The last village A self-guided walk around Bexley Discover how Bexley has developed over the last thousand years Find out how the village looked in Saxon and medieval times Learn how villagers have made a living over the centuries Explore an ancient settlement embracing the twenty-first century .discoveringbritain www .org ies of our land the stor scapes throug discovered h walks 2 Contents Introduction 4 Route overview 5 Practical information 6 Detailed route maps 8 Commentary 10 Further information 34 Credits 34 © The Royal Geographical Society with the Institute of British Geographers, London, 2011, 2014 Discovering Britain is a project of the Royal Geographical Society (with IBG) The digital and print maps used for Discovering Britain are licensed to the RGS-IBG from Ordnance Survey Cover image: Bexley High Street (c.1910) © Bexley Local Studies & Archive Centre 3 The last village Explore the fortunes of a historic settlement on the edge of London In the Domesday survey of 1086 the village of Bexlea - meaning ‘a settlement in a clearing in the woods’ - had 41 inhabitants with 100 pigs and 10 ploughs. It was valued at £20. Today, Bexley is virtually the last village on the edge of London and maintains a distinct feel and character. This walk explores how Bexley village has developed over Bexley High Street (1910) more than a thousand years. © Bexley Local Studies & Archive Centre We will discover evidence in the buildings and streets of how the village looked in Saxon and medieval times. We will find out how and why it changed in the Victorian and post-war eras. We will learn about the lives of villagers over the centuries and what they have done for a living. And will we also discover how Bexley’s position on the banks of the River Cray has brought both advantages and disadvantages. River Cray signpost / 1930s housing at Coldblow © Rory Walsh 4 Route overview 5 Practical information Location Bexley, Greater London Start point Bexley railway station, DA5 1AQ Finish point The Freemantle Hall, High Street, DA5 1AA Distance 3 miles Getting there Train - From Kent there are usually 1-2 services an hour from Gravesend, Ebbsfleet and Ashford International stations. From London, 2-4 services every hour from Charing Cross, Cannon Street, London Victoria, London Bridge or Waterloo. Bus - Various services stop on Bourne Road, including routes 132, 229, 492 and B12. Car - Bexley is very close to the Black Prince Interchange of the A2 (exit signs towards Bexley and A322). You can also use the A224 exit on the A20. Car parking is available at Bexley station, Thanet Road and Bexley High Street (charges apply). Level Gentle – A mostly flat route in the village and surrounding countryside. 6 Terrain Pavements, footpaths and parkland. The path beside Churchfield Wood (Stop 10) can be muddy so take appropriate footwear. Conditions Traffic can be busy in the village centre . A small portion of the walk is beside the A2 road, so if you are with children make sure to keep a close eye on them. Hall Place Gardens (Stop 13) can become flooded in extreme weather. Suitable for Families – Children will enjoy exploring Hall Place Gardens. Refreshments Several cafés and pubs on the High Street plus the Riverside Café at Hall Place (Stop 14). Toilets Toilets available at Hall Place (Stop 14). There are no longer any public toilets in Bexley village. Places to visit Hall Place historic house is open 10am-5pm April-October, 10am-4pm November-March. The Gardens open 9am - dusk. www.bexleyheritagetrust.org.uk/hallplace Tel: 01322 526 574 Tourist Bexley Tourist Information, The Central Library, Townley Road, information Bexleyheath DA6 7HJ (Tel: 020 8303 7777) 7 Start and end of the route Stopping points Start. Bexley railway station 2. Bexley railway station 3. Corner of Station Approach and High Street 4. Maharajah Indian restaurant, 84 High Street 5. Bridge over the River Cray, High Street 6. 101 High Street 7. St Mary’s Church grounds 8. Manor House, end of Manor Road 9. Cemetery off Manor Road 10. Footpath between graveyard and Churchfield Wood 11. Edge of Churchfield Wood ... ... 19. Junction of Bourne Road and High Street Finish. The Freemantle Hall, 51-75 High Street 8 Middle section of the route Stopping points 12. Floodplain by bridge under the A2 13. Hall Place Gardens 14. Hall Place 15. Gravel Hill roundabout 16. Bridge over the A2, Bourne Road 17. Dartfordians Rugby Club, Bourne Road 18. National School, Bourne Road 9 1. Welcome to Bexley Bexley railway station Old Bexley is an ancient settlement in southeast London. The village is situated on a crossing point of the River Cray, 13 miles from the centre of the capital. This walk charts the village’s development, from its inclusion in the Domesday survey 1,000 years ago to its absorption into Greater London in 1965. We will look at the village in Tudor, medieval and Victorian times, as well as the twentieth century. We will see how Bexley has adapted to physical and economic factors through the centuries. We will look at how transport links have Bexley village in snow (2010) © Raymond Molony influenced the village’s development. This walk was created by Raymond Molony, a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society and long- standing resident of the village. Raymond: “Welcome to Bexley! I have chosen this walk because it allows you to experience the exciting development of a small village over the centuries. There is a lot to experience, including an ancient church with a boulder grave, a former code station reputed to be haunted and a wildlife conservation area on a floodplain.” “Although we’ll be looking at how the village has developed and changed through time, we won’t necessarily do this in chronological order because of the location of different buildings. I hope you enjoy your walk around this last The Freemantle Hall, Bexley High Street © Laura Shawyer village on the edge of London.” Directions 1 Remain outside Bexley railway station. 10 2. The train of change Bexley railway station Two hundred years ago, Bexley was a small village in the countryside. Today it is a suburb in the outer London Borough of Bexley, having been absorbed by urban sprawl. Only the Green Belt restrictions limit its further expansion into the countryside. This is why you can think of it as the last village in London. We are going to start exploring the village by considering the critical role of the railway, which changed the nature of Bexley for ever. During the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, you reached the village over a rutted road infested with marauding highwaymen. The railway line between Bexley and Crayford Access to Bexley was no easy matter. © Rory Walsh The railway line was built in 1866 and connected this isolated village with the rest of London. No longer would this be a landscape dominated by country estates with a few large houses. Victorian villas could now be built near the station to allow the new middle class to commute on a daily basis to their jobs in the capital. The local population expanded from just 1,441 inhabitants in 1801 to 10,605 by 1891. During the 1920s and 1930s the villages around Bexley linked up due to the expansion of suburban housing. Now you A map of Bexley (1897) showing the railway line can reach Charing Cross in central London and the growing number of residential plots in the village © Bexley Local Studies & Archive Centre in 50 minutes. Today the railway carries the commuters employed in the service economy of the twenty-first century. Directions 2 Walk down Station Approach. Stop at the junction with the High Street. 11 3. Before the railway Corner of Station Approach and High Street Though we started by thinking about how the railway dramatically changed Bexley from the mid-nineteenth century onwards, the village High Street is much older. This road has existed for centuries. In fact, what you see today is a medieval road pattern. So let’s go back to the days before the railway and think about what the village would have looked like... It is 1801. Our monarch is King George III. The roadway is unpaved. The building immediately on your right (now an estate agents and florists) The former poor house, established in 1787 © Rory Walsh is the poor house. It was established in 1787 and the parish is trying to look after those 40 inmates who have fallen on hard times. These facilities are administered by the local parish of St Mary’s. To the left and on the opposite side of the High Street, just set back from the road, are the almshouses paid for by the former governor of Madras, a Mr Styleman. They provide some housing for the poor and elderly. The well-off inhabitants of the village are now living in larger brick houses, built according to the latest Georgian style. Styleman’s almshouses © Raymond Molony / Rory Walsh 12 Most of the villagers derive their income from farming, working in the mills or acting as servants to the many large country houses in the area. There are also some dirty industries such as leather tanning in Tan Yard Lane beside the poor house. There are skilled craftsman too, like John Dann. He is a carpenter. By 1824 he is receiving the grand sum of £15.76 per year from the church for his work. But he supplements this income with a further £6.60 for burial work at St Mary’s. Workers – whether skilled or unskilled – receive no paid leave.