Chislehurst

Chislehurst
Chislehurst
	Chislehurst village sign
	Chislehurst Location within Greater London
Population	14,831 (2011. Ward)
OS grid reference	TQ445705
London borough	Bromley;
Ceremonial county	Greater London
Region	London;
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	CHISLEHURST
Postcode district	BR7
Dialling code	020
Police	Metropolitan
Fire	London
Ambulance	London
UK Parliament	Bromley & Chislehurst;
London Assembly	Bexley and Bromley;
	List of places UK England London 51°24′43″N 0°04′30″E / 51.412°N 0.075°E

Chislehurst (/ˈtʃɪzəlˌhɜːrst/) is a suburban district in south east London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley. It borders the London Boroughs of Bexley and Greenwich, and lies east of Bromley and south west of Sidcup. It is 10.5 miles (16.9 km) south east of Charing Cross.

Toponymy

The name "Chislehurst" is derived from the Saxon words cisel, "gravel", and hyrst, "wooded hill".

Present features

Chislehurst is regarded as an affluent area and one of the most expensive places to live in South East London. Chislehurst West may be found by going towards Mottingham and this area includes the biggest of the ponds and the High Street which has many pubs and restaurants. Chislehurst West was previously known as "Pricking" and "Prickend".

A local attraction is Chislehurst Caves. The caves are considered to be of very ancient origin. They were originally used to mine flint and chalk. During World War II, thousands of people used them nightly as an air raid shelter. There is even a chapel. One child was born in the caves during World War II, and was given a middle name of 'Cavena'.^[2] The caves have also been used as a venue for live music; Jimi Hendrix, the Who and the Rolling Stones have all played there.

Chislehurst is one of the starting points for the Green Chain Walk, linking to places such as Crystal Palace, Erith, the Thames Barrier and Thamesmead.

Chislehurst is home to the Derwent House, designed by William Willett.

Chislehurst Common (and nearby St Paul's Cray Common) were saved from development in 1888 following campaigns by local residents. They were a popular destination for bank holiday trips in the early 20th century, and now provide a valuable green space. Nearby Petts Wood, Hawkwood and Scadbury have also been preserved as open spaces following local campaigns.

Camden Place

Camden Place (now Chislehurst Golf Club, 51° 24′ 40.05″N 0° 3′ 55.69″E ) takes its name from the antiquary William Camden, who lived in the former house on the site from c.1609 until his death in 1623. The present house was built shortly before 1717, and was given a number of additions in the late 18th and very early 19th centuries by the architect George Dance the younger.^[3] In about 1760, the house and estate were bought by Charles Pratt, the Attorney General, and later Lord Chancellor. Pratt was ennobled in 1765, taking the title Baron Camden, of Camden Place: in 1786 he was created Earl Camden. The house is a Grade II* listed building. ^[4]

A later occupant of the house, from 1871 until his death there in 1873, was the exiled French Emperor, Napoleon III. His body and that of the Prince Imperial were originally buried in St Mary's Church, before being removed to St Michael's Abbey, Farnborough.^[5] The Emperor's widow, the Empress Eugénie, remained at Camden Place until 1885. There is a memorial to Napoléon Eugène on Chislehurst Common, and the area's connections with the imperial family are found in many road names and in the local telephone code, 467, which in its earlier format corresponded to the letters IMP (for imperial).

Past features

The Chislehurst civil parish formed an urban district of Kent from 1894 to 1934.^[6] In 1934 it became part of the Chislehurst and Sidcup Urban District,^[7] which was split in 1965 between the London boroughs of Bromley and Bexley.

The Walsingham family, including Christopher Marlowe's patron, Sir Thomas Walsingham and Queen Elizabeth I's spymaster, Francis Walsingham, had a home in Scadbury Park, now a nature reserve in which the ruins of the house can still be seen.^[8]

A water tower used to straddle the road from Chislehurst to Bromley until it was demolished in 1963 as one of the last acts of the Chislehurst and Sidcup UDC. It marked the entrance to the Wythes Estate in Bickley, but its narrow archway meant that double-decker buses were not able to be used on the route.

Education

Bullers Wood School (all-girls)
Chislehurst School for Girls
Coopers School
Farrington's School
Chislehurst C of E Primary School
Edgebury Primary School
Red Hill Primary School
Mead Road Infant School

Notable residents

Louis-Napoleon Bonaparte, President of France 1848–52, Emperor of the French 1852–70.
William Camden (1551–1623), antiquary, historian, and Clarenceux King of Arms, lived in the house later known as Camden Place from c.1609 until his death there in 1623.
Malcolm Campbell, former land and water speed record holder, was born in Chislehurst and is buried in St. Nicholas Parish Church next to his parents.
George Somers Leigh Clarke (1822–1882), eminent architect lived at Walpole, Manor Park. He is buried in the St Nicholas' churchyard.
Richmal Crompton, author of the Just William series of books.
Tilly Keeper, who plays Louise Mitchell in BBC One soap opera Eastenders.
E. J. May (1853–1941), architect, lived locally and designed a number of local buildings.
Eugénie de Montijo, Countess of Teba and Empress of France.*
Jozef Michal Poniatowski, Polish nobleman, composer.
Charles Pratt (1714–1794), Baron Camden from 1765 and 1st Earl Camden from 1786, Attorney General, Lord Chief Justice of the Common Pleas, and Lord Chancellor, lived at Camden Place from c.1760.
Siouxsie Sioux, singer, most famous for being in the band Siouxsie and the Banshees
Thomas Townshend, 1st Viscount Sydney is buried in St Nicholas's Church, Chislehurst. He was an owner of Scadbury Park, and the city of Sydney, Australia is named after him.
Sir Francis Walsingham, spymaster to Elizabeth I, and his son, Sir Thomas Walsingham.
Alan Watts, philosopher, born and raised in Chislehurst, moved to the United States in 1938.
William Willett, a campaigner for daylight saving time, lived most of his adult life in Chislehurst.
Ted Willis, creator of Dixon of Dock Green.
William Hyde Wollaston, chemist and physicist who discovered rhodium and palladium.

Places of worship

Chislehurst Baptist Church
St Patrick's Catholic Church
Christ Church Chislehurst
Elmstead Baptist Church
Chislehurst Methodist Church
The Annuncation
St. Nicholas
Darul Uloom Mosque and School
Ichthus Christian Fellowship
St Mary's Roman Catholic Church, original burial place of Napoleon III and his son the Prince Imperial (killed when acting as an observer in the Zulu War in Natal, South Africa).

Transport

Rail

Chislehurst station links the area with National Rail services to London Charing Cross and to Sevenoaks via Orpington.

Bus

61 to Bromley North via Orpington
160 to Catford via Eltham and to Sidcup
161 to North Greenwich via Eltham and Woolwich
162 to Eltham and to Beckenham Junction via Bromley
269 to Bexleyheath via Sidcup and to Bromley North
273 to Lewisham via Grove Park and to Petts Wood
R7 to Chelsfield Village via Orpington

Nearby areas

Chislehurst borders New Eltham to the north, Sidcup to the north east and east, St Paul's Cray to the south east, Petts Wood to the south, Bickley to the south west, Elmstead to the west and Mottingham to the north west.

References

^ "Bromley Ward population 2011". Neighbourhood Statistics. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 10 October 2016.
^ The baby was christened Rose Cavena Wakeman according to the official guides. Birth records show that a baby called Rose L.C. Wakeman was born in Chislehurst in 1946, which is consistent with the story.
^ Bridget Cherry and Nikolaus Pevsner, London 2: South, Buildings of England (Harmondsworth, 1983), p. 180.
^ "Name: CAMDEN PLACE List entry Number: 1064325". English Heritage. Retrieved 25 January 2018.
^ Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Chislehurst" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 6 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 247.
^ Vision of Britain - Chilsehurst UD (historic map)
^ Vision of Britain - Chislehurst and Sidcup UD (historic map)
^ Friends of Scadbury Park

[1] "Bromley Ward population 2011". Neighbourhood Statistics. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 10 October 2016.

[2] The baby was christened Rose Cavena Wakeman according to the official guides. Birth records show that a baby called Rose L.C. Wakeman was born in Chislehurst in 1946, which is consistent with the story.

[3] Bridget Cherry and Nikolaus Pevsner, London 2: South, Buildings of England (Harmondsworth, 1983), p. 180.

[4] "Name: CAMDEN PLACE List entry Number: 1064325". English Heritage. Retrieved 25 January 2018.

[EB1911-5] Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Chislehurst" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 6 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 247.

[vision_ud-6] Vision of Britain - Chilsehurst UD (historic map)

[vision_cas-7] Vision of Britain - Chislehurst and Sidcup UD (historic map)

[8] Friends of Scadbury Park

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v t e London Borough of Bromley
Districts	Anerley Aperfield Beckenham Berry's Green Bickley Biggin Hill Bromley Bromley Common Chelsfield Chislehurst Coney Hall Crystal Palace Cudham Downe Eden Park Elmers End (including Upper Elmers End) Elmstead Farnborough Foxbury Goddington Green Street Green Hayes Hazelwood Hockenden Horns Green Keston Kevington Leaves Green Locksbottom Longlands Luxted Mottingham New Beckenham Orpington (including: Broom Hill, Crofton, Derry Downs and Ramsden) Park Langley Penge Petts Wood Plaistow Poverest Pratt's Bottom Ruxley St Mary Cray St Paul's Cray Shortlands Single Street Southborough South Street Sundridge Sydenham Upper Norwood West Wickham Widmore
Attractions	Bethlem Gallery Bethlem Museum of the Mind Bromley Little Theatre Chislehurst Caves Churchill Theatre Crofton Roman Villa Crystal Palace Crystal Palace Bowl Crystal Palace Dinosaurs Down House St Blaise's Well
Parks and open spaces	Betts Park Chislehurst Common Crofton Wood Croydon Road Recreation Ground Crystal Palace Park Cuckoo Wood Downe Bank Elmstead Wood Hayes Common High Elms Country Park Jubilee Country Park Kelsey Park Keston Common Norman Park Ruxley Gravel Pits Saltbox Hill Scadbury Park Sundridge Park The Warren West Kent Golf Course nature reserve
Places of worship	Bromley Reform Synagogue St Botolph's Church, Ruxley St Edmund's Church, Beckenham St George's Church, Beckenham St John the Evangelist's Church, Penge St Mark's Church, Bromley St Mary's Church, Chislehurst St Mary's Church, Downe St Mary the Virgin, Hayes St Peter and St Paul's Church, Bromley
Constituencies	Beckenham Bromley and Chislehurst Lewisham West and Penge Orpington
Rail stations and tram stops	Anerley Avenue Road Beckenham Road Beckenham Junction Bickley Birkbeck Bromley North Bromley South Chelsfield Chislehurst Clock House Crystal Palace Eden Park Elmers End Elmstead Woods Hayes Kent House Knockholt Lower Sydenham New Beckenham Orpington Penge East Penge West Petts Wood Ravensbourne St Mary Cray Shortlands Sundridge Park West Wickham
Other topics	Coat of arms Council Grade I and II* listed buildings Parks and open spaces People Public art Schools
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