SELBOKiV/i SOCIETY NOTICES 
39 
EXCURSIONS. 
Sat m day, Detember 15. — The p.-irty (numbering fcjrty-ihree) which assembleti 
at Croydon on this day, had several objects in view, but made its way in the 
first place to Whitgift's Hospital, where the Warden, Mr. Alfred Jones, H.A., 
standing in the (luadrangle, gave a graphic account of the buildings which ate 
under his charge. .Afterwards, he showed the party over them, and the kitchen, 
library, and Whitgift’s private room as well as the Chapel were visited. Mr. 
Jones all the tiirre continued his remarks and showed the beauties and heirlooms 
of the place. The carving which lines some of the rooms was particularly 
admired. A little time ago there was a suggestion that the old hospital should 
be pulled down in order to widen the street, in spite of the fact that .several 
alternative schemes were devised. It took the whole energy of the Croydon 
Antiquities Protection Society, of which Mr. Whitaker (who is a Vice-President 
of the Selborne Society) is Chairman, to ward off the danger, and even now it is 
not entirely averted. 
The next place visited was the Old Palace, where Miss Dorothea I.alham 
read a short paper on the building. In this, she traced its history from the tenth 
century, giving very intere.sting details with regard to the .Archbishops who 
lived at Croydon, and mentioned the improvements and alterations which they 
made. She also read an amusing extract showing how the various members 
of the Court were housed at the time when Queen Elizabeth visited the Palace. 
The buildings were sold in 1780 by .Act of Parliament to Sir Abraham I’itcher. 
and thirty years later a linen-printing business was carrierl on there. In 1887 
the Duke of Newcastle bought the Palace and presented it to the Community 
of the Sisters of the Church, which uses it as a Secondary School for Girls. 
From Croydon Palace the members of the Selborne Society proceeded to the 
neighbouring Church, where Mr. Corbet Anderson gave a brief account of that 
structure and its monuments destroyed by fire in 1867. The origin of Croydon 
Old Church, he said, was lost in the mists of antiquity. Originally it was 
surrounded by clear-tunning trout streams. It was planted near Waddon, spelt 
Wodens in old writings, possibly from some fane devoted by our pagan Anglo- 
Saxon ancestors to that deity, whose name is still retained in Wednesday (Wodens 
day). The church is dedicated to St. John the Baptist, and in the streams 
surrounding it many early converts to Christianity may have been baptised. 
Elfsies, the Priest of Croydon, was witness to a Will in 960. From Domes- 
day Book we learn that William the Conqueror bestowed the Manor of Croydon 
upon the distinguished scholar Lanfranc, and that here was a Church. After the 
fire, when the walls fell, the ground plan of a structure, equal in size to the late 
fabric was revealed ; and it was found that the old walls were largely composed 
of fragments of late Norman, early English, and decorated work, debris of the 
changes which had occurred in the character of the structure during successive 
periods. Much of these interesting remains were retained by Sir Gilbert Scott, 
the .Architect, and now exist within the walls of the present fabric. 
Among Rectors of Croydon may be named Richard de Bury, who was pre- 
sented thereto by Edward III., whose tutor he had been. Myles Coverdale, 
translator of the first entire Bible printed in the English language, was conse- 
crated Bishop of Exeter by Archbishop Cranmer in Croydon Church. 
The lecture was illustrated by drawings of the principal monuments destroyed 
by the fire. Mr. Anderson brought his discourse to an end by pointing out 
various Early English and Decorated fragments which fell out of the walls at 
the time of the fire and are now utilised in the present structure. Combined 
with the documentary evidence which has come down to us, the fragments 
referred to unmistakably prove the great antiquity of the Old Parish Church of 
C toy don. 
Finally, the whole party was entertained to tea by Mr. and Mrs. Baldwin 
Latham, and the proceedings terminated with a vote of thanks to them, to the 
guides, and to Miss Flint, who organised the excursion so successfully. This 
was proposed by the Honorary Secretary and seconded by Mr. E. A. Martin, 
Honorary Secretary of the Croydon Branch. 
The sad record has to be added of the death of Mr. J. Corbet Anderson, 
which took place on January 3, 1907, at the age of 80 years. 
