We are located at the end of Lion Road, Croydon. There are two sites which make up our Society - Lion Road and Bert Road. The land is leased from Croydon Council but we are self managed with a committee handling all lettings and maintenance. We have an area of over 1400 rods, split over 183 plots, some large and some small. There have been allotments on this site for over 130 years. (see Our History).
Please see theContact Us page for addresses, phone numbers and contact form.
Here's a map to help you find us and a link to Google maps
Lion Road is a short road off Pawsons Road. The closest postcode to us is CR0 2QB
PARTY ON THE PLOT
This year's party will be on Saturday 16th September from 11am until 3pm. See our Open Days page for more details and pictures of our previous parties.
AGM 2017
Queens
Community Centre (click for a map) The AGM was held on Saturdy 25th February 2017 at 3pm.
Do
you have an email address?
Let us know - it would be great to be able to send this to you
direct and let you know of other important dates.
Competitions and Winners
Our Best Plot winners were: Best Large Plot (Lion Road) - Mrs Palmieri, plots 80/82 Best Large Plot (Bert Road) - Mr Morris, plot 14 Best Small Plot, (Lion Road) - Bob Smith, plot 85 Best Small Plot, (Bert Road) - Karolina Sadowska, plot 24
Best Overall Newcomer - Loredana Ivanov, plot 137 (pictured with Sheila, the chair)
!
Composting Toilet
The toilet during construction.
We were lucky to be awarded a grant by Croydon Council, which helped pay for the building and fittings.
All work was carried out by volunteers and the committee.
Our Composting Toilet officially opened by Councillor Alison Butler at our Party on the Plot 2014.
Plot Inspections
Plot Inspections &
Weedy Letters During the
growing season, you may notice members of the committee looking at your
plot. They are doing this to help all of
us keep the allotment site open. This is
because we lease it from Croydon Council and we need to meet certain standards. 1. If you should receive a weedy 1
letter, this will specify what you need to do to improve your plot and when you
need to do it by. 2. If the work is not done within the
time stated, you will receive a second letter giving a further week to carry
out the work. 3. If there is still no improvement
after the second letter you will receive a third letter (notice to quit) giving
you a week to clear your crops and tools and return your key and receive your
key deposit by cheque.
The National
Federation rules only require us to give one improvement letter before being asked to leave but we
felt that points 1 to 3 above is a fairer process for all of us.
Don’t forget
to talk to us if you have problems maintaining your allotment before it gets
out of hand.
The 3 K's
Keep your edges/path clear,
Keep weeding!
Keep planting!!! And remember number your plot clearly.
Which
edge/path are you responsible for? a) All the edges of your plot.
b) Path between you and your neighbours
(Interplot path) to the right of your plot
when you are on the main road/path looking at your plot.
c) Upkeep of 12" of verge in front of your plot from your plot edge - so don’t
chuck stones or rubbish on it as the Working Party may be coming along with the
lawn mower!
Free
Manure We do get occasional free
deliveries of manure and wood chippings. It is dropped just past the office.
It disappears quicklyso please help yourself while it's there.
Working Parties
On
the first Sunday of each
month we hold a working party to maintain the site. We do not get any assistance from the council in carrying out or paying for the work so we need as much help as possible from plot holders to keep the site up to the standards required in our lease.
All volunteers are welcome to join in.
We would love to welcome you as all assistance helps to keep the maintenance fees down and avoids the expense of employing tradesmen.
Work can include weeding, painting etc:
No skills required- just come along & join in.
We start work at 9am and finish at 12 noon, when a
Free Lunch will be provided. ______________________
The Memorial Garden
Bensham Manor Plotholders sadly, have seen
many dear gardening friends pass on. Plotholders of the day felt it was
important that these people should be remembered by the Society and it was
decided to make the embankment at the Pitt Road entrance a Memorial garden.
A simple wooden cross was erected and relatives and friends of the departed
planted shrubs and trees as a living memorial. As the years have passed it
became apparent that some people wanted to plant more delicate plants and bulbs
and the embankment was not a suitable place. By the office was a small
area of land unused. Once again a worthy team of volunteers set about creating
a small ornamental garden for use as a second memorial garden. 2 benches were
also erected for those who wished to sit and reflect.
Then a few years ago sadly a plotholder named
John Flaherty died. He was so popular not only in the allotments for all the
help he gave to everyone and the Society. In Croydon & Thornton Heath he
was a Folk/ Country Singer who regularly performed at Ruskin House. He had
loved the allotments so much his widow wanted his ashes to be scattered in the
memorial Garden.
Chairman of the day Derek Fishlock decided that
if this was going to happen than the ground would need to be consecrated or
blessed so that it would be a fitting place to have ashes scattered. The local
vicar, a great supporter of the allotment came and performed both ceremonies
and Derek arranged for marble stone to be inscribed “Memorial Garden” so that
all who pass by will understand the significance of this small garden within
the allotment site.
Over the years since then many plants have been planted in
memory and now the garden is a truly lovely place to see as you enter the site.
Our Memorial Garden and communal area for our Open Days
How Plots
are measured
Plot sizes are measured in rods, an old Anglo-Saxon
unit so-called because it was the length of the rod used to control a team
of oxen. A rod is 5.5 yards (5.03metres). There are 4 rods in a chain, that is
22 yards (20.12 metres)
There are 10 chains in a furlong and 8
furlongs in a mile. So a mile is 80 x 22 = 1760 yards (1609.3 metres).
An
acre is the area of land that could be ploughed in a day, being a furrow long
(furlong) and a chain wide, or 160 square rods, which is 4840 sq yards
(4048 sq metres).
A hectare is 10,000 sq metres so an acre is 0.4 of a
hectare.
Plots sizes are usually 5 rods or 10 rods.
A 10 rod
allotment is actually 10 square rods in area, that is 10 x 5.5 x 5.5 = 302.5 sq
yards (253 sq metres).
In metric units, a 10 rod allotment is one fortieth of a hectare: in
imperial units it is one sixteenth of an acre.
We are located at the end of Lion Road, Croydon.
Here's a map to help you find us and a link to 
Our Best Plot winners were:
The toilet during construction.
Our Composting Toilet
Our Memorial Garden and communal area for our Open Days