Beckenham - Once A Tiny Village

Once a tiny almost entirely rural village, Beckenham is now completely taken over by suburban London and is nestled in the Borough of Bromley. The town is mentioned in the Domesday Book, however it is likely that its origins are far earlier than that as archaeological evidence indicates the presence of very early settlement. The north part of the town is the oldest, being the original village, with the Ravensbourne River flowing towards it at its eastern edge. This village was surrounded by three great estates, namely Kelsey, Langley and Beckenham Park. The river Beck, named for the town rather than the other way around, transects the town before later joining the Ravensbourne. The geography of the area is such that it is made up of numerous small hills, being situated on an out crop of marine, fossil-containing London Clay.

Beckenham is an excellent business location as it is well served by public transport, in particular no less than 8 rail stations and a tram line, as well as by main road routes the A222, A234 and A2015. There are numerous bus routes which radiate out from the town's rather short high street. The high street itself is bustling and has many independent shops, upmarket chains, restaurants and several good schools. Several large companies have their headquarters here, including Proper Records and Vizual. There are several landmarks of interest in Beckenham, one of which is the unusual pagoda-style 'Chinese Garage' car dealership, which is now listed. There is also plenty of historical character, with a 13th century lynch gate, one of England's oldest; an alms-house dating to 1694; and Saint Georges Church that was originally built in 1100 and extensively rebuilt in the 19th century. Two public houses, Three Tuns and the Old George Inn, dating back to the 17th century and in Kelsey Park there are 200 year old lodge cottages that are all that has survived on the great estate. Beckenham town centre is an odd mismatch of 200 to 300 year old period buildings and 1940s to 1960s constructions.

There are several centres for religious worship throughout the town, as well as St Georges there are three Anglican churches, as well as Baptist, Roman Catholic and Methodist churches. Beckenham has some very good primary and secondary schools, a psychiatric hospital and a minor treatment clinic. With its open spaces, parks and sporting grounds, Beckenham is a popular place for leisure and many people come to the town from across Bromley and even further afield, to avail themselves of its facilities. On the cultural front, the town has a museum and a theatre, several societies and leisure organisations, a grade-II listed cinema and a successful concert wind band. A popular dance and music festival is held here annually during November. Interestingly there are a number of famous people with a connection to the town of Beckenham and these include the comedian Bob Monkhouse, David Bowie (who lived here), Julie Andrews, Simon Ward and Maurice Denham. There are other towns of Beckenham across the world and the towns of Beckenham in New Zealand and Australia were directly named for London's Beckenham.