Bromleag The Journal of Bromley Borough Local History Society Volume 2: Issue 19: December 2011 The lost idyll of West Wickham high street Discovering Locksbottom Saving a little bit of green for the Eden Park estate Full details on our new venue for meetings Bromleag The journal of the Bromley Borough Local History Society Society officers Chairman and Membership Secretary Tony Allnutt Woodside, Old Perry Street, Chislehurst, BR7 6PP 020 8467 3842 [email protected] Treasurer Brian Reynolds 2 The Limes, Oakley Road, Bromley, BR2 8HH 020 8462 9526 [email protected] Secretary Elaine Baker 27 Commonside, Keston BR2 6BP 01689 854408 [email protected] Programme co-ordinator Peter Leigh 29 Woodland Way West Wickham, BR4 9LR 020 8777 9244 [email protected] Publicity and website Max Batten 5 South View, Bromley, BR13DR 020 8460 1284 [email protected] Publications John Barnes 38 Sandilands Crescent, Hayes, BR2 7DR 020 8462 2603 [email protected] Bromleag Editor Christine Hellicar 150 Worlds End Lane, Chelsfield, BR6 6AS 01689 857214 [email protected] Minutes Secretary Valerie Stealey 9 Mayfield Road, Bickley BR1 2HB 020 8467 2988 [email protected] Bromleag is published four times a year. The editor welcomes articles along with illustrations and photographs. These can be emailed, 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. BBLHS website http://bblhs.website.orange.co.uk/ Next journal deadline — 5 January 2012 2 Bromleag December 2011 News New venue for BBLHS meetings January’s meeting will be the first at our new venue of Trinity United Reformed Church, Freelands Road, Bromley — about half a mile from our previous meeting room at the Methodist Church, North Street. The hall is easily accessible from central Bromley or from Bickley via Widmore Road. The other end of Freelands Road joins Plaistow Lane for those coming via Sundridge Park. On arrival at the Church, the entrance to the hall is through the blue door between the big hall and the church. Enter and turn right into the small hall. The rising cost of our current meeting place has prompted the change but the new hall offers the same facilities — 55-plus seats, a kitchen and The entrance to the small hall, our room for the book stall, and it will be easier to get new meeting venue, is through the to by public transport. blue door pictured above We believe the new hall will not only offer us better value but also be a more friendly and relaxing venue. Full details of how to get to Trinity United Reformed Church are on Page 4 December 2011 — contents News and Events 2 — 6 Letters 16 — 17 Society Meetings Visit to Bromley Local Studies 11—12 West Wickham High Street 13 — 15 Features: Farnborough Lodge 7— 10 The development of Bromley 20 — 23 James Crease and Eden Park 24—26 Book Review Chelsfield walks 18 — 19 Reminiscence Wartime childhood in Elmers End 27—31 Bromleag December 2011 3 News How to get to Trinity United Reformed Church Trinity United Reformed Church is on the corner of Freelands Road and Upper Park Road Bromley [see map — Y and “Cross symbol” top right hand corner marks the church]. SatNav— postcode BR1 3AQ Free parking for cars is available in the Church car park or on-street. Public Transport: From Beckenham and Bromley South the 162 bus stops just short of Freelands Road. The 269 runs from Bromley North station. From Chislehurst and Bickley the 162 or 269 and again the bus stop is just short of Freelands Road. 4 Bromleag December 2011 News from the committee Major changes at Bromley Local Studies The merger of Bromley and Bexley library services will bring major changes to Bromley Local Studies library in the New Year. Simon McKeon, currently borough archivist for Bexley, will become local studies and archives manager for Bromley and Bexley. Simon Finch, who is currently Bromley’s local studies librarian and is well known to many of our members, is to move to a new position as librarian in the Learning and Information team. He will be involved in delivering training to staff and customers at all Bexley and Bromley’s 27 libraries. Both posts will be based at Bexley library service’s Foots Cray centre but Simon Finch said: “Simon McKeon is likely to be visiting Bromley a lot initially and I will be in Bromley Local Studies Library from time to time. “You will continue to see the same faces on the Local Studies desk and the opening hours will remain the same. In February there may be layout changes but this is still to be decided for certain. If this happens, there will be new faces on the desk but these will be in addition to the existing ones, not in replacement.” Simon Finch, as local studies librarian, has been a valuable member of the BBLHS committee for many years and has been a staunch supporter of the society and a great help to many members doing research at the library. We would like to thank him for his support and hard work on behalf of the society and we are glad he will be joining the society as a personal member. We wish him well in his new post. Meetings January — March 2012 Meetings are held at 7.45pm on the first Tuesday of the month (unless otherwise stated), from September to July, in Trinity United Reformed Church Hall, Freelands Road, Bromley. The hall has good public transport links, free on and off-street evening parking and facilities for the disabled. Non-members are welcome at meetings for a nominal charge of £1. 3 January Old Keston from the G W Smith collection — Max Batten 14 February Researching a local grave — Paul Rason NOTE: The February meeting is the second Tuesday of the month 6 March The Crystal Palace — Terry Kent Bromleag December 2011 5 News April AGM — Committee Member Nominations If you would like to stand for the Committee, or nominate someone else to do so, please contact Secretary Elaine Baker on 01689 854408 or Email: [email protected]. New members will be very welcome and the work is not onerous. We will have at least two more committee meetings before the AGM so if you would like to dip your toe in the water and come along to see what is involved do get in touch with Elaine or any of the committee members whose contact details are on the inside of the front cover. Museum fails to get lottery funding Bromley Museum at The Priory in Orpington has been unsuccessful in its bid for funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund [HLF]. The funding would have allowed Bromley Council to carry out a £2.5 million refurbishment of the Grade II listed building. Central to the proposals was the extension of the museum into part of the space previously used by Orpington Library, which moved to the Walnuts shopping centre earlier this year. There would also have been, for the first time, disabled access to the museum and an expansion of the education work of museum staff. Museum curator Marie-Louise Kerr said the bid was unsuccessful because of competition for limited HLF funding. She said: “We were very disappointed to learn that we were unsuccessful this time in our bid to HLF. However, it was not an out-and-out ‘no’ and HLF have told us to reapply next spring, which we are hoping to New National Heritage List for England English Heritage has launched a new National Heritage List for England. In the past various different sources and websites had to be searched to access the records and datasets relating to England’s designated heritage, for example, Listed Buildings Online, Registered Battlefields or Parks and Gardens. On the new site you can search, for the first time, all national designation records; buildings, archaeology, landscapes and wreck sites. World Heritage Sites, Certificates of Immunity and Building Preservations Notices are also recorded on the Heritage List. A simple search for “Bromley” produced 651 entries. You can access the new list at www.english-heritage.org.uk/ 6 Bromleag December 2011 Feature Farnborough Lodge and the development of Locksbottom By Leonard Smith ocksbottom lies in a slight hollow, or bottom, just over 12 miles south of London on the route to Tonbridge and less than a mile from Farnborough L village, an important stopping place on the London road. From at least the 17th century there was a coaching inn — now called Ye Olde Whyte Lion — at Locksbottom. But the name Locksbottom probably did not exist before the 1700s. John Lock almost certainly gave his name to the area – Lock’s Bottom. He first appears in the Land and Window Tax records in 1766, when he was assessed for 14 lights (windows). His name also appears as assessor for Land Tax in 1767. He owned land in the area and lived in a farmhouse which still remains today just north of the inn. Over the years the name gained acceptance as a single word — Locksbottom. On ancient maps John Lock’s farm was called Chalk Farm but later became known as Fern Lodge and more recently as Farnborough Lodge.