Vermont Road
This short wide road runs steeply downhill, connecting Harold Road to Orleans Road. The group of 8 regularly spaced attractive red brick villas built in the 1880s share characteristics with those nearby on Harold Road. All the villas are locally listed, and are considered to be of special local or historic significance. Croydon Council built flats in 1958 after three villas were demolished following World War Two bomb damage.
Maps and Land Ownership
1874 OS Map showing area where Vermont Road would be built – Reproduced-with-the-permission-of-the-National-Library-of-Scotland-2-httpsmaps.nls_.ukindex.html.png
1898 OS Map Showing Properties Built in Vermont Road – Reproduced-with-the-permission-of-the-National-Library-of-Scotland-2-httpsmaps.nls_.ukindex.html.png
1915 OS Map showing location of properties in Vermont Road – Reproduced-with-the-permission-of-the-National-Library-of-Scotland-2-httpsmaps.nls_.ukindex.html.png
1946 OS Map Showing location of properties in Vermont Road – Reproduced-with-the-permission-of-the-National-Library-of-Scotland-2-httpsmaps.nls_.ukindex.html.png
Timeline
Building of the street
| House Numbers | Original House Name | Builder | Plans First Submitted | First Listed in Rate Books |
| 1 | Glenisla | William Drown | Unknown | 1885 |
| 2 | Caerleon | William Drown | 1883 | 1885 |
| 3 | Fernbrae | William Drown | Unknown | 1885 |
| 4 | St Olive | William Drown | 1883 | 1885 |
| 5 | Oakdene | William Drown | 1883 | 1885 |
| 6 | Lynwood | William Drown | 1883 | 1884 |
| 7 | Haroldene | William Drown | 1883 | 1885 |
| 8 | Corlatt, then Portland, then Esperanza | William Drown | 1885 | 1884 |
| 10 | Cleveland | William Drown | Unknown | 1884 (demolished after 2WW bomb damage) |
| 12 | Bernina | William Drown | Unknown | 1884 (demolished after 2WW bomb damage) |
| 14 | Hillside | William Drown | Unknown | 1884 (demolished after 2WW bomb damage) |
The Builder
William Drown (1839 -1932)
William Drown was the only builder of Vermont Road when houses were first built. William Drown was born in Brentor in September 1839, on the edge of Dartmoor, the son of a blacksmith. At 21 his profession was listed as a joiner and he moved to London on marrying Britannia Eliza Willmott on 17 October 1864 at St Martins in the Field. The family lived in north London before moving to Brixton where he was living when Rockmount Road was developed. The family by 1911 had moved to Carshalton and Drown was still employing people at the age of 71. He died in Epsom in 1932.
Ownership of 1 Vermont Road
Land Registry Document dated 1979 for 1 Vermont Road, Upper Norwood
| No. | Date | Nature of Document | Name of Parties | |
| 1 | 8.8.1884 | Lease | i/ii | Earle Bird/William Drown |
| 2 | 10.12.1884 | Conveyance | i/ii | Earle Bird/William Drown |
| 3 | 18.12.1884 | Mortgage | i/ii | William Drown/Sawyer & anon |
| 4 | 10.6.1887 | Transfer of mortgage | i/ii | Sawyer & anon/W.H. Booty |
| 5 | 9.4.1895 | Transfer of mortgage | i/ii | W.H. Booty/W.H. Booty & anon |
| 6 | 20.1.1904 | Conveyance | i/ii | W.H. Booty & anon/C.J. Garland |
| 7 | 14.6.1931 | Probate of will | i/ii | C.J. Garland |
| 8 | 14.9.1931 | Assent | i/ii | C.J. Garland & anon/C.J. Garland & anon |
1944
Architecture
- Street-facing gablesRe
- Dutch gables
- London stock brick/Red brick
- Prominent decorative chimney stacks with clay pots
- Prominent recessed arched doorways
- Hardwood timber doors and glazing panels
- Feature dormer windows
- Turrets
- Decorative brickwork detailing, including soldier courses
- Bay windows
- Timber sash windows
- Intricate window frames of bespoke designs
- Stone/stucco detailing
- Stucco/terracotta decorative panels integrated into elevations
- Natural slate roofs
This short street runs steeply downhill, connecting Harold Road to Orleans Road.
The group of regularly spaced square red brick houses with elaborate timber porches share characteristics with those nearby on Harold Road. Vermont Road was first mentioned in 1878 and therefore laid out prior to Harold Road.
Houses built from1878 onwards in Vermont Road
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Double fronted Victorian houses - courtesy of R. Hibberd
External decorative features
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1..5.11.
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3.5.6.
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4. Prominent decorative chimney stack
Post-war Housing following bomb damage from World War Two
Significant Street Buildings
Social History
Residents
Brown, Harrison Bird (1831-1915)
Harrison Bird Brown was recognised for his nineteenth century marine and landscape painting. An orphan at an early age he was apprenticed to a house and ship painting firm. He opened a business as a “sign and fancy painter”. He was encouraged by Port …Evans, General Horace Moule (1841 to 1923)
Lived at 6 Vermont Road in 1901 and 1911 Enjoyed a military career serving in the 104th Regiment of Foot (Bengal Fusiliers) in the Indian Army and then became Deputy Assistant Adjutant General of the Bengal Army. He went on to be General Officer Com …Seaverns, Joel Herbert (1860-1923)
Lived at 8 Vermont Road He was the only son of Dr. Joel Seaverns and Jane Swain of Boston, Masachusetts. He graduated with ‘magna cum laude’ from Harvard University with a BA degree in the Arts in 1881. He became a partner in the firm of Messrs Henry …Towgood, James
Lived at 1 Vermont Road in 1901 James Towgood of the Banking Family. His Great Uncle was Samuel Rogers to whom “The Old Curiosity Shop” was dedicated and who was a possibly a model for various characters in Charles Dickens’ work.Wesleyan Ministers Vermont Road (1838-1921)
Wesleyan Ministers Living in Vermont Road Minister Residency in Vermont Road House Number Rev. Joseph Cornelius Wright (1838-1912) 1883-1885 10 Rev. George Charter (1843-) 1883-1891 12 Rev. Charles Edwin Wansborough (1848-1908) 1892-1894 12 Rev. …Memories
War
The bomb damage was some of the worst in the Upper Norwood area. Bomb damage – some of worst in area. A high explosive bomb fell on March 2nd, 1944. The crater in the garden of 12 Vermont Road led to the house being demolished. Numbers 10 and 12 were reported as being unstable.