Places to Visit in South London - Lebanon Road

A random stop, sitting in between two of the most used tram stops. Its name is for a road seemingly named for a country 3,500km away, one most commuters have probably have never been to. It's an odd curiosity, easily forgotten about unless you happen to use it regularly.

Lebanon Road tram stop isn't the first station most would ever plan to visit, and to be fair there isn't anything of notice. The busier East Croydon is perfect if you want to escape Croydon to go towards Brighton, Central London or Cambridge, and it's only a few minutes away by walking. From the tram stop, you can eye the scaffolding, skyscrapers and cranes that continue building Croydon upwards, whilst the backdrop of an estate is behind you. At least, that's the case for one of the platforms.

Lebanon Road is unique because it's split in two - the westbound platform is a few metres away from the eastbound platform. It's also unique as it shares the road with traffic, unlike most other sections of Tramlink that have the tram at least somewhat segregated, whether with barriers or individual lanes that can't be crossed. Here, however, you're likely to be stuck behind a tram for a while if you opt to not take the busier A232 to the south - no other tram stops can truly say that's the case, apart from maybe parts of the Croydon loop (but even then, they don't have four buses running alongside). 

The road itself is nothing special. It's a standard residential area, one way only unless you're a cyclist. The road sign is dull as all Croydon signs are, just its name in bold text on a white background. It never reaches any main roads either, its only significance is the tram stop itself - and the quirky name.

It has nothing to do with the country, instead it's the tree variety. It comes from John Brickwood, a banker who lived in the area in the late 18th century. He owned lots of land east of East Croydon and had a manor, Brickwood House, within it - eventually, he ended up bankrupt and his land was sold. By 1908, the manor was no more, and the land became a series of streets. There's Brickwood Road, named in his honour, and Lebanon Road is similarly named for the trees that surrounded Brickwood House. There's a Cedar Road nearby as well, much for the same reason - from here, it's easy to realise the trees were Cedars of Lebanon. The country has one on its flag, if you want an artistic interpretation of one. And if you want a source, there's this interesting read on all the street names in this part of Croydon: https://eastcroydon.org.uk/the-history-of-east-croydon/

                                                              

I didn't expect to find out this information on Lebanon Road tram stop, which otherwise is stublike on the internet. Then again, it is just another tram stop, albeit one with a unique name, and I won't be making this into a recurring series where I visit every tram stop. Sometimes the best thing to do is to get into one and let it take you elsewhere.