D. H. Lawrence and David Bowie struggled with being there. Comedians have found it a convenient trope for philistinism and the banal. The 'Croydon facelift' succeeded 'Essex girls' as a snobbish putdown. Riots and burning buildings in 2011 didn't help.

And yet this town halfway between London and Brighton can claim a remarkably distinguished - and hidden - history at the centre of things.

No fewer than 11 archbishops are buried there. Continental air travel - from London's first airport - began there. In the sixties it was a daring experiment in futuristic brutalist architecture. Its contribution to black culture began with our most notable black composer and culminated in the first black British artist to headline Glastonbury. Its Brit School produced everyone from Adele to Amy Winehouse and Raye. Still want to diss Croydon?

Croydonopolis tells the amazing story of this much-maligned town, whose only fault was to be too far ahead of the curve, and always go for broke.