Bromleag The Journal of Borough Local History Society

Volume 2: Issue 20: March 2012

Archive project preserves ’s past ’s great political moment half a century on Scadbury — a very special survivor Bromleag The journal of the Bromley Borough Local History Society

Society officers Chairman and Membership Secretary Tony Allnutt Woodside, Old Perry Street, , BR7 6PP 020 8467 3842 [email protected] Treasurer Brian Reynolds 2 The Limes, Oakley Road, Bromley, BR2 8HH 020 8462 9526 [email protected] Programme co-ordinator Peter Leigh 29 Woodland Way , BR4 9LR 020 8777 9244 [email protected] Publicity and website Max Batten 5 South View, Bromley, BR13DR 020 8460 1284 [email protected] Publications John Barnes 38 Sandilands Crescent, Hayes, BR2 7DR 020 8462 2603 [email protected] Bromleag Editor Christine Hellicar 150 Worlds End Lane, , BR6 6AS 01689 857214 [email protected] Minutes Secretary Valerie Stealey 9 Mayfield Road, BR1 2HB 020 8467 2988 [email protected]

BBLHS website http://bblhs.website.orange.co.uk/

Bromleag is published four times a year. The editor welcomes articles along with illustrations and photographs. These can be e-mailed, on disk or a paper copy. Items remain the copyright of the authors and do not necessarily reflect Society views. Each contributor is responsible for the content of their article. Articles may be edited to meet the constraints of the journal. Articles are not always used immediately as we try to maintain a balance between research, reminiscences and news and features about different subjects and parts of the borough.

Next journal deadline — 1 May 2012

2 Bromleag March 2012 News New Bromley Local Studies librarian joins BBLHS committee

Bromley and Bexley library services have now merged, some months earlier than originally planned, and Local Studies librarian Simon McKeon is to join the BBLHS committee as an ex-officio member. Simon will be in charge of Local Studies in both boroughs. He was Local Studies librarian for Bexley prior to the merger. BBLHS and Local Studies have always worked closely and the librarian has been a committee member since we were formed in 1974. We look forward to continuing that close relationship with Simon. There are to be some changes in the library layout but the Local Studies area will not be merged with the Reference section as had been mooted last year. Simon wants to make it more accessible, create more desk space have an open exhibition area and a more visible reception desk. Irrelevant information in filing cabinets will be removed and the eighth floor archive will be sorted out with multiple copies of books being sold. Bexley Local Studies has an annual events programme of talks, workshops, walks and film shows, and Simon will circulate a copy of this. A similar programme could be introduced in Bromley. A new updated edition of Along the River Cray with more photographs will be published by the end of 2012. This will also be of interest to both boroughs as the Cray rises in Orpington and then runs through Bexley.

March 2012 — contents News and Events 3— 8 Letters 17 — 23

Society Meetings G W Smith photographic collection 9 — 11 Features Orpington’s famous by-election 12 —16 Smugglers in 17 History of Scadbury 24 — 30 Bromley’s lost Roman Road 31

3 Bromleag March 2012 News Society meetings April — July 2012 Meetings are held at 7.45 pm on the first Tuesday of the month (unless otherwise stated), from September to July, at Trinity United Reformed Church, Freelands Road, Bromley. The hall has free on and off-street parking, good public transport links and facilities for the disabled. Non-members are welcome at meetings for a nominal charge of £1.

MEETINGS 10 April AGM Discovering Roman Bromley — Brian Philp NOTE: The April meeting is the SECOND Tuesday of the month 1 May A tonic to the nation — London 1951 and the Festival of Britain — Michael Gilbert 5 June Biggin on the Bump, the story of the Second World War airfield — Bob Ogley

VISITS To book a place on the visits to Holwood, High Elms or Jubilee Park please contact Peter Leigh on 020 8777 9244 or email [email protected]

19 May, 2.30pm — to be confirmed Visit to the Iron Age Hill Fort at Holwood Brian Philp, the speaker at our April meeting, will be leading the walk, of approximately two miles, from the car park by Caesar’s Well above the upper lake at Keston. It will include a visit to the medieval tile kiln and will take about two hours. Sensible footwear should be worn. Please register your interest with Peter at the contact numbers above and he will confirm details nearer the time.

12 June, 10am A guided tour of High Elms — history of the estate from 1808 to the present day Starting at the main car park, , off High Elms Road, Farnborough. A footpath walk of up to two hours. Cost: £1 per head

4 Bromleag March 2012 News

3 July, 7pm The Stone House, Lewisham Instead of our usual evening meeting, we have arranged a private viewing of the unique Georgian Stone House in Lewisham. Stone House was built in 1771-73 by the architect George Gibson for his own occupation. After a succession of private owners it became a girls’ boarding school in the 1880s. The present owners carried out extensive restorations to the house in 1993-95 and subsequently restored the remaining one acre garden. The owner is giving us a private conducted tour explaining the history of the house and the architecture. Before the start of the tour there will be drinks (alcoholic and non-alcoholic) and light refreshments on the terraces of the house. The cost of the tour and the refreshments will be £8. Applications for places, which will be on a first-come basis, should be made to: John Barnes, 28 Sandiland Crescent, Hayes, Bromley BR2 7DR. Please state how many tickets you are requesting and make cheques payable to BBLHS and enclose an SAE with your application in order that a confirmation giving details of entry times and the location of the house and travel details can be sent to you later.

The Stone House, Lewisham 6 July, 10am Jubilee Park historic walk Meet at Thornet Wood car park (beyond the end of Thornet Wood Road) Bickley. The walk lasts for roughly 1 to 1½hours. It is less than two miles, there are no stiles and is mostly on hard surfacing, although part of the walk is in the meadows where the ground is uneven. It is not suitable for people in wheelchairs or mobility vehicles and we ask that people do not bring dogs.

5 Bromleag March 2012 News Remembering our founder Fred Whyler BBLHS founder member Fred Whyler has died at the age of 98. In recent years he lived in a retirement home in Sussex near his daughter but he was a resident of Farnborough when in 1974 he visited the Local Studies library in Bromley and asked the librarian, Miss Plincke, for details of the Local History Society. She said: “There isn't one, but why don't you start one?” So he did! He was the first secretary of BBLHS and over the years did everything except the accounts and chairing of meetings, becoming a vice-president once he had stepped back from committee membership. He was also a founder member of the North West Family History Society. His main interest was in Farnborough and he wrote articles for Bromleag and published his own local history leaflets, copies of which are deposited at Bromley Local Studies library. These include material on Farnborough Hospital, the Lubbocks of High Elms and a history of education in Bromley, published in 1994. In her obituary for the Beckenham Historian, Doris Pullen said that Fred had worked for local government, including Lewisham Borough Council, and some of his writing is on the history of that area. She added that he also had a very distinguished career in the Second World War. “He joined the RAF and trained in Canada, flying Harvards. Later he was flying Lancaster Bombers and he flew on 38 sorties over Germany, for which he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross.” Fred leaves a son, daughter, three grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren. His funeral was held on 10 January at Worthing and the society made a donation to the National Trust in his memory.

Help wanted for BBLHS events We are planning to promote BBLHS at four events this year.  West Wickham Queen’s Diamond Jubilee on Sunday 3 June  Keston Countryside Day on 8 July  Bexley Family History Day and High Elms Local History Day – dates to be announced These events are a good way of telling a wider group of people about the society through our display boards and from selling society publications. Members of the committee will set up and run the BBLHS stall but we always need extra hands to help on the day. If you can give a couple of hours for one or more of these events please let Secretary Elaine Baker know on 01689 854408 or email [email protected]

6 Bromleag March 2012 News Denise Rason 1944 - 2012 It was with great sadness that we learnt of the passing of the former editor of this magazine, Denise Rason, who had for many years battled bravely with multiple sclerosis. Denise worked in the Local Studies library at Bromley for nearly 10 years and she will be remembered by many members for the help and advice she gave to people starting out on local and family history research. She was also an active member of BBLHS, Secretary of North West Kent Family History Society and a supporter of Environment Bromley. Denise was uncomplaining about her MS and, although increasingly restricted, she continued with her interest of local and family history. In 1995, she became the editor of Bromleage on a “temporary” basis. Shortly after this she took early retirement from Local Studies because of her deteriorating health. But, with the help of her husband Paul, she continued to edit Bromleage until 2002, developing it from a few typed pages into a proper magazine. Despite not being able to come to meetings in recent years, Denise took an active interest in the society, contributing to the magazine and, last year, through emails, took a leading part in the debate surrounding Bromley Council’s changes to the library service. She was always concerned about environmental issues and was a Green before it became fashionable. She supported and campaigned for Shelter, Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth and Amnesty. Our sympathy goes to Paul, her three children and grandchildren. Members of the society attended her funeral at St Giles, Farnborough, and a donation was made by the society to Harris Hospiscare in her memory.

Eric Green 1926 – 2012 Longstanding member Eric Green has died at the age of 86. Originally from Birkenhead, he studied history at Cambridge and after a short spell teaching became an education administrator. He came to Bromley as Assistant Director of Education in 1967 and was an early member of BBLS. He was known to many members through meetings and his contributions to Bromleag.

7 Bromleag March 2012 News Bromley Museum in new funding bid

Bromley Councillors are confident about their new £2.2 million bid for lottery funding to extend Bromley Museum after amending the bid that was turned down last year by the Heritage Lottery Fund. Cllr Peter Morgan, responsible for recreation, also pledged support for the museum at the Priory in Orpington. He said: “We have considered our resubmission to meet the requirements and in any case the museum will continue to remain a valuable resource.” The grant would also fund repairs to the Grade II* listed building, upgrading of visitor facilities and improvement of exhibition spaces. A decision is expected by this summer .

Fanfare for and West Beckenham The fourth in the series of “Beckenham’s Famous” concerts will take place in the Penge Congregational Church, High Street, Penge on Saturday 7 July, at 7 pm. The concert features music associated with the People of Penge, the Penge Forum which is 40 this year, the World Girl Guides Movement begun over 100 years ago at Crystal Palace, and the Beckenham Festival, now in its 90th year. Children from the Royston Primary School, formerly the Beckenham & Penge County Boys School, will be taking part and the music will include work composed by Carey Blyton when he was a pupil at the County school. The famous, with associations to Penge and Beckenham, include composers Carey Blyton and Margaret Judd, actors Maurice Denham, James Robertson Justice and Dame Floella Benjamin and dancers Frank and Peggy Spencer. Some of the music has been specially selected by Peggy who just after the war brought the original Formation Dance Team to perform at the Beckenham Festival. This led to the introduction of a Ballroom section into the Festival, run by Peggy until the 1980s. There will also be, in this Olympics year, work in honour of local sports men and women. Taking part will be the Beckenham Junior Choir and Youth Voices, the Crystal Palace Band and Royston Primary School pupils with Paul Allen (Baritone), Christian Strover (Organ and Piano). Entrance is free but donations are welcome and there will be a souvenir programme.

8 Bromleag March 2012 Society meeting Making history with pictures — the G W Smith photographic collection For our first meeting of 2012 and at the new venue, the small hall at the Trinity United Reformed Church in Freelands Road, Bromley, BBLHS committee member Max Batten brought along pictures from Bromley Library Archives from the G W Smith collection. He explained that local resident William Smith had set up a building firm in Brewery Lane at , which was taken over in 1905 by his sons George William (GW) and Joshua. In addition to his working life, from the age of 19 GW was an enthusiastic photographer of the area and from1880 onward would tour Bromley, Keston and Hayes in his dog cart carrying the heavy photographic equipment. Although GW died in 1926, Joshua’s son, also George William Smith but known as Gee, continued to take photos up to and after the Second World War. He also followed the tradition started by GW of taking the large glass slides to church halls and local groups to Keston windmill under repair in 1914 give illustrated talks on the photos and the with a 60-rung wooden ladder and Gee stories behind them. Max was pleased both Smith standing in front to be the first speaker at the new venue, and to be carrying on the tradition of oral history which GW had begun. In this he had been greatly helped by Len Smith, GW’s great nephew and Gee’s son, and one of the Society’s oldest members. When Gee Smith died in 1987, his family donated the several hundred slides to Bromley Library. The librarian at the time, Colin Freeman, then took the opportunity to get Len to present them again and recorded his talk on cassette tape to provide a complete historical source. Sadly, Colin Freeman died not long after and, probably for this reason, the slides and tapes disappeared from public view. Last year, the Smith family kindly donated a high quality slide scanner to the library with the object of getting the slides turned into easily-accessible digital pictures and this was done with the help of volunteers.

9 Bromleag March 2012 Society meeting

In addition, the speaker had also converted the audio tapes into computer-based files so they too could be easily stored and accessed by researchers as required. Because one set of the pictures he had scanned had been of Keston, Max had taken the opportunity to use them and the accompanying tape to prepare the presentation on 3 January. In addition, under the auspices of the current archivist, Catrin Holland, a review of the slides had been held with Len and his cousin Roger Evans to see what more information could be added. Max explained that he had arranged the slides in a roughly geographic order from , via Keston Church, Holwood, Warbank, Keston Ponds and Windmill, , the Croydon Road and Westerham Road. He started with an old map of the area, (pictured right) dated to around 1760, that GW had photographed. It showed how the road pattern had changed since the Westerham Road was diverted by William Pitt the Younger to go round rather than through the Holwood Estate. This particular slide had suffered some damage with yellowing of the repair tape around the edges and complete loss of the picture in a small area. In the next slide, Max showed the power, and perhaps the risks, of digitisation by removing part of the yellowing and recreating the blank area. He suggested that most people would accept the removal of the colour change but that “filling in the blanks” might be considered a step too far! However, he was quick to reassure the audience that neither the original picture nor the high quality scan had been edited or repaired. The same map was also of interest because Leaves Green was spelled Leves Green and nearby Jewels Wood was marked as Jews Wood. Changes in spelling on maps is probably deserving of a whole lecture to itself!

10 Bromleag March 2012 Society meeting Max then showed the first photograph, taken in 1880, of the Crown Inn just north of Leaves (or Leves) Green. This showed a very muddy road and part of the old toll house building on the right (reflected in today’s Toll Gate garage near the site) as well as the public house. On the next slide, Max took further advantage of modern technology with a view of today’s building taken using Google Street View on the internet. Apart from the convenience of this technology eliminating a lot of visits and travel, it also showed that, although much extended, the original building was still there. Continuing his tour, at a number of points Max demonstrated another useful feature of digitising the photographs. Some of the slides, whether by design or in at least one case through poor fixing, had become tinted or discoloured. It was a very simple process to remove any colour cast so that the photographer’s true intention could be seen again today. During and after the talk, members of the audience were able to add additional pieces of information which was found to be very useful and, in the speaker’s opinion, showed the strength and usefulness of oral history. Max expressed his thanks to Catrin Holland at Bromley Library for making the photographs available for the presentation. He hoped that other speakers would be able to show more of the collection at a later date.

The Crown Inn, just north of Leaves or Leves Green, with part of the tollgate house on the right

11 Bromleag March 2012 Feature How Orpington shook the (political) world

By Patrick Hellicar ifty years ago this month, the people of Orpington woke up one Thursday morning to find the town’s name splashed across the front pages of all Britain’s F national newspapers and on the lips of every newsreader on the radio. The day before, Wednesday 14 March, Orpington’s voters had queued at polling stations around the constituency to put their crosses on their ballot papers in a parliamentary by-election and they had delivered a spectacular result that is still remembered in political history as the moment “Orpington Man” ignited hopes of a revival of the Liberal Party’s electoral fortunes. It was a classic David-and-Goliath story: a 33 year-old local man called Eric Lubbock had snatched the seat for the Liberals in a landslide victory, turning a Conservative majority of 15,000 into a Liberal one of nearly 8,000. The 22% swing was the biggest in UK electoral history since universal suffrage was introduced in 1928 and for many of those who had kept the faith through long, lean years it heralded the possibility of recovering all the ground lost by the party since the last Liberal government in 1915. Lubbock, heir to a peerage and from the wealthy family that owned the High Elms estate at Farnborough, had represented as a councillor on Orpington Urban District Council for a year and he had been confident of capturing the seat at Westminster, although Orpington had returned a Tory MP since time immemorial. For weeks in the run-up to the by-election the constituency had been awash with green banners and posters, the party’s colour before the present orange. Labour, it seemed, was not going to get much of a look in and a kind of revolution was in the air. But Lubbock’s trouncing of the Tory whiz-kid candidate who had been parachuted in by Conservative Central Office to fight this apparently safest of safe seats, exceeded the Liberal Party’s wildest dreams. The result was a sensational humiliation for the Tories – felt even more keenly, perhaps, because Prime Minister Harold Macmillan’s constituency was neighbouring Bromley. Six months earlier, the sitting Conservative member for Orpington, Donald Sumner, had been made a County Court judge, an appointment widely thought to have been bestowed on him to create a by-election that would open the way for Peter Goldman, the bright young protégé of Iain Mcleod, then Leader of the House of Commons and chairman of the Conservative Party. But from the start Goldman had managed to alienate the good folk of Orpington. He had made it clear he would not be living in the constituency and implied that he was doing the voters a favour by agreeing to become their MP. His “outsider” status was confirmed and magnified by the way he

12 Bromleag March 2012 Feature conducted his campaign. Eric Lubbock, now Lord Avebury, recalls that during the bitterly cold January and February leading up to the election, Goldman “travelled round Orpington in a well-heated caravan, in which he gave audiences to those who could be tempted out of their homes by the Tory canvassers”. The inspired slogan “Orpington Man” had been coined to promote Lubbock: if Goldman was an outsider, Lubbock was, well, Orpington’s own man. But it was also a gift for the Press and political analysts. Orpington Man characterised a new suburban breed to whom Conservatism seemed tired, out-of-touch and unappealing and who could propel the Liberals to the promised land of government. He was depicted as a young executive type with a young family, burdened with a mortgage and the ever- rising cost of commuting to work on a crumbling rail network plagued by late trains. Interest rates were on the up, rail fares had been increased again and the government had just introduced a public sector pay freeze – something that did further damage to Goldman’s poll chances. The road to Lubbock’s victory began shortly after Donald Sumner announced he was quitting as Orpington’s MP. The Liberal candidate at that stage was Jack Galloway, who had run a very close third to Labour in the 1959 general election. As the local party executive gathered at the home of their chairman Christine Parker to plan their campaign, Galloway revealed he had a problem that could upset the applecart. He had married his girlfriend (who also happened to be his secretary) in the summer of 1961 after his divorce, but he had not understood the terms “decree nisi” and “decree absolute” (the interim and final stages in a divorce) and had remarried before his first marriage had been properly dissolved. The judge had merely issued a reprimand, but the first wife was now threatening to attend every public meeting during the election campaign and loudly denounce Lubbock with wife Kina and daughter Victoria, who Galloway as a bigamist. The prospect was a month short of her third birthday in March ‘62

13 Bromleag March 2012 Feature of a vindictive woman heckling Galloway right up to polling day was too much and the executive agreed that he should be asked to stand down. However, Galloway refused to quit and fought against local and national party pressure for him to do so for several weeks before he reluctantly withdrew. With the parliamentary seat vacant, the government was free to move the writ for a by-election at any time and the Liberals knew they had to act fast and select a new candidate. Mrs Parker moved decisively to battle stations and called an emergency meeting of the Orpington party’s executive. While the others waited in her sitting room, she telephoned the Liberals’ Chief Whip, Donald Wade, and asked him to suggest a well-known figure to fight the election. But Wade told her an outsider would have no time to become established with the voters and advised her to pick someone local. As she recounted the conversation to her colleagues, Mrs Parker’s eye lighted on Lubbock and she pointed at him. “Why don’t you do it, Eric?” she demanded. Despite Lubbock’s worries that his employer, the Charterhouse Group, might not like the idea of him taking time off from his job as an engineering consultant, he was persuaded to speak to his boss next morning and was given unexpected approval for three weeks’ paid leave . In the event, the polling date would not be set until months later, but the energetic 45-year-old Mrs Parker wasted no time. She called in supporters from Orpington and its bordering constituencies to canvass every home in the area and mustered an army of teenaged helpers to distribute leaflets and put up posters. Liberal Party HQ in London was so impressed that it mobilised reinforcements to ensure success. This included sending the campaigning mastermind Pratap Chitnis (now Baron Chitnis of Ryedale) to take on the role of election agent and drafting in the publicity consultant Dominic Le Foe. The campaign, run from the old cinema at Carlton Parade, pictured above before it was renamed The Carlton, swelled, grabbed national attention and gripped the public imagination. After the polling stations closed their doors on the night of 14 March, all the ballot

14 Bromleag March 2012 Feature boxes were taken to the Civic Hall behind the council offices at Crofton Pound, alongside Orpington station, where the count took place over the next two or three hours under the glare of television lights and cameras. It was the first time they had ever been allowed into a count. The Returning Officer Stephen King, the Clerk of Orpington Council, became concerned as the count progressed and excitement ran high. The TV cameras were showing clearly how the piles of votes for each candidate were growing and King feared this might be construed as a serious breach of a fundamental principle of our democratic process – secrecy – and prompt a Home Office inquiry. In the event, that did not happen. When the final ballot paper was counted, Eric Lubbock had scooped 22,846 votes (52.9%) and Peter Goldman 14,991 (34.7%). The Labour candidate, Alan Jinkinson, garnered just 5350 votes (12.4%) and lost his deposit. A video clip of King announcing the result can be seen at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2BV_S9C5zeg George Brown, who was Deputy Leader of the Labour Party and later Foreign Secretary in Harold Wilson’s government, was also present at the count. After the

Orpington Woman Eric Lubbock was the figurehead of the by-election as Orpington Man, but Orpington Woman – Christine Parker – was architect of his victory. Christine, pictured right, had been active in the area for years. In 1954 she became a Liberal councillor on Orpington Urban District Council. As well as being Orpington’s Liberal agent, Mrs Parker also served as a magistrate, a manager of a number of local schools and a lay member of In 1964-65 she served as chairman of mental health tribunals. An active the UDC, its final year before Orpington Quaker, she also founded the local was incorporated into the London branch of the Samaritans and as Borough of Bromley. chairman of Orpington hospital Her husband was John Parker, whom management committee helped raise she married in 1940, and they had money, together with a consultant, two daughters. He died in 2006. for the first laboratory in England to Christine died on 25 February 2011, offer smear tests for cervical cancer. aged 94.

15 Bromleag March 2012 Feature result was announced, soon after midnight, Brown was carried out of the Civic Hall on the shoulders of Labour supporters, waving a beer bottle (one of several he had consumed during the evening, by all accounts) and singing The Red Flag. Lubbock was re-elected in 1964 and 1966, remaining MP for Orpington until 1970 when it reverted to its Tory origins with the election of Ivor Stanbrook. On losing the seat, Lubbock remarked: “In 1962 the wise, far-seeing people of Orpington elected me as their Member; in 1970 the fools threw me out.” He became Lord Avebury in 1971, having inherited the title when his cousin died without a male heir, and continued his political career. Subsequent Liberal efforts to rekindle the Liberal spark in Orpington have had mixed results. Lubbock’s then wife, Kina, Lady Avebury, stood at the general election in October 1974 and picked up more than 19,000 votes against the Tory Ivor Stanbrook’s 24,394. The closest the party came to victory again was in 2001 when a new Orpington Man, Chris Maines, came within 270 votes of toppling the sitting Tory MP, . It was his third of four unsuccessful attempts to repeat Lubbock’s feat. In many ways, Eric Lubbock was hardly the man of the people he was presented as when he took true-blue Orpington by storm, capturing the first London suburb for the Liberals since 1935. His family were landed gentry, he was educated in Canada and at Harrow, gained an engineering degree at Balliol College Oxford, where he won a boxing Blue, served in the Welsh Guards and was heir-in-waiting to a peerage. But he has proved himself an active and able politician in both the Commons and the Lords, deeply committed to causes such a civil liberties, human rights and gipsy matters. These days, now aged 83, Lord Avebury lives at Camberwell in south-east London, but he will be forever remembered in political history as Orpington Man.

Sources By-elections in British Politics, edited by Chris Cook and John Ramsden, 1973 The Orpington Story, Donald Newby, 1966 Liberal Democrat History Group Newsletter March 1997. Fighting Orpington, article by Lord Avebury Liberal Democrat History Group Newsletter March 1997. The Lessons of Orpington, article by Mark Egan Socialist Fight, April 1962, Behind the bye-election results, by Ted Grant The Times, Daily Telegraph, Daily Mirror 15 March 1962 Orpington Times 2 March 1962; Kentish and Bromley Times 16 March 1962 Kentish Times, March/April 2011 Daily Telegraph, 8 March 2011 Forgotten Liberal Heroes: Pratap Chitnis, by Mark Pack www.libdemvoice.org

16 Bromleag March 2012 Letters Smugglers apprehended at Beckenham As a fortunate owner of one of the limited edition of Robert Borrowman’s 1910 Beckenham Past and Present, I have available the primary reference for Beckenham's historical queries. However, it becomes increasingly the case that I long to know the sources of much of his work, particularly of a certain outlawed smuggler named William Pring, described on page 249 as having a house in Beckenham. Recently, in September 2011, Ian Muir’s beckenhamhistory.co.uk received a most interesting query from Alison Surtees about one of her ancestors, a reformed smuggler named Pring, who lived locally in 1750. Alison told us of the amazing accounts of murders in Smuggling and Smugglers in Sussex by William Durran Cooper where on page 157 there is Borrowman’s account of how William Pring lured murderers Mills and brothers Kemp to his house in Beckenham, from Bristol, and alerted the Excise officers. Many may think that smuggling is not much of a crime, only defrauding the authorities, but in the 18th century the smuggling of tea, tobacco, silks and spirits led to fearsome murders in Kent and Sussex. A proclamation had been issued promising the King’s pardon for evidence leading to the apprehension of any of the offenders of particularly horrible murders, provided that the informer had not been involved. William Galley, from the Custom House, Southampton, was on his way with Daniel Chater, shoemaker from Fordingbridge, with a letter for Justice Battine when he was detected by widow Payne at the White Hart. She called in a number of smugglers who kicked, spurred, whipped and tied the two men to horses while continuing the whipping, eventually killing Galley as he broke his neck falling from the horse and throwing Chater down a well. Both Richard Mills senior and junior were hanged for these murders on 19 January 1749 but John Mills got away. John Mills, alias, Smoker, colt-breaker son of Richard Mills senior, was also responsible for the murder of Richard Hawkins shortly afterwards on 28 January 1749 at the Dog and Partridge, Slindon, in West Sussex, by violently shaking, beating, whipping and kicking him over the loss of two bags of tea. Richard Hawkins died almost immediately but it was found later that he was not responsible for the loss of the tea and his weighted body was thrown in a pond at Parham Park. Although Borrowman’s account uses the name William Pring, Cooper’s book also uses the name Jacob Pring on page 164 to describe how he went to Bristol to bring John Mills up to Beckenham, meeting the Kemp brothers, Lawrence and Thomas, who

17 Bromleag March 2012 Letters agreed to come up with them. Alison believes that William and Jacob Pring must be one and the same. Jacob deceived the three by reporting to Mr Rackster in Horsham who came accompanied by seven or eight armed men to the house in Beckenham where they found the three men tucking into a supper of breast of veal. John Mills was hanged for his crime at East Grinstead on 12 August 1749. Borrowman did not appear to know the name or the site of the Beckenham house but a document from the West Sussex Record Office states that Jacob Pring not only leased land, Little Farndells, in , but also in 1750 is referred to as Jacob Pring of Beckenham Court. Does anyone have any idea where this may have been? Pat Manning — contact via the editor or to [email protected]

Bus garage never planned for Glebe Way site

A misunderstanding by a local Press reporter in the 1930s has surfaced twice recently; in 2010 it appeared in discussion among members of the Omnibus Society’s London Historical Research Group; this time it is in the article on Peter Leigh’s talk on West Wickham in Bromleag, December 2011, pages 13-14. In the Bromley Rural District and Beckenham Borough councils’ minutes, which show how West Wickham’s growth took off about 1929 and which list all the building schemes in the 1930s, I came across London Transport’s planning application in 1937 for a bus garage. The proposed site was not in Glebe Way, but at The Alders, at the Shirley end of West Wickham High Street, on the Croydon boundary. The plan was rejected by Beckenham and no more was heard of it. The first section of Glebe Way had already been laid out, as an extension of the High Street. It went only as far as Silver Lane. This section of Glebe Way acquired a fire station in 1939, which was closed in 1968; it is now a second-hand furniture shop. The stocks tree opposite the Swan pub had been removed in 1935, and the old building facing the High Street was demolished to enable Glebe Way to be built to give better access to Silver Lane and other residential roads. Meanwhile, the Alders site remained empty and overgrown and subject to flooding from the Beck stream which ran along its edge. Then, about 1980, hardcore was tipped onto it and it became one of Ken Livingstone’s Outer London overnight lorry parks. In 1986 the Council was abolished and for about a year I worked for Bromley Council on the transfer of GLC property – some was certainly “ours”, some open to argument. One of the sites we had our eye on was The Alders. In the GLC file,

18 Bromleag March 2012 Letters which I found at County Hall, the rest of the story was revealed. The Alders site had been bought by the City Omnibus Co in 1931 – reason not stated, but presumably for a base for its 536 route, which came from Highgate, through the West End, Catford and Beckenham and terminated at Green, or on Sundays ran through to The Wheatsheaf in West Wickham High Street. In 1933 the City Bus Co and its land at The Alders passed to London Transport, who decided to build a bus garage there to relieve pressure on the garages at Croydon and Bromley, and allow new bus routes to be opened up. After Beckenham Council said “No”, London Transport seem to have forgotten about it and when the Greater London Council took over LT in 1970 the Alders land was declared surplus and taken over by the Council’s Valuation Department – which also forgot about it until stirred into action by Ken. We failed to win the Alders site for Bromley Council, and it was sold off; houses and flats, with their gardens subject to flooding by the Beck, were built on it. Laurie Mack My thanks to Laurie Mack for the correction. I was aware that the land at The Alders had originally been bought for a bus garage but finding a press cutting about Yew Tree Cottage which refers to it as shortly to be demolished to make way for a bus garage for London Transport, I assumed that it was just one of many proposals. A small section of Glebe Way was built in the late 1930s but never built through to the High Street until the late 1950s. The land now occupied by Iceland and the offices of Summit House was vacant until the 1960s and used to host a travelling fair. It was on this land that I had assumed the bus garage was planned as I think that I mentioned that part of the garden to Yew Tree Cottage had been designated for a library. Peter Leigh

Helen Clarke could hold key to caves competition

I'm a member of the BBLHS and I see you have an enquiry in the December 2011 issue regarding . I've been interested in the caves ever since I first visited them as a schoolboy in the 1950s, and am collecting material with the intention of publishing a book of stories about the use of the caves as a shelter during the Second World War. The biggest stumbling-block is that the caves were never really approved by the local authority, merely tolerated, and the powers-that-be preferred to pretend that they weren’t there. The organisers were so pleased that the war was over that all the records were burnt in a big celebration bonfire. So there are only indirect records to work from, and virtually no photographs. I have not found any reference to “Competitions” about the caves, but of course

19 Bromleag March 2012 Letters there was plenty of competition, with a small “c”, ranging from “I’ve got better vegetables growing on my Anderson shelter than you have” to this kind of display, “My pitch is better than your pitch”. I think it is unlikely that any local newspaper would use its valuable paper allowance promoting a competition of such local interest, especially as you had to pay to get into the caves! A brief reference added as a “human interest” filler is more likely. The British Newspaper Archive will be a wonderful reference source, but currently only goes up to 1900. The date was probably 1940 or early 1941, because when the Blitz started in earnest all such unnecessary use of space was cleared out and thousands of bunks crammed in. But I have been collecting letters from local newspapers and have two relevant extracts. Maureen Wass: “Some people really went to town and built themselves a comfortable living room in some of the alcoves. The one I remember best was near Sunshine Alley and had a three piece suite and the people had made an imitation garden outside with even a little pond made from glass and toy swans.” Masie Troke: “Initially many of the shelterers brought their own furnishings, and in one of the offshoot caves the people had made a really eye-catching pitch with beds, curtains, carpets and lamps and candles. It was known as ‘Sunshine Alley’, but later all beds were removed when bunks were installed, and electric light.” Masie was the wife of Leslie Troke, who was a general handyman and organiser, who helped with some of the administration, and ran the canteen for some time. Visitors to the caves today are shown the bunks and alcove used by the family, called Troakes Nook, named after a popular play at the time, Rookery Nook. These two extracts are from a collection made by a lady called, Helen Clarke. Her family were shelterers in the caves, and she wrote to local newspapers in about 1990, and published a collection of the replies in photocopy form. I was given a copy in 2008 by a visitor to the caves but I haven’t managed to track down Helen Clarke. The collection is not dated and has no addresses, and although there are a few photographs the quality is too poor to reproduce. Bromley Library and the newspapers concerned have been unable to help, and the only Helen Clarke involved in writing I have been able to trace is a journalist on a newspaper in the north of England who did not answer my email. I would be interested to hear from anyone who could help me contact Helen Clarke. Brian Williamson email: [email protected] My website www.nullpublishing.co.uk may also be of interest.

20 Bromleag March 2012 Letters Bromley Union Workhouse children research

I am researching the lives of children under the care of Bromley Union Workhouse () from 1870, as part of my history degree with the University of Kent. In particular I am investigating (through records held at Bromley and the National Archives) the schemes used by the authorities to direct children to more fortunate lives, such as fostering with local families, naval training ships, emigration to Canada and apprenticeships, also the separate children’s home next to the Bromley Union Workhouse at Wellbrook Road, Farnborough (built 1909). I would be most grateful to receive any recollections members may be able to provide on this subject, particularly any memoirs of ancestors. Personal knowledge would help bring to life the picture I am building up from the original documents. Deborah Petrick email: [email protected] D Petrick, c/o University of Kent, University Centre Tonbridge (Block A, First Floor), Avebury Avenue, Tonbridge, Kent TN9 1TG

Putting Bromley on the right lines

Laurie Mack has given more information on the development of the Bromley railway system, which Michael Rawcliffe touched on in his article in Bromleag, December 2011, pages 20-23. “The line from London Bridge to Redhill (but not via Reigate) was opened by the London and Brighton Railway in 1841. The South Eastern Railway opened the line onwards from Redhill to Tonbridge and Ashford in 1842, and from Ashford to Dover in 1844. The cross-country line from Redhill to Reigate and beyond was opened by the South Eastern Railway in 1849. “Chislehurst station, opened in 1865, was on the direct line of the South Eastern Railway (not the London Chatham and Dover Railway) from London to Orpington and Sevenoaks (1868) and on to Tonbridge. to Bromley North was also a South Eastern project. The smaller companies which eventually became the London Chatham and Dover Railway built the line from Victoria to Bromley South and onwards to Chatham and Dover. Laurie Mack I am very grateful to Laurie Mack for taking time to comment on the railway references in my article. I have sought to amend, clarify or expand as follows. 1. Chislehurst station was opened on 1 July 1865 by the South Eastern Railway, not the LCD. The station at Sevenoaks was opened on 2 March 1868 with the line going through the Polhill Tunnel (2,160 yards) and the Sevenoaks Tunnel (3,454 yards) both

21 Bromleag March 2012 Letters major engineering feats and requiring the influx of large numbers of navvies into the quiet rural Cray and Darent Valley* and the market town of Sevenoaks. 2. My reference to the South Eastern Railway, on page 20, has suffered from both error and abbreviation. Interestingly, C F Dendy-Marshall in A History of the Southern Railway (1936) page 381 writes: “The line was opened from Reigate (Redhill) to Tonbridge on May 26 1842.” My main point was that the line to Dover meant the end of the long distance coach trade from the coast to London and added to Bromley’s woes. 3. The branch line from Grove Park to Bromley North was built by the Bromley Direct Railway Company which was formed in 1874. The line was opened on 6 January 1878. From the start the company had South Eastern directors on the board and in 1879 the smaller company was taken over by the South Eastern. Michael Rawcliffe Searching for a picture of Pimlico Mill, Biggin Hill

Rob Cumming who, is writing a book on the windmills of North West Kent, responded to a request on our Can You Help? webpage for information on the mill at Biggin Hill. He was able to give the information below but Rob wonders if anyone has a picture of the mill. A John Nelson photo of 1908 on http://www.bigginhill-history.co.uk/ millhouse.htm might show the “shed” or its remains behind the Mill House but Rob has not been able to find a picture of the mill. “I think the mill was built around about 1815, probably by a millwright called William Ashby, who had set up a workshop in Westerham. It was a post mill. I suspect the house was of an earlier origin, perhaps late 17th or 18th century, and the cottage adjoining might have been an ancillary building before, such as a bakery perhaps”, Rob says. “The mill was worked and owned initially by the Paddy family and passed to the Alwens who owned it for most of its working life. Latterly it was rented (about 1865) by a chap called Alfred Nicholls, who ran the big mill at Downe. It was pulled down somewhere between 1880 and 1890. I have a notice in the Sussex Advertiser advertising it for building material in 1882 ‘to be pulled down’. This notice probably didn’t gain much interest, and when the mill was finally taken down the body of the mill was taken off and used as a shed in the back garden for some years. “I have the transcript of an interview with Alfred Nicholls recorded in 1950, in which he recounts his milling experiences particularly at Downe, but also remembers at that ‘the wife of the miller forbade the miller to use the mill when she had her washing out, in case the mill fell on it !’. I have the story more or less

22 Bromleag March 2012 Letters complete, with the odd gap, and, sadly, a lack of any picture.” The book is nearing completion but Rob would also be interested in information on windmills at Bromley, Chislehurst, , Lee, Downe and Keston. Rob Cumming [email protected] or via the editor Commemorate those who died on the Home Front Nicholas Reed, who gave us a talk a few years ago about Frost Fairs on the Frozen Thames, had quite a lot to say about his father’s role in a recent BBC2 documentary Double Agent: The Eddie Chapman Story. I was very interested to have it confirmed, by the programme, that the reason Penge, Beckenham and Bromley got hammered by V1 rockets in 1944 was indeed due to a spy giving the Germans the wrong co-ordinates to avoid the V1s hitting the centre of London. I had thought this was myth, but Eddie Chapman was told by his spymaster to do this. In the City and Canary Wharf areas there are wall plaques everywhere recording the destruction suffered in the Second World War. Perhaps we could get the Mayor of London or the Heritage Lottery Fund to give us some funds so that we can remember the civilians and volunteers who lost their lives on the Home Front in our part of the world. Cliff Watkins

Kent History Federation Annual Conference 2012 This year’s conference entitled Headcorn – A Window on the Weald is being held on 12 May at Headcorn Village Hall. The village, which is in the heart of the Weald mid-way between Maidstone and Ashford, can trace its roots back to at least the 11th century and there are written records of life in the area in charters of the 8th century. The history of the Weald and of Headcorn will be the focus of the conference with talks on industry in the 16th and 17th centuries, hop cultivation and Headcorn during wartime. Following the morning talks there will be a choice of visits including to Headcorn Aerodrome Battle of Britain Museum, Smarden Local History Heritage Centre and to Boy Court as well as a guided walk around the village. Cost is £7.50 with an additional £7.50 if you wish to include a buffet lunch. For more information and a booking form please contact BBLHS secretary Elaine Baker on 01689 854408 or email [email protected]

23 Bromleag March 2012 Feature Scadbury — a jewel in Bromley’s crown

Roy Hopper traces the changing fortunes of this ancient manor

cadbury, with its moated manor house, was the home of the Lord of the Manor from about 1200 until 1739, when the house was demolished, and in S 1752 Frognal [in Sidcup] replaced Scadbury as the principal residence. But in 1917 Frognal was purchased by the Government and became the base for a specialist facial surgery hospital so in the early 1920s the Lord of the Manor moved back to Scadbury, to live in a large Victorian house adjacent to the moated site. Following the death of John Marsham-Townshend there in 1975, the Lordship of the Manors now resides with descendants of John’s half brother, Thomas Marsham- Townshend, killed in the Second World War, whose widow remarried. In the 1980s Scadbury became a public park, owned by the London Borough of Bromley. One of the early press releases issued by Bromley after the purchase was Farming to continue at Scadbury, thus emphasising that, from its beginning in the late 12th or early 13th century, farming was the essential activity on this ancient estate, as a typical medieval manorial system. Of course, there is nothing unusual about any of this, but it does add to the charm of Chislehurst as being, in Nikolaus Pevsner’s words “no ordinary suburb”. Thanks to Bromley’s purchase, Scadbury became another large area of open land which, added to the National Trust property of and Hawkwood accumulated during the first half of the 20th century, and the Chislehurst and St Paul’s Cray Commons that were saved in the late 19th century, amounts to a considerable area of open urban space in this Greater London area of Kent. Scadbury is easily missed if you are unfamiliar with local geography. It lies on the right travelling along Perry Street towards Sidcup. It is accessible from Old Perry Street, St Paul’s Cray Common and St Paul’s Wood Hill. Since 1986 the Orpington and District Archaeological Society (ODAS) has been excavating the moated site and the land around it, under licence from Bromley Borough. It is rightly considered to be one of the jewels in Bromley’s crown. What do we know of Scadbury’s ancient past? Patient excavation by ODAS has settled on a date of about 1200 for earliest occupation of what was a shady wooded hill top. In descriptive Early English or Anglo Saxon a scea?a-beorg, the “?” having a sound like “th”. It became anglicised as Scadbury, but its earliest occupants took their name from the place and styled themselves “de Scathebury”. In 1159 King Henry II granted land at Havering, in , to a prior and six poor

24 Bromleag March 2012 Feature brethren from the monastery of St Bernard in the Swiss Alps, who wanted to set up a cell in England. This marked the birth of Hornchurch Priory or the Monasterium Cornutum. The monks were also granted land in Chislehurst, near an existing property called Kemnal. In the mid-13th century its owner was Alexander de Chomenhole, and about 1260 he surrendered the lease of his property to the Priory, which gave the monks a firm footing here as well as In Hornchurch. This Chislehurst land was a portion of a woodland dene, also bearing a descriptive name of ceosol-nyrst, or chesil-hyrst, a stony wood, appended to the Royal Manor of Dartford. The Priory land evolved into Kemnal Manor, and it appears that Kemnal and Scadbury may have grown up side by side, for later records show that at least two of the Walsingham holders of Scadbury Manor were paying an annual rental to Kemnal. This payment continued into the late 19th century, only ceasing when its owner, New College, Oxford, was selling Kemnal land for building. This transfer of ownership from Priory to an Oxford college had come about in the late 14th century, around 1390, when Hornchurch sold all its possessions in England to Bishop William of Wykeham, who used them to endow his new College of St Mary in Oxford. Consequently, New College became the repository of a rich collection of documents relating to Kemnal Manor. An important factor in this manorial story is Chislehurst parish church, dedicated to St Nicholas, which was included in a gift of several churches made by Bishop Gundulf in 1089 to the monks of St Andrew’s Priory, Rochester. In 1957, when repairs were being made to the west wall of the nave of St Nicholas church, some flints fell out of what was revealed as a late Saxon or early Norman window. That date of 1089 would appear to match this old window quite well. At that early date the church may have served as a mission church in the stony wood, and perhaps acted as a sort of focal point for the eventual settlement of what became Chislehurst village, when the manorial holdings of Kemnal and Scadbury began to develop. This is where the Kemnal Manor documents come in. They date from the period around 1259 to 1261, when the Prior and monks began to buy pieces of land and also purchased the old house of Kemnal from its owner, Alexander de Chomenhole. It Anglo Saxon window in therefore looks as if Kemnal got started somewhat St Nicholas Church, Chislehurst

25 Bromleag March 2012 Feature later than Scadbury. These old documents reveal the names of many inhabitants and their trades, and convey a picture of a thriving community. Chislehurst as a village must have been developing quietly for some time, but we lack any earlier written evidence for this. All we can do is speculate. Large estates such as Kemnal and Scadbury would have encouraged the development of a well- organised manorial system, with a corresponding effect upon population growth, and in some such way as this, Chislehurst village was born. There are a few documentary references to the de Scathebury family during the 14th century, which convey some glimpses of the estate. In 1301, a lay subsidy tax was levied on the value of the goods of every property owner or holder, and John de Scathebury’s goods were valued at £22-3s [£22 15p]. The next wealthiest owner was the Prior at Kemnal Manor, whose goods were valued at £6-10s-2d [£6.51p] In the Patent Rolls of 1311 it is recorded that John de Scathebury was accused of stealing the goods of William de Cray of Paulin’s Cray, and a year later John is accused of assaulting William in London. In 1343 we have a reference to the marriage of John de Scathebury the younger to Christina de Hadresham, and our first description of the estate, as having one house, one mill, 43 acres of land and 6½ acres of meadow. John appears to have died about 1347 and Christina married again, one Nicholas

The Walsingham tomb in the Scadbury Chapel at St Nicholas Church, Chislehurst

26 Bromleag March 2012 Feature Herying, a seneschal who was responsible for looking after all the king’s property in Kent. The couple sold Scadbury in 1369 to John de Hadresham, Christina’s nephew, and the next we hear of Scadbury is in the years leading up to 1424, when the first Thomas Walsingham came to live there. He was a prosperous vintner and wool merchant, and apparently looking for a country residence not too far from London. Thomas Dale, a clerk, leased the manor to him, and Dale states that he had lately held the manor of one Alan Everard, a citizen and mercer of London. Everard had been a sheriff of the City in 1415, so these were all men of standing, moving in the same circles. Although we do not know exactly what happened between 1369 and Everard's ownership, we do know that John de Hadresham did not die until 1417, so there does seem to be some indirect evidence of continuity of ownership. There were six Thomas Walsinghams at Scadbury, and it is convenient to number them: Thomas 1 prospered, purchased more property in the neighbourhood and died in 1457. His son, Thomas 2, inherited the estate and during his lifetime set about rebuilding the manor house and St Nicholas Church. He added the north aisle, with the tower and spire at its west end and created the Scadbury Chapel at the east end, with a screen and door at its entrance, a rood loft above, with the screen extending

All that is left of Scadbury Manor is the ruins on the moated island

27 Bromleag March 2012 Feature across the chancel and vaults beneath the chapel floor for burial. These were constructed with the same kind of red brick seen at Scadbury. The architecture is in Perpendicular style, dating to the 1460s. In the chapel is a rather curious construction known as the Walsingham Tomb, the top part of which is definitely Tudor in character. It bears a memorial inscription to Sir , who was Lieutenant of the during the reign of Henry VIII, and a Latin inscription to Sir Thomas 4, the Elizabethan courtier, friend and patron of and probable courier in the Secret Service, instituted by Sir , Elizabeth’s Secretary of State. Marlowe also seems to have been involved in this. The lower part of this tomb is chiefly of the Decorated period that coincides with the de Scathebury occupation, the inference being that this could have been their family tomb. The Queen visited Scadbury in 1597, where she knighted Thomas 4, the scene depicted on the Village Sign on Royal Parade. This sign was unveiled on Coronation Day in1953 and, as there were no known pictures of the old manor, Ightham Mote provided the inspiration for the design. In 1611 this same Sir Thomas was able to purchase the manors of Chislehurst, Cobharn, and Combe, which had hitherto been bestowed at intervals by the king upon his favourites. He kept Chislehurst for himself, thus becoming Lord of the Manors of Scadbury and Chislehurst. He died in 1630 and the manors passed to his son, Sir Thomas 5. He valiantly tried to stay neutral during the Civil War, but was also fighting a losing battle as the value of the estate diminished. In about 1658 he sold the estates and Lordships of the manors to Sir Richard Bettenson. The family trees become rather complex at this time, but we must single out young Sir Edward Bettenson, who inherited the manors as a child, and was the ward of his three older sisters. He became a rake and a spendthrift; it was said of him that he gambled away the oak trees of , and when he died unmarried in 1733 the estates were encumbered with a mortgage of £6,045. His sisters took over the Col John Selwyn rescued Scadbury in administration and in 1736, John Selwyn, the son the 18th century

28 Bromleag March 2012 Feature of the eldest sister, was able to purchase the lordship of both manors for over £16,000, thus clearing the debt. He was a highly respected and responsible character, one of his many courtly duties being Treasurer to the younger members of the Royal family. On acquiring Scadbury he gave it to his son- in-law, the Hon Thomas Townshend, who promptly pulled down the old moated house, intending to rebuild it in a modern style. But tragedy struck. Thomas’s young wife died in 1739, and he abandoned the moated site and moved to Frognal, the neighbouring estate north of Scadbury Park. Farming continued at Scadbury. Thomas Townshend died in 1780 and was succeeded by his son, also Thomas, who distinguished himself in parliament and was raised to the peerage as Baron Sydney. In 1788 he became a Viscount, and the new settlement in Robert Marsham-Townshend, New South Wales was named Sydney in his honour. Lord of the Manor 1893-1914 His grandson, John Robert Townshend, became the first and only Earl Sydney in 1874. He was a good friend and counsellor to Queen Victoria, held numerous courtly posts, and spent much of his time in London. It appears that Frognal, a vast building of some antiquity, was only inhabitable in the summer months. The Earl died in 1890, and his wife died in 1893. Their nephew, Robert Marsham, inherited the estates, and took the additional surname of Townshend. Robert seems to have been a practical man, who took a more direct interest in the estates. He had an excellent estate manager in Charles Kenderdine, who had a large house in Scadbury Park next to the moated site, but who was often far away in Gloucestershire, attending to the affairs of the estate of the Selwyn family at Matson. It was all becoming very hard to manage, especially as the days of the great estates were evidently numbered. Robert died in December 1914, his son Hugh Marsham- Townshend succeeded him, and the now very large Chislehurst estates were put up for auction. Little property was sold, but the Government purchased Frognal and turned it into a specialised Hospital, the Queen’s hospital for facial surgery. Here Major Sir Harold Gillies pioneered the art of modem plastic surgery. Queen Mary was very interested in this work and came to Frognal on several occasions to visit him and the wounded

29 Bromleag March 2012 Feature men. When in the early 1930s the hospital ceased to be a military unit, it was renamed Queen Mary’s in her honour. After the war, Hugh Marsham-Townshend returned to Chislehurst to live in the house by the moated site. He tidied up the island, restored or replaced much decayed or fallen brickwork and, in the 1930s, with some important timbers taken from the demolished Manor Farm in , built his concept of a medieval manor house on the moated island. He died in 1967 and was succeeded by his only son, John Marsham-Townshend, a bachelor. When John died in 1975, he was the last resident Lord of the Manor at Scadbury and, as we saw in the opening paragraph, Scadbury became a public park, a nature reserve and the site of an extended archaeological excavation that is still continuing. Hugh’s medieval hall had been damaged by fire and in 1987 the most significant timbers were taken away for analysis and storage at the Weald and Downland Open Air Museum. Recent research has confirmed that Manor Hugh Marsham-Townshend’s reconstructed hall Farm was in its earlier days the manor house of Sandling Manor, mentioned in Domesday Book. How delighted Hugh would have been to know this! It is impossible to do justice to so large and complex a subject as Scadbury in a limited space. Work there will be continuing for the foreseeable future. Every September ODAS opens the moated site to the public and there is a self-guided tour of the site, a regular Scadbury exhibition, publications and refreshments are available for sale, and various finds will be on display.

ODAS welcomes new members with an interest in archaeology and history. Visit their website, which gives details of publications and how to join, at www.odas.org.uk. There is also a Friends Group that supports environmental and biodiversity matters, which can be found at www.scadbury.net The two organisations are quite separate in form and function.

30 Bromleag March 2012 Feature Glimpses of a lost Roman road Gordon Hughes traces the old Roman road to Lewes on its path through Beckenham and Patricia Knowlden uncovers a little more of the route as it heads into Surrey at West Wickham. Beckenham — If nearly 2000 years ago you were standing near the present Park Cafe in Kelsey Park you would have been beside, or on, a busy Roman Road. In the distance you might have seen the ox carts and Roman soldiers trudging up The Knoll and across the area, before disappearing down the hill towards London. The likely route of the London – Lewes Way is clearly recorded on maps in Ivan D Margery’s Roman Ways in the Weald – which is available in Bromley’s Local History Archives. This road was an important highway. Products from Lewes iron workings, cereals grown in the area, and imported goods, were transported along this road to London – whilst it was one of the main routes for exports to the Continent. Over the years various sections of the road have been uncovered, giving quite a clear indication of the route. Various materials were used. Slag from the iron foundries was a main component for the southern section, while in our area gravel upon pebbles and flints was uncovered in Beckenham Place Park, with the route across Langley Park Golf Course identified by several sections of gravel. The road would probably have been about 30 feet wide. Travellers from the south might have found Beckenham a good resting place – with bed and breakfast facilities – just three leagues from Londinium.

West Wickham — By Roman times there was a road running through from the ironworks in the Sussex Weald and its course is visible as parch marks in the grass across Sparrows Den at Addington Bottom during spells of dry weather. Its route continues south across the fields of Wickham Court Farm. Further south still it was later used by the Anglo-Saxons to mark the borders of Kent and Surrey. Some of the fields conceal remains of Romano-British farmsteads. In the first field beyond Addington Bottom was a staging-post and settlement. This would have had the Roman status of “vicus”, a term understood by the Saxons when they arrived, so they named the place Vicus-ham, thus adding their own suffix meaning village: this developed into “Wickham”.*

*An extract from Fields and Farmers of West Wickham, Patricia Knowlden’s last book, which is being prepared by the society for posthumous publication.

31 Bromleag March 2012 Bromley Local History Society Registered Charity No 273963 History is continually being made and at the same time destroyed, buildings are altered or demolished, memories fade and people pass away, records get destroyed or thrown in the bin. BBLHS was formed in 1974 so that those with an interest in the history of any part of the borough could meet to exchange information and learn more about Bromley’s history. We aim, in co-operation with the local history library, museums and other relevant organisations, to make sure at least some of this history is preserved for future generations. We hold regular meetings and produce a newsletter and occasional publications where members can publish their research. The society covers all those areas that are within the present day London Borough of Bromley and includes : - - Beckenham - Bickley -Biggin Hill - Bromley - Chelsfield - Chislehurst - - Cudham - Downe - Farnborough - -Hayes - Keston - Leaves Green - Mottingham - Orpington - Penge - Petts Wood - St. Mary Cray - St. Paul’s Cray - - Sundridge Park - West Wickham.

http://bblhs.website.orange.co.uk/

Subscription Rates Yearly subscription from 1 January Individual £10.50; couple £12. Senior citizens pay a reduced rate of £8 per person or £10 for a couple. Members joining after 30 June pay half rates. Membership Secretary 020 8467 3842

32 Bromleag March 2012