Chislehurst past and present
A note on the history of Chislehurst by Roy Hopper is included elsewhere on this site.
In this section we concentrate on key features of the village over the last hundred and fifty years or so, following the arrival of the railways to this part of Kent. This is intended to be helpful to students, genealogists, or anyone interested in Chislehurst. We welcome any comments on the content, and are especially interested in learning from others' knowledge and experience.
If you have a query, or you are interested in other people's questions, look on our researchers' queries page.
Our collection of images of Chislehurst is growing, and many of them are available here. Because the Commons have always been popular as the destination for a day’s excursion, certainly up until the 1950s, there have been many photographs and postcards of the village and Commons. We look forward to hearing from you if you can supplement them. By clicking on the links you can access a collection of images on the subjects mentioned.
Chislehurst – four villages or one?
A peculiar aspect of Chislehurst is that it may appear to consist of four separate 'villages' within its Parish, The High Street, north of the Commons, Royal Parade to the south, Mill Place to the west, and the settlement along Perry Street to the east. The High Street was originally known as Prickend, from which the pond in the High Street derives its name. Later this area was referred to as Chislehurst West. Mill Place, nestling on the hillside between Summer Hill and Old Hill was, even in the 19th Century, an independent community with its own church, police station and of course public houses.
Chislehurst has been a place of human settlement since at least the mid 12th Century, and there is some slight evidence of Roman or Romano-British activity (in the chalk pit in Camden park 1857), though none of any Roman settlement as such.
Up to 1865 Chislehurst remained very much a rural community. It was from earliest times an attractive area for business men wishing to live in the country but needing to get to London relatively easily, e.g. members of the Walsingham family with their business and later court connections, William Camden, and many others. Before the railways there had always been coaches running through the village - Francis Murray recalls this means of transport in his memoirs in Webb's History. The Bull Inn was a busy coaching inn located at an important cross-roads (the main road to Bromley was originally Bull Lane).
When the railways arrived in 1865 the first major building boom came with it. Wealthier people could now afford to pay an architect to design a house, and this is why there are still so many fine houses to be seen here.
An added influence was the French Imperial family living at Camden Place. Many people came into exile with them and needed housing. Queen Victoria and her family visited Camden Place and suddenly, during the 1870s, Chislehurst became a fashionable place to live! As a result, by the time of the First World War in 1914 it had grown from a rural village to a small town. The First World War in 1914 put a temporary stop to plans for further development, but in the 1920s sales of farmland for building increased, and continued until the Second World War in 1939 stopped it again. This was a difficult period for Chislehurst, with what appeared to be the continuous development of London into its neighbouring counties. New houses were built on White Horse Hill and Green Lane and together with the new Mottingham estate created the effect of continuous housing between what had been two isolated villages of Mottingham and Chislehurst. Red Hill had been the northern most part of the village of Chislehurst.
In the south, Petts Wood town seemed likely to spread north into the heart of Chislehurst, though the purchase of the woodland there stopped this happening (see below for more details). Then, after the Second World War ended, building continued, which included the destruction of many fine old Victorian and Edwardian houses in the heart of the village (the scandal of the building of the Sainsbury block in Chislehurst still rankles with many people) and the development of the St Paul's Cray Estate on farmland adjacent to Scadbury Park. But thanks to the strenuous efforts of local people in earlier days, Chislehurst remains relatively green and still quite rural in many places, whilst providing essential housing for large numbers of people.
You can get more information about the village layout and its main streets and buildings by downloading and reading Mary Holt's study of the Chislehurst Conservation Area
The Commons form an essential part of Chislehurst
Between the four different parts of Chislehurst, lie the Commons. Originally much of this land was owned by the Townsend family, who lived at scadbury and Frognal and held the position of Lord of the Manor. Before the years of development following the arrival of the railways the Commons were regarded as open to the villagers and available for them to use for grazing of their livestock. Once building started here in earnest, the land became valuable. Huge swathes of common land in other parts of England were sold off as part of the enclosures, but in Chislehurst, due to the valiant efforts of local residents, the Commons were saved for public use with the passing of the Metropolitan Commons Supplemental Act in 1886. The Commons are maintained and preserved by the Trustees of the Commons as required by the Act.
The Commons extend south and west from the High Street, to the west of Royal Parade, and further south to include St Pauls Cray Common. Further south there are two other stretches of woodland open spaces preserved for the public; Petts Wood woodland, purchased in the 1920s as a result of public subscription, and given to the National Trust in 1927, and Hawkwood, given to the National Trust in 1957.
To the East, and south of Perry Street lies the large Scadbury Estate, purchased by the London Borough of Bromley in 1983 and saved as a public park after much uncertainty.
These green open spaces still need to be looked after and defended when necessary.
The Ponds - a dwindling feature
There are now only two ponds on the Commons, Prickend by the High Street and Rush Pond at the junction of Heathfield and Ashfield Lanes. There used to be at least four. Webster’s Pond at the junction of Kemnal Road and Ashfield Lane was a well known landmark, but this has been filled in and covered with trees and scrub. There is also the overflow pond on the Commons north of Bromley Road leading west from the War Memorial. Indeed, after prolonged wet weather, this pond re-emerges for a time. Both remaining ponds are under threat from a lower water table, and during dry weather Rush Pond can look very sad.
Why, since Chislehurst is on a hill, do we have ponds here at all? They were created from the excavation of pebbles from the Commons, which were in great demand for use for road making and concrete, and fed by springs in the soil. Indeed on old maps of the area, Rush Pond is described as a gravel pit. See below for information on the pebble beds. It is ironic that the actions of the Lord of the Manor, in allowing the excavation, which created the ponds, such an important feature of the Commons today, caused the public reaction which resulted in the Act of Parliament which saved them for our collective use.
There are only a few streams in Chislehurst. The Kyd Brook runs to the south of Chislehurst, and there are springs and wells throughout the area, due to the variety of different soils in Chislehurst.
The Geology of Chislehurst
The Commons, the Ponds and other natural features give plenty of evidence of the types of soil under our village:
London Clay is the topmost layer. Red Hill and White Horse Hill are good examples. At one stage there were brickworks on Red Hill working from the natural clay deposits there. Red Hill probably got its name from the high level of iron in London Clay which, when it is exposed to air and water, turns red.
Blackheath Pebble Beds are at the surface all over the Commons and the Woods. Look at areas where a tree has fallen down to see the pebbles under the topsoil. The Commons were under most threat from the excavation of the pebbles used for concrete making and the building of roads. The saving of the Commons under the 1816 Act also stopped the excavation.
Woolwich clay, loam and sand beds can be seen at Scadbury. These were used to make bricks and tiles, and were good for grazing and farming crops. The quality of the pasture land on the Scadbury Estate is superior to the Commons. It also tends to hold water.
Chalk beds are evident underneath Old Hill where a large seam comes close to the surface. Chalk is easily worked, and the Chislehurst Caves are remnants of the old mines and quarries for making chalk blocks for building. Chalk is also burned to make lime for cement, and mixed with sand to make mortar for bricklaying, added to clay to help make bricks, tiles and pipes; as chalk and lime it can be used to improve dry sandy and stiff sticky clay soils.
There are more than 20 miles of dark and mysterious passageways in the caves. They are entirely man made, and are know to have been worked for the extraction of chalk since at least 1250. They were being worked in the mid-19th Century, but since 1865 they have been used only as a tourist attraction, and a venue for concerts. During the Second World War they were used for shelter from air raids, and many families sheltered there on a regular basis. They are accessed from Old Hill.
Thanet sand beds are seen above the chalk in the old quarry at the bottom of Lubbock Road. The fine white sand is good for horticulture if chalk and clay are added to it. It can be used for casting moulds to make machine parts, bells, metal frames, etc.
Flint, which is also found in chalk, is man's oldest tool making material and has been used for building churches (St Nicholas is a good example) and is evident as a building material in a few local houses. It was also used for gunflints in the days before breech-loading guns.
Houses and People in Chislehurst
Scadbury Manor first appears in records around the 13th Century. It was first occupied by the De Scathebury family, who gave it their name. For many years it was the home of the Walsingham family. These included:
- Thomas Walsingham I, prosperous vintner of City of London;
- Sir Edmund Walsingham, Lieutenant of the Tower at time of Henry VIII,(look at his monument in St Nicholas Church);
- his brother William Walsingham, who held Foots Cray manor for a time, father of
- Francis Walsingham, Secretary of State to Queen Elizabeth, who founded the Elizabethan secret service and was probably born at Scadbury;
- Thomas Walsingham IV, knighted by Queen Elizabeth at Scadbury in 1597 (pictured on the Village Sign on Royal Parade) and friend and patron of Christopher Marlowe, poet, playwright (and probably a spy or courier).
Frognal became the home of the Townshend and Marsham-Townshend families, who became lords of the manor of Chislehurst, after the moated house was demolished in about 1738. The grounds of Scadbury still exist as a public park, and the remains of the moated house can be seen in the centre of the park. There was a later, Victorian, house by the moat, but this was destroyed by fire in 1976.
Camden Place still stands at the top of Summer Hill, and is now a golf club. It is originally an 18th Century development, which took its name from William Camden, the famous Elizabethan and Jacobean historian who lived in Chislehurst from 1609 and died here 1623. In 18th century Sir Charles Pratt, who became Lord Camden, took his title from the name of the house.
In mid-19th century it was owned by Nathaniel Strode, who completed the development of house in French chateau style as the home for the French Imperial family from 1870. Strode had known Napoleon III since the I840s.
Napoleon III was Emperor of France, the nephew of Napoleon Bonaparte, but was exiled in 1870 following the defeat of the French by the Prussians. He fled to Chislehurst, to Camden Place, which Strode had been keeping for such an eventuality. Napoleon III died here in 1873 and was buried at St Mary’s Church in a specially built chapel which you can still visit. His son, Louis, the Prince Imperial, was killed in Zululand in 1879. The Empress Eugenie was a friend of Queen Victoria. After the death of her son the Empress moved to Farnborough, Hampshire and built St Michael's Abbey there to house the remains of her husband and her son, which were removed from Chislehurst. Many names in the area reflect the royal connection - Royal Parade, Prince Imperial Road, and Eugenie Cottages are just three examples - and the original telephone exchange prefix for Chislehurst was IMP.
After Strode's death in 1889 the estate was purchased for development by William Willett, who conceived the idea of Daylight Saving. Fortunately most of the estate was retained as a golf club.
Coopers estate and house, was developed on land once owned by the Lord of the Manor, having been sold to Francis Cooper in 1730s. It stood alongside the Hawkwood estate. Botany Bay Lane marked the mutual boundary.
Hawkwood estate and house was developed from Man's farm. It was owned by the Edlmann family from mid-19th to mid-20th centuries. In the mid-20th century the Hawkwood estate eventually became National Trust property, and includes part of what was the Coopers estate.
Petts Wood.
As woodland, this appears to have belonged to William Pett, (will dated 1577), shipbuilder of Deptford and Woolwich. Samuel Pepys knew Phineas Pett, his son. The land was mostly within the old parish of Chislehurst. Parts of it were sold for development in 1920s and became the town of Petts Wood within Orpington Urban District. The railway line from Chislehurst to St Mary Cray became part of the boundary between Chislehurst & Sidcup UD and Orpington UD and a large area of undeveloped woodland remained within C&SUD. In the 1920s the threat of housing development led to a public campaign to purchase and preserve its use for local residents, and it became a National Trust property.
Churches in Chislehurst
The medieval church of St Nicholas has been on its present site for a thousand years, though rebuilt many times. St Mary's Church was built in the middle of the 19th Century. Church-going was an important part of social life in Victorian England, and the rise in middle class residents following the arrival of the railway required more churches - three new churches were built within a period of five years. Much of the cost of the new churches was funded by local residents. Here are some brief details of our six churches:
St Nicholas’ Church, Manor Park Road
Medieval Parish Church, with tower and broach spire. South aisle 1849. Scadbury Chapel with finely carved screen, circa 1460. Walsingham Tomb and many memorial tablets.
St Mary’s Roman Catholic Church, Crown Lane/Hawkwood Lane
1854 ragstone, Early English style, by William Wardell. Chapel 1874, by Henry Clutton, in French Gothic style. Memorials to Prince Imperial and Napoleon III. Fine rose window.
Church of the Annunciation, High Street
1868-1870 ragstone, in Early English style, by James Brooks; later work, including tower, by Edward J May, circa 1930. Interesting interior, wall paintings and mosaic. Spectacular view from Tower.
Methodist Church, Prince Imperial Road
1868-1870 ragstone, Early English style. Tall stone spire, rose window, apsidal chancel. Finely carved lectern by Sir George Hayter Chubb.
Christ Church, Lubbock Road
1872 ragstone, in Early English style, by Habershon and Pite. Contains some fine stained glass.
St Patrick’s Roman Catholic Church, Red Hill
1930 cinema converted to Church in 1961. Retains original tip-up seating. Projection room is now the organ loft.
Click here to see old images of five of our churches
Monuments of Chislehurst
There are a number of key monuments in Chislehurst:
- The War Memorial at the crossroads by Royal Parade was unveiled on Sunday 17th October 1920 by Lt Colonel F Edlmann, D.S.O. and the dedication was by the Rector of Chislehurst Rev. Canon Dawson. The memorial was designed by Sir Reginald Blomfield, R.A. and is about 8 metres tall and is similar to the traditional Imperial (later Commonwealth) War Graves Commission Cross and Sword of Sacrifice, seen in their cemeteries in many parts of the world. The Cross was made at the Torquay works of Messrs H.T. Jenkins & Son and the sword described as a `Crusader's Sword` was made by Mr Bainbridge Reynolds. The whole memorial was erected by a local firm Messrs T. Rider & Son. The memorial has the names inscribed of the 186 local men who died in the First World Work, and a further 65 who died in the Second World War. The inscription for the First World War reads: "IN PROUD AND GRATEFUL MEMORY OF THE MEN OF CHISLEHURST WHO FELL IN THE GREAT WAR 1914-1919" There is a more unusual wording for the Second World War: "THEY GAVE US PEACE BY THEIR WARFARE AND LIFE BY THEIR DEATH 1939-1945".
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A Water Tower stood at the top of Summer Hill for more than a hundred years. George Wythes built it in 1860 as a gateway to his new Bickley Park Estate, and above the pedestrian archway, on each face of the Tower, was his coat of arms, carved in stone. The Water Tower was demolished in 1963 when Chislehurst and Sidcup UDC decided, in the face of much local opposition that it needed to make way for easier traffic flow. The coats of arms were saved after the demolition, and one was incorporated in the Memorial that was eventually built, in 1975, at the top of Summer Hill, where the Tower once stood. Efforts are being made to restore or replace the crumbling monument. - The Willett Memorial in Willett Wood was erected by public subscription to honour the work of William Willett in introducing daylight saving legislation. He lived the last part of his life in Chislehurst, and was keenly aware of the wasted early daytime on summer mornings. He decided to campaign to change the clocks so that people rose earlier in the summer. He published a pamphlet "The Waste of Daylight" and by 1908 managed to gain the support of more than one MP. It was not until the outbreak of the First World War that many took it seriously, and eventually, on May 21 1916, the clocks of the nation were advanced by one hour. William died in 1915 and did not live to see his idea come to fruition.
- The Prince Imperial Monument at the western end of Prince Imperial Road was erected in 1881 after the death of Louis, the only son of Napoleon III, in Zululand in 1879. The Prince had attended the Royal Military Academy at Woolwich, and pressed for a commission to enable him to accompany his colleagues when they went to Zululand. His mother would not hear of it, but undeterred, he went out as an observer, wearing a British officer's uniform. He was killed in an ambush on 1 June 1879. Click here for more information.
- The Edlmann Stone sits besides one of the main paths in Petts Wood. It commemorates the saving of the woodland in 1927 by Colonel Francis Edlmann, whose family had lived in Hawkwood, and its final gift to the National Trust by Francesca and Robert Hall in 1957. The Stone was erected in 1958. In 2008, on the 50th anniversary of the Stone's dedication, it was rededicated at a ceremony attended by the The Mayor of Bromley, representatives of the National Trust, and local residents.
References
The following books provide more information and images about Chislehurst past and present. Many of them are in the local library. Those marked with an asterisk can be purchased from the Society. You may also be able to obtain them second hand; try www.abebooks.co.uk. If you cannot get them, ask the library staff for assistance, or contact us for more information.
- History of Chislehurst. EA Webb, 1899 (now out of print)
- Patchwork of the History of Chislehurst. Dorothy McCall (now out of print)
- The French Imperial Family in Chislehurst. John Mercer (now out of print)
- Imperial Chislehurst. T A Bushell (now out of print)
- Edwardian Chislehurst. Arthur Battle (now out of print)
- Discover Chislehurst. Darrell Spurgeon with Roy Hopper*
- A Walk from Sidcup to Chislehurst along the old road. Roy Hopper*
- Chislehurst in Camera. Pat Bushell
- 100 Years in the Wilderness. Tim Green (now out of print)
- Kemnal Road – a history. Tony Allen* (Click here to go the website)
- The Chislehurst Conservation Area. Mary Holt (Click here to download as a pdf file)
Other publications by the Society are shown on our publications page