1. No category

Bromley
For other uses, see Bromley (disambiguation).
Coordinates:
0.0210°E
formed an ancient parish in the Bromley and Beckenham hundred and the Sutton-at-Hone lathe of Kent.[7] In
1840 it became part of the expanded Metropolitan Police
District. The parish adopted the Local Government Act
1858 and a local board was formed in 1867. The board
was reconstituted as Bromley Urban District Council in
1894 and the parish became Bromley Urban District. It
formed part of the London Traffic Area from 1924 and
the London Passenger Transport Area from 1933.[8] In
1934, as part of a county review order, the borough was
expanded by taking in 1,894 acres (7.66 km2 ) from the
disbanded Bromley Rural District; an area including parts
of the parishes of Farnborough, Hayes, Keston and West
Wickham. Bromley became part of the newly created
Greater London in 1965, in the new London Borough of
Bromley.
51°24′25″N 0°01′16″E / 51.4070°N
Bromley is a large suburban town, the administrative
headquarters of the London Borough of Bromley in
Greater London,[2] England. It was historically a market
town chartered since 1158 and an ancient parish in the
county of Kent.[3] Its location on a coaching route and
the opening of a railway station in 1858 were key to its
development, and the economic history of Bromley is underpinned by a shift from an agrarian village to commerce
and retail. As part of the suburban growth of London in
the 20th century, Bromley significantly increased in population and was incorporated as a municipal borough in
1903. It has developed into one of a handful of regionally
significant commercial and retail districts outside central
London[4] and has formed part of Greater London since 2 Governance
1965. Most of Bromley including the town centre falls
under the BR1 postcode district, whereas areas to the
west towards Shortlands are part of BR2 instead. The Bromley forms part of the Bromley and Chislehurst Parpopulation of the town, consisting of the Bromley Town liament constituency and the London European Parliament constituency. The current MP is Bob Neill. James
ward, was 16,826 in the 2011 census.
Cleverly is the London Assembly member for the Bexley
and Bromley constituency, in which the town is located.
1
Bromley’s most prominent MP was the former Conservative Prime Minister Harold Macmillan.
History
Bromley is first recorded in a charter of 862 as Bromleag
and means 'woodland clearing where broom grows’. It
shares this Old English etymology with Great Bromley in
Essex, but not with the Bromley in Tower Hamlets.[5]
3 Geography
The history of Bromley is closely connected with the
See of Rochester. In AD 862 Ethelbert, the King of
Kent, granted land to form the Manor of Bromley. It
was held by the Bishops of Rochester until 1845, when
Coles Child, a wealthy local merchant and philanthropist,
purchased Bromley Palace (now the hub of the Bromley
Civic Centre) and became lord of the manor. The town
was an important coaching stop on the way to Hastings
from London, and the now defunct Royal Bell Hotel (just
off Market Square) is referred to in Jane Austen's Pride
and Prejudice. It was a quiet rural village until the arrival
of the railway in 1858 in Shortlands, which led to rapid
growth, and outlying suburban districts such as Bickley
(which later overflowed into Bromley Common) were developed to accommodate those wishing to live so conveniently close to London.[6]
Other nearby areas:
Bromley is located 9.3 miles (15 km) south east of
Charing Cross and is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the London Plan.[4] Bromley is a post
town in the BR postcode area, consisting of BR1 and
part of the BR2 postcode district.[9] BR1 covers Bromley,
Bickley, Sundridge and part of Downham; and the BR2
portion covers Hayes, Shortlands, Bickley and Bromley
Common.[10]
• Bellingham
• Catford
• Chislehurst
• Coney Hall
• Elmers End
Bromley, also known as Bromley St Peter and St Paul,
1
2
7 CULTURE
• Eltham
• Grove Park
• Lewisham
• Locksbottom
• Mottingham
• New Eltham
• Orpington
• Penge
• Petts Wood
Bromley North Railway Station
• Sidcup
• West Wickham
4
Eurostar services to Brussels and Paris are accessible
from Bromley South by connecting to the international
service at St.Pancras or Ashford International.
Climate
Climate in this area has mild differences between highs
and lows. The Köppen Climate Classification sub- 6.2 Buses
type for this climate is "Cfb". (Marine West Coast
Bromley is served by many Transport for London services
Climate/Oceanic climate).[11]
and an Arriva Kent route, these connect it with areas including Beckenham, Bexleyheath, Catford, Chislehurst,
Croydon, Crystal Palace, Eltham, Hayes Lewisham,
5 Economy
New Addington, Orpington, Penge, Sevenoaks, Sidcup,
Tonbridge, Tunbridge Wells and West Wickham.
Bromley is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the London Plan.[13]
The town has a large retail area, including a
pedestrianised High Street and the Intu Bromley
centre (the “Glades” until 2013), the main shopping 7 Culture
mall. The shopping area includes retailers such as Gap,
Oasis, Russell & Bromley and Waterstone’s, whilst Bromley has a number of theatres, the most notable being
the restaurants includes a branch of the small chain of the Churchill Theatre in the town centre and the BromBelgian-themed Belgo restaurants.
ley Little Theatre close to Bromley North railway station.
The Churchill Theatre was opened on 19 July 1977 by
HRH Prince of Wales, and seats 785. It is run on a contract currently held by the Ambassador Theatre Group
6 Transport
acting as both a receiving and producing house, with productions transferring to the West End or touring nation6.1 Rail
ally. An example being recent tours of The Rocky Horror
Picture Show. Bromley also has a central library in the
Bromley is served by two rail stations:
same building as the Churchill Theatre with a large book
Bromley South station with services to London Vic- stock, Internet and wifi access, reference library and local
toria nonstop or, via Herne Hill // Kentish Town via studies department. Empire Cinemas own a four-screen
Blackfriars and also London St.Pancras (Intl) // trains site in Bromley, with screen 1 being its biggest with a caare available to many other stations incl. Orpington, pacity of 392. Screens 2 and 3 have disabled access.
Sevenoaks via Swanley, Gillingham, Ashford Interna- Bromley also has the cultural distinctiveness of having
tional via Maidstone East and a splitting service to its own Morris team, The Ravensbourne Morris Men.
Ramsgate and Dover Priory via Chatham.
Founded in 1947 as a post war revival team following an
Bromley North station with services to London Bridge inaugural meeting at the then Jean’s Café, which was loand Charing Cross by changing at Grove Park.
cated opposite Bromley South Station.[14]
3
7.1
Popular culture
In the famous Monty Python Spam sketch Bromley was
stated to be the location of the fictional Green Midget
Café, where every item on the menu was composed of
spam in varying degrees. In another Monty Python sketch
it was stated that all seven continents are visible from the
top of the Kentish Times building in Bromley.
The Mall in Bromley appeared on the cover of the 1982
album Sounds Like Bromley by Bromley born Billy Jenkins. The picture is of the rear of the then Bromley Toy
Fayre, Bramber Womenswear and car park above a supermarket.
8
Darrick Wood Schools. There are many independent
schools within the London Borough of Bromley, including Eltham College (in the nearby area of Mottingham
- within the borough of Bromley and near the London
Borough of Lewisham) and Bromley High (situated in the
nearby, affluent area of Bickley- also within the borough
of Bromley). Bromley has also opened up to a recent new
secondary school called Bishop Justus, a music specialist
school and college.
10 Landmarks
Sport and leisure
The town has four Non-League football clubs, two teams
play their home games at the Courage Stadium on Hayes
Lane Bromley F.C. and Cray Wanderers F.C., the other
teams Holmesdale F.C. and Greenwich Borough F.C.
play at Oakley Road. Bromley F.C. are in the Conference
South, which is the highest level of regionalised football in England, two divisions below the Football League.
Cray Wanderers F.C. are currently one division below
Bromley F.C. in the Isthmian League Premier Division.
Beccehamians RFC is a rugby union club founded in 1933 St Peter and St Paul
which plays competitive rugby at Sparrows Den at the
bottom of Corkscrew Hill in nearby West Wickham.[15] The parish church of St Peter and St Paul stands on
Church Road. It was largely destroyed by enemy action on 16 April 1941 and rebuilt in the 1950s incorporating the medieval tower and reusing much of the flint
9 Education
and fragments of the original stone building.[16] The most
noteworthy historic building is Bromley College, London
Road. The central public open spaces are; Queen’s Gardens, Martin’s Hill, Church House Gardens, Library Gardens and College Green.
11 Notable Residents - Past &
Present
Ravensbourne School, Bromley
See also: List of schools in Bromley
Bromley has numerous schools, and is home to Bromley
College of Further & Higher Education. There are two
specialist Media Arts Schools, Hayes School and The
Ravensbourne School. Bishop Justus School is a specialist Music College. It also has the Ravens Wood and
Owen Chadwick was born in Bromley in 1916. He was
awarded the Order of Merit, was Vice Chancellor of
University of Cambridge, Master of Selwyn Cambridge,
Regius Professor of Modern History, Dixie Professor of
Ecclesiastical History, Chancellor of University of Anglia, President of British Academy, and a Rugby Union
International.
H. G. Wells, “one of the remarkable minds of the twentieth century,” was born in Bromley on 21 September
1866, to Sarah and Joseph Wells; his father was the
founder of the Bromley Cricket Club and the proprietor
of a shop that sold cricket equipment.[17] Wells spent the
first thirteen years of his life in Bromley. From 1874
to 1879 he attended Tomas Morley’s Bromley Academy,
4
at 74 High Street.[18] There is an 'H.G. Wells Centre' in
Masons Hill near the southern end of the High Street
which houses the Bromley Labour Club. In August 2005,
the wall honouring H.G. Wells in Market Square was repainted. The current wall painting features a rich green
background with the same H.G. Wells reference and the
evolution sequence of Homo sapiens featured in Origin of
Species by Charles Darwin, a former resident of nearby
Downe Village.[19] Wells wrote about Bromley in an early
unsigned article in the Pall Mall Gazette in which he expressed satisfaction that he had been born in an earlier,
more rural Bromley.[20] A Blue Plaque marks H.G. Wells’
birthplace in Market Square, on the wall of what is now a
Primark store. A marble plaque appears above the door
of number 8 South Street, erstwhile home to the Dame
school where “Bertie”, as he was called as a child, learned
to read and write. H.G. Wells featured Bromley in two of
his novels: The War in the Air (which refers to Bromley
as Bunhill) and The New Machiavelli (in which Bromley
is referred to as Bromstead).
Other world famous authors who hail from Bromley include Captain W.E. Johns (author of the Biggles adventures), David Nobbs (author of The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin and writer for Les Dawson and The Two Ronnies), and Enid Blyton who wrote influential children’s
fiction such as the Secret Seven and Famous Five stories.
A blue historical plaque can be found on the external wall
of her former home on Shortlands Road, Bromley.
Other famous people who lived in Bromley include
Alex Clare, Charles Darwin, David Bowie, Richmal
Crompton, Pixie Lott, Starsmith, Christopher Tennant,
Peter Frampton, Aleister Crowley, Siouxsie Sioux, Gary
Rhodes, Poly Styrene, singer Billy Idol, Trevor Goddard, actor Billy Jenkins, cricketer Jill Cruwys,[21] the
anarchist Peter Kropotkin,[22] the former Clash drummer
Topper Headon, illustrator Charles Keeping, Formula 1
test driver Gary Paffett, children’s writer Andrew Murray, tenor Roland Cunningham, actor Michael York who
attended Bromley Grammar School for Boys,[23] clarinetist Chris Craker, Don Perrin, Canadian author who
attended Burnt Ash School in Bromley, and Sir Thomas
James Harper, an officer decorated in the Crimean War.
In the 20th century, the Parish Church of St Peter and St
Paul produced, in quick succession, three Church of England Bishops: Henry David Halsey – Bishop of Carlisle,
Philip Goodrich – Bishop of Worcester, David Bartleet
– Bishop of Tonbridge. Sculptor Nicholas Cornwell and
Maisy James the Big Brother 12 housemate. Some time
before 1881 the engineer and industrialist Richard Porter
moved to Beckenham where he remained until his death
in 1913. Comedian Frankie Boyle claims to be a former
resident and recently described Bromley as a 'lobotomy
made out of bricks’ [24]
12
Millwall FC and current Everton FC midfielder Tim
Cahill and Reading FC (previously Blackburn Rovers)
striker Jason Roberts lived in Bromley, English darts
player Les Capewell was born in Bromley, Manchester
United defender Rio Ferdinand, Leicester City F.C. defender John Pantsil. Cricketer Matthew Featherstone was
born in Bromley and played List A cricket for the Kent
Cricket Board.
Scottish education secretary Michael Russell MSP was
born and spent the early years of his life in Bromley.
12 References
[1] http://data.london.gov.uk/2011-census-ward-pop
[2] Mayor of London (February 2008). “South East London
sub region”. Greater London Authority. Retrieved 29
September 2009.
[3] “Bromley CP/AP through time | Census tables with data
for the Parish-level Unit”. Visionofbritain.org.uk. Retrieved 2014-05-19.
[4] Mayor of London (February 2008). “London Plan (Consolidated with Alterations since 2004)". Greater London
Authority. Retrieved 29 September 2009.
[5] Mills, Anthony David (2001). Dictionary of London Place
Names. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-280106-6
[6] “Bromley”. Mick Scott, Nonsuch Publishing. 2005.
[7] Great Britain Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth,
Bromley parish. Retrieved on 29 September 2009.
[8] Robson, William (1939). The Government and Misgovernment of London. London: Allen & Unwin.
[9] Royal Mail, Address Management Guide, (2004)
[10] Geographers A-Z Map Co Ltd, London Postcode
and Administrative Boundaries Map, (2008), ISBN
9781843485926
[11] Climate Summary for Bromley, UK
[12] “Weatherbase.com”. Weatherbase. 2013. Retrieved on 4
June 2013.
[13] Mayor of London (February 2008). “London Plan (Consolidated with Alterations since 2004)". Greater London
Authority.
[14] “Ravensbourne Morris - Home side of the World Morris Dancing Record Holder Ben Dauncey”. Ravensbourne.org. Retrieved 2014-05-19.
[15] Beccehamians RFC
The comedian Chris Addison[25] currently lives in Brom- [16] “St Peter and St Paul website”.
ley.
West Ham United F.C. midfielder Gary O'Neil, former
REFERENCES
[17] David C. Smith, H.G. Wells: Desperately Mortal: A Biography (New Haven and London: Yale University Press,
1986), p. 4.
5
[18] David C. Smith, H.G. Wells: Desperately Mortal: A Biography (New Haven and London: Yale University Press,
1986), p. 6.
[19] Darwin. www.bromley.gov.uk.
[20] David C. Smith, H.G. Wells: Desperately Mortal: A Biography (New Haven and London: Yale University Press,
1986), p. 5.
[21] “Jill Cruwys”. Cricinfo.
[22] “Peter Kropotkin”. Bromley Council.
[23] “Michael York”. When We Were Kids.
[24] “Frankie Boyle”. London: The Evening Standard. 21
March 2012.
[25] “Chris Addison”. London: The Guardian. 26 April 2010.
13
Further reading
• James Thorne (1876), “Bromley”, Handbook to the
Environs of London, London: John Murray
6
14
14
TEXT AND IMAGE SOURCES, CONTRIBUTORS, AND LICENSES
Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses
14.1
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• Bromley Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bromley?oldid=649462824 Contributors: SimonP, Hephaestos, Edward, Timberline,
Minesweeper, Ronz, Potatoscone, Scott, WhisperToMe, DJ Clayworth, Morwen, Warofdreams, AnonMoos, Wereon, DocWatson42,
Marnanel, CryptoDerk, Antandrus, MRSC, Canterbury Tail, Mike Rosoft, Bornintheguz, Chris j wood, Cnyborg, Russss, Bobo192,
Fremsley, Robert Henson, Giraffedata, Mark Musante, *Paul*, Mtiedemann, Bastin, Woohookitty, RHaworth, Mark K. Jensen, MechBrowman, Rjwilmsi, Ian Dunster, Uncantabrigian, MacRusgail, CarolGray, Deyyaz, Stephenb, Gaius Cornelius, NawlinWiki, DAJF,
Coderzombie, Raddicks, Zzuuzz, Closedmouth, Steveweiser, CapitalLetterBeginning, Dspradau, Back ache, DoriSmith, David Biddulph,
Kicking222, SmackBot, Derek Andrews, Hmains, A. B., Sunholm, Ikrip, Fuhghettaboutit, Derek R Bullamore, Harrias, Evlekis, Tim riley, Tim166, Anlace, SilkTork, Regan123, Minna Sora no Shita, Mr Stephen, GilbertoSilvaFan, ChristalPalace, Dl2000, CharlesBarker,
CmdrObot, JohnCD, Chrisrule, C5mjohn, Danward, Cydebot, Jpb1301, Languagehat, Richardguk, Lugnuts, Sfly510, Epbr123, Sisalto,
SilasW, Marek69, Miller17CU94, Escarbot, David D., Acb58, AntiVandalBot, Majorly, QuiteUnusual, Just Chilling, Kbthompson, Instinct, Michig, East718, Magioladitis, Carlwev, CTF83!, Singularity, Gr1st, Clear air turbulence, DerHexer, JaGa, Lost tourist, R'n'B,
Nono64, Mausy5043, J.delanoy, Neil.Reddin, Joe8096, Acalamari, Katalaveno, Dahliarose, Senthilpinagapani, WillMcGee, DH85868993,
Pafcool, AIMxFIRExKILL, Jeff G., Babylon77, Ryan032, TXiKiBoT, Kbourne, V1459, Charlesdrakew, Scotty2hottymfc, Anivader1,
Bleaney, Modal Jig, Pafcool2, Pilch62, SieBot, SE7, Jack1956, Adam37, Hakimamir, Shadygrove2007, Scee0912, Fewwords, Altzinn,
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FrescoBot, Ben1782, Mrsuspend, M2545, Launchballer, Irilys, Justincuthy, BromleyMan, Diginerd84, ClickBot, DaveBSWiki, Rye, Cnwilliams, Vrenator, TBloemink, Mags Samba, TwilightGal x, Mean as custard, Saumoarush, RjwilmsiBot, TransportJone, AssociateAffiliate, Monkey32, Sidneylecarton, EmausBot, Mz7, Fæ, Andy01322, Rcsprinter123, Omgilikebob, Davey2010, ClueBot NG, Jgodzicz, Martin of Sheffield, Alphacatmarnie, Justgravy, Wiki13, Chazfandango, Achowat, A P Monblat, RichardMills65, Lgreen88095, JoshuSasori,
Watchingcoma, Cerabot, Stephen A Field, Tommy Pinball, Kevin12xd, KentishGirl, Kap 7, Pretanian, Darren192, One Of Seven Billion, Leonardsamarcus, S.robson1995, JWaddle88, Srowens, Dillkid95, Malevolent Turnip, Monkbot, TIKTAK TIKTOK, McTavish60,
SovalValtos, Freddieneighbour, Kingcreosote and Anonymous: 283
14.2
Images
• File:Bromley_North_Railway_Station_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1161717.jpg
Source:
commons/2/2b/Bromley_North_Railway_Station_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1161717.jpg License:
geograph.org.uk Original artist: Stacey Harris
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/
CC BY-SA 2.0 Contributors: From
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