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A timeline history of Beckenham with prints, photographs and maps.
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Beckenham is on the London-Kent border by the river Beck. The origin of the
name is from Old English and probably meant Beohha's village.


Medieval Beckenham

1086 Beckenham spelt Bacheham in Domesday Book.
Beckenham Manor covered modern Beckenham and Shortlands.

C12
St George's Church built.

C13
Part of old manor house remains from Middle Ages (now council offices).

C13
Lynchgate built for St George¹s Church (oldest in England?).
Manor lands were split up in Middle Ages to form large estates including
Langley and Kelsey. Kelsey Park remains and has river Beck running though it.

C14
New St George's Church built.


Stuart Beckenham

1662 Earliest date for the George (Coaching inn).

1694
Rawlins Almshouse built in Bromley Road (reconstructed in 1881).


Georgian Beckenham

c1723 Red brick mansion built in and located near Beckenham Road (now occupied by the Leisure Centre). 1782 the seat of Joseph Cator (1733-1818) brother of John Cator. Became known as Clockhouse after the large turret clock on its stable block.



1773
Beckenham Place built



C18 Copers Cope House built on Southend Road (still in existence).


Victorian Beckenham

1850s Large Italianate houses built on Southend Road.

1857
Beckenham Junction railway station built for Mid Kent Railway.

1865
Watermill built on Southend Road (still in existence).

1866
New Beckenham Station built on Lennard Road.

1881
Rawlins Almshouse reconstructed on Bromley Road.



1883 Public Hall built by George Vigers on Bromley Road in Arts & Crafts style.

1887
St George’s rebuilt by W. Gibbs Bartleet (1829-1906)

1888
Print of Beckenham Road



1890 Clock House station opened nearby to Clock House.

1892 Beckenham Hill station opened.

1896 Old Clock House mansion demolished. Clock moved by the Cator family to the stable buildings at Beckenham Place (until damaged in a fire in 2011).
Edwardian Beckenham

1903 Tower completed on St George¹s Church.

1910s Photo of Railway Hotel (destroyed in WW2, now Beckenham Green)



1913
Langley Park mansion burnt down.


Interwar Beckenham

1921 Beckenham War Memorial completed on start of High Street. Designed by designed by Newbury Abbot Trent (1885-1953)

1928 Chinese Garage Langley Roundabout built by Edmund B. Clark in the style of a Japanese pagoda on land adjoining Stone Park Farm which was part of the Langley Court Estate.

1929 film of Chinese Garage

1930 Regal cinema opened at 296 High Street. Designed by Robert Cromie (1887-1971?).



1931 Beckenham County School for Boys moved to High Street, Penge.

1932 Town hall built on Church Avenue. Designed by Lanchester, Lucas and Lodge.

1937 St Edmund (RC) consecrated, Village Way.

1939 Beckenham Library opened on Beckenham Road (railings later used in war effort).


WW2 Beckenham

1944 2nd August at 13.02 a V1 Flying bomb hit a restaurant crowded  with people lunching in arestaurant on the west side of Beckenham Road south of the rail bridge. 44 people were killed, many instantly and many badly injured. As well as the restaurant huge destruction was caused to the shops and houses which lined the road. The blast extended in each direction and the Prince Arthur pub on corner of Churchfields Road was destroyed too.
Beckenham County School for Boys became the Beckenham and Penge County Grammar School


Postwar Beckenham

1947 Future Rolling Stone Bill Wyman (b. 1936) attended Beckenham and Penge County Grammar School.

1950 Peter Frampton born in Beckenham.

1960
West Oak house built by Eric Lyon on The Avenue.

1965
Beckenham became part of Greater London.

1969
: David Bowie (1947-2016) moved to Flat 7, Haddon Hall, 42 Southend Road, Beckenham (demolished).
Started Beckenham Arts Club at Three Tuns, 157 High Street, Beckenham



Beckenham and Penge County Grammar School moved to Eden Park as the Langley Park School for Boys.

1972
: David Bowie left Beckenham after success of Ziggy Stardust album.

1992 Old Beckenham Town hall demolished.

2000 Tramlink to Croydon & Wimbledon opened.


Book list:

Manors and Estates of Old Beckenham - H. Rob Copeland. (1967)
The Village of Old Beckenham- H. Rob Copeland. (1970)
Early History of Beckenham - Len Hevey (F Cartet 1997)
Beckenham - Eric Inman & Nancy Tonkin (1993 Phillimore



Bill Wyman 

David Bowie - The South London Years

Peter Frampton

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