An extract from: A HISTORY OF COULSDON

Another large housing development in Coulsdon since the war was the Wates Estate, built in what had been a pleasantly wooded area between Byron Avenue and the railway. There was a fearful row before they were allowed to build, but it must be admitted that Wates took great trouble to retain many of the trees and Coulsdon Woods is now accepted as a very pleasant addition to our community.
Whilst it was being built a whole new chapter of prehistory was added when the digging of a drainage ditch in 1969 uncovered a cemetery dating back to Roman times.
It had been known since 1805, when the Stoats Nest quarry was being developed, that there were traces of early settlement on that hill, but that these ditches were defensive, round an Iron Age settlement, did not become apparent until this latest dig. A more detailed description of these finds is recorded in Volume 9 of the Bourne Society's Local History Records (1970).

Infilling to give additional houses in established roads has been a feature of recent development, with dozens of additional 'Closes' to be found, where one house has been demolished and several others built in its place clustered round their own service road.
This system must account for hundreds of extra families being able to enjoy the clean air and superb countryside of our suburb.

The Wates Estate was not the only remnant of countryside left over from the developments of the past 50 years. Some still survive but others exist only in the memories of residents. Take the modern library in Old Coulsdon, built in 1963 on a small plot between Bradmore Green School and the houses at the top of Bradmore Way.
There are grown-ups now who recall a small wood there which was a wonderful place in which to play. It seemed enormous, with pathways twisting between tall trees and thick bushes, a wood of truly Enid Blytonian proportions—just one example of many that have gone.
Fortunately there are still acres of wooded land within the boundaries, one of the largest of which is that below Coulsdon Court Golf Course and Canon's Hill, down to Old Lodge Lane.
The least altered woodlands left today are those bordering Ditches Lane—Devilsden, Sparkie and Figgs Woods. Some say the line of yew trees along the north-east flank of Farthing Downs goes back to Celtic times, 2000 years ago, but in truth it is nowhere near this grand age.