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:''Shrublands redirects here. For habitat type, see Shrubland.'' Shirley is an area of South East London, within the London Borough of Croydon. It borders the London Borough of Bromley. It is located east of Croydon, and 10 miles (16.1 km) south south-east of Charing Cross. ==Description== Until the 1930s Shirley consisted of a few hamlets between farms and the estates of the large houses. These included Spring Park, Monks Orchard, Shirley Park, Shirley Lodge and Ham, names which are reflected in the names of neighbourhoods today. Originally part of Addington and contrary to popular opinion, Monks Orchard is not named after a monastery in the area, but probably commemorates a family named Monk, who owned some of the land at one time. When Lewis Lloyd acquired the land and had a mansion built in 1854, he adopted the name of a local wood, "Monks Orchard", for the whole estate. Lloyd's Monks Orchard House was one of the most substantial mansions in the Croydon area. It had 19 bedrooms, a billiard room, library, and numerous other rooms. The Dining Hall alone was over 36 by 21 ft (11 by 4 m). The estate covered a huge area, 1,540 acres (6.2 km²), stretching northwards from the Wickham Road almost to Elmers End, southwards nearly as far as Addington, and eastwards across the Borough boundary into West Wickham. It also included several other major residences, such as Spring Park; farms, including Eden Park, Ham Farm, Shirley Farm, Spring Park Farm and Oak Lodge Farm; two dozen or so cottages; The Rising Sun, The Cricketers and the White Hart; and Beckenham Golf Course. As late as 1923, the area was described in the following way: :''The Estate, which has an extensive frontage to the road between the villages of Shirley and West Wickham, is delightfully rural in character, typifying that which is best in the unspoiled English countryside...'' :''The land seems adapted by nature for those who are seeking country houses not too far from London, being already park-like meadow land, well timbered, and dotted with coppices; thus affording almost unlimited scope for imagination, and taste, in laying out grounds, by utilising the natural advantages already there.'' When the estate came up for sale in 1920, only parts of it found buyers, and the rest, including the part we now call Monks Orchard was offered again in 1924. This was purchased by the City of London Corporation for the relocation of the Bethlem Royal Hospital, which had long outgrown its Lambeth home. Building of the new hospital started in 1928, and, sadly, this involved pulling down the old mansion. The hospital development did not need all the land and parts of it were sold off for housing development. There are still substantial grounds around the Hospital largely undeveloped, although planning permission was recently granted amid local controversy. The Hospital and grounds were transferred into Bromley in the 1990s in exchange for South Norwood Country Park. In the 1930s, a large amount of building took place over much of the open land, largely suburban-style semi-detached houses. To the north, Shirley links into neighbouring areas. However, some land escaped the building boom. Shirley Park House with its extensive grounds became a hotel and in 1965 was bought by the Whitgift Foundation to become Trinity School in a new building constructed on the site. Neighbouring the school grounds is Shirley Park Golf Course. To the south of Shirley are large areas of woodland, including Shirley Hills and Threehalfpenny Wood. Parks and open spaces are dotted across the area, including Miller’s Pond. In Upper Shirley, very large houses in a few exclusive estates have been built, housing ambassadors, etc. Shirley has three Anglican churches. Shirley Parish Church - St John the Evangelist - was built in 1856 from Sir George Gilbert Scott's design. All Saints' Church, Bridle Road, was built in the 1950s by Rev Aubrey K W Wright and its design is of a very high quality. It was one of the first post-war buildings in Croydon to be listed. St George the Martyr on The Glade was also built in the 1950s. There are also various evangelical churches, Shirley Methodist which is opposite Trinity School for Boys and Baptist Churches. Croydon's Synagogue is on Shirley Oaks Road. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Shirley, London」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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