History
Addington Palace
Originally known as Addington Place, The current building was built in 1772 by Barlow Trecothick to replace an earlier building further to the West nearer to Spout Hill which had been built by the Leigh Family and was known as Addington Place. Barlow Trecothick was a merchant and an alderman of the city of London and was Lord Mayor between 1770-71.
Sadly he died in 1775 before much of the work was complete and the estate passed to his nephew, James Ivers on the understanding that he took his uncle's name. James completed the work on the house and lived in it for a few years before his business interests took a turn for the worse and he sold the property on. Several changes of ownership occurred before the estate was brought by the ecclesiastical commissioners following the passing of an act of parliament to replace Old Palace as a country home for the Archbishops of Canterbury.
In 1808 Archbishop Charles Manners-Sutton took up residence and during the 19th Century, 5 other Archbishops lived there, many making additions to the building and also to the church where they worshipped as initially there was no chapel at Addington Place. When Archbishop Benson died in 1896, he was buried at Canterbury rather than Addington where his 5 predecessors were buried.
Frederick Temple, his successor ended the close association of Canterbury with Addington when he sold the mansion and its grounds to Frederick English, a diamond merchant from South Africa. With the consent of the ecclesiastical commissioners, he sold Addington Park and with part of the proceeds of the sale he bought a house in the precincts at Canterbury known as the Old Palace, which he converted into a suitable residence.
After English's death in 1909 there were attempts to sell the estate and in 1911 there was a proposal for a massive housing development in the park but the reserve price was not reached and the sale was withdrawn. A substantial part of the estate was sold to Addington Golf Club in 1913 and the house was taken over in 1914 by the Red Cross as a hospital for enteric fever and malaria. After the war the house remained empty for many years. The golf course was laid out and opened in 1922.
In 1928 the mansion and remainder of the estate were acquired by Addiscombe Garden Estates who sold some of the land for building and converted the remainder to the Addington Palace Golf Club. The mansion became "a very comfortable but not deluxe hotel". Around 1930 the southern part of the estate was sold to the Croydon Corporation and converted into a public park. The Corporation purchased the remainder of the estate, including the house, in 1951, leasing the park back to the golf club. In 1953 the mansion was leased to the Royal School of Church Music who resided there until 1996. Now owned by Croydon Council it is leased as a wedding venue and conference centre.
The terms of the lease requires the House to be open to the public on 6 dates each year, mostly Sunday afternoons and some weekdays when free guided tours are available. For further details, visit the Addington Palace website.