 London
Borough of Bromley
Beckenham |
Bickley |
Biggin Hill
Bromley Common |
Bromley |
Chelsfield
Chislehurst |
Cray Valley |
Crystal Palace
Cudham |
Downe |
Farnborough |
Hayes
Keston |
Mottingham |
Orpington |
Penge
Petts Wood |
West Wickham
The London Borough of Bromley was formed on 1st of April 1965,
as a result of the London Government Act 1963. It was an amalgamation
of the Municipal Boroughs of Bromley and Beckenham together
with the Urban Districts of Orpington and Penge and the Chislehurst
portion of Chislehurst and Sidcup Urban District Councils (UDCs).
The following year there was a minor boundary change when, following
an appeal, Knockholt was removed from Bromley and London and
returned to Kent.
The area, however, has an older history as a unit. In 1836
the Bromley Poor Law Union was set up. This virtually matched
the boundaries of the later borough although the Union included
Foots Cray but not Penge.
Historically Penge was in Surrey, a detached hamlet of the
Parish of Battersea. It was later run by an independent Vestry
in conjunction with Lewisham Board of Works and the Croydon
Poor Law Union. In 1899 it was transferred to Kent as an Urban
District.
Beckenham was run by its own board for much of the nineteenth
century and became an Urban District in 1894. Continued expansion
in the early years of the twentieth century created a desire
for borough status which was gained in 1935 following amalgamation
with the rapidly growing West Wickham.
West Wickham had been part of Bromley Rural District, which
initially included most of the current borough excepting Bromley
itself, Beckenham and Penge. From 1900 Chislehurst became an
independent Urban District but in 1935 there were major changes.
In addition to the creation of Beckenham Borough, Bromley Rural
District was abolished. Mottingham joined with Chislehurst and
Sidcup (formerly Foots Cray) UDC to become a single Urban District.
Hayes and part of Keston were moved into Bromley M.B, while
the rest of the old rural district became Orpington UDC.
Bromley like Beckenham, was run by a local board. Being a market
town, it was the natural centre for the whole area, hence the
name of the Poor Law Union and the later borough. In 1894 it
became an Urban District, successfully applying for borough
status in 1903. The abolition of the Rural District in 1935
and the massive developments to the south of the town resulted
in enlarged boundaries from that date.
Post 1966 changes have been slight. Small areas around Beckenham
and Mottingham have been transferred to Lewisham and there have
been minor changes elsewhere, but overall the 1965 boundaries
remain unaltered.
The borough’s most notable and famous features are Crystal
Palace Park in Penge; the Glades shopping centre in Bromley
and Down House, home of Charles Darwin, in Downe village. It
was the birthplace of H.G. Wells, home of exiled French Emperor
Napoleon III and childhood home of David Bowie, Enid Blyton
and Hanif Kureshi. The largest London Borough in area, it contains
districts as diverse as Anerley, an inner city suburb and Cudham
a scattered rural village. The population is more diverse than
might be imagined, the affluent areas of Petts Wood and Chislehurst
contrasting with more deprived areas such as Penge and the Cray
Valley, the latter having a large static traveller population.
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