The name WHITGIFT comes from John Whitgift, a former Archbishop of Canterbury. the centre was named after the Archbishop as a way of commemorating his efforts in setting up a charitable foundation, now known as The Whitgift Foundation, which he set up in Croydon, because it was the site of a palace, a summer retreat for Archbishops of Canterbury. His foundation supported and still supports today homes for the elderly and infirm, and runs three independent schools – Whitgift School, founded in 1596, Trinity School of John Whitgift and, more recently, Old Palace School for girls, which is housed in the former palace.
The freehold of the Centre is owned by the Whitgift Foundation, as a registered charity in England and Wales. However currently Howard Holdings plc currently owns a 75% lease of the centre, the other is controlled by the foundation.
The Whitgift Centre was designed by Geddes Architects, the centre was built on the site of Whitgift Middle School, renamed Trinity School of John Whitgift in 1954, which moved to a new site at Shirley Park in 1965.
The first shop to open was Boots on 17 October 1968, and the centre itself was officially opened in October 1970 by the Duchess of Kent.
In the middle of the Whitgift Centre there was a Roman-themed pub called The Forum (name link to Josh Wyles project). In the 1990s, the centre was almost completely rebuilt to an atrium design, and the Forum pub was demolished.
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