Bromleag The Journal of Borough Local History Society

Volume 2 Issue 15 September 2010

A hazardous time on the roads of Bromley

Uncovering the mysteries of The genesis of ’s amazing Church Anglo Saxon treasure in Farnborough

Bromleag The newsletter of the Bromley Borough Local History Society

Society officers Chairman and Membership Secretary Tony Allnutt Woodside, Old Perry Street, , BR7 6PP 0208 467 3842 AJ [email protected] Secretary Patricia Knowlden 62 Harvest Bank Road, , BR4 9DJ 0208 462 5002 Treasurer Brian Reynolds 2 The Limes, Oakley Road, Bromley, BR2 8HH 0208 462 9526 [email protected] Programme co-ordinator Peter Leigh 29 Woodland Way West Wickham, BR4 9LR 0208 777 9244 [email protected] Publicity and website Max Batten 5 South View, Bromley, BR13DR 0208 460 1284 [email protected] Publications John Barnes 38 Sandilands Crescent, Hayes, BR2 7DR 0208 462 2603 [email protected] Bromleag Editor Christine Hellicar 150 Worlds End Lane, , BR6 6AS 01689 857214 [email protected] Minutes Secretary Valerie Stealey [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 — 5 November 2010

2 Bromleag September 2010 News September 2010 — Contents

News and Events P4 — 7

Letters P16—19 Biggin Hill’s moving church Society Meetings P20—21 visit P8—9 Darwin and the Beagle P14 Settlement in Bromley and Fort Halstead visit P15 Orpington P22—24 Features Hazards of crossing the road Farnborough Anglo-Saxon treasure P25—28 P10—11 Keston and the Pepys Researching local history family P29—31 P12 –13 Perils of Deneholes P31

Society Meetings October — December 2010 Meetings are held at 7.45 pm on the first Tuesday of the month, from September to July, in the Methodist Church Hall, North Street, Bromley. The hall has free 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 5 October Centenary An illustrated talk on the development of this garden suburb by Doug Black 2 November Visit to Local Studies, Bromley Library Simon Finch will be laying out his new material for members to inspect 7 December A country house Christmas Pat Mortlock from the National Trust will be setting the scene for Christmas in the past.

3 Bromleag September 2010 News Domesday and Bromley street directories on-line

At the time of writing, I am waiting to use the much publicised digital version, www.pase.ac.uk, of the first ever English directory - the Domesday Book. But it seems that, as with the more recent census websites, the National Archives’ site has crashed on its first day. Pase stands for Prosopography of Anglo-Saxon . One definition of Pase said that it is - or rather will be - a searchable database of all recorded people living in early medieval England and Prosopography is: “ the collection of all known information about individuals within a given period, often in the form of a register or database.” But, while we wait for the National Archives to deliver, some little known but exciting prosopographical tools have been put on line by Bromley Archives. I refer to the jewels in the crown of Bromley’s local history resources - the street directories. Thirty-two of Bromley Library’s collection are now available on fully searchable and printable PDF format. The directories available are: 1885, 1887, 1895,1898, 1902, 1903, 1904, 1911, 1916, 1871-2, 1876 Bromley 1869, 1875, 1876, 1887, 1889, 1891, 1892, 1896, 1900, 1903, 1905,1909, 1910, 1914, 1916,1924, 1928, 1929, 1930, 1933, 1937 Apparently they are a by-product of some directories being recently rebound. The binders provided a free digital copy which have been placed on the website. http:// archive.library.bromley.gov.uk/dserve/Commercialstreetdirectories.htm Sadly, there is no money for this project this year so it will not be continued. Cliff Watkins

Library needs help with mystery gravestones Simon Finch at Bromley Local Studies Library has photographs of some gravestones in Bromley (one from 1873) but has been unable to identify their location. They maybe in a churchyard that cannot be found in the registers of public cemeteries. The photographs are now on our website - http://bblhs.website.orange.co.uk/ Can anyone help identify the location?

4 Bromleag September 2010 News from the committee BBLHS to host 2011 Kent History Federation Annual Conference Next year BBLHS will be hosting the Kent History Federation Annual Conference which will be held at Crofton Halls, Orpington on Saturday 7 May. The general theme is the borough of Bromley can trace its history from the Romans and the Anglo Saxons to its importance as a market town situated on the main route between and the Kent coast. But we will also show our visitors from the other Kent local history societies the Council for Kentish Archaeology [CKA] and the wider local history community that Bromley has a wide an interesting history encompassing places as varied as , Biggin Hill, Keston and Orpington as well as central Bromley, and that some very interesting and influential residents [not just Charles Darwin] have lived here. Arrangements are still being finalised but the day will start with talks in the morning, then after lunch there will be visits led by members of the society and the CKA. Our Chairman Tony Allnutt will give a talk on five Bromley residents and vice- chairman Michael Rawcliff will look at Aspects of Bromley History. Brian Philp of CKA will complete the morning line-up with an overview of the archaeology of North West Kent. For the afternoon guided visits – for which conference delegates will have to sign up when they book their places – we plan to include: Orpington , Keston Roman burial site, Orpington Priory, our Grade I listed, Bromley and Sheppard’s Colleges, Chislehurst Caves and a guided tour on foot of Camden Park Road, Chislehurst. All sites that can be easily reached from Orpington. A sub-committee has been set for the conference – Tony Allnutt, Valerie Stealey, Max Batten and Elaine Baker. They are looking for volunteers to help on the day with arranging the hall, looking after visitors etc. If you can help please call Val Stealey [0208 467 2988] or Tony Allnutt [0208 467 3842]. A booking form for the conference will be sent to every member early next year. Developing new Publications Patricia Knowlden is updating her book Bromley Manor and Palace and a sub- committee – Christine Hellicar, Patricia Knowlden, Michael Rawcliffe, Simon Finch – has been set-up to look into the feasibility of producing new publications. If any members would like to contribute ideas or become involved in future publications please contact Christine on 01689 857214.

5 Bromleag September 2010 News Government changes to archive funding New Archives and Records Association A new organisation, the Archives and Records Association [ARA] was set up earlier this year to provide support to archivists, records managers and conservators, advice to users and to bring the views of the sector as a whole to government and wider society. It brings together the Society of Archivists, the National Council on Archives (NCA) and Association of Chief Archivists in Local Government (ACALG) into one organisation. The ARA will continue to support the work of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Archives, which was administered by the NCA and will organise the annual Archive Awareness Campaign which seeks to engage new audiences with local and national archives. The ARA, though an independent body, will receive some public funding from The National Archives and the Museums, Libraries & Archives Council with specific objectives within the fields of advocacy, awareness raising and sector development. Abolition of the Museums, Libraries & Archives Council However, in July it was announced that the Department of Culture, Media and Sport is to abolish the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council saying: they want to: “Focus efforts on front-line, essential services ... Government support for museums, libraries and archives will continue.” Their press release adds that some key functions carried out by MLA and other bodies that may be abolished will be carried out by other bodies. DCMS are also looking at their responsibility for heritage and the built environment and considering the role and remit of English Heritage, the Heritage Lottery Fund and the National Heritage Memorial Fund Responding to the government's announcement that the MLA is to be wound up by April 2012, Chair Sir Andrew Motion and Chief Executive Roy Clare have pledged a smooth and orderly transition to deliver the best possible future for museums, libraries and archives across England and for the people and communities who expect to use them. Further information http://www.culture.gov.uk/news/news_stories/7280.aspx http://www.mla.gov.uk/news_and_views/press_releases Easier access to legislation old and new A new website has been launched by The National Archives (TNA) to give clearer, faster and easier access to legislation, from Magna Carta to the latest statutory instruments. At www.legislation.gov.uk you can find details of everything on the statute book, in one place and free of charge

6 Bromleag September 2010 News

Scadbury celebrates Silver Jubilee As part of the celebrations for the Silver Jubilee of Scadbury Park,Orpington District Archaeological Society are planning special events for their open weekend in September on Saturday 11/ Sunday 12 September 2.00pm – 4.30. Visitors to the Open Weekend can follow a self-guided trail around the moated manor site, see ODAS’ excavations, and explore the foundations of the Tudor kitchens and Great Hall to see how they would have been used when the house was owned by the Walsingham family. It’s also possible to see the World War II defences, and – new this year – a restored shepherd’s or gamekeeper’s hut which belonged to the estate in the 19th century. There will be refreshments, a bookstall and an exhibition about the history of Scadbury. Admission is free. The Scadbury estate has a long history covering 800 years. It was home to the Walsinghams from 1424 until about 1655. Later owners of Scadbury included Thomas Townshend, 1st Viscount Sydney. Sydney in Australia is named after him. Scadbury was purchased by the London Borough of Bromley in 1983 and opened to the public as a Local Nature Reserve in 1985. For more information about ODAS and Scadbury see www.odas.org.uk and http://www.scadbury.net/ Other History Events in September Thursday — Sunday, 9 — 12 September Heritage Open Days celebrates England’s fantastic architecture and culture by offering free access to properties that are usually closed to the public or normally charge for admission. Every year on four days in September, buildings of every age, style and function throw open their doors, ranging from castles to factories, town halls to tithe barns, parish churches to Buddhist temples. Enjoy a wide range of tours, events and activities which bring to life local history and culture. For further information and to find out what is open in your area, visit the website http://www.heritageopendays.org.uk Saturday/Sunday 18/19 September London Open House Weekend Over 700 buildings, both new and old, not normally open to the public can be visited free of charge. Advance booking is often advisable. More information from http://www.londonopenhouse.org/publiclondon/ index.html. The programme will also be available in Bromley libraries.

7 Bromleag September 2010 Society visit Discovering a wealth of history in Orpington ‘Victorian railway navies, 1960s town planners and Anglo Saxon hordes have all done their bit to destroy Orpington’s major historical buildings. But more surprisingly, we found, on the BBLHS visit to historic Orpington, that a Victorian antiquary was a heritage vandal at the Priory, English Heritage nearly allowed the remains of the to be demolished and mason bees and tree roots are threatening the bath house. The Society visit in May, with guided tours provided by Bromley museum curator Marie Louise Kerr at the Priory and the bath house and Brian Philp from the Kent Archaeological Rescue Unit at Crofton, showed just how much history there is on the outskirts of Bromley. It was a packed day just skimming the surface of the history of the three sites. Marie Lou took us through the history of the Priory which was never actually a Priory but a residence for the bishop when he visited this part of his domain. Later it became a rectory and then a private residence which is alleged to have been visited by Queen Elizabeth I. It is Grade II listed and one of the few pre-reformation religious buildings still intact – though much extended and altered. Sat in the main lecture room we could see real medieval windows and replacement Victorian ‘medieval windows’ put in by Col Benjamin Greene Lake in the 19th century who thought the originals didn’t look medieval enough. In the same room is a Tudor fireplace with different carvings designs on the left and right hand side of the fireplace. It was speculated that it had been a ‘job lot’ moved from another Tudor house and an amalgamation of two fireplaces. The coving and ceiling are 17th century and are unfortunately suffering from water damage from 2007 when lead was stolen from the roof. Elsewhere we saw a medieval staircase, now a fire escape, Victorian tiled floors and medieval doorways. Plans and one or two pictures show that until the 1960s the building had a large servants’ quarters extension built in the 17th and 18th century and demolished in the 20th to make way for the library building. This far from attractive extension now boasts the same Grade II listed building status because it is attached to the Priory. The library is due to move later this year and Marie Lou is hoping that she will be able to use some of the area – part of which is a section of the original Priory – for additional museum exhibition space. We moved from the Priory back a few centuries and down the road to to visit the Poverest Roman bath house. This is a little bit of an enigma as it is small for a bath house and one theory is that it was a village bath house rather than belonging to a villa. Archaeology – only fragments here and there as Industry and housing have

8 Bromleag September 2010 Society visit obliterated most of the evidence - has shown that Roman settlement spread across a large area around the river Cray. The bathhouse was over laid by a Saxon cemetery and there is evidence to suggest that the Saxons might have used the building for some sort of furnace or forge. Anecdotal evidence suggests that it was still being plundered for building material into the 19th century and certainly the Victorian developers knew something was there as they cut through one wall for a drainage pipe for nearby houses. Archaeological excavations took place in the 1970s. Now the site – owned by English Heritage – has become home to Mason bees who are burrowing into the stonework, while a very old a large tree near the bathhouse is pushing roots up through the foundations. It is hoped the bees can be tempted away later in the year but the roots pose a bigger problem as putting concrete root barriers into the ground will only divert the roots under other parts of the green sward and disturb other parts of the Saxon cemetery which overlays part of the bathhouse. Our final stop was at the Crofton Roman villa which was once a very large house – far bigger than Lullingstone with one room capable of holding 50 people – and centre of a villa complex of many buildings standing half way up the hill with lovely views across the Cray Valley just above what is now Orpington Station. In fact Room 1 of the 12 roomed Villa is under platform No 1 of the station. All the other buildings have been obliterated by suburban development. Lost for many centuries the villa came to light when Orpington Rural District Council decided to build a new town hall in the 1930s. The villa - or what is left of it as other bits are under Crofton Road - was found when the car park was constructed. It was a major story in the London Evening Standard and overnight was robbed of a lot of material. The solution was to cover it over for investigation later and place it under the wing of English Heritage. Decades later hidden by a rampant laurel Bromley Council wanted to extend the car park and amazingly English Heritage said OK. Kent Archaeological Rescue Unit got permission for 70 days of digging before development and generated so much interest that EH and Bromley agreed it should be kept. It has now been developed as one of the most popular Roman sites for school visits with a great deal of hands-on material. In its heyday of 200 – 300 AD the villa complex would have been a major development and today is the best surviving Roman house in the London area. Brian showed us, through plans, how it had been extended and under floor heating put in before it was abandoned when the Romans left and the Anglo Saxons invaded in the 5th century. Vandals of many kinds have continued the work of the Anglo Saxons over the centuries in Orpington but they left more than enough of interest at each site for our visit to be a great success.

9 Bromleag September 2010 Feature Farnborough’s Anglo Saxon treasure comes home to Bromley Museum By Marie Louise Kerr, curator Bromley Museum

ast year Bromley Museum was delighted to receive from the British Museum a piece of Anglo-Saxon treasure found in Farnborough in 2005. It is a fragment of a silver gilt dress fastener, decorated with incredible birds and animals, L th patterns typical of the late 8 century. Animal patterns and designs were very popular among the Anglo-Saxons. Boars, dragons, birds of prey, wolves and eagles were symbols of strength and courage and feature often in decorations. Clothing was very important to Anglo-Saxons – it would show your gender, ethnicity and status in society. These fasteners would be used to hold clothes together and could be very plain or highly decorated. Owen Crocker [1] explains that: “the decoration on brooches is generally used today to establish a classification and chronology. Its significance for the maker and wearer – religious, magical, ethnic, social or otherwise – is lost to us.” The Bromley Museum holds several examples of Anglo-Saxon brooches, including a saucer-shaped pair, a lovely bird-shaped pair (that remind the museum staff of penguins) and a tiny face-shaped brooch from a young girl, from a St Mary Cray site. The British Museum described the Farnborough fragment as “just under half of a silver dress fastener” with a “shaft, bent and broken at the tip [which] depends from a round plate, and is strengthened by a rivet”. If you look closely at the image of the front of the fastener, you may notice the curved edges of two circular holes, one of the far right side and one in the very centre. The British Museum suggests that these mean “the fragment may have been part of a linked pin set”. Owen Crocker talks at length on the importance of grave goods and brooches. She records that most brooches were made of Iron but that “more rare, but particularly noticeable in the archaeology of Kent, are brooches of precious metal, silver and gold.” Therefore this dress fastener fits this category. After the Roman era, several Anglo-Saxon settlements developed around the London Borough of Bromley. One occupied what is now Bromley market square. Bromley is an Anglo- Saxon name derived from Bromleag meaning “heath/the place where broom grows”. It was first mentioned in a document dating to AD862. Beckenham is also an Anglo-Saxon name meaning “Beohha’s Village”. It too was first mentioned in the AD862 document. Pits, loom weights and three pottery discs found by archaeologists at Fairfield Road could be evidence of this settlement. Over 80 human burials were placed around the remains of a Roman Bath House

10 Bromleag September 2010 Feature between Orpington and St Mary Cray. These settlers may have lived in a nearby village – the remains of a Saxon House (a grubenhaus - a type of sunken floored building built in many parts of northern Europe between the 5th and 7th centuries AD) has been found by ODAS archaeologists in Kent Road in St Mary Cray. The village name comes from being a parish of the river Cray; from the Saxon word Crecca, meaning “a small brook or rivulet”. As for the history of Farnborough, according to The History and Topographical Survey of the County of Kent It most probably took its name from the natural disposition of the soil to bear fern, the latter syllable, berge, signifying in old English a little hill; an etymology well suiting the situation of the place.” The Museum also holds a silver penny from the reign of King Offa of Mercia, dating to around AD780, which was found in Farnborough. The finds do not seem to imply that there is Anglo-Saxon cemetery or burial at Farnborough, so perhaps these items are just lost objects from Saxons passing through, just as today lone gloves or a child’s toy can be found on pavements or in hedges. The dress fastener is now on permanent display in the Anglo-Saxon case in Bromley’s Past Gallery. Bibliography: Treasure Annual Report 2005/6, British Museum and DCMS, p.94 Edward Hasted The History and Topographical Survey of the County of Kent: Volume 2 (1797), pp. 46-53 1. Gale R. Owen Crocker (2004) Dress in Anglo-Saxon England, The Boydell Press, pp. 35-3 http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/search_the_collection_database/ This is an abridged version of an article that first appeared in Archives Volume 31 No 1 February 2010 the magazine of the Orpington and District Archaeological Society.

History of on loan in Bromley Libraries In the last issue an article on Petts Wood by Peter Waymark it was stated that his book on the History of Petts Wood is available from Bromley libraries. The book is available to borrow from the library but it is not on sale in local studies.

11 Bromleag September 2010 Feature Advice on researching local history

Michael Rawcliffe looks at the variety of disciplines we can use when researching local history and how we must always ask ‘how and why’?

Over 2000 years ago Herodotas, a Greek historian, said there were three different types of evidence – what you have read, what you have seen and what you have been told. Each is still a vital ingredient for local history. In my research on the social and economic development of Bromley I soon found that I needed to incorporate other disciplines in order to gain an overall view of Bromley between 1841 and 1881. The years chosen reflected my interest in the census but I needed to include: Geography  Position of Bromley on the London to Rye turnpike road  Distance from London; the first major market town after , 10 miles from London  East to west route at Locks Bottom; Croydon to Orpington  Line of the High Street on high ground above the Ravensbourne valley  The town was surrounded by several large estates due to its proximity to London and elevation Architecture Recognition of styles of architecture enabled me to construct a picture of important and prosperous times in Bromley’s development:  On the upper High Street above the modern shop fronts evidence of earlier 18th century building  To the south of the entrance to the Churchill stood Ravensfell, built in 1858 for an Australian merchant. Look above the existing shops. It was the last house on that side before Bromley Station opened in the same year.  Large estate houses e.g. the Bishops Palace; Sundridge Park; Freelands and Plaistow Lodge were all built within 50 years of each other. Why?  Housing development e.g. Bromley New Town, when and for whom?  Victorian and Edwardian terracotta mouldings in Market Square – e.g. Midland Bank.  Tudor style shops replaced Victorian Town Hall which had replaced the earlier Market Hall.

12 Bromleag September 2010 Feature

Law Documents such as freehold, leasehold, rent books, contracts, inventories and wills are all useful in studying individual houses in roads. Newspapers are useful for advertisements indicating rents and sale prices. Mathematics To draw conclusions from the census from my evidence; tables and graphs were useful in presentation. Medicine and public health  The study of Bromley Cottage Hospital [1869] and its admission records needed an understanding of disease at the time. Many female servants were admitted with joint problems, frequently dismissed as cured after a few weeks but was rest in hospital in itself a cure for rheumatism or arthritis?  The miasmic theory explained diseases, such as cholera, by smell. Understanding of water borne diseases did not come until the 1880s so beware of contemporary explanations for a high death rate. In densely populated parts of Bromley New Town it was the proximity of wells to cess pits which led to disease.

Both primary [contemporary] and secondary [later] sources are very common for the modern period and selection is important. Once you have chosen a topic find out what has been written on it. Try and formulate questions and ensure that you keep to them. Do not be tempted and distracted by, for instance, fascinating items in the Bromley Record [from 1858] that may not be relevant to your topic. Collect notes and references and highlight the direct quotes that you take. After a short time divide your work into appropriate sections. This will enable you to see what else is required. Remember that sources are not only written. Where relevant use drawings, paintings, photographs, maps, oral history and the landscape itself may be useful. Finally, bear in mind that whilst chronology is important one also needs to consider how, and why, things happened at a particular time, eg: why did the railways not come to Bromley until 1858, and what were the subsequent effects upon the town? Avoid “parish pump” history - which may consider events in one particular parish - by putting your study into context eg: looking at railway development in neighbouring areas such as Chislehurst, Orpington and Beckenham, or looking at Victorian attitudes towards charity, not just in Bromley but more broadly. I look forward to reading about your research in a future copy of Bromleag. It does not need to be long it can be as simple as comments on “then and now” photographs looking at changes over time.

13 Bromleag September 2010 Society meeting

A vision of Darwin’s momentous voyage It is easy to get a very Bromley centred view of Charles Darwin, so it was refreshing to look at his life from a new perspective with James Taylor’s talk The Voyage of the Beagle – more than just Charles Darwin. The “more than” referred to those who influenced Darwin and enabled the voyage to take place as well as those who made that momentous voyage on the Beagle. These included the artists who recorded the places, people and animals that they saw and captain Robert FitzRoy who established his reputation as a commander and surveyor when he took over command during the first voyage of the Beagle. FitzRoy chose Darwin – although Darwin’s father paid for his passage – as his gentleman companion for the second voyage of the Beagle. He needed someone who shared his scientific interests and would make good use of the expeditions’ opportunities for research. It was a voyage that FitzRoy had to persuade the Navy to make and into which he poured a lot of his own finance – he was a wealthy man – because he wanted to return three natives from Tierra del Fuego, whom he had captured on the first voyage, and had educated in England. For the Navy the voyage was about “map making and colonial expansion”. Behind the expedition – but not on it – was Francis Beaufort who was to become the founding father of the Met Office. James Taylor introduced us to many other characters whose influence and work played into Darwin’s work including those of his family – the Darwins and the Wedgewoods. As an art historian and a former curator at the National Maritime Museum Mr Taylor had a wealth of marvellous illustrations of Darwin, of the others involved in the voyage or in making it happen and of his family. Having set the scene, both visually and verbally, Mr Taylor took us on a journey through the eyes of the artists who accompanied the voyage on “the ship that shaped all our lives”. The work and lives of the artists including Augustus Earle and Conrad Martens – who went on to become a “founding father” of the art movement in Australia - were also examined by Mr Taylor. Through their pictures he showed us some of the “unusual” things that began to shape Darwin’s thinking. The natives in Tierra del Fuego who could see further and sharper than the sailors and the famous picture of the beaks of finches that were different on each island of the Galapagos. All the time Darwin was asking “Why?” This was a very visual talk with marvellous quality and variety of slides. These are captured in James Taylor’s book: The Voyage of the Beagle: Darwin's Extraordinary Adventure in Fitzroy's Famous Survey Ship available to

14 Bromleag September 2010 Society visit

Not quite discovering the secrets of Fort Halstead The forensic examination of the remains of Pan AM flight 103 from Lockerbie and the two blown apart on 7/7; the acquisition of masses of Lego to play war games for the first Afghanistan war and, oh yes ... the early development of Britain’s nuclear bomb. These are all part of the known history of Fort Halstead. But when around 40 members of BBLHS had the rare opportunity to visit the fort, just over our borough borders in Sevenoaks, we had a chance to learn some of the not so well known history — but none of the secrets — of this ‘very private’ place. Our guide for the day was Dave Perrys who has worked for the Ministry of Defence at Halstead as health and safety officer and is the unofficial historian of the Fort. So private is Fort Halstead there are no signs to the main entrance off Polhill and many people have little idea where it is, despite the massive site having a five mile fenced border. Having found our way there our party had to show their passports to get in and display a day pass round our necks. We were escorted by Dave all the time. We started with a variation on the talk that Dave gave to us in 2008 with additional material relevant to the visit. But first we had the most interesting health and safety talk I have ever sat through – when there are high explosives and dangerous chemicals and heaven knows what else on site you pay attention! Although most of its history is 20th century and – as I am sure any of our party will agree – the buildings are architecturally boring if militarily fascinating, Fort Halstead does have a much older story to tell. Originally built in the 1850s as part of a ring of forts in the south around London to keep out Napoleon III – the one who ten years later ended up living in Chislehurst – it was sold by the Government before the First World War and bought back again before the Second. And from then on it began expanding to meet the needs of the real war and then the cold war boffins. By the 1960s it employed around 4000 people had its own hairdressers, bus service, clubs and societies and even held a Fort Halstead beauty pageant. It is memorabilia from this period particularly that Dave Perrys has managed to save, including the shove halfpenny trophy. More sinister items on display included a book bomb made by the Baader Meinhof terrorists. People who work there do so on a need to know basis. We were therefore lucky to get the chance to visit a part of Fort Halstead that many who go there everyday never get to see – the original old Napoleonic fort. It was built with a

15 Bromleag September 2010 Letters huge moat and ramparts and is now a secure area within the site where they still carry out explosive testing [not during our visit]. Once again all doors to the buildings in the area remained closed to us, but around the grounds there was plenty of evidence of explosives testing. On our stroll back from this fort within a fort we passed a building with metal roof and tall chimneys. A quick search of the Internet will tell you that “this is the building where they keep the Aliens”. In fact Dave said the metal roof acted as a lightening conductor and the chimneys were tall to make sure that fumes from chemical testing go up into the atmosphere not down to the houses in the valley below. But then again, he said, maybe it is the building where we keep Aliens! Like so much about Fort Halstead it is “secret”. Soon the scientists will be gone as the Fort is due for closure and its work will go elsewhere – a housing estate the size of a village is expected to take its place. Dave is doing great work in recording its recordable history but it will probably be another 50 years or more before much of what has gone on in Fort Halstead makes it into the public domain. Beckenham and the BBC

Between 1992 and 2007, Beckenham featured regularly in the thirteen BBC Radio 4 comedy drama series No Commitments written by Simon Brett. It featured three sisters Ann, Charlotte and Victoria. The latter lives in Beckenham where they strive to maintain her middle class lifestyle. The series is often repeated on Radio 7. I was awakened from a doze recently to hear someone speaking very excitedly about Beckenham in the BBC 1 TV comedy series The Old Guys. This is about a house couple, Roy and Tom, who compete for the favours of their neighbour, Sally. The scene that disturbed me was where Roy is disgruntled that his local bookshop doesn't have Coast, the title Sally subtlety requested for her stay in hospital. He tries to buy a copy but the local bookshop does not have it and he looses his cool when having to explain this to Tom. Roy rants: “It’s that stupid local independent bookshop in town. I hate it. It’s rubbish. It’s too small. I hope it closes down. No wonder Amazon does so well. It’s all those stupid local historian books: Edwardian Beckenham, Beckenham at War, Austerity Beckenham, Beckenham & the Glam Rock Movement But no bloody Coast!” I was both hurt and humbled. Hurt because I feared that some viewers might think that it was our own Beckenham Bookshop being criticised. Humbled because I’ve contributed to about a dozen local history books since I retired in 1998. Cliff Watkins

16 Bromleag September 2010 Letters Important Farnborough diary needs transcribing Some years ago I was put in touch with a great-great-nephew of Samuel Brooker, one of a family of prosperous yeomen, who had followed his father as tenant of Lillys Farm, Chelsfield from 1836 to 1850, and then moved to Tubbendens Farm at Farnborough, remaining there until his death in 1871. During almost the whole of these years he kept a journal, with daily entries recording in great detail his farming activities, the lives of himself and his widespread family and friends, notable local and national events and even the texts of the sermons which he heard. This is all kept in A painting which has come down in the Brooker family, and is said to be of Tubbendens Farm in about 1850 - four bound volumes, written in a although if it really is so the artist has taken fine copperplate hand, which have considerable licence. been generously lent to me for transcription. This is a formidable project, and I have started with Chelsfield, so far covering 1836 to 1841, each year taking up about 35 pages of typescript. I would be delighted if I could find someone who would be willing and able to undertake the transcription of the Tubbendens section. Geoffrey Copus 01892 523991 [email protected] Tracking down a nursing home?

According to my birth certificate I was born at 1 Bromley Grove, Shortlands - then a nursing home, I'm told - on 2 April 1949. I see from Google Street view that the site appears to be occupied by four modern terraced houses. I'm curious to find out about the old nursing home, when the building was built and demolished etc, and to see a picture if possible, please. Any help will be most appreciated. I now live in Haslemere, Surrey. Many thanks David Goddin [email protected]

17 Bromleag September 2010 Letters The end of Keston Countryside Day

It is with sadness that I write to let you know that there will not, after forty consecutive years, be a Countryside Day on the common at Keston in 2010. The Campaign to Protect Rural England [CPRE], like many of the other participating organisations, has difficulty in recruiting those younger members whose contribution, in terms of ideas and energy, is so valuable. Legislation has become more onerous and has, for example, made impracticable the appearance of farm animals which was so popular. Costs rise, risk assessments are needed and insurance protection against wayward claims. What has remained firm throughout has been the splendid support of Bromley Council and the wonderful contributions each year by Keston School with its band and country dancers and by the matchless Ravensbourne Morris Men. The local history stand was always interesting and much appreciated. We thank you all and hope that in the years to come it might again be possible [to hold a Countryside Day]. Yours sincerely, Ray Garwood Seeking help on Penge High Street

I am currently researching the history of 177 High Street, Penge, which stands at the junction of High Street and Green Lane, and was built around the turn of the 19th/20th century. It is on that part of the road previously called Beckenham Road. I was wondering whether anyone might know of any of the past uses of the building, or of the historic numbering of the street, which could help me identify it on the 1911 census. Historic images would also be useful if you hold these in your collection - it is opposite the historic police station. Many thanks for any assistance you are able to provide. Josephine [email protected] or contact through the Editor.

Get more from your Society Visit the web site for the latest information about meetings and visits. Why not have a look at "Can you help?" to see if you have the vital information researchers are looking for. http://bblhs.website.orange.co.uk

18 Bromleag September 2010 Letters Marie Edwards picture archive of Bromley In the June edition Steven Lawrence asked for help in finding pictures of Homesdale Road, Bromley where his family have lived for the past 45 years. Long time member Marie Edwards has suggested that Steven delve into some boxes of material that she deposited in the Bromley archives ten years ago. In the 1970s Marie and her husband David took photographs of many areas in Bromley, and annotated them. They also sorted glass negatives that were in the library when it was at Tweedy Road and printed pictures from the negatives. All this material is now deposited in the library and can be found in the Archives index under “Marie Edwards” Ref 1129/A. Many of Marie and David’s photographs are of buildings that disappeared from our urban landscape in the last part of the 20th century. Staff in local studies have helped Steven find some photos of Homesdale Road in the collection. “Unfortunately none showed my house but they did show other houses that I remember. There was a sketch of a farm on the corner of Homesdale Road and which was Home Croft Farm long gone before we arrived. There's another six boxes to go through so I'm still optimistic but find it or not it fascinating to see how Bromley used to be. Many Thanks for posting my notice and my thanks to Mrs Edwards too.” Steve.

Search for St Mary Cray and teacher

I have been undertaking some research into the teaching career of Mrs Nora Elinor WYBORN (nee Jones), who was a teacher at the Wellington Road Council Primary School, St. Mary Cray, between 12 September 1938 and December 1944. She left at the start of the Christmas holidays and was transferred to the Girls' Central School, Mottingham in January 1945. According to the Wellington Road Council Primary School Log Book a school photograph was taken on 7 July 1939 and I am trying to track down a copy of this photo in the hope that Nora was included. I am seeking either the original or perhaps a copy of it which might have been published in a local history book or book of bygone photos. Maybe one of your members has a copy of knows of the whereabouts of a copy of this photo. Also, if anyone remembers Mrs. Wyborn, either from their time at Wellington Road or at the school in Mottingham I would be very interested to hear from them. Many thanks. G.Rickard (Miss),Canterbury, email: [email protected], or contact through the Editor

19 Bromleag September 2010 Feature The Moving Church of Biggin Hill In her talk on Biggin Hill earlier this year we were intrigued when Josie Cole told us about St Mark’s church which started life as All Saint’s Peckham and was moved brick by brick to Biggin Hill by the Rev Vivian Symons. I came across St Mark’s again in the Chelsfield parish magazine where the Church was referred to with the understatement: “St Mark’s is an interesting church.” The snippit of information given was: “The windows are plain and have engravings done by the vicar with a dentist’s drill!” I was intrigued. St Mark’s own website has a good account of the Church’s history but you can also watch – on the internet —Pathe news footage from 1952. It is a very grainy black and white film but it shows just how this Moving Church caught the public’s imagination. In the film we see the careful demolition of All Saint’s by the Rev Symons. He was at that time the perpetual curate of St Mark’s which could not become a parish until it had a Church. It had become administratively independent of parish two years earlier. Symons arrived at Biggin Hill in 1951 and found a temporary corrugated iron church. The population was nearly 4,000 but there was little prospect of replacing the temporary building as the building fund was only £2,600. It had taken 50 years to raise that amount. In post war austerity Britain a bit of lateral thinking was called for. He found a redundant late Victorian church - All Saints' in North Peckham, some 19 miles away - which was due to be demolished to make way for the North Peckham Estate. [The estate, where Damilola Taylor was murdered in November2000, has now itself been demolished]. With the backing of the local diocese Symons began to dismantle the Church and to bring it to Biggin Hill – brick, stone, wood and tiles - in an old Morris lorry, given by a London builder. He spent every available hour, sometimes with a small band of voluntary and inexperienced helpers, but more often than not on his own bringing back lorry load after lorry load of bricks. The complete dismantling of All Saints took three years and four months and all that was left was a clean level site. In Biggin Hill 125,000 bricks, all cleaned and stacked - mostly by the ladies of St. Mark's - 200 tons of stonework and all of the roof timbers were safely stored on open land behind the Vicarage. The intention had been to build the original church but the

20 Bromleag September 2010 Feature plans were lost so a new Church was designed by Richard Gilbert Scott. Work then began clearing and levelling the ground ready for the foundations. Thanks to the loan of a mechanical shovel and a small dump truck many back-aching hours were saved and by 1958 all was set to start the actual building. The building fund had risen to £5,330 by the generosity of many people, at home and all over the world, who had heard of The Moving Church from the widespread international publicity. A local builder, Durtnells, built it on a no-profit basis. Once he had finished his tour de force of moving the Church the Rev Symons wrote about the whole experience in The Moving Church which was first published in 1956. He was to publish a second volume Church Maintenance in 1968. By that time he had left Biggin Hill and was head of religious education at Leyton County High School. Whilst the building work was going on all the ladies were sewing, embroidering and making the hassocks and pew covers, and the furniture was being made from £300 worth of English oak given by anonymous donors. The old stone was re-carved. It was then that the Vicar turned his hand to engraving the windows, using a dentist's drill, and gifts of old gold and silver were transformed into the Alter Cross, Chalice, Alms Dish and Paten. When the old corbel stones were re-set in the brickwork, Rev Symons borrowed a 50ft jib crane and lifted the roof trusses and purlins into position in three days. On Saturday, 25 April 1959, the Church was consecrated by the Lord Bishop of Rochester. Whether or not St Mark’s is architecturally significant is open to question. What is not in doubt is that its genesis marks it out as an historic building which was recognised in 2007 when it was given Grade II listed building status by the Government. Rev Symons, who Josie Cole described at the time of the listing as a “truly exceptional and determined character”, died in 1976 at the age of 62. Can there possibly be any other Church in Bromley with such an interesting genesis, or such an enterprising Vicar? If so do let me know. Sources Rev Vivian Symons. Pictures News Shopper May 2008 Courtesy of St Mark’s Church http://www.bigginhill-history.co.uk/movingmain.htm http://www.movingchurch.org/history.htm http://www.britishpathe.com/record.php?id=47461

21 Bromleag September 2010 Feature Spread of settlement in Bromley and Orpington

Last spring, 2009, BBLHS was given the manuscript of a dissertation on the geography of Bromley Borough and the Urban District of Orpington, which was compiled in 1944 – 46, while the writer, Daphne Davies, was a student of Goldsmith’s College but evacuated to Nottingham because of flying bombs. Recently she decided to go into a care home in Somerset, and after half a century her MS was about to be thrown into a skip when it was rescued by her sharp-eyed daughter – to whom we extend our thanks for passing it along, and also of course to the writer [now Mrs Southwell] herself for her permission to make the best use of it we can; it is then to be deposited in Bromley Library. So here for the information of our members is a very brief account of the work that she put into her project all those years ago. This is a file of 165 hand-written pages. Most striking is the number of illustrations, 51 in all, although a few do seem to have gone missing. Many are simply Post Cards

Green Street Green showing new houses on the left from Bromley. One of the many un- published photographs in Daphne Davies manuscript

22 Bromleag September 2010 Feature but quite a number are photos which must have been taken at the time and are now of historical interest in their own right. There are no less than 66 graphs and maps, mostly hand drawn, which clearly have taken many hours of work. In the preface the author declares that: “In writing this account of settlement in the Borough of Bromley and the Urban District of Orpington I have endeavoured to point out the topographical significance of the older settlement and how the economic conditions have led to the expansion ... have stressed town and village layouts and tried to correlate these to historical data.” She begins with an historical account of the development of this area of north-west Kent prior to 1930 [Chapter 1], following with an analysis of the varying functions and layouts of settlements as they stood in 1945 [Chapters 2-3]. The sources available were obviously restricted under the circumstances; a modest booklist of 12 volumes is included. But letters of enquiry to Bromley Borough Surveyor, South Suburban Gas Board, Southern Railway, the Geological Museum and others drew helpful responses, which are appended. Much information came from maps and clearly, personal observation – during trips home in the holidays. This could be the most useful section of the work to local historians today especially as Hayes, Keston, Farnborough, etc have been treated separately. Five differing functions were identified: a. highly developed suburban communities e.g. Bromley b. almost entirely residential settlements e.g. Orpington and Hayes c. industrial residential and rural: the Crays, Green-Street-Green d. village type e.g. : Downe is vulnerable and targeted for tourism with its own shopping centre and civic centre [ not a word on Charles Darwin!] e. rural-residential like Keston This is followed by a break-down of “how the new is attached to the old” [Chapter 4] the effect of physical factors [i.e. geology] in deciding the site, location and growth of each place [Chapter 5], and then with the “influence of social and economic aspects especially expansion of population” [Chapter 6]. The conclusion is that: “Relief has influenced the settlement, because most of the villages are to be found on the hill slopes and the valleys” although Bromley town is firmly in its ridge top. Geology has indicated land use such as the widespread production of fruit for London markets, and the concentration of the small amount of industry along the valley of the Cray river; but every area has developed as residential. The final chapter [Chapter 7] compares a post-war development plan proposed and agreed by Bromley Borough Council with that of the later Abercrombie Plan for

23 Bromleag September 2010 Feature . Both divide Bromley and Orpington into districts according to the number of houses per acre, and it is evident that had Bromley had their way areas which have remained open space to this day would have been developed for housing; there was to be a “special shopping centre” at Keston. “Bromley’s population would have risen to 70,000, but under Abercrombie’s scheme the population will be more restricted ... the special scenic areas that Abercrombie stresses in the south west Borough of Bromley, north and west of Keston Mark, and scattered in small doses throughout Bromley had been intended by the Bromley plan to be residential.” This was all 60-odd years ago. Daphne Davies gives a snap-shot of our area at that time. There was been more than one ‘Appraisal Plan’ of Bromley since then, one in the air at the moment. Perhaps the process of natural regeneration and development as in centuries past, portrayed in this dissertation, could be re-considered? Patricia Knowlden

Snippets - lawless Bromley 1801 January Mail robbery on the Sevenoaks Road near Farnborough, then the Post Boy was held up and 13 mailbags stolen; the London Chronicle published a reward. 1801 March The Hastings Light Express set off after a change of horses at Farnborough with- out the coachman, and was only stopped at the Spratts Bottom toll-gate. 1527 It was muted abroad that local “goodfellows” were plotting to waylay travellers at Brumley Wood to steal their money and horses. 1713 George Hubbard was arrested at the Tiger’s Head at Masons Hill for stealing a bay gelding. He and his wife had been travelling ,with some spells of work in the fields, and where making for Sevenoaks were the horse “was to be disposed of”. 1731 A London merchant riding between Bromley and Deptford lost £190. The next Sunday a Lewisham parson announced a reward of 5s in the £1 for its recovery, and £40 was returned. 1745 At “an alehouse at Grinstead Green” a gang of 12 – 14 smugglers assaulted three Customs House Officers and robbed them of their watches and money and other valuables.

24 Bromleag September 2010 Feature The perils of crossing the road in 1860

Max Batten looks at road accidents in the Bromley area 150 years ago y 1860 Bromley was coming out of something of a depression, caused partly by the retirement of Dr James Scott from his nationally known health clinic B and the departure of the Bishop of Rochester from Bromley Palace in 1845. But with the arrival of the railway, allowing business gentlemen the opportunity to commute, business activity was picking up. However, for most people travel was still by road or track, on horse or cart for the lucky ones and by foot for the less well off. In an age when fast cars and large lorries can strike fear into the most intrepid pedestrian it is easy to forget that even in the age of the horse travel was far from safe and certainly not comfortable. The preceding autumn had been a bad one, with repeated gales, storms, snow and sharp frosts. In the Channel the Belvoie Castle, carrying emigrants to Australia, had foundered with the daughter and five children of a “lady in the College” among the casualties. In Rome, Napoleon III was attempting to save the Pope from incorporation into an Italian state, and in Farwig Thomas Holder, a sawyer, had just run off with the wife of Charles Isard, a carpenter, and was said to be heading for New Zealand. On 6 January Mr Black a gentleman from Lee, while driving his horse and chaise

25 Bromleag September 2010 Feature through Plaistow, lost control when his horse took fright at a load of straw belonging to Samuel Scott Esq [a nice distinction of titles] and overturned his vehicle, the worst sufferer being his servant who broke his leg. Five days later a boy driving a four-horse plough belonging to J Fry of Baston House proved unable to control his youngest charge, which took fright and dragged him along causing serious but not fatal injury. Before the month was out, on the stretch of road between Masons Hill and the tollgate (by modern Napier Road), a pony pulling a cart with a “little boy” in charge ran away and jumped over a garden fence, complete with cart and boy. A passing wagonner intervened but only managed to wreck the cart and deposit its contents, including the boy, on the ground. Happily, no injuries were sustained and the local wheelwright repaired the cart. The indignant correspondent to the Bromley Record demanded that the unwise owner of this vehicle be traced and made to make reparation. Less than a fortnight later, on 9 February, a Mr Jones of Rotherhithe was returning with two companions from selling wood in Orpington and, it appears, a visit to the pub before starting home. For some reason he fell off the cart and, although a surgeon was quickly on the scene, was found to be dead. Whether before or after the fall however was not clear. On the 17th Mr Edwards a Keston surgeon was taking his gig home from Downe when it hit a tree stump flinging him violently against his groom, George Bennett. This catapulted the unfortunate man out the vehicle and onto the ground. Once again medical assistance was obtained but this time only a bruised shoulder and a black eye resulted. Perhaps with the coming of spring road conditions improved, but not necessarily the driving. On 7 April John Bryant of Keston was driving his heavy cart down Bromley High Street just by the ten mile post (the replacement of which is still there) when he was hit by a drunk driver and two companions in a dog-cart coming the other way. They were all thrown to the ground but, perhaps because of their condition, were uninjured; unlike their cart which was severely damaged. Controlling a vehicle also proved to be a problem for Mr Richardson, a grocer of Footscray when his van, returning from London with groceries, earthenware and china, ran away down the hill from Sidcup throwing the driver to the ground and causing him severe bruising. The horse and van continued into Footscray where they collided with another dog-cart driven by a Mr Russell with his two children beside him. Happily, none of them was injured in the crash. In these days of generally reliable cars which start at the turn of a key it is easy to forget how much time and effort was needed to look after the horses, a task which no doubt could prove onerous on occasions. So it was suggested that Daniel Dean of Red Hill in Chislehurst had simply lost his temper when he appeared in court on 14 April

26 Bromleag September 2010 Feature charged with beating a pony with a large broom handle. Despite the testimony of a character witness, the Chairman of the Bench George Warde Norman (see Bromleag June 2009), found Mr Dean guilty and he was fined £1 10s (£1.50) plus costs. The peace for the Bromley tollgate keeper was rudely disturbed in the early hours of Saturday 30 June when he was awoken by a loud crash outside. He rushed out to find his tollgate in pieces and a man lying on the ground nearby. A post-chaise and pair of horses being returned to Mr Pawley’s Livery Stables at the White Hart had bolted. Despite the damage caused to the gate, once the horses had been stopped near Bromley (South) station, the driver, horses and vehicle were able to complete their journey to the stable, apparently unharmed. The summer of 1860 appears, from the local press at least, to have been a quiet one on the roads but on 17 September a Mr Bennett of Hayes appeared in court charged with “driving a horse and cart furiously to the danger of its passengers”. G W Norman was again chairing the Bench and was accompanied among others by William Waring, the squire of Chelsfield. To a plea of guilty, and a second offence, they fined Mr. Bennett 10s (50p). He seemed to get more sympathy from the reporter, however, who suggested it was the horse’s fault, owing to its eagerness to return to its stable at that late hour. Ten days earlier Masons Hill had again been the scene of a road traffic accident as Thomas Covell, a butcher from Sydenham, drove his cart, with a companion and a calf aboard, along this narrow stretch and collided with two cart horses - one being ridden, the other in train - belonging to G W Norman, which had just passed through the tollgate. The cart was wrecked and the cart passenger badly bruised. Subsequently one of the cart horses had to be “killed”, or put down as we would prefer to say today. It was decided that both parties had been at fault, neither giving way to the other, this view being reached by those present rather than through any judicial process. A different sort of road hazard was reported on 21 September when a large hare was seen in Bromley Market Square. This led to a huge chase (suggestions of up to 100 people being involved seem unlikely however) in and out of local shops, including Mr Smith’s wine shop where the unfortunate animal temporarily escaped. However, it re-

27 Bromleag September 2010 Feature emerged and was caught, presumably to be cooked and eaten by a lucky hunter. A name which appears regularly in the story of road accidents around Bromley in this period - but seemingly blessed so far - is Sir John Lubbock, of High Elms. No doubt as a large land- owner he had many vehicles on the Borough’s roads but nevertheless he, or more generally his staff, do not seem to have had a lot of luck. On 21 September whilst his butler was being conveyed by carriage from Bromley station the postillion fell off his horse near the George in Farnborough. This understandably startled the horses, resulting in them bolting down the hill and on to their stable at High Elms. The butler appears to have then been able to alight uninjured, at least physically, but possibly with some damage to his dignity. The postillion having been struck by the carriage wheels as they passed was put into the hands of local surgeon Mr Fowler for repair. To conclude the year another hazard of the road was reported when on 4 December Miss Anne Sharpe, a housemaid to the 3rd (and last) Viscount Sydney, former lord in waiting to Queen Victoria, had a box containing clothes and five sovereigns stolen from the carriage she was in when travelling through the area to Foots Cray. Happily, the box was recovered and the thief arrested soon after. So dangerous driving, speeding, losing control of a vehicle, drunk driving and theft from a vehicle are clearly not new or recently encountered problems for road users. Deaths were not uncommon in such situations and although speeds were low heavy carts, large horses, appalling roads and a general lack of any supervision or rules meant that crossing the road in 1860 was not to be undertaken without a good look both ways first! Sources: Bromley Record - 1860 History of Bromley – E.L.S. Horsburgh - 1929 Dictionary of National Biography

28 Bromleag September 2010 Feature Len Smith looks at how damage to Keston Parish Church revealed hidden histories The mystery of Keston and the Peyps family n the south side of the nave at Keston Parish Church these is evidence of a blocked archway, both internally and externally, but for the last two O centuries there had been no record of an entrance or any adjacent structure. In 1950, when the east wall had to be rebuilt because of war damage, it was decided to carry out an investigation supervised by the Keston Field Club. The ground level on the south side of the Church is considerably higher than the floor level inside. It was found that just below the turf line there was evidence of a domed brick vault, in line with the blocked archway. Very carefully a small aperture was made in the structure and a square brick vault was revealed, in which there were a number of lead coffins. The outer wood had decayed and fallen away leaving the lead name plates loose. One was extracted, an embossed plate to: M John Pepys Died 28 Dec 1749 This name plate is now fixed on a wood mount on the interior wall of the blocked archway in the nave. The burial register’s first entry in the name of Pepys is to John buried Dec 10th 1734, infant son of John Pepys, watchmaker of St Brides, London, a relative of the diarist Samuel Peyps. On the death of John Pepys in 1749 – the last entry in the register – his son Edmund became head of the family. Further excavation around the vault revealed foundations of considerable thickness, 4ft 6in, with a splay similar to that of the east wall indicating the base of an adjacent structure of 11ft x 12ft in line with the blocked archway. These foundations, built directly onto the chalk, and their dimensions indicate a spire or tower had been constructed on the site. There are no recent records to indicate this structure alongside the church but two maps from the mid-18th century do indicate Keston Church with a tower or spire in the south east end of the nave. Also an inventory of Keston Church goods of 1552 it mentions: “two small bells of brasse suted in the steple”.

29 Bromleag September 2010 Feature The method of construction of the vault inside the area of this foundation base, the height of the barrel vault above the floor level of both the ‘spire’ base and the nave means the vault could only have been built after the demolition of the structure above. This leaves us with the question as to how and why this demolition occurred and why did the Pepys family have a vault in Keston for fifteen years – could they have possibly have lived locally? When the Lufwaffe opened up a Grave Question The parish Church of Keston in plan is a simple nave and chancel, possibly built or rebuilt in the 13th century. It lies close to a Roman site approximately four miles south of Bromley and one mile north of Biggin Hill where there was an RAF airfield during WWII. In 1940 the airfield was a priority target for the German Lufwaffe. The local area also received their attention with one bomb falling just outside the east wall of the Church causing structural damage to the flintwork and stonework to the east window. A decision was made in 1950 that the east wall would have to be rebuilt. The work of demolition and rebuilding was recorded by a local history group, the Keston Field Club. On the interior face of the wall beneath many layers of limewash was discovered in old English characters the Ten Commandments. When the wall was demolished, and it was three feet thick, the part above ground was found to contain used stone, some of which was Norman. Below ground were found two lower courses of foundations with a splayed base, the lowest one of a diverse line and inferior to the other construction and was judged to be pre-Norman. This earliest wall foundation traversed four shallow graves cut in the chalk. The remains were removed and the new wall then built directly on the chalk. Outside this immediate area of repair the remains were left as originally interred. An important pointed Paleolithic hand-axe was found nearby. Because of the orientation of these graves, approximately south east and north west, with the heads to the north west, the experts were unable to state if they were

30 Bromleag September 2010 Feature of a Christian tradition. An undisturbed skull in an adjacent grave was examined by experts, including Sir Arthur Keith, and identified as that of a Romano-British woman who was buried in the first half of the first millennium AD and definitely pre-Norman. The ‘Grave Question’ was only partly resolved and we still do not know just who really were the first people buried on the site but certainly Keston Church has been built over a previously possibly pre-Christian burial ground.

George Clinch and the dangers of Deneholes The annotated copy in Bromley Library of George Clinch’s Antiquarian Jottings published in 1889 contains a sketch map of the finds on Rouse Farm: included on it are the find-sites of two Neolithic flints picked up by George Smith of Bromley Common, the photographer, who worked with Clinch on later publications. There are also rough sketches of other flints discovered at about that time in Hubland’s Bottom, which adjoins the farm and Well Wood. The only other Notebook found to date is in the library of the Society of Antiquaries of London [ref. 980] and dates from 1880-81. Here Clinch records further finds of worked flints in Cooper’s Wood, but the main interest is in a scattering of: “underground cavities on Rouse and farms indicated by depressions in the ground, and probably abandoned deneholes. One such shaft remained open in Well Wood and was then 48 feet deep, debris having filled in the lower part. Tradition had it that 16 passages led from the bottom … recent tradition has it that a cow fell down the hole and it took three wagon-ropes to pull her out.” Clinch recounts that when a fox-hound fell down in his time, it took three ropes to rescue him; but: “in a similar case more recently, only one.” There are also accounts of the cavern leading from a pit in Chalk-pit Field, which he managed to explore before it was hidden by an earth fall in March 1887; both these reports he published in Arch/Cant. Patricia Knowlden

31 Bromleag September 2010 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 - -Biggin Hill - Bromley - Chelsfield - Chislehurst - Coney Hall - Cudham - Downe - Farnborough - Green Street Green -Hayes - Keston - - Mottingham - Orpington - Penge - Petts Wood - St. Mary Cray - St. Paul’s Cray - Shortlands - 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 September 2010