West Wickham
West Wickham | |
---|---|
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Location within Greater London | |
Population | 14,276 [1] 14,884 (2011 Census. Ward)[2] |
OS grid reference | TQ379660 |
London borough | |
Ceremonial county | Greater London |
Region | |
Country | England |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Post town | WEST WICKHAM |
Postcode district | BR4 |
Dialling code | 020 |
Police | Metropolitan |
Fire | London |
Ambulance | London |
UK Parliament | |
London Assembly | |
West Wickham is a suburban area of South East London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley and the historic county of Kent. It is on the line of a Roman road, the London to Lewes Way, and is located 10.3 miles (16.6 km) south east of Charing Cross. It lies south of Park Langley and Eden Park, west of Hayes and Coney Hall, north of Spring Park and east of Shirley.
History
The history of West Wickham predates the Norman conquest of England in 1066.[1] West Wickham is mentioned in the Domesday book with the following entry: "In lordship 2 ploughs. 24 villagers have 4 ploughs. 13 salves; a church; a mill at 20d.; a wood at 10 pigs. Value before 1066 8; later 6: now 13. Godric son of Karl held it from King Edward".[1] The name dates to Anglo-Saxon and is possibly a corruption of the Latin vicus, denoting an earlier Roman settlement.[3][4] The 'West' was added in the 13th century to differentiate it from East Wickham, situated some distance away to the north-east.[3]
In Tudor times, the Manor House, Wickham Court, was expanded by the Boleyn family and the area was popular for deer hunting. The Grade I listed building[5] was built by Sir Henry Heydon in 1469.[6][3] His wife was Anne Boleyn (Bullen), a daughter of Sir Geoffrey Boleyn, who was Lord Mayor of London in 1469. She was the great-aunt of Queen Anne Boleyn, second wife of Henry VIII.[3] The house was later sold to the Lennard family in 1580.[3] In 1935, it was sold and adapted for use as an hotel. After World War II, it was sold to the Daughters of Mary and Joseph, an American order of nuns and occupied by Coloma College (a teacher training college) run by the Daughters of Mary and Joseph.[7] From 1978 to 1996 it was occupied by Schiller International University and is now home to Wickham Court Preparatory School.[3]
Until the 1900s West Wickham remained a small village. The inter-war period saw rapid development and the transformation of the area into a suburb of London, facilitated by the arrival of the railway station, which opened in 1882.[3] Much of the formerly extensive West Wickham Common was built over, though a small tract was purchased and preserved by the Corporation of London in 1892.[3] At the crossroads by the Swan pub formerly stood the Stocks Tree, a large elm tree so named as it lay behind the village stocks. It was damaged during the laying down of sewerage pipes in the 1930s and was moved to Blake Recreation Ground in 1935, but later blew down in a storm.[4] The tree is commemorated in the village sign and a plaque, both of which stand outside the library, with a piece of the tree on display inside.[4]
Modern-day West Wickham is a suburb of Greater London, after the London Government Act 1963, which came into effect in 1965, with West Wickham absorbed into the London Borough of Bromley. The area is a fairly typical outer London suburb, consisting of predominantly 1930s housing, with a row of shops, restaurants and a library along the High Street and another set around the train station area. There are three pubs in the area - The Swan and the Wheatsheaf on the High Street, and The Railway by the station.[8] There are also several parks, such as West Wickham playing fields (McAndrews), Wickham Park and Blakes Recreation ground.
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/72/The_Swan_Inn%2C_West_Wickham_BR4_-_geograph.org.uk_-_41401.jpg/220px-The_Swan_Inn%2C_West_Wickham_BR4_-_geograph.org.uk_-_41401.jpg)
Education
West Wickham (including Coney Hall as it is a district of West Wickham) has four state schools (all primary schools). They are Oak Lodge, Wickham Common, Pickhurst and Hawes Down.[citation needed] St David's College and Wickham Court (serving as a nursery, primary school and secondary school) are private schools. In 2012, Wickham Common won a hockey gold medal when they represented Bromley in the London Youth Games.[citation needed]
There are no secondary schools in West Wickham, but there are some in neighbouring areas. Langley Park School for Boys and Langley Park School for Girls are located in Beckenham, Hayes School is located in Hayes, and Ravens Wood School is located in Keston. Wickham Court .
All Saints' Catholic School was a secondary school located on Layhams Road, West Wickham, London Borough of Bromley which closed in 2007 a few years after a major fraud scandal.[10]
Transport
Rail
West Wickham railway station serves the area with services to London Charing Cross, London Cannon Street via Lewisham and Hayes.
Buses
West Wickham is served by several Transport for London buses connecting it with areas including Beckenham, Bromley, Croydon, Hayes, Penge, Sydenham and Thornton Heath.[11]
Sport and leisure
West Wickham has a non-League football club Glebe F.C. who play at Oakley Road.[12]
West Wickham is home to Beccehamians RFC a rugby union club founded in 1933 which plays competitive rugby at Sparrows Den[13] at the bottom of Corkscrew Hill.[14]
Other clubs nearby include Croydon RFC (formerly Shirley Wanderers), a club that currently competes in Surrey 1, that has a rugby pitch used often for county matches.[citation needed]
Arts and popular culture
Since 1958 the area has had an Arts association[15] and since 1967 it has had its own community theatre known as Theatre 62 / West Wickham Theatre centre.[16]
On 1 August 1964, Blakes Recreation Ground hosted a concert featuring Manfred Mann (featuring Paul Jones), The Merseybeats and the Johnny Dankworth Orchestra.[17]
The town appeared in the 2000 UK television series The 1940s House, with 17 Braemar Gardens taking the starring role as a family lived a World War II experience in a typical London suburb.[18][3]
Notable people
- William Burnside, mathematician, buried in West Wickham parish church.[19]
- Michael Carberry, cricketer, attended St John Rigby College.[20]
- Thomas Carew, 17th-century poet[21]
- Stephen Dillane, actor, grew up in West Wickham.[22]
- Charlie Heather, drummer in The Levellers.[citation needed]
- Judy Oakes, athlete.[23]
- Henry Hake Seward, architect, buried at St John the Baptist church.[24]
- Skream, DJ & producer, grew up in West Wickham.[25]
- Gordon Fergus-Thompson, pianist.[citation needed]
Gallery
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St Mark's Catholic Church, built 1962-63[26]
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The Railway pub
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Emmanuel United Reformed Church
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Old Unigate Dairies on Kent Road, built circa 1890 and now listed at grade II[27]
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St Francis of Assisi Anglican Church on Ravenswood Avenue, built 1935-36[28]
References
- ^ a b c [1] West Wickham Residents Association
- ^ "Bromley Ward population 2011". Neighbourhood Statistics. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 11 October 2016.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Willey, Russ. Chambers London Gazetteer, p 550
- ^ a b c "Local History". West Wickham Residents Association. Retrieved 13 August 2020.
- ^ Good Stuff IT Services. "Wickham Court – Bromley – Greater London – England". British Listed Buildings. Retrieved 4 August 2013.
- ^ "Timeline". Wickham Court. Retrieved 5 August 2013.
- ^ "Background History of the West Wickham Site". Hmt-uk.org. Retrieved 4 August 2013.
- ^ "Pubs in West Wickham". WhatPub. Retrieved 13 August 2020.
- ^ Historic England. "The Swan Public House (1359301)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 13 August 2020.
- ^ "Headmistress sentenced to five years for £500,000 theft". 4ni.co.uk. 1 September 2003. Retrieved 13 August 2020.
- ^ http://content.tfl.gov.uk/bus-route-maps/west-wickham.pdf
- ^ "Everything we do we always exceed in, says Glebe chairman Rocky McMillan". Kentishfootball.co.uk. 1 July 2013. Retrieved 4 August 2013.
- ^ "London Gardens Online". www.londongardensonline.org.uk. Retrieved 2 February 2017.
- ^ Beccehamians RFC
- ^ "About Us". www.westwickhamarts.org. Retrieved 28 September 2017.
- ^ "About Us". Theatre 62. 15 August 2013. Retrieved 28 September 2017.
- ^ "New Musical Express" (904). July 1964: 2.
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(help) - ^ [2] Telegraph
- ^ Burnside, W. (2004). Neumann, P.M.; Mann, A.J.S.; Tompson, J.C. (eds.). The Collected Papers of William Burnside: Commentary on Burnside's life and work ; Papers 1883–1899. Vol. 1. Oxford University Press. p. 106. ISBN 9780198505860.
- ^ "Player profile: Michael Carberry". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 5 August 2011.
- ^ "Biography of Thomas Carew". Poem Analysis. Retrieved 14 August 2020.
- ^ Powell, Lucy (12 June 2010). "Stephen Dillane, actor of rare introspection". The Times. (Subscription required.)
- ^ GrahamGroom (2017). The Complete Book of the Commonwelath Games. Lulu. p. 118.
- ^ "The contents of field notebook containing the continuation of St Johns the Baptist West Wickham Taken on 1st August 1891 - Leland L. Duncan Transcribed by Frank Bamping 5 March 2001". Kent Archaeological Society - West Wickham. Retrieved 30 May 2017.
- ^ Clark, Martyn (27 August 2005). "Interview with Skream". Retrieved 30 June 2007.
- ^ "West Wickham – St Mark". Taking Stock - Catholic Churches of England and Wales. Retrieved 13 August 2020.
- ^ Historic England. "Unigate Dairies (1268412)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 14 August 2020.
- ^ "St Francis West Wickham History". St Francis West Wickham. Retrieved 13 August 2020.