Bromley Timeline

1301 Hornchurch Priory given as owners of Kemnal Manor, Chislehurst. John de Bastane in possession of Baston manor, Hayes

1308 First mention of a windmill in West Wickham.

1310 Licence granted to William be Bliburgh to strengthen and crenelate his house in Bromley, later known as Simpson's Place.

1315 Theft of corn from East Hall, Orpington by Richard atte Downe

1318 West Wickham granted the right to hold a market. No evidence that it was ever held. The proposed location may have been Norwood Cross, outside the present day Swan pub.

1332 Mass celebrated at Bromley manor chapel. First specific reference to a religious service in the town.

1346 William de Godyngton holds Goddington manor Chelsfield.

1354. Sir Maurice Bruyn, Lord of the Manor of Beckenham and chamberlain to Edward III dies.

1355 Richard de Tubbenden moves from Orpington to Southborough. Both Tubbenden and Turpington Lanes are believed to be named after him.

1373 Sir Robert Belknap acquires Setlings and Ackmere (Okemere) manors in St. Mary Cray, Crofton in Orpington and Keston.

1388 Sir Robert Belknap banished to Ireland for upholding the royal prerogative too vigorously.

1391 New College, Oxford, acquires Kemnal Manor and holds it for the next 481 years.

1400 The de Blackbrooke family leave Bromley; Blackbrook Lane is named from them.

1408 First Kelsey House, Beckenham built.

1425 The Walsinghams arrive at Scadbury (named after the de Scathebury family, the wealthiest in Chislehurst in the 14th century.)

1433 Walsinghams acquire Town Court on the borders of Chislehurst and Orpington.

1446 Rebuilding of Chislehurst Church begins. It takes 21 years to complete. 1447 Bromley Market moves from a Tuesday to a Thursday. Apart from a few years in the 1860's it has been held every Thursday since.

1449 Lord Saye purchases Bromley's watermill, mentioned in the Domesday Book as used to grind grain, and converts in into a paper mill.

1450 Bernard Cavyll of Chislehurst was constable of the hundred of Ruxley.

1453 Beckenham church gets new bells, paid for from a bequest by Ralph Langle.

1456 Thomas Ferby excommunicated for procuring a clandestine marriage in St. Paul's Cray.

1475 William Heydon builds Wickham Court.

1484 Population of West Wickham estimated to be 120.

1503 Robert Simpson sells Simpson's Place to John Style of Langley.

1509 Robert Beckyngham given as owner of The White Hart, Bromley.

1526 Sir Francis Walsingham born in Chislehurst.

1532 John Burdde of Chislehurst supplied 6068 tiles for Hampton Court Palace. Red Hill was home of tile works for over 450 years. First mention of "The Grete House" Bromley, owned by Thomas Knight, a London brewer.

1540 John Heron of Chislehurst charged with practicing astronomy (astrology?) and necromancy (raising the dead). Orpington Priory and South Cray (St. Mary Cray) manor surrendered to the King.

1543 John Juler listed as owner of the Freelands estate.

1544 Sir Percival Hart builds a house adjoining Orpington Priory, later called Bark Hart.

1561 Claimed date for the building of Stubberfield's Farm, later Sparkes Cottages, Mason's Hill. Elizabeth Mounselowe of West Wickham indicted for infanticide after throwing her newborn baby on the fire.

1577 The Thornhill family acquire The Grete House. William Pett in possession of woodland in Chislehurst, later Petts Wood.

1579 John Nicholls, publican born. Nichol Lane, Plaistow may be named after him.

1585 Ground subsides near Fairy Hall, Mottingham (Eltham College) swallowing three elm trees, No explanation was ever found.

1586 First Chislehurst rectory built.

1588 John Scott of Bromley gives £25 towards the "Armada Loan". Freelands passes to the French family

1597 Queen Elizabeth I visits Scadbury The Lennard family become Lords of the manor of West Wickham and remain so for over 300 years.

1599 The old cottage, Widmore constructed.

1600 Bromley's first windmill erected.

1603 Outbreak of the plague in Chislehurst kills 62.

1609 Parish records are now written mainly in English. Latin had previously predominated.

1615 Langley Chapel consecrated.

1619 Beckenham Church extended.

1630 Widmore House built. The plague hits Bromley. The bishop of Rochester is forced to flee his palace.

1636 A baby found in the porch of Beckenham Church, christened George of Beckenham 1638 Farnborough church rebuilt.

1646 John Thornhill dies and the family's connection with Bromley ends. 1650 St. Mary Cray church becomes a chapel of ease to Orpington and services are alternated between the two churches.

1652 John Evelyn diarist, robbed on Bromley Common. The assailants jumped out from behind a huge oak tree. First mention of "The Bell" at Bromley.

1654 The Hodson brothers found a bell foundry in Blacksmith's Lane, St. Mary Cray.

1659 Sir Humphrey Style of Langley dies.

1662 Survey of Bromley lists 129 households suggesting a population of around 700.

1664 Payment tokens issued by the White Hart in Bromley.

1670 The Walsinghams leave Scadbury.

1672 Bromley College, a home for widowed clergymen's wives is completed. Built following a bequest from John Warner, Bishop of Rochester. Chelsfield Church installs five new bells.

1673 First mention of Holwood House, Keston.

1675 First mention of Plaistow Lodge estate, later Quernmore. 1680 A new inn is built at Chelsfield, named the Five Bells in celebration of the 1672 installation.

1684 Sir Robert Knightley acquires Bromley Hill.

1686-9 Beckenham plagued by hedgehogs. 4d paid for each one killed. 104 payments made.

1687 First account of beating of the bounds in Beckenham.

1694 Anthony Rawlins, a wealthy London merchant, dies while staying at Kent House and bequeaths money to be used for almshouses. The Rawlins Almshouses survive today next to Beckenham Church. Thomas Farrington of Chislehurst dies, owner of a large estate in the parish. Farringtons School is named after this family.

1702 Claimed date for Shortlands House, now Bishop Challoner School.

1703 St. Mary Cray market hall blown down in a storm and never replaced.

1706 First mention of The Tiger's Head, Mason's Hill.

1708 John Hulls acquires Freelands.

1710. John Dunn, cabinetmaker, establishes his business in Bromley Market Place where it remains for more than 250 years

1713 Clock House, Beckenham built. Demolished 1896.

1716 Bromley Charity School set up. Keston windmill built, replacing an earlier one on the same site.

1717 William Davies builds The Cedars, later Village Place, Beckenham. Demolished 1920. Leonard Banyer dies and leaves £100 to Beckenham vestry.

1718 Anthony Ball owner of the Rookery estate, Bromley Common dies.

1720 Redwood House built by William Emmett in the lower High Street.

1721 St. Mary Cray parish school opens above the church porch.

1724 Farnborough church steeple blown down.

1725 A new bridge is built at Locks Bottom at a cost of £2 1s 6d plus 8s 7d for workman's beer.

1726 Eating match at Bromley fair. The winner, receiving 5 guineas consumed, 4lb of bacon, a bushel of French beans, 2lb of butter, a quarter loaf and a gallon of small beer.

1729 Market House erected in Bromley Market Place.

1731 Chelsfield village sends a cricket team to play a match against "London" at Kennington common.

1732 Bromley parish workhouse opens.

1733 The Plough, Bromley Common is first mentioned.

1735 First recorded Bromley cricket match takes place on Shooting Common.

1740 Margaret Finch, Queen of the gypsies is buried in Beckenham church. Reputed to be 109 years old.

1741 First record of The Porcupine, Mottingham.

1742 Viscount Bolingbroke becomes Lord of the manor of Beckenham. First record of a Bromley cricket team.

1745 Gang of smugglers attack customs officers at Green Street Green.

1750 William Quilter, a London leather merchant, rebuilds Mayfield manor, Orpington, first mentioned in the Domesday Book.

1752 Elizabeth "Tetty", wife of Samuel Johnson buried in Bromley Church. Tetty Way is named after her.

1753 Elizabeth Monk dies in Bromley aged 101. 1754 St. Blaise's Well, famous in medieval times for its medicinal qualities, but lost in the 16th Century, is rediscovered in the Palace grounds. William Pitt the Elder, buys Hayes Place.

1755 Norman family arrive at The Rookery

1756 Peter Burrell of Kelsey House dies.

1759 Chislehurst parish workhouse built. William Pitt the Younger, future Prime Minister, baptised at Hayes.

1761. First mention of the Prince Frederick pub at Plaistow

1765 Norman family buy the Rookery estate. The Pye House, later The Crown, Bromley Common opens.

1766 Ann Isted accidentally shot and killed at Kelsey Park by a man who failed to realise his gun was loaded.

1768 Part of Bromley Common enclosed. Herman Berens acquires Kevington manor, St. Mary Cray.

1771 Population of Bromley has risen to about 1360. Orpington church tower damaged in a storm. Brass Crosby is resident at Court Lodge, Chelsfield. A magistrate and one time Lord Mayor of London he was imprisoned in the Tower for setting free a printer who had published the proceedings or Parliament but set free after a public outcry. The expression "bold as brass" is claimed to originate from this incident.

1773 John Cator buys the manor of Beckenham and builds a new manor house, Beckenham Place Park. Dr. John Hawkesworth, man of letters and friend of Samuel Johnson, dies while resident at the Grete House.

1774 Large house built in the lower High Street, later named Neelgheries and replaced in 1906 by Bromley Public Library. Francis Fawkes becomes vicar of Orpington, a writer of popular songs he is said to have inspired the Toby jug.

1775 Bromley Palace rebuilt by Bishop John Thomas.

1778 Beckenham Rectory built, designed by Robert Adam it contained a number of his fireplaces, later transferred to Beckenham Town Hall one of these is now in the mayor's parlour at Bromley Civic Centre. William Pitt the Elder, former Prime Minister, dies at Hayes Place. Outbreak of smallpox in Beckenham causes the vestry to offer free inoculations.

1780 John Wells of Bickley Park builds the mansion and enlarges his estate by demolishing the hamlet of Cross in Hand and diverting Chislehurst Road to follow its present route.

1784 John Julius Angerstein, a member of Lloyd's of London, acquires Kent House, Beckenham.

1785 William Pitt the Younger buys Holwood House, Keston and leaves Hayes Place.

1787 The "Musical Nunnery" founded in Bromley with the aim of advancing the musical education of young ladies.

1788 The cage or lock up built in Chislehurst.

1789 Jeremiah Ringer tenant of Simpson's Place dies. Ringers Road is named after him. Amy Burrell of Langley House dies aged 89. Sevenoaks mail robbed by a highwayman 2 miles from Farnborough.

1790 Clendon School established in the lower High Street. Kelsey House, Beckenham rebuilt.

1792 Foxgrove manor sold to Peter Burrell of Langley. Dr. James Scott arrives in Bromley. Thomas Wilson, author of "The History of Bromley" opens his printing business.

1793 Clendon School moves to Church House.

1794 George Grote, author baptised at Beckenham.

1794-7 West Kent Yeomanry established.

1795 Bromley's paper mill, used by Thomas Ribright, oculist. Glass Mill Lane named from this use. It ceased to be a mill in 1832.

1796 Chislehurst windmill erected. Chislehurst Telegraph station opens. Claude Scott of Chislehurst acquires the ancient estate of Sundridge Park and builds the mansion.

1797 Temporary prison erected on lands of the former Grete House to house French prisoners of war.

1798 A highwayman was hanged on Bromley Common. Another highwayman was active at Lock's Bottom; he escaped towards Croydon on a horse with a white face.

1800 Warren Road is built between Chelsfield and Farnborough

1860 Joynson's paper mill in St. Mary Cray adapted to produce paper for stamps and bank notes. Chislehurst water tower built. Cray Wanderers football club founded. Still in existence and currently playing at Bromley, it is claimed to be the second oldest in the world.

1864 St. George's Church, Bickley and Bromley Baptist churches built.

1865 Bromley's first weekly newspaper, the Telegraph is published.

1866 H G Wells born at 47 (now 172) High Street, Bromley. Allders is now on the site. St. Paul's Church, Anerley built. Beckenham Cricket Club founded. Metropolitan Association for the improvement of dwellings constructs Alexandra cottages in Beckenham.

1867 "Little Tich" music hall star, born at the Blacksmith's Arms Cudham.

1868 St. Mary's church Shortlands built.

1869 Ruins of Simpson's Place swept away.

1870 Coles Child, Lord of the Manor of Bromley dies. Emperor Napoleon III of France arrives in exile at Camden Place Chislehurst. Annunciation church, Chislehurst built.

1872 Calls for police traffic control after an increase in accidents at Uridge's corner, Market Square. Christ Church, Chislehurst built. Ladywood, first house in Petts Wood built. Kemnal Manor sold by New College, Oxford to Samuel Asser. Drill Hall opens in East Street, Bromley, now the Philatelist and Firkin pub. Penge Police Station opens. Currently South London's oldest working station.

1873 Jail Inn, Biggin Hill opens. Building was formerly used as temporary housing for prisoners on their way to Maidstone Jail. Emperor Napoleon dies at Chislehurst.

1875 Gadsden House, Hayes built.

1876 Christ Church, Beckenham built. Chislehurst Windmill pulled down.

1877 Mottingham board school opens.

1878 Martin's Hill, bought by the town and turned into a public park. Holy Trinity Church, Beckenham built. Foxgrove Farm, successor to the manor house pulled down.

1879 St. James church, Elmers End built. F. Medhurst opens his first shop in Bromley High Street. Penge Vestry Hall opens. Now Anerley Town Hall.

1880 St. John's Church, Park Road, Bromley opens. 1882 Ivy bridge disaster. 7 workmen killed when a bridge over the railway at Bromley South collapses. Charles Darwin dies at Down House. Beckenham Public Hall built.

1883 Bromley High School opens.

1884. Beckenham Lodge demolished. "The Club" established in Beckenham.

1885 Beckenham parish church rebuilt. Langley Court Mansion built.

1886 Local unemployed men march through Bromley. Christ Church, Bromley built.

1887 Aberdeen Buildings erected in the High Street. St.Lukes church, Bromley Common built.

1888 Holy Trinity School moves to Freelands. St. Paul's Church, Crofton opens. 1889 Valley School Shortlands and Raglan Road School, Bromley Common open. Phillips Memorial Hospital opens at the junction of Park Road and Widmore Lane (Road).

1892 Bromley Football Club founded. First Penge library opens. 1893 St. Andrew's church, Orpington built. 1894 Bromley Council set up. William Willett, proposer of daylight saving arrives in Chislehurst.

1895 Riot at the Plough Inn, Bromley Common. FA Cup final held at the Crystal Palace for the first time.

1896 Clock House, Beckenham demolished.

1897 Bromley Post Office built. Scarlet fever epidemic hits Bromley. Wickham Hall built. Blackbrook House destroyed by fire. Queen's Gardens, Bromley open.

1898 Bell Inn Bromley demolished, replaced by the Royal Bell Hotel. St. Mark's Church, Bromley opens.

1899 Beckenham Technical Institute built. Now the Studio arts centre. Central Exchange built in Penge.

1900 Penge Council established and the town is transferred to Kent, beginning 65 years of autonomy. Emily Dowling of Neelgheries dies leaving the house and garden to the council. The Churchill Theatre, Central Library and gardens were made possible by this bequest.

1902 Beckenham baths opened.

1906 Original Central Library built.

1907 The Municipal Buildings open in Tweedy Road as headquarters for the new borough council. Down House becomes a school.

1909 Fox's brewery, Green Street Green closes causing severe unemployment in the area.

1910 Bromley fire station built. Bromley Grammar School for Girls opens in Nightingale Lane, now the Widmore adult education centre.

1911 E W Payne, jewellers established in the Market Square. Palace Cinema, Orpington, later the Carlton opens. Farrington's School opens. Festival of Empire at the Crystal Palace. Crystal Palace Company goes bankrupt.

1912 Marks and Spencer open their Penny Bazaar and David Greig's their new shop in the Market Square. Eltham College opens at Fairy Hall, Mottingham.

1913 Balgowan School, Beckenham opens. Langley House destroyed by fire.

1914 Buses begin to run between Bromley and Penge. Ivor Novello moves to Biggin Hill. Bromley Police Station opens in Widmore Road.

1915 First bus service to Biggin Hill begins. William Willett dies in Chislehurst. W.G. Grace dies in Mottingham. Penge Empire opens.

1916 Ontario military hospital opened. Now Orpington Hospital. 1919 Maple Road market established to help ex-servicemen. Beckenham County School for Girls opens in Lennard Road. Wellcome Research Laboratories move to Langley Court.

1921 Kelsey manor demolished.

1922 Down House School closes. Porcupine Inn, Mottingham rebuilt.

1925 Bromley North station rebuilt. Southlands Lido opens.

1926 Orpington by-pass constructed. Most local railways electrified. St. David's College, West Wickham opens.

1927 Petts Wood bought by National Trust and Willett memorial unveiled. Down House bought by the British Association for the Advancement of Science and turned into a museum.

1928 Petts Wood station built. Christian Science Church, Widmore Road built. Bob Monkhouse born in Beckenham. 1929 Park Langley (Chinese) Garage built.

1930 Mayfield, formerly Little Orpington Manor demolished. Regal Cinema, Beckenham opens. West Wickham national school closes. Beckenham and Penge Grammar School opens.

1931 Joynson's paper mill in St. Mary Cray closes. Wickham Hall demolished. Bromley House demolished. Buckston Browne Research Station built next to Down House by the Royal College of Surgeons.

1932 Beckenham Town Hall built on old rectory site. Marks and Spencer move to their present site in Bromley.

1933 Old Town Hall demolished and the Market Square redeveloped. The Thursday market moves to Bromley North. Commodore Cinema, Orpington and Plaza, West Wickham, open. Baston School, Hayes founded.

1934 Woolworth's arrives in Orpington. Closure of Bromley Union workhouse at Lock's Bottom and gradual conversion into a hospital. Hayes Place demolished.

1935 Stockwell College moves to Bromley Palace and extends it. Daylight Inn at Petts Wood opens as a hotel. New Inn, Hayes rebuilt. LCC Mottingham estate begun.

1936 Crystal Palace burns down. Morphy Richards founded in an Orpington oast house originally manufacturing gramophone needles. Odeon and Gaumont cinemas open in Bromley and the Embassy in Petts Wood. Town Court farm succumbs to development.

1937 Chislehurst Library opens. Odeon, Penge opens.

1938 First plans for the Sevenoaks Way industrial area.

1939 Tip Top bakery arrives in St. Mary Cray. Beckenham Central Library opens. Odeon, Elmers End opens.

1940 East Hill, Orpington destroyed by a wartime bomb. Charles de Gaulle arrives at Petts Wood in exile after the fall of France.

1941 Severe bombing raids in Bromley. 5 churches including the ancient parish church destroyed in one night. Church House and Dunn's also destroyed.

1944 A V1 destroys Richard's dining rooms, Beckenham during the lunch hour killing 44 people.

1945 Ivy Millichamp of Orpington becomes the last civilian casualty of the Second World War after her home in Kynaston Road is hit by a V2 rocket. Future Prime Minister Harold Macmillan becomes MP for Bromley. Orpington Historical Society is formed.

1946 The Rookery, Bromley Common destroyed by fire. Basil Scruby, founder of Petts Wood dies. Hayes branch library opens in the old rectory.

1947 The Priory is acquired by Orpington council.

1949 Orpington Junior Singers founded. Penge Empire becomes the Essoldo cinema.

1956 Ramsden Boy's School Orpington built. Iron age remains found when digging the foundations. Bark Hart house Orpington demolished. Odeon, Hayes closes. Hayes School opens at Gadsden.

1957 Odeons, West Wickham (former Plaza) and Elmers End close.

1958 David Bowie joins Bromley Technical High School, Keston. (Now Ravenswood) Caters, Bromley's first supermarket opens in Market Square on the site of the ancient Bull inn.

1959 Carlton Cinema, Orpington closes. Wilberforce Oak at Holwood is blown down. Beckenham County School for Girls moves to Langley Park, the site of the ancient mansion.

1960 Chislehurst Cinema closes. Chislehurst Rectory demolished. Former Penge Empire demolished.

1961 New Orpington Library opens at the Priory. Gaumont Cinema closes.

1963 Chislehurst water tower demolished. Sainsbury's Beckenham converts to self service.

1964 Kemnal Manor destroyed by fire. National Sports Centre opens in Crystal Palace Park.

1965 London Borough of Bromley formed from Bromley and Beckenham boroughs, Orpington and Penge urban districts and Chislehurst. 1967 High Elms House burns down. St. Christopher's Hospice opens in Beckenham.

1968 St Olave's School moves to Orpington. Bromley Lodge demolished. Ancient West Wickham stocks tree blown down. Mottingham Library opens.

1969 Original Central Library demolished. Beckenham and Penge Grammar School moves to a new site and is renamed Langley Park School for boys. David Bowie founds the Beckenham Arts Lab in a back room at the Three Tuns pub (Now Rat and Parrot). Richmal Crompton, children's author and resident of Chislehurst dies.

1970 The Mall shopping centre opens.

1971 New Theatre destroyed by fire.

1972 Desmond Tutu, future Archbishop of Cape Town arrives in Bromley to become a director of the Theological Education fund and becomes an honorary curate of St. Augustine's Church. West Wickham Swimming baths open.

1973 Embassy Cinema, Petts Wood closes. Charles Darwin School, Biggin Hill opens.

1974 Bromley Local History Society founded.

1975 Walnuts Leisure Centre opens.

1976. Odeon, Penge closes

1977 New Bromley Central Library and Churchill Theatre opens.

1979 St. John Rigby School, West Wickham opens

1980 Stockwell College closes. Medhurst's department store becomes Allders. Dunn's of Bromley closes. Scadbury House burns down.

1981 Biggin Hill library opens.

1982 Bromley Council move to the old palace and create the Civic Centre. Commodore Cinema, Orpington closes.

1985 Kentish Way opens.

1986 Mural to commemorate H G Wells painted in the Market Square.

1987 Great storm hits Bromley. Many trees uprooted and buildings damaged.

1988 Sainsbury's moves from the Mall to Walter's Yard.

1989 United Reformed Church is rebuilt in Widmore Road, old site swallowed by the Glades shopping centre. Churchill Insurance opens in Bromley.

1991 Glades shopping centre and the Pavilion leisure centre open in Bromley.

1992 Beckenham Town Hall demolished and Marks and Spencer built to replace it. Kentish Way, phase 2 opens. RAF Biggin Hill closes. Lord Ted Willis, author and resident of Chislehurst dies. 1995 Tesco, Elmers End opens. Glaxo Welcome end research at Langley Court.

1996 New Magistrate's Court opens

1999 Spa Leisure Centre opens in Beckenham. Littlewoods, Bromley closes.

2000 C & A, Bromley closes. Croydon Tramlink opens. Magistrate's Court in South Street reopens as "Community House"

2003 New Police Station opens at Bromley South. The Princess Royal University Hospital opened at Farnborough. The Unicorn Primary School opened.

2004 Bishop Justus CE School opens. Army & Navy Closes.

2005 Allders Closes.

2006 Primark opens in the old Allders building.

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