Interesting facts about Bromley
General Info
Bromley is a large town in the London Borough of Bromley, Greater London, England, 9.3 miles south-east of Charing Cross. Historically a market town, chartered in 1158, Bromley was an ancient parish in the county of Kent. Its location on a coaching route and the opening of a railway station in 1858 were key to its development, and the shift from an agrarian village to commerce and retail.
As part of the suburban growth of London in the 20th century, Bromley significantly increased in population and was incorporated as a municipal borough in 1903. A commercial and retail district, it has been part of Greater London since 1965.
History
Bromley is first recorded in a charter of 862 as Bromleag and means ‘woodland clearing where broom grows’. It shares this Old English etymology with Great Bromley in Essex, but not with the Bromley in Tower Hamlets. The history of Bromley is closely connected with the See of Rochester. In AD 862 Ethelbert, the King of Kent, granted land to form the Manor of Bromley.
It was held by the Bishops of Rochester until 1845, when Coles Child, a wealthy local merchant and philanthropist, purchased Bromley Palace and became lord of the manor. The town was an important coaching stop on the way to Hastings from London, and the now defunct Royal Bell Hotel is referred to in Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. It was a quiet rural village until the arrival of the railway in 1858 in Shortlands, which led to rapid growth, and outlying suburban districts such as Bickley were developed to accommodate those wishing to live so conveniently close to London.
Transport
Rail
The town’s main station is Bromley South station, served by Southeastern services to London Victoria (non stop express services, semi fast services via Denmark Hill and stopping services via Herne Hill), Kentish Town via Catford and London Blackfriars, Orpington, Sevenoaks via Swanley, Ramsgate via Chatham, Dover Priory via Chatham & Canterbury East and Canterbury West via Maidstone East & Ashford International. Bromley North station also connects the town with Southeastern shuttle services to Grove Park, where connections can be made for services to London Charing Cross & London Cannon Street via Lewisham.
Rail Journey Planner
Buses
Bromley is served by London Buses routes 61, 119, 126, 138, 146, 162, 208, 227, 246, 261, 269, 314, 320, 336, 352, 354, 358, 367, N3 & N199. These connect it with areas including Beckenham, Bexleyheath, Biggin Hill, Catford, Chislehurst, Croydon, Crystal Palace, Eltham, Grove Park, Lewisham, Mottingham, New Addington, Orpington, Penge, Sidcup, West Wickham & Westerham.
TFL Journey Planner
Education
Bromley has numerous schools, and is home to Bromley College of Further & Higher Education. There are two specialist Media Arts Schools, Hayes School and The Ravensbourne School. Bishop Justus School is a specialist Music College. It also has the Ravens Wood and Darrick Wood Schools. There are many independent schools within the London Borough of Bromley, including Eltham College (in the nearby area of Mottingham – within the borough of Bromley and near the London Borough of Lewisham) and Bromley High (situated in the nearby area of Bickley – also within the borough of Bromley).
Ofsted School Reports
Government Schools Performance
Restaurants
Living in Bromley means unlimited restaurants to visit, and we love it.
There’s every cuisine available from pizza places, burritos, burgers joints, curry houses and cafes. So we have checked out TripAdvisor to get the low down on the best places to eat.
See the following links for great ideas to eat in Bromley.
Sport and leisure
The town has four Non-League football clubs. Two teams play their home games at the Hayes Lane Stadium: Bromley F.C. and Cray Wanderers F.C.; the latter is claimed to be the oldest football club in what is today Greater London. The other teams, Holmesdale F.C. and Greenwich Borough F.C., play at Oakley Road. Bromley F.C. are the only professional team in Bromley and play in the National League, one level below the Football League.
Four rugby clubs in Bromley are, Old Elthamians a National League 2 side, Parkhouse FC, Bromley RFC and Beckenham RFC. Beccehamians RFC is a club that was founded in 1933 which plays competitive rugby at Sparrows Den at the bottom of Corkscrew Hill in nearby West Wickham.
Gyms in Bromley
There is a great choice of gyms in bromley.
Nuffieldhealth Bromley
Puregym Bromley
Virgin gym Bromley
Power Wave Bromley
Cinema
Bromley Picture house was opened in June 2019 in the previous Empire theatre.
Vue Cinemas own a nine-screen cinema, which is part of the Bromley South Central scheme at St Mark’s Square, opened on 28 November 2018.
Estate agents in bromley
When selling or letting your property to tenants and buyers in Bromley you have a great choice of estate agents.
Langford Russell estate agents bromley
Foxtons estate agents Bromley
KFH estate agents bromley
Your Move estate agents Bromley
Sinclair Hamilton estate agents Bromley
See our latest properties at 123estateAgent Bromley
Parks in Bromley
Bromley has many green spaces to use all year round. See our list of parks that you can click into for more information.
