Bromleag The newsletter of the Borough Local History Society September 2007

In this issue —

A centenary of scouting in

Farnborough tribute to WWII soldiers

The changing face of and abolition and slavery in Bromley Bromleag The newsletter of the Bromley Borough Local History Society

Society officers

Chairman and Membership Secretary — Dr Anthony Allnutt Woodside, Old Perry Street, , BR7 6PP 020 8467 3842 [email protected] Secretary — Mrs Patricia Knowlden 62 Harvest Bank Road, , BR4 9DJ 020 8462 5002 Treasuer/ Publications Officer — Brian Reynolds 2 The Limes, Oakley Road, Bromley, BR2 8HH 020 8462 9526 [email protected].,uk

Bromleag is published four times a year. The editor welcomes articles along with illustrations and photographs. These can be in paper copy, disk or e-mailed. 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 maybe edited to meet the constraints of the newsletter. Articles are not always used immediately as we try to maintain a balance between research, reminiscences and articles about different subjects and parts of the borough.

Editor — Christine Hellicar 150 Worlds End Lane, , BR6 6AS 01689 857214 [email protected]

Next newsletter deadline — Monday 29 October

2 Bromleag September 2007 World Heritage site status for on hold Contents News P 3 — 7 The nomination of Charles Darwin’s former home at Downe as a World Heritage Site has been withdrawn. Letters P 8 The Government took the decision following Society meetings an evaluation by Unesco advisor, the Bromley Red Cross in International Council on Monuments and Sites the Great War [ICOMOS]. P9 — 11 It said ICOMOS had failed to recognise the property’s “heritage of science”. A new view of Keston The nomination was to have been P12 — 15 considered by the World Heritage Committee Keeping you posted at its meeting this summer in New Zealand. P16 — 18 In its report to the Committee, ICOMOS Features questioned the outstanding universal value, authenticity and integrity of the site. However, Bromley and the the Government considers that the report fails abolition of the slave to recognise the significance of the site for the trade P19 — 23 heritage of science. Beckenham firemen Culture Minister, David Lammy said: “The P24 — 25 Government firmly believes that Darwin at Farnborough war Downe fully justifies World Heritage status. We memorial remain committed to this nomination. We need P26— 27 to consider very carefully the issues raised. A century of scouting Withdrawing the nomination this year will give P28 — 31 us the opportunity to do just that – and we look forward to submitting a revised bid to UNESCO in 2009. Leader of the bid partnership, Councilor Stephen Carr, leader of Bromley Council said: “Our initial disappointment has been tempered by our optimism for the future. We would like to thank everyone who has worked so hard on the bid - we are examining the issues raised in detail.”

Bromleag September 2007 3 News Open House events in Bromley

Several historic buildings in  The Keston Windmill, Heathfield Bromley are joining in the Open Road, Keston House London event on 15-16  The Odeon, Beckenham, High September. Street, Beckenham The Capital's biggest architectural Tours and talks festival, Open House London,  An Armchair Walk around provides the annual opportunity to visit Chislehurst — talk 7 pm on many buildings that are not normally Saturday, Chislehurst Methodist open to the public. Church, Prince Imperial Road, All access is free of charge but Chislehurst. places for some visits must be booked  Self-guided trail of Chislehurst in advance . organised by the Chislehurst All details are now on-line at Society. Collect trail brochures from www.openhouse.org.uk or are the Chislehurst Society's stand in available from libraries. Chislehurst High Street  Circular tour of Darwin's Village, 2 Bromley properties pm outside St Mary's Church, High  Babington House School, Grange Street, Downe Drive, Chislehurst Royalist skirmishes at the  Beckenham Public Hall 4 Bromley Road, Beckenham Priory  Airfield, Scott Aviation A regiment of the Sealed Knot Centre, 518 Churchill Road, Biggin Hill (100 or so) will be holding  Bromley and Sheppard's College, demonstrations of musketry, drill London Road (entrance via Wren and also skirmishing at the Priory Gates, no vehicle entry), Bromley Gardens as part of the Open  Camden Place (Chislehurst Golf House weekend, from 12 — 5 pm Club), Camden Park Road, Museum curator Adrian Green  Crofton , Crofton Road, said: “The link with the Priory is the Richard Spencer connection - so the  Eltham College, Grove Park Road Sealed Knot will be Royalists - but I  St George's RAF Chapel of am afraid there will be no horses. Remembrance, Main Road, Biggin Hill “However, there will be a living  The Berresford House, Brooklyn, history camp and they are planning Lodge Road, Bromley to camp in the park overnight. “  The Churchill Theatre, High Street, Alongside the Sealed Knot there Bromley will be a small fete organised by the Friends of Priory Gardens.

4 Bromleag September 2007 News Meetings September — December 2007 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 the society’s meetings for a nominal charge of £1.

4 Sept Members Evening — stories, researches and collections from society members 2 Oct Medical Bromley — from the workhouse to the PRUE, Adrian Thomas 6 Nov Squirreled Away — this year’s archives ‘harvest’ A visit to the Local Studies Section, Bromley Library 4 Dec Around old and Beckenham — Eric Spottiswoode and David Johnson

AUTUMN VISITS The medical museum Princess Royal University Hospital, Farnborough — 5 October, 2.30 meet main reception Dr Adrian Thomas will be hosting a visit for BBLHS members to the Princess Royal University Hospital, Farnborough to view the hospital archive that he has collected.

St Mary’s College Road — 13 October 10..30 am This is a unique opportunity to have a guided tour of this very special church. Built in 1863, it has fabulous stained glass windows and beautifully painted wall decorations.

If you would like to go on the visits please contact Elaine Baker on 01689 854408, particularly the PRUE visit as spaces are limited.

Bromleag September 2007 5 News Recording Bromley’s parks and gardens

Would you be able to help any listed structures – if appropriate preserve and record your local – who owns or manages it, any local green space? designations, topography, history and The London Parks and Gardens flora and fauna. Trust is looking for volunteers who So far LPGT has an inventory of are local historians, park lovers or nearly 2,500 parks, cemeteries, garden enthusiasts who could help churchyards and other green spaces with a project to research and record of local historic interest across the the parks, gardens, churchyards and whole of London's 33 boroughs. open spaces in Bromley? It is supported by all the borough You may already have collected councils and aims to create an material, particularly the history, inventory of all the green space which could be used in the project. across London. Our chairman, Tony Allnutt A list of sites, with their history and attended an initial meeting to set up a often a tree survey, which is properly Bromley working group which will documented and recorded, will meet regularly over the next few benefit everybody, including the years to collect information. planners, say LPGT. Volunteers can work in groups or You can see more information on individually, but there will be regular LPGT at meetings at the Church House www.londongardenstrust.org where Gardens Lodge, Bromley Town you can also see a list of the Bromley Centre, where the volunteers can green spaces that the trust has share their work and sort out already identified. problems. For further information contact Tony There will be another initial meeting on 0208 467 3842 or Kristina Taylor, on Saturday 9 September. Even if LPGT, 18 Aquinas Street, London you can’t attend this meeting Tony SE1 8AE or email at will be happy to give you more [email protected] information about what is involved. The sort of information collected is the name of the space and any previous names, type of site, size, important dates associated with it, who designed it and

6 Bromleag September 2007 News Publications marketing manager In the past few years the society has expanded its publications arm to include CDs, DVDs and videos, and changes in print publications are opening up the possibilities of enhancing our range of book publications. But with the retirement of John Clark as our Publications Officer we need a member - or members - with sales experience, to help us make the most of these new opportunities. We are therefore seeking someone with a flair for inspirational marketing, who can take on the role of Publications Marketing Manager. We have already many established channels for selling our publications but feel that there are many more that are untapped. We also think that the new products we are producing may have other outlets that we have not thought of. This is a challenging opportunity but not too time consuming or onerous. It is whatever you like to make of it. The society’s committee will support and help the publications manager. If you are interested in having a go at this most interesting project give our chairman Tony Allnutt a call on 020 8467 3842

Adrian Green leaves Bromley museum

Adrian Green has left the Bromley up a strong educational programme Museum to take up a new for local school children, held regular appointment as director of the exhibitions and promoted the Salisbury and South Wiltshire archaeological work of the museum. Museum. He also obtained the funding for, Last October Adrian gave a talk to and commissioned, a new gallery the society on the museum’s ‘hidden Bromley’s Past, which links treasures’, which was followed by a developments in Bromley’s history visit to the Priory at Orpington. He will with the wider historical landscape. be remembered by BBLHS members Alex and Maggie will continue the who took part in the visit, and by those work of the museum until a new whom he helped with their researches, curator is appointed, though it is for his infectious enthusiasm and his unclear when that will be. We wish interest and knowledge of archaeology Adrian all the best in his new post at and all things historical. Sailsbury, which has a much larger During his time at Orpington he built museum and community

Bromleag September 2007 7 Letters Information sought on Fort Halstead

I am researching the history of perceived threats from France. Fort Halstead to update the It passed into private ownership in official history of the site, which 1922 and then back to the was produced by the Ministry of Government in 1937, becoming a Defence but is now out of print. research outstation for the Woolwich Fort Halstead is at the top of Arsenal. The Fort remains an active Polhill, which is [arguably] the research establishment for the highest point in Kent. It overlooks Ministry of Defence and now houses two valleys, is close to one of the both government and privately owned numerous Pilgrims Ways and is defence research and development bisected by at least two other organisations. ancient tracks. The chalk The site is not particularly escarpment is an obvious military picturesque having a strange mixture defensive position and has seen of buildings of various vintages – the military involvement by the old Fort Halstead structure remains Romans, the Danes, the Saxons intact and is still in use. and during the English Civil War. I wonder if there is any information, The structure now known as Fort photos etc, held by the membership, Halstead, built atop of Polhill, is not which could help me in these labours? that ancient having been Dave Perry 0208 460 0343 or constructed in the late 1800s as [email protected] part of the defences against the

Airfield conservation begins to take off Bromley Council are proposing to restore the West Camp area of Biggin Hill airfield by repairing the historic buildings there, which include the station headquarters and the barrack block. The council has been looking to create a heritage centre at the airfield since the RAF left in 1993 and formed the Biggin Hill Heritage Centre working party in 2000 to discuss the issue. A heritage trail is also planned. The aim is to preserve the military airfield's "campus" character and teach visitors about its 90-year history.

8 Bromleag September 2007 Society meeting Bromley Red Cross in the Great War

y way of background to her illustrated talk in May, Joyce Walker detailed the events leading up to the formation, in April 1910, of the B Bromley Division of the British Red Cross Society. Under the scheme of 1908, when the British Red Cross Society received a Royal Charter, the core of Red Cross work in war would be provided by male and female Voluntary Aid Detachments. Their nominal function was to supplement the nursing and ambulance services of the new Territorial Force in the event of invasion. Accordingly, all Voluntary Aid Detachment members [who became known as VADs] were required to qualify in first aid and nursing and to train in making use of local resources, the improvising of stretchers, in methods of transport and in the ability to convert local buildings into hospitals and rest stations for sick and wounded in their local areas. Following the inaugural meeting of the Bromley Division of the Red Cross in the public library, Voluntary Aid Detachments began to come on stream. The first one covered , Keston and Hayes. Others followed – in Bromley, , , West Wickham, Beckenham, Sydenham, Chislehurst, Farnborough and Orpington. Field days were a regular feature of training schedules as well as camping for the ladies. Two camps were held – one at Rolvenden in 1913 and the other in 1914 in the grounds of Broomfield Hall, Herne. During that year preparations for mobilisation had proceeded apace and local residents promised many private houses, halls, equipment and funds. The Kent branch of the Red Cross was mobilised at 10pm on 13 October 1914, just over two months after war was declared on Germany. After a frantic night of activity nearly 500 beds were ready for the casualties who began arriving at Bromley South and Chislehurst railway stations the following day. The majority of the soldiers received in the first few days were suffering from rheumatism, some had bullet wounds and others shrapnel wounds. As the war progressed, the patients sent to the Red Cross auxiliary hospitals were

Bromleag September 2007 9 Society meeting

Changing a dressing: Christchurch Hospital, Beckenham lower ward ,1915, Dr Strickland, sister Savory, matron commandant Neame and nurse Conway.

Christchurch Hospital, Fairfield Road, 1915 upper ward

10 Bromleag September 2007 Society meeting generally, but not invariably, those suffering from less serious wounds or ailments, or those in need of convalescence. Much depended on the war situation, for when the big battles were being fought, the military hospitals were overwhelmed and without the Red Cross hospitals and ambulance services, the system would have broken down. The various buildings that served as hospitals were detailed in the talk – ranging in size from the 30 beds in the village hall at Orpington to the 240 beds at Balgowan School in Beckenham. Even when the armistice was declared on 11 November 1918 the hospitals continued to function. During the Spanish ‘Flu epidemic of 1918 serious cases, which could not be accepted at the Herbert Hospital, were sent direct to the Christchurch Hospital in Beckenham. It was not until 31 December 1919 that the last of the local Red Cross Hospitals was closed. Nearly 25,000 patients had been treated in the hospitals in the Bromley area. This talk on a long-forgotten episode in Bromley’s history ended with a picture of a VAD taken after the war ended, displaying her medals with obvious pride.

Christchurch Hospital, Beckenham, February 1916, Dr Strickland in uniform

Bromleag September 2007 11 Society meeting A new view of Keston

eston - the epitome of ‘green’ Bromley - appears to those of us who only know it literally ‘in-passing’, as we travel through on the way to K Croydon or Biggin Hill, to have been affected very little by the 20th century. That impression was soon disabused by Ted Williams delightful talk Keston in Pictures at the June meeting. He revealed a very different looking Keston to the one we know today. Instead of the acres of tall trees and woodland walks, time and again his pictures showed open landscapes with views sweeping as far as Crystal Palace – though minus its iconic mast. While across Bromley it has been man’s additions – in houses, businesses and roads – that has changed the borough in the past 150 years, in Keston it has been the opposite. The commons were, until the early decades of the 20th century, grazed by sheep and cattle. It is only since the rural economy has withdrawn from the land that the 19th century gorse and shrub open landscape has reverted to woodland. Day out: attracted thousands of day trippers Continued on P14

12 Bromleag September 2007 Society meeting

Pulling the plug on Caesar’s Well

Ted Williams began his talk with a “total load of rubbish”, the picturesque tale of Caesar’s Well. He spun a tall tale of the thirsty legionnaires wandering into the bushes, stumbling across a spring feeding a river from which a raven flew up at their approach and the soldiers naming the spring after their great leader and the river after the raven. Then he burst the romantic historical bubble by revealing that the ponds are actually reservoirs, dammed from the River Ravensbourne and built in the 1830s to serve the big houses. Ceasar’s Well was a bathhouse where people could take a dip to cure rheumatism and other ailments. The bathhouse fell into disrepair when the road was widened and it ran too near to the bathhouse for the bathers’ comfort. The reservoirs continued to be used within living memory as bathing, boating and fishing pools and were one of the attractions that brought the day-trippers to the Common. The tale got even more prosaic as Ted revealed that they used to be drained by pulling out a plug first from the top pond, so it drained into the next, and so on down the four ponds until they drained into the Ravensbourne. Unfortunately it is many years since they have had the plug pulled and today they are quite badly silted up .

Bromleag September 2007 13 Society meeting

“The more open piece of land at the traffic lights on Croydon Road gives an idea of how the common used to look,” said Ted. A story collector and a consummate story-teller, Ted’s tales took us into the world of the pictures he showed. Stories garnered from listening to others and he acknowledged his debt to those, now gone, who had shared with him their pictures and their memories. Memories of when Keston was “the place to go” on a day trip were still shared by some of the audience. In its Victorian/Edwardian heyday Ted said it was reported that 30,000 people went through Orpington and Hayes stations - on one day alone - on their way to stroll across the common. “It was phenomenal, there were tea shops everywhere and the winkle man and the muffin man all there for the day trippers.” But the folk of Keston also earned a living from rather more mundane and mucky occupations than catering to the visitors. At the little Sheepwash Cottage, a thatched cottage long gone, along the Croydon Road by the River Ravensbourne dirty sheep got spruced up on their way to market. And around Oakley Road there was coppicing of the oak trees, the bark being stripped for use in tanning.

14 Bromleag September 2007 Society meeting

In the heart of the village at the Fox, under the watchful eye of landlord G F Duck, the great cartloads of fruit and veg stopped on their way from [Biggin Hill] to the London markets. Probably a delicious sight on their way out but coming back they had loaded up with horse manure, of which there were copious amounts in London. But the picture that brought home the harsh realities of life for many country folk was one from around the 1880s taken near the windmill. At the side of the road were piles of stones. Ted explained, these had been gathered by stone pickers, women who came up from the fruit and hop fields of the Weald at the end of the season. They then undertook, along with their older children, the backbreaking work of gathering the flints from the fields and leaving them at the side of the road, to be broken up by the men from the Farnborough workhouse. For their trouble they might be allowed to sleep in the barn, but their beds were often under hedges. All to earn enough money for necessities to take their families through the winter. On an environmentally friendly note Ted said the stones were then used by any passing traveller as a do-it-yourself pothole filling kit. Absolutely every one of Ted’s pictures drew his audience into another world or surprising story such as the original Keston Parish Church rectory, partially demolished by Hitler and finished off by the British Army when they used the building as a test base for Anderson Shelters. The roof of the Northcourt tithe barn thatched with plentiful heather from the common not expensive straw, and Saxon burials that proved that Keston Church had a very old history indeed. These pictures that revealed to us the very human past of Keston are just a fraction of those acquired by Ted. For those who would like to see more of Keston past Ted has published the following books:

Keston Parish Album - A Photograph Album from the Past - is no longer in print but is available in Bromley libraries. Keston Parish Album - More Photographs from the Past Available by sending your name and address to E Williams, 104a Road, Keston, Kent. BR2 6DQ with a cheque made payable to E Williams for £14.50 to cover book and postage or from Keston Village Stores.

Bromleag September 2007 15 Society meeting Keeping you posted osters and handbills are the most ephemeral of communications media but P where they survive they can open a fascinating window on social history. The diversity and detail of the information available on posters was revealed when Tony Allnutt brought along his collection to the July meeting. The collection stretches from a late 18th century poster giving details of harbour dues through to a 1970s flyer for a fund raising event. But the majority are from the mid-1800s to the early 1900s. Posters were a major way of disseminating information for over 200 years. Setting the scene, Tony said: “Before television and cinema, and with newspaper publicity costly for large advertisements, most advertising was local and distributed by hand or posted up – posters got their name because they were put up on posts in markets or churchyards.” Entertainment His collection covers a wide geographical area but two of the entertainment posters were local. One for a performance of Macbeth at the Bromley Assembly Rooms on the 31 March 1827 showed just how much the audience got for their money. Following the serious and long performance of the play the artists were back on stage, including a Macbeth witch Mrs Randolf, to perform comic and romantic songs. Dunkins of Bromley printed this poster. It was probably part of their business archive. Nearly all posters that come on the market have survived because the printer kept copies and most older posters – except for play bills – are usually on white paper. Another delightful entertainment poster, like the Bromley one absolutely full of detail, was for the Blackheath Cavern, an old chalk mine where three huge caves were opened to the public in the 1780s, eventually becoming a drinking den. They were closed in 1864 after riots and when finally opened up in 1939, for possible use in connection with the war, the floor was still covered with bottles. They were then sealed up again. Anything and everything for sale One of the key advertising purposes posters and hand bills were used for was selling things - timber, farms, fishing stock, cosmetics, drink. Tony even has one for the sale of a share in a partly built bridge.

16 Bromleag September 2007 Society meeting

The farming ones with every detail of their stock listed can be a real mine of information on the farming practices of the era. “The sale of a 268-acre fruit farm near Maidstone gives a lot of useful information on the types and amount of fruit grown,” said Tony. One information hand bill also shed light on farming: The Great Eastern Railway’s list of rates for transporting fruit and vegetables to London.

Bromleag September 2007 17 Society meeting

Information posters A timetable from 1888, licensing laws and a swine fever order have all found their way into Tony’s collection, as has a marvellously detailed set of by-laws for a Lewisham church yard. Apart from the expected prohibitions the playing of dice and the wheeling of perambulators across lawns were forbidden. Taking the prize for the most detailed poster was one from the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge. It is a veritable “do-it-yourself” medical manual running to thousands of words giving information on preventing and treating accidents and diseases. Often the advice referred the reader to the treatments listed on the bottom of the poster. The one involving a drink including sulphuric acid for whooping cough was extreme but members of the audience with medical knowledge said most such as Gregory’s powder and rhubarb would have worked. Crime and punishment A poster in the form of a calendar of prisoners in Durham and Newcastle jail showed just how young the prisoners were and how minor the crimes they had committed, while a reward poster from 1865 revealed how local landowners got together to pay rewards for the apprehension of criminals. But the delight of the evening were the wanted posters with the most detailed descriptions such as this one of Edward John Barry wanted for embezzling £5000. “He is a native of Liverpool, from 34 to 38 years of age, 5 feet 8 or 9 inches high, rather stout, square shoulders, full face, small lump on right eyebrow, left eye shot out, gunpowder marks over the face, more particularly on left cheek, and nose, also under left eye. Wears glass eye, and blue glass spectacles. Dark reddish brown hair, has a tendency to curl, and is parted in the centre; whiskers and moustache same colour. He was a Captain in the 1st Lancashire Artillery; walks erect, and is of gentlemanly appearance. Dressed, when last seen in an Ulster overcoat.”

Not too hard to spot!

18 Bromleag September 2007 Feature Bromley and the Abolition of the Slave Trade

By Simon Finch Most people with an interest in history know about the Wilberforce Oak at Keston. In May 1787 Prime Minister William Pittand William Wilberforce, friends for several years, had a conversation under and oak tree in the grounds of Pitt’s country house, Holwood at Keston, which would change the world. This was the starting point for our exhibition to commemorate the parliamentary abolition of the slave trade in 1807. The lottery funded exhibition opens in October and has been researched for the last 18 months. The idea was to take this well known event and to see what other connections the area has with slavery and the abolition process. To reveal part of Bromley’s hidden history. Once the research began it soon became clear that it was very well hidden! oday Bromley is what geographers call a dormitory suburb. Two hundred T years ago it was no different; in fact ever since London became established as the capital of England during the Middle Ages it has been primarily a place where people who work in London retreat to in the evenings and weekends to rest and enjoy themselves. The town itself existed to service their needs. Local activity was limited to small-scale agriculture, the heavy clay soil and gravel beds making it unattractive compared with the better drained chalk lands further into Kent. This has given Bromley people a somewhat insular attitude. Events in London are of interest but the wider world is not. In the main Bromley people had no interest in slavery one-way or the other. They neither campaigned against it nor profited from it. Eastern Kent was very different with ports such as Deal tending to support slavery while boroughs such as Canterbury were strongly opposed to it. Only one factor made Bromley significant in the abolition process. This was the presence of William Pitt at Holwood. William Pitt was Prime Minister for a long time from 1783 until 1801 and again from 1804 to 1806; this meant many people found it advantageous to have a home near to Pitt making it easy to speak to him and have influence on

Bromleag September 2007 19 feature his decisions. Some of these did have strong views on slavery and abolition. This was the key to unlocking the ‘hidden history’ Charles, 3rd Earl of Stanhope was, perhaps, the most important. The family seat since 1717 had been Chevening, a few miles south of Holwood. Charles was married to Lady Hester, William Pitt’s sister. He had a strong interest in the Slave Trade and two notebooks mainly created between 1789 and 94, and now at the Centre for Kentish Studies (ref U1590 C72 1-3) record his views and discussions on the subject. He was in communication with abolitionists such as Thomas Clarkson and Wilberforce but also supporters of the slavers including Sir Banastre Tarleton and Henry Dundas. He himself was an ardent supporter of abolition. Other local political figures harles Pratt of Camden Place Chislehurst (d.1794), a friend of Pitt the C elder. His views on the slave trade are unknown but he could usually be relied on to vote with the Pitt camp. Thomas Townshend, Viscount Sydney, of Frognal and Scadbury, Chislehurst (d.1800) a lifelong opponent of abolition. He initially voted with the Pitt camp but after speaking against abolition in 1788, the following year found himself sacked from the cabinet. He is believed to have had a black servant. William Eden, Lord Auckland (d.1814) of Eden Farm, Beckenham. A friend of both Pitt and Wilberforce (Pitt had a close relationship with his daughter), Auckland came from a family who had made their money from land in North East England. He had no financial interest in the slave trade or the West Indies and was a lawyer by profession. A believer in penal reform, abolition fitted well into his political creed and as an efficient parliamentary administrator he helped to steer the eventual abolition bill to success as President of the Board of Trade. Pitt’s home Holwood House pictured in 1795

20 Bromleag September 2007 feature Links to the slave trade harles Long, Long Farnborough of Bromley Hill (d.1838). He was the C grandson of Col. Charles Long, owner of the Lucky Valley sugar plantation in Jamaica and a cousin of Edward Long author of The History of Jamaica (1774) a book that made liberal use of racist sentiment to justify slavery. His father Beeston Long of Carshalton Park, Surrey was a West India merchant. Although not directly involved in the trade himself much of his wealth was inherited, so his lifestyle was funded from slavery. He was a friend and political ally of Pitt but was primarily an administrator and although an MP for 36 years rarely spoke in the house. Arnold Nesbitt of Keston and Grove House, West Wickham (d.1779) was a banker and trader. He moved to Keston c1750, relocating to West Wickham ten years later. Some time later he and a partner bought a plantation on Grenada, which he named Mount Nesbitt, and another huge estate, Duckenfield on Jamaica. But, he had overstretched himself and died insolvent not helped by his love of gambling. His cousin John (d.1817), now living at Keston, continued in the same business until his bankruptcy in 1802 when the family’s local connections ended. They were friends and business partners of Barlow Trescothick (d.1775), Jamaican agent for the bankers Apthorne and Thomlinson. From 1768 he lived on his estate at Addington Surrey William Manning (d.1835) was from a long-standing local family. He was grandson of John and Sarah Manning of the Crays and grandfather of Rev. Francis Murray, 19th century rector of Chislehurst, and Anne and Maria Murray, founders of St. Michaels Orphanage, Chislehurst. His father and father-in-law were both planters on St. Kitts and he became wealthy from these estates. As an MP he was a strong supporter of the West Indies interest and fought for compensation for slave owners following emancipation in 1833, he denied however that he was opposed to emancipation. From 1813 he lived at Sundridge near Westerham and was buried there but the depression in the West Indies trade in the 1820’s lead to bankruptcy in 1831 and the sale of his estate. John Julius Angerstein (d.1823), an insurance broker and member of Lloyd’s of London, specialised in marine work, almost certainly including the insuring of slave ships and was a part owner of a plantation on Grenada. His main residence was Woodlands at Blackheath but in 1784 he bought Kent

Bromleag September 2007 21 Feature

House in Beckenham. Joseph Marryatt of Malvern House, Sydenham (d.1824) was a merchant and owner of estates on several Caribbean islands. An MP from 1808, he was strongly opposed to abolition, argued against slave registration as proposed by Wilberforce and emancipation, claiming them unnecessary. His son was Captain Frederick Marryat author of The Children of the New Forest. Abolitionists with Bromley connections part from the major political figures that gathered around Pitt there are A only a few known abolitionists with Bromley connections. Henry Hallam (d.1859) was mainly known as an historian but he was also a primarily radical political figure outside parliament supporting Catholic emancipation as well as the abolition of the slave trade and slavery itself. His daughter married John Farnaby Cator of Pickhurst Manor, West Wickham and it was while staying with her that he died. Ira Aldridge (d.1867) was an American black Shakespearian actor who was outspoken against slavery and was often the victim of racism. Emigrating to London c.1824, initially he was treated more fairly but found himself used as a pawn by the pro-slavery lobby in the 1830s. In 1827 he was honoured by the Haiti government for his role in creating a positive image for black people. After emancipation in 1833 discrimination against him increased, an outlet for white people’s fears of its consequences. In later life he toured widely but made his home at Luranah Villa, Hamlet Road, from c.1866. He died in Poland while on tour. Charles Darwin (d.1882) famously lived at , Downe from 1842. Both his grandfathers, Josiah Wedgwood and Erasmus Darwin were outspoken opponents of slavery; Wedgwood producing the Slavery Medallion adorned with the emblem of the Society for the Abolition of Slavery in 1787. He had many disagreements with contemporaries who tried to defend aspects of slavery including American Charles Lyell and Robert Fitzroy, Captain of HMS Beagle. His wife Emma shared his strong anti slavery sentiments and in 1864 boycotted The Times newspaper for not taking a tough enough antislavery line. Meeting at the Wilberforce Oak So what was Bromley’s role in the history of the abolition of the slave trade? Really the meeting at the Wilberforce Oak was the only significant event but it

22 Bromleag September 2007 Feature was important. In 1787 Wilberforce had just found religion. After several years of wild living he had decided that he wanted a more peaceable time spent in contemplation and prayer. Pitt knew that he would be a great loss to Parliament and society in general if he were to withdraw from public life. How could he convince him to stay active? Wilberforce had always had an interest in abolition. If Pitt could persuade him to introduce a bill to Parliament to abolish the slave trade this would be an idea outlet for his passion and energies. At the meeting under the oak tree the question was put and Wilberforce agreed. It was to be his life’s work and he continued to be a figure of inspiration until the day he died. Following the abolition of the slave trade in 1807, a bill abolishing slavery itself was finally passed a few days before his death in 1833. Although his role in the process may have been exaggerated over the past 200 years, particularly in a biography written by his sons and published in 1838, there is no doubt that his combination of zeal, articulate speaking, leadership qualities and the necessary contacts among the social and political The Wilberforce Oak, 1873 when prominent elite was pivotal in achieving members of the Anglican church in Africa visited on the aims he and his fellow a pilgrimage. campaigners had worked so hard to bring about. If it hadn’t been for the meeting at Holwood, Wilberforce might have decided to retire from public life. There would have been no one to push in Parliament for abolition and the process could have been delayed for many years. So this one event does allow Bromley to claim a significant place in the history of the abolition of the slave trade. As well as telling the local story our exhibition — at both Bromley Museum and the Central Library and later on tour around the borough — will include sections on the history of slavery, the history of black people in Britain and the abolition process. It opens on Monday 1st October.

Bromleag September 2007 23 Feature A Lucky Escape

he front cover of latest publication to be promoted by BBLHS, Beckenham T – the Home Front 1939 – 45, gave Frank Hasted a bit of a shock. As a child he lived at 3 St George’s Rd, Beckenham from where he could nip across to the parish church of St George’s to sing in the choir. The house at the junction of St George’s Rd with Church Rd in Beckenham received a direct hit from a doodlebug on 28 July 1944 killing three people at number 7 and 8 Church Rd. Frank – who now lives in Shropshire - recognised the family’s lucky escape when he saw the demolished house on the front cover. No 8 was next door at right angles to his home. He contacted author Pat Manning and – as it does in local history – one tale led to another and Frank recalled for Pat the once famous Hasted fire fighters. Hasted fire fighters esse William Hasted – Frank’s father J - served in the Borough of Beckenham Fire Brigade and Ambulance Service from July 1935 until March 1939 when he was transferred to Cheltenham as third officer. He came from a fire fighting family. His father served from 1920 until invalided out in WWII, his brother, also Frank, was station officer with the Derby Brigade and another brother Lawrence was Divisional Choir boy Frank Hasted Officer in the Gloucester Brigade. Their sister Edna was not to be left out as she married driver F J Higgins. Jesse was the most successful of the family, retiring as the chief fire officer of the Holland County Fire Brigade, Boston, in 1970 after 29 years service. It was while he was in Beckenham in 1938 that Jesse secured the highest marks ever achieved in England in an examination for the graduate diploma of the Institute of Fire Engineers with 97.5%.

24 Bromleag September 2007 Feature This was his first attempt at the examination where the subjects included chemistry, hydraulics and mathematics. Not satisfied with this outstanding success, Jesse took first place in the associate membership of the same institute when he moved to Cheltenham. Beckenham training ground eckenham had become a training ground B for firemen who were transferred all over the country to impart their skills. Also in 1938 Fireman A W E Avenell had passed the associate examination with over 80% and fireman Stanley Blackburn took up the appointment of second officer at Hornchurch after nine years at Beckenham. Neither of Jesse’s sons followed him into the fire Fireman Jesse Hasted brigade. Frank became a builder in Shropshire and Geoffrey joined Lloyd’s Bank.

Copies of Beckenham—Home Front are available from BBLHS publications, see inside front cover

Dinosaurs make the grade as national treasures

The 's probably international context.” dinosaurs are to be upgraded from English Heritage describes the Grade II heritage listing to Grade I. sculptures as "the first attempt to The 1850s animal sculptures, built in accurately reconstruct the three the grounds of the Crystal Palace after dinosaur species known to the it was shifted there from the Great scientific world in the 1850s within Exhibition in Hyde Park, and their their geological environment". surroundings are believed to be They were designed by Benjamin unique. Waterhouse Hawkins and were built Culture Minister Margaret Hodge out of brick and artificial stone on a said: "They are clearly of exceptional framework of iron rods. historic interest in a national and

Bromleag September 2007 25 Feature Belonging to the people of Farnborough

The article in June’s issue on war memorials prompted Alan Robinson to write about the history of Farnborough war memorial which, after many years of fundraising, now includes the names of the men who died in both world wars and is in the final stages of refurbishment before a dedication service later this year.

he Farnborough War Memorial was built in 1922 and is dedicated to the T men of Farnborough who died in the First World War. The land was procured from the Lubbock/Avebury family, and the memorial was paid for by donations from grateful parishioners and others. There were 54 men from Farnborough who died during, or soon after, the First World War. They served in many regiments of the Army, the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force, held various ranks from private to captain and served in France, Belgium, Turkey, Mesopotamia, Greece or were lost at sea. These are inscribed on plaques around the memorial and along the wall. The Architect who designed our war memorial was Fred Harrild, born 5 June 1883, whose father Frederick and mother Edith are buried in the square grave with the yew tree in the middle, in front of the War Memorial. Educated at Exeter and Oxford, where he took a degree in history, Fred trained as an architect and was articled to Sir Edwin Lutyens in London. In WW1 he served as a volunteer driver in France for The British Red Cross and then as a lieutenant in the Army Service Corps in Mesopotamia, from where he was invalided to India. As an architect he had a practice in Totnes, Devon where he looked after the Midland Bank properties as well as designing private houses. In 1937 he moved to London and was involved in much architectural work around the South East. During WWII Fred served as a member of St Paul’s Cathedral fire watch team and in 1941, aged 58, he was commissioned in the Royal Engineers for the rest of the war. Fred finally retired in 1963, aged 80, and died in 1969. He is buried in Sullington West Sussex Churchyard. In 1950 the Church War Memorial Committee considered adding the names of those from Farnborough killed in WWII but the funds were not available because of the cost of repairs to the church following a fire in January 1949. During the fire the church bell was destroyed and the insurance company

26 Bromleag September 2007 Feature agreed for it to be recast and installed and the cost to be included in the general claim. So it was decided that this new bell would be a memorial to those killed in WWII and a plaque stating this and bearing the names would be placed in the church porch. But, the plan to have their names placed on the war memorial was never forgotten. In 2005 a small working committee was formed and the Farnborough Village Society (FVS) agreed to be party to the project to refurbish the memorial and add the WWII names. Appeals have regularly appeared in the St Giles Parish Magazine, and other local publications. Fund raising events have taken place and donations of all sizes have been gratefully received. And are still coming in. Now the WWI plaques have been cleaned ready for them to be re-inscribed (where necessary) and re-painted and to have a commendation plaque inscribed on the face of the memorial plinth. And the thirty-two men from Farnborough, who died during or soon after the Second World War, are also being commemorated. Their names will be inscribed on new plaques, and a suitable commendation installed on the base plinth of the memorial. Obtaining the regimental details of the second world war victims proved to be a long and difficult task as the official records were not complete. By spreading the word around via our parish magazine, our local paper and personal contacts we have obtained all the details and have made new friends in the process. Application was made to the War Memorials Trust for an English Heritage grant. This was refused for various reasons but they run a small grants scheme and offered us a nominal sum in October 2006.

Bromleag September 2007 27 Feature A century of scouting 1907 – 2007

By David Johnson hundred years is, perhaps, the longest period we can easily comprehend. Many people alive today will know of someone alive in A 1907 when the first Boy Scout camp was held. My boyhood, during WWII, meant that an older man, who was already an adult in 1907, led my group of scouts. SCA Schofield was our group’s only adult leader. The others were in the armed forces. Schofield will be found in the list of competitors in the 1908 Olympic games and he held some county and club athletic records until his death in 1956. His life also illustrates general scout history, as he was a Boys’ Brigade adult leader who moved over to the boy scouts. The Boys’ Brigade had started in 1883 with Christian values as a central aim. Half the boys at Baden Powell’s [BP] 1907 Brownsea Island experimental camp consisted of Boys’ Brigade local boys. The others were sons of friends, mostly public school boys. How the scouts started In 1907 the activity of scouting for boys could have been a branch of the Boys’ Brigade. However, the King asked BP to form a new organisation. BP’s earlier book Aids to Scouting had been bought by thousands of youngsters who had already put his ideas into action. In 1908 BP re-wrote this book, in fortnightly parts, as Scouting for Boys. Part of it was composed in the mill on Wimbledon Common. This book was the fourth best seller of the twentieth century; The Bible, The Koran and the Thoughts of Chairman Mao were the first three. Some of his ideas on training youngsters were usurped for the Hitler Youth and the various Communist Young Pioneers. Baden Powel was idealised as the commander at Mafeking where he defended the town partly by deceit. The Boers were, at times, seven times BP's force. BP used boys as messengers. The head boy of these

28 Bromleag September 2007 Feature

messengers had lived near Goldsmith’s College. I visited Mafeking where the Bugle Boy Group Scout Leader of the 1st 1915: This Mafeking Scout Group Congregational showed me what is left of the Church boy siege defences. There is also scout, immaculately a museum, which shows turned out, is clearly why BP became a blowing the ‘All hero for the British people. Clear’ at He also had a philosophy, Bromley police which respected other station. Scouts cultures and appealed to cycled round most people. the streets blowing their The scouts today follow the bugles after a then BP revolutionary precept raid. that a scout is loyal to God, not limited to Christianity. However, there are some countries/scouting organisations that only accept Christians or a single faith. This broadness of mind is illustrated locally where at Bishop Challoner’s School, Shortlands where Muslims may, and do, belong to a mainly Roman Catholic scout group. The scout organisation appeals to people of all faiths, today it has 500,000 members in the UK and 28 million members around the world. The 2007 July-August Jamboree in Essex had representatives from 160 territories or states of the world.

The 1st Beckenham guide company

Bromleag September 2007 29 Feature

Scouting and guiding in Beckenham and Penge There is some evidence for local scout groups being existence in 1908 when the movement was officially started. [Registration of scout troops did not start until 1909.] My own group the 1st Penge were praised in the local press for their leading role in helping the 1909 Crystal Palace first scout rally. This was the first scout rally anywhere. It was there that BP told the girl patrol leader “There is no such thing as a girl scout. Go and find a good woman to lead you.” BP, with the help of his female relatives, formed The Guides in 1910. The girl and her patrol were the nucleus of the 1st Beckenham Guide Company. Troops later had other sections added such as cubs and were therefore called groups. When scouts started Beckenham was still called a village with cows and chickens in the centre and the 1st Penge used Beckenham Woods for short camps. The pictures are mostly of one group. The name changes indicate scout district boundary changes and therefore troop numbers have changed several times in what is now designated Beckenham. What was called the 1st Penge, before WWI, and later, when Penge was included in Beckenham, became the 12th Beckenham later became the 3rd

Local camp: 1st Penge with 1st Anerley in what is now Beckenham Place Park, summer camp 1914. The prominent figure at the back is BW Stewart, later leading commissioner. They were later called the 12th Beckenham. In 2007 this group is called 3rd Penge and Beckenham North

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Abroad: In 1913 the 1st Penge held a camp in Belgium, a big undertaking at that time.

Away from home: 1st Penge at camp at Herne Bay 1924 SCA Schofield is the tall man on the left, BW “Bunny” Stewart is second from right, also standing. Stewart was district commissioner for Beckenham for over a quarter of a century and had previously been scout master of the original 1st Penge. Both men were sergeants in WWI and in WWII Stewart organised boys over 14 years to run messages when air attacks demanded.

Bromleag September 2007 31 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.

Subscription Rates Yearly subscription from 1 January Individual £8.50; couple £10. Senior citizens pay a re- duced rate of £6 per person or £8 for a couple. Members joining after 30 June pay half rates.

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