Bromleag Volume 2: Issue 40 December 2016
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Bromleag Volume 2: Issue 40 December 2016 The Squirt comes back to Bromley Take a day trip to Keston Go shopping in Petts Wood Penge’s pioneers of motorcycling In 1846, for a mere £22,275, Coles Child bought Bromley Palace, (pictured above) the Manor of Bromley, the market and the tolls . See Page 16 Contents — December 2016 News and Events 3, 5– 8 Society news 7– 10, 19 Society Meetings Members’ evening/NWKFHS 12 – 15 Coles Child in Greenwich and Bromley 16 — 17 Features Beckenham’s 19th century aviator 10 World Chess in Bromley 18 — 19 Simpson’s Place, Bromley 20 — 21 A day trip to Keston 22 — 24 The early days of Petts Wood 25 — 26 Motorcycling success in Penge 27 — 31 Registered Charity No 273963 2 Bromleag December 2016 Bromleag The journal of the Bromley Borough Local History Society Brexit — Bromley’s experience of a momentous decision Notes from the Chairman The year 2016 will almost certainly come to be seen by later generations as the point when Britain chose to travel in a different direction from that followed for many years and will clearly be marked as such in history books of the future. The result of our Brexit referendum has already brought immediate changes for us and for people across the world and will continue to produce other unexpected outcomes for decades to come. We already know of some major economic consequences; the fall in the value of the pound and hesitancy in the stock markets of Britain and elsewhere. The Governor of the Bank of England has recently announced a huge stimulus to our economy by creating immense amounts of money to provide “liquidity” for the banks (yet again) and, at the same time, has reduced Bank Rate to the unprecedented low level of 0.25%. The results of this decision will impact on millions of people — every saver, every mortgagee and every business. Decisions of this magnitude will, of course, be widely discussed and recorded officially. But what about the impact of Brexit at the local level? Will it even be noticed? This episode in our history gives members of the Society and the community an opportunity to record the many ways in which the referendum decision will change our lives. For some it already has. These should not be restricted to the more obvious candidates, such as home owners, businesses and community groups, but involve the personal decisions of individuals and families. Will members of your family now seriously consider emigrating? Have you Irish ancestry and have you already considered applying for an Irish passport? The future implications are endless and still largely unknown. Why not become an active recorder of your personal experience of Brexit. Perhaps in the future BBLHS will create a database which will summarise all our experiences through these years, for future generations to read. In this final edition of Bromleag of 2016, on behalf of all the committee, I wish you a very merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Make one of your New Year resolutions to become a “recorder”. Tudor Davies 3 Bromleag December 2016 Who’s Who on the BBLHS committee www.bblhs.org.uk Chairman Tudor Davies Springhall, Leafy Grove, Keston, BR2 6AH 01689 855744 [email protected] Vice-Chairman Michael Rawcliffe 9 Copley Dene, Bromley, BR6 9NG 020 8290 1453 [email protected] Treasurer Pam Robinson 68 Rolleston Ave, Petts Wood, BR5 1AL 020 8467 6385 [email protected] Secretary Elaine Baker 27 Commonside, Keston, BR2 6BP 01689 854408 [email protected] Membership Secretary Tony Allnutt Woodside, Old Perry Street, Chislehurst, BR7 6PP 020 8467 3842 [email protected] Programme co-ordinator Mike Marriott 2 The Drive, Orpington, BR6 9AP 01689 820794 or 07917 101520 [email protected] Publications John Barnes 38 Sandilands Crescent, Hayes, BR2 7DR 020 8462 2603 [email protected] Minutes Secretary Judy Davies Publicity and website Max Batten 5 South View, Bromley, BR13DR 020 8460 1284 [email protected] Bromleag Editor Christine Hellicar 150 Worlds End Lane, Chelsfield, BR6 6AS 01689 857214 Bromleag is published four times a year. The editor welcomes articles along with illustrations and photographs. These can be emailed, on disc 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. A full INDEX of articles in Bromleag 1974—2015 can be found at www.bblhs.org.uk Next journal deadline — 15 January 2017 4 Bromleag December 2016 Meetings and events Meetings are held at 7.45pm 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 3 January The Day Amy Johnson Dropped In: The pioneer aviator, a Chelsfield crash and a life-change — Patrick Hellicar 7 February The Lubbocks of Kent — Lyulph Lubbock, Lord Avebury 7 March A Hundred Years of Biggin Hill Airfield — Alan Piper Visits 22 February 11am (meet 10.45am) Remembering 1916 — Life on the Western Front Exhibition at the Whitgift Exhibition Centre, Haling Park, South Croydon, CR2 6YT (www.remembering1916.co.uk) 23 March 11 am (meet 10.45am) Institute of Historical Research— a talk and guided visit The institute promotes the study of history and an appreciation of the importance of the past among academics and the public Senate House, Malet Street, London WC1E 7HU (www.history.ac.uk) North West Kent Family History Society meetings — Bromley Branch 10.30am third Saturday of the month at Bromley Methodist Church, College Road, Bromley 21 January Eltham Palace and the Courtauld family 18 February Bromley Archives (meeting is in the large hall of the Central Library) 18 March London maps 5 Bromleag December 2016 News Arts organisation to take on Orpington Priory Bromley Council have offered a 125-year lease on Orpington Priory to V22, an art organisation, which specialises in the collection of contemporary art, exhibitions, events and educational initiatives, and the provision of artists’ studios and artisans' workshops. In making the decision last month, the Council said that V22’s proposal offered an opportunity to secure the future of The Priory, provided an element of community benefit, dealt with the substantial backlog of repairs and provided a capital receipt to the Council. V22 have recently opened a studio in the old Forest Hill Library, working with community groups to provide an arts, community and specialised library centre. They have said they are keen to work with local organisations and community groups in Orpington and that could include the Orpington Priory Community Hub, who had also bid for the lease. For more information on V22, including a interesting video interview with the director Tara Cranswick, visit http://www.v22collection.com/about Shortlands War Memorial Expert consultants are being appointed to oversee the restoration of the 95 year-old Shortlands War memorial in Kingswood Road, which was severely damaged when a car collided with it in July. The appointment of an expert conservator is expected shortly and this consultant will liaise with Historic England and the War Memorials Trust, with planning approval probably needed. It is envisaged that the memorial will essentially replicate the damaged memorial, with the costs to be met by the car driver’s insurance company, according to the Shortlands Residents’ Association. Join the BBLHS news mailing list If you would like to receive notices about meetings and events, or you used to get them but they seem to have stopped, send us your current email address and we will add or update our files appropriately. Your details are used only to send interesting and/or urgent messages and you can ask for them to stop any time. Please send your details to [email protected] 6 Bromleag December 2016 News £2m HLF funding for Biggin Hill Memorial Museum A grant of almost £2 million from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) has been awarded to the Biggin Hill Memorial Museum project. The funding will allow Bromley Council, in partnership with the Museum Trust, to develop detailed plans which will go before the HLF’s London committee for final agreement in June 2017. The Biggin Hill Memorial Museum will safeguard the future of St George’s RAF Chapel of Remembrance and create a museum to preserve and reveal Biggin Hill’s wartime heritage. The overall project cost will be £5 million, which includes a significant endowment to the Trust to enable the museum to be self-sustaining in perpetuity. So far more than £1 million has been secured in addition to HLF funding. The project team are keen to contact anyone who has memories, stories or objects related to Biggin Hill’s First and Second World War history to form part of the museum’s collection. For further information about the museum or to get in touch with the project team: http://www.bhmm.org.uk/ If you would like to comment on the museum plans there is an online survey at https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/bigginhillactivities Bethlem unveils the Air Loom and the boardroom The boardroom of Bethlem Royal Hospital at West Wickham has been restored and is being opened to the public as part of the Bethlem Museum of the Mind.