For most of its history,
Riddlesdown was used as pasture and was one of many downs and
commons in the area used to graze livestock. Except for
Coombes Wood, the site was much more open, and is depicted in
earlier editions of Ordnance Survey maps as being covered by
only scattered scrub.
The old Riddlesdown Road that runs through the middle of the
site is believed to be a Roman road that ran from London to the
coast. It was probably a transport link between a network of
Roman iron works in the South East of England. The earthworks
or Wide Ditch on the north-western boundary is listed as a
Scheduled Monument by English Heritage and also hints at early
human activity on the site. These aspects of the site, together
with various old trackways, causeways, depressions and even
possible traces of Iron Age fields, give it regional
archaeological significance. Croydon Council has designated
Riddlesdown as an Archaeological Priority Zone.
In the 1860s, the hill slopes were used as a rifle range by the
famous Surrey Volunteers and the Rifle Butts on Croydon Council’s
land are a legacy of this. In 1884, a year after the City
Corporation acquired the site, the railway line from Croydon to
Oxted was completed. It runs through a 700-metre tunnel
beneath the site and crosses the Quarry on a viaduct.
Grazing by domestic livestock ceased by about 1930. As a
result, scrub and trees colonsied the site. Only the
grassland higher up on the slopes was kept open, initially by
burning (although this ceased in the 1960s) and later by mechanical
mowing. It was not until 1989 that livestock grazing was
restored to confined areas to redress the balance.
Veteran trees
There are notable trees on the site, represented mainly by
boundary trees, and by mature coppice and maiden trees in Coombes
Wood. The distinctive yew trees are an important
feature. Some of these trees may be veterans.