John Whitgift, Archbishop of Canterbury, from 1583, establishes at Croydon, long used as a summer retreat by the Archbishops of Canterbury, a charitable foundation, which exists today as The Whitgift Foundation.

It supports 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 palace buildings once used by him.