Morland Memories
In 1783 William Marshall worked a farm of some 300 acres, consisting of scattered fields throughout Addiscombe and Woodside. Extending from the South of Addiscombe Road to the North of Woodside Green.
And in those days, the whole of the Addiscombe area was just fields. The only permanent building in the area being the 17th Century Black Horse pub.
Marshall's farm house was half way up Morland Road, on the right hand side, when traveling from Croydon towards Woodside. He kept meticulous records of the soil conditions on his farm, and generously published them some 5 years later for the benefit of other farmers.
This gave the clue as to where clay might be found to meet the need for bricks to satisfy the local building boom that was all ready underway in the 1850's and 1860's.
In 1858 W. Vaughan ran a brick works at the junction of Morland Road and Morland Avenue. When the clay pit became unviable (likely through being too wet and difficult to work), it was abandoned and became Morland Pond. The brick works site was part of the Heath Lodge extensive estate, occupied by John Morland, after whom the road was named.
After his widow died in 1888, the estate was sold and split up, Morland Avenue was the first of the new roads to be laid out.