It is one of the few remaining 'Camp schools' built by the National Camps Corporation in 1939 to provide fresh air and fun activities for inner city children and offer a refuge for civilian evacuees in the event of war breaking out.
The first occupants of the centre were children from Catford Central and Browhill schools in East London who arrived in May 1940, as the construction work was being completed.
In 1996, The Sayers Croft Trust[1] was established as an independent charity with the aim of involving the local community, especially young people, in the enjoyment and care of the environment.
Sayers Croft provides a wide range of opportunities for first hand outdoor learning in a safe environment.
The Romans built Stane street across the Weald to link Chichester (Noviomagus Reginorum) on the South coast with London and a branch from this principal highway crosses Sayers Croft on its way to the Romano-Celtic temple at Farley Green.
A croft is a small building or small holding and it is likely that the word Sayers is derived from 'Sawyer' a man who cut wood The bombing of the Basque town of Guernica in Spain by planes of the German Luftwaffe's Condor Legion in 1937 made politicians realise the potential for destruction in British cities should another war with Germany break out in Europe.
As tensions continued to grow, a bill was presented to the British parliament in March 1939 to promote and facilitate the construction, maintenance and management of camps of a permanent character".