Upper Norwood · Croydon
Home Care in Upper Norwood, SE19
Upper Norwood is split between Croydon and Lambeth, with edges in Bromley and Southwark, and a direct bus from Lewisham reaches the top of the hill. Our carers cover SE19 addresses on both sides of the Croydon-Lambeth line when the rota allows, and a carer can live in wherever the flat or house has a bedroom to give them.
Why a direct bus helps us reach SE19
The 122 runs from Lewisham town centre through Sydenham to Crystal Palace Parade, at the top of the hill, without a change. Few parts of Croydon have such a direct route from near our office. From the Parade, the 249, 322, 417, 432 and 450 all stop on Westow Hill or Westow Street. Even so, a fixed 8am slot on Beulah Hill depends on who is on the rota that week; phone with the road name and the hours and we will check.
One neighbourhood, two councils, sometimes four
Most of Upper Norwood is in Croydon or Lambeth, and near Crystal Palace Park it runs into Bromley and Southwark. Croydon's Upper Norwood Triangle conservation area adjoins Lambeth's Westow Hill conservation area and Bromley's Crystal Palace Park. For care, this matters more than anything else on this page. The council that assesses and pays is the one you pay council tax to, not the one named on the street sign, so two neighbours on the same hill can deal with different social care teams, carers' services and hospitals.
- Croydon side of the Triangle. Croydon's adult social care front door is its online request form, with 020 8726 6500 for phone help; carers go to Carers First.
- Lambeth side. Lambeth's adult social care line is 020 7926 5555, or use its online referral. Carers' Hub Lambeth (020 7501 8970) supports family carers. See home care in Lambeth.
Each council means-tests separately. Either can hand you its share as a direct payment to spend on visits from us; self-funders can simply ring us, and Jackie puts her figure on paper after seeing the home.
A ridge of flats
On the Croydon side, the Crystal Palace and Upper Norwood ward is mostly flats: the 2021 Census counted 43% of homes as flats in purpose-built blocks and another 15% in converted houses. Only 15% were in terraces. Nearly four households in ten had no car. Large Victorian houses line the top of the ridge, plenty of them carved into flats reached by one communal stair and no lift. Lower down are semis, terraces, some 1970s council housing and newer blocks on Beulah Hill.
The slopes are the other issue. Someone who manages fine indoors may struggle with the walk back up from the shops. Rail does not help much: Crystal Palace station, in Bromley, sits well below the Triangle up a long climb, and Gipsy Hill, in Lambeth, is lower down to the west. For most local trips the bus is easier. Croydon runs no parking zone on its side of the hill.
The library hub and the day centre
At 39 Westow Hill, the library hub is paid for jointly by Croydon and Lambeth and run by a local charity, the Upper Norwood Library Trust. Several bus routes stop at the Triangle, so a carer can go there with your relative as part of a companionship visit. On the Lambeth side, Central Hill Day Services, 1 Lunham Road, SE19, offers Monday-to-Friday dementia day care for Lambeth residents after a needs assessment. On the Croydon side, the council's dementia day services are at Langley Oaks and at the Heavers Resource Centre on Selhurst Road.
Which hospital, and what happens at discharge?
On the Croydon side, the acute hospital is usually Croydon University Hospital in Thornton Heath. On the Lambeth side, it is usually King's College Hospital at Denmark Hill, though people from this corner of Lambeth may also go to Croydon. Whichever ward discharges you, social care afterwards comes from your own council. If home is the plan, say so on the ward from the start and get in touch with us during the planning, since a carer cannot be conjured on the morning of discharge. More on leaving hospital with support.
Everything our carers can help with →
Home care elsewhere in Croydon
Around Upper Norwood
Getting to and around Upper Norwood
Postcodes
SE19
Stations and buses
Crystal Palace (London Overground Windrush line and Southern; in Bromley, well below the Triangle) and Gipsy Hill (Southern, in Lambeth). Bus 122 runs direct from Lewisham to Crystal Palace Parade; the 249, 322, 417, 432 and 450 serve Westow Hill and Westow Street; the 196 runs along Beulah Hill.
Parking
Croydon's CPZ list names no Upper Norwood zone.
Council adult social care
Croydon Council, 020 8726 6500.
Our road is in SE19 but we're not sure if it's Croydon or Lambeth. Does it matter?
Yes, for the council side: the assessment, any contribution and the carers' service. It makes no difference to us. We provide care on both sides.
Mum lives in a converted flat at the top of a long staircase. Can she still have visits?
Yes. A carer helps with everything inside the flat, and on the stairs if she can manage them with support. When the stairs stop being safe, her own council's occupational therapists are the people to call in.
Dad is on the Lambeth side and has dementia. Is there a day centre nearby?
Yes: Lambeth's Central Hill service on Lunham Road takes people with dementia on weekdays, once a Lambeth assessment has agreed a place. Carers can get him ready on day-centre mornings.
Could a carer take Mum to the library on Westow Hill?
Yes, if it is part of her plan.
Nearby
Nearest areas to Upper Norwood outside Croydon
Closest first, measured in a straight line from the centre of Upper Norwood.
