The charity that meets homeless people in Queen's Gardens at 9.30pm nightly turns 50 this year. How to join its anniversary quiz night on 24 October.

Nightwatch, the charity whose volunteers meet homeless and vulnerable people in Queen’s Gardens every night of the year, turns 50 this year. Its anniversary logo now reads simply “1976 - 2026”, and it is marking the milestone with a run of fundraising events this autumn (Croydon Nightwatch).

The charity began in 1976, after the death of a homeless man in Croydon. Local residents joined forces with Rev Martin Wharton of Croydon Parish Church to make sure people sleeping out were seen and fed. Fifty years on, volunteers are still out nightly: in the Queen’s Gardens, by Fell Road, at 9.30pm, every night of the year.

They hand out food, clothes, toiletries and household goods, offer befriending and employment support, and act as a first point of contact that can signpost people to other agencies.

A small charity doing a nightly job

Nightwatch is run on modest money. Its entry on the Charity Commission register, where it is charity number 274925, records income of £94,213 and spending of £115,605 in the financial year to 31 December 2024. In that year the charity spent £21,392 more than it raised.

The anniversary comes at a busy moment for homelessness services in the borough. A new day centre for homeless people opens in October on London Road, run by CVA, CAYSH and Spires, and its partners describe Croydon’s existing day services as at capacity. Nightwatch’s evening run in Queen’s Gardens remains the constant: it is listed on Croydon Council’s own rough sleeping pages alongside the daytime drop-ins.

The anniversary events

Nightwatch has three things coming up, per its events page:

  • Charity quiz night, Saturday 24 October, 7pm to 11pm at the Parklangley Club, 44A Wickham Way, Beckenham, BR3 3AF, about four miles east of central Croydon. Tickets are £18, food and a raffle are included, and teams of up to eight can book on 020 8658 9028. All proceeds go to Nightwatch.
  • A showing of the film A Street Cat Named Bob on 12 November. The charity has not yet published a venue or ticket details; its contacts page is the place to ask.
  • A harvest appeal to local schools and churches, collecting the food and goods the nightly run gives out.

What it means for you

  • If you need help tonight, Nightwatch volunteers will be in the Queen’s Gardens, by Fell Road, at 9.30pm. That is true tonight and every night.
  • If you want to mark the 50th, the quiz night on 24 October is the open-to-everyone event, booked on 020 8658 9028.
  • If you want to give, donations go via the charity’s JustGiving page, and the harvest appeal will take food and goods through local schools and churches.

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