Formerly part of the parkland belonging to the Coombe Estate, the land now
known as Lloyd Park was given to the Corporation of Croydon in memory of
Frank Lloyd (d.1927).
The Coombe Estate was first recorded in 1221. In the fifteenth century it was
called the Borough of Coombe, and by Elizabeth I’s reign it was known as
‘Broad Coombe.’ In the seventeenth century the estate was owned by Matthew and Daniel Harvey, brothers of William Harvey (physician to Charles I). William frequently stayed at Coombe and had caves made in the grounds in order to gratify his habit of meditating in the dark. This is thought to have been close by to the park’s current limits today, but not within the present boundary of Lloyd Park.
A field on the northern boundary of today’s park is called the Squashes. This
was the name given to a line of springs which emerged between the Thanet
sand and underlying chalk. Most of the springs still flow during wet weather
but Rippingill is the most frequent one. The water soaks through the chalk
subsoil which is under most of the park.
On the side of Hammond Hill is a predominant plough bank which was formed in the past by the plough turning around. Little New Field has a similar feature, but this is exaggerated by the change in geology.
Frank Lloyd, a newspaper proprietor, had lived at Coombe House (now Geoffrey Harris House) since 1892 and had the idea of presenting some of his land to the corporation as a park before he died. After his death the land passed to his daughter, Mrs J R Garwood, and she decided to make a gift of the land and so carry out her father’s wishes and in addition provide a memorial to him.
The parkland contains many old trees and the conditions of the gift included
that they should be retained and preserved where possible. Although severely damaged by the storms of 1987 and the predominance of playing fields, the area is recognisable as former parkland, featuring clumps of beech trees on the high point of the park.
Chalk Pit Field contained a chalk pit which was still visible in the 1940s but was filled in and levelled in the early 1950s.
A sports pavilion was built in 1963, and in 1969 a children’s playground was
opened. The playground featured a long slide which went down into one of the old chalk pits.
The track for Croydon Tramlink was laid along the Coombe Road boundary to Lloyd Park in 1999 and a new sports pavilion constructed in 2008, along with a head house for a tunnel for National Grid located near the Lloyd Park tram stop.
Friends of Lloyd Park 