covers about 260 acres to the West of Purley town centre. William Webb, a local estate agent bought the site in 1888 and proceeded to develop it according to his own theories of housing development. He later explained these in his book, 'Garden First', published in 1919.
He suggested that 'the occupiers of houses (should) not only have the enjoyment of their own premises in private seclusion, but that, both from their own upper windows and when passing along the roads, it may appear as if they are in one large garden of which their holding is part.'
Webb established the planting of trees and shrubs and the layout of other landscape features well before the first houses were built. His dream of a garden home for city men received a great boost in 1901 when the Croydon Municipal Tramways reached Purley, bringing the Estate within comfortable commuting distance of London.
Upper Woodcote House was the first dwelling on the Estate and was Webb's own home. Also in 1903 a model village was laid out in the south-western corner of the Estate. The cottages surrounding it were to be occupied by men working on the Estate.
Following the creation of the green and its surroundings, the roads of the estate were gradually developed. Certain roads were developed according to a specific planting scheme. Rose Walk was laid out in 1907 in accordance with Webb's principle of gardens first, the plots were offered for sale in 1911. Extensive preperation of the soil was carried out, and 6000 roses comprising 400 varieties were planted.
Silver Lane followed and was planted with four rows of Silver Birch trees carpeted with bulbs and wild flowers.
The houses followed only when the landscaping had partly matured. In 1912 the south border was completed with a herbaceous border in front of each plot and over the next eight years or so Furze Hill, Furze Lane, Woodcote Lane and Briar Hill were completed.
After the 1914 - 1918 war, Webb constructed the Promenade de Verdun and planted a line of Lombardy Poplar trees in soil brought from France. At the end of the Promenade stands an obelisk to the memory of the French soldiers who fell in the War.
The fallen British soldiers were given their war memorial of granite on the green.
By 1925 the Webb Estate was essentially complete, since when a certain amount of modern infilling has taken place, but this has not affected the attractive secluded character of the area. It still remains the most attractive private residential estate affording not only privacy and enjoyment to all those who live in the area, but also interest and pleasure to those visitors who pass along its roads. The Webb Estate was designated as a Conservation Area under Section 277 of the Town and Country Act 1971 by the council on June 27th 1983. This followed the designation of the Upper Woodcote Village area as a Conservation Area in November 1973 and action by the local residents and other bodies over many years to extend the protection to a greater proportion of the Webb Estate.
In December 2006, one of the semi detached cottages surrounding the green sold for £695,000. In January 2007 it is still possible to purchase a semi detached house in Furze Lane from around £600,000, while detached houses in the Conservation. Area start at £1,500,000 and rise to in excess of £4,000,000. The average selling price of a detached house during 2006 was around £2,000,000. If you are interested in selling or purchasing on The Webb Estate, please telephone for more up to date information.