. These have included in the past the redevelopment of the Restaurant Quarter on Brighton Road, which was completed in the mid-late 2010s. Development interest has been on the rise since then, with Croydon Town Centre, South Croydon and Purley proving especially attractive to developers and agents. New development in Selsdon has not been as intense as it has been in these other more urban areas but new projects are ongoing, including Oakwood Group’s proposal for a site on the south eastern side of Quail Gardens for for 15 three bedroom houses, arranged in two opposing terraces. Aprirose, the real estate investment company, has also announced that the historic Selsdon Park Hotel in Croydon is to become the second location for Birch, the award-winning lifestyle hotel concept. The hotel is set to open in 2023 and is a joint venture between Aprirose and Birch Hospitality Ltd.