Beckenham Road, Beckenham, 1903

Beckenham Road, Beckenham, 1903 
Beckenham Road, Beckenham, 1903

Looking west from Sydney Road, this development is complete.

Begun just before 1880, the buildings on the south (left) side were originally Adeline Terrace, a row of private houses. Eight years after the opening of Clock House Station in 1890 they were converted into shops.

The cottages in the south side are slightly newer (c.1881) and remained predominantly residential. On the far left are the gates of Sydney Lodge, the only pre-suburban survivor in this part of the road.

Only the gabled building on the far right remains this side of the bridge. The rest were destroyed on 2nd August 1944 when a V1 flying bomb made a direct hit on Mrs Richards' dining rooms towards the far end of the parade on the left. It fell during the lunch hour and 44 people were killed. The road was widened after the war, completely changing the character of the area.

This photograph was taken on 24th April 1903.

See historic maps of Beckenham