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Bexleyheath

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Template:Pp Template:Use dmy dates Template:Use British English Template:Infobox UK place Bexleyheath is a town in southeast London, England, in the London Borough of Bexley. It had a population of approximately 15,600 in 2021<ref name=":0">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and is Template:Convert southeast of Charing Cross. It is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in London.<ref name="london_plan_f08">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Its post town takes in other surrounding neighbourhoods, including Barnehurst, West Heath and Upton.Template:Efn

HistoryEdit

For most of its history, Bexley heath was heath land. The Romans built a road through the heath, Watling Street, which connected Londinium (London) to Dubris (Dover). This Roman road still marks the spine of Bexley new town.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Rp

18th and 19th centuriesEdit

File:Philip Webb's Red House in Upton.jpg
Rear of Red House, Bexleyheath

In the early 19th century, Bexley heath was a broad rough pasture and scrubland with few buildings. Its windmill stood to the north east, where Erith and Mayplace Roads now meet.Template:R In 1766 Sir John Boyd had Danson House built in his enclosed land ("park").<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The core of this remains as Danson Park between the southern halves of Bexleyheath and Welling. In 1814 most of the rest of what was Bexley heath, north of Bexley, became enclosed (privatised) with a fund of money given in compensation to trustees for the poor of the parish.<ref name="McKeon2012">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>Template:Rp

In 1859 architect Philip Webb designed Red House for artist, reforming designer and socialist William Morris on the western edge of the heath, in the hamlet of Upton—before Upton became a suburb. The National Trust acquired the house in 2003. Morris wanted to have a "Palace of Art" in which he and his friends could enjoy producing works of art. The house is of red brick with a steep tiled roof and an emphasis on natural materials. It is in a brick-and-tile style to resemble cumulative generational additions. Its layout and geometrics are non-uniform and it is recognised and protected with highest category (Grade I) listed building status as it is avant-garde to influential Arts and Crafts architecture. Morris lived with wife Jane in the house for five years, during which time their two daughters, Jenny and May, were born. Needing to sell the house in 1865 to economise, Morris vowed never to return to it; he said that to see the house again would be more than he could bear.Template:R

File:Orchard House, Bexleyheath (01).jpg
The early to mid 19th century, Grade II listed Orchard House in Bexleyheath

Bexleyheath's parish church, Christ Church, dates from 1841; and the ecclesiastical parish from 1866; the building of the current church finished in 1877.Template:R Alfred Bean, railway engineer and one-time owner of Danson House, furthered the development of Bexleyheath as a London suburb by championing the Bexleyheath Line in the 1880s to support the growth of estates around Danson Park.Template:Citation needed

20th centuryEdit

The clock tower at the centre of the modern shopping area, built in 1912, commemorates the coronation of King George VTemplate:R and the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II in 2012 when a bust of the Queen was installed.<ref name="Clocktower">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

The area was part of the historic county of Kent until the creation of Greater London in 1965, at which point Bexleyheath became the administrative base of the newly established London Borough of Bexley.<ref name="legislation1963">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The town centre shops and road layout were redeveloped in the 1980s and 1990s. The latter decade saw the pedestrianisation of the road adjacent to the shopping centre having built two minor bypass roads, Arnsburg Way and Albion Way.Template:Citation needed

DemographicsEdit

According to the 2021 census from the ONS, Bexleyheath has a population of roughly 15,600, 21.8% of which are aged 65+, above the borough average of 16.5%. The largest ethnic group is White at 78.2%, higher than the borough average of 71.9%, with the second largest being Asian/Asian British at 10.7%. The largest religious group is Christianity at 49.7% of the population, followed by No religion at 33.8%, roughly the same as the borough average.<ref name=":0" />

Town centreEdit

File:The clocktower on Bexleyheath Broadway.jpg
The Clocktower in the main shopping street
File:End of The Broadway, Bexleyheath (geograph 1955254).jpg
Bexley Civic Offices

The vast majority of restaurants and eateries are on Broadway. The south side of the central, pedestrianised section of Broadway hosts Broadway Shopping Centre, a covered example completed in 1984, and a substantial supermarket four years later,Template:Efn as in other urban places including New Towns. A cinema stands to the east facing a medium-sized supermarket.

A renovation in 2008 on "The Mall" gave the centre a more modern interior. The appending of "Bexleyheath Square" took place in the early 2000s, more retail units. Much of this investment provides local competition to Bluewater Shopping Centre, Template:Convert east in Greenhithe, Kent.

The statue outside the Broadway Centre is "Family Outing" by local artist John Ravera; it was commissioned by Norwich Union and unveiled in 1985.<ref>Public Monument and Sculpture Association National Recording Project, [1] (Accessed: 28 November 2011)</ref>

In May 2009 a major redevelopment scheme was approved by the local council following public consultation. This involved the redevelopment of the Bexley council buildings. The magistrates' court was to move to a new building where the library stands, which would be incorporated into the new development of 300 new homes. The work did not proceed as the shopping centre was sold.

In work commencing 2012, the Borough's Civic Offices were converted from the former main office of The Woolwich, which had been vacant seven years.<ref name=bexleytimes>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> For the resultant vacant site in June 2018, housebuilder Bellway was approved to build 518 homes, of which 110 affordable. The development will include Bexleyheath's tallest building (13 storeys), public realm improvements and offices/retail.<ref name="Morby-27Jun2018">Template:Cite news</ref>

Given cumulative retail investment, Bexleyheath draws many customers particularly from Erith, Thamesmead, Plumstead and Woolwich which adjoin the River Thames.

Leisure and cultureEdit

Bexleyheath has leisure facilities including the Edward Alderton Theatre, Cineworld cinema, hotel, the Central Library, Bexley Local Studies and Archive Centre, five-a-side football centre, bingo hall and ten-pin bowling alley (Ten Pin).

Bexleyheath and Belvedere Hockey Club are based in Welling, but play some home matches at Erith School.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Cultural events include regular concerts by the Sidcup Symphony Orchestra held in the hall of Townley Grammar School. The town's theatre, founded in 1976, produces many amateur productions.Template:Citation needed

EducationEdit

Bexleyheath has eight primary schools and four secondary schools.

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Name Type Mix Status Enrollment
Barrington Primary Mixed Academy 210
Brampton Primary Primary Mixed Academy 420
Bursted Wood Primary Mixed Academy 630
Crook Log Primary Mixed Community School 413
Gravel Hill Primary Mixed Academy 420
Pelham Primary Mixed Academy 420
St Thomas More RC Primary Mixed Voluntary Aided 420
Upland Primary Mixed Academy 420
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Name Type Mix Status Enrollment
Bexleyheath Academy Secondary Mixed Academy 1144
St Catherine's Catholic School for Girls Secondary Girls Voluntary Aided 1015
St Columba's Catholic Boys' School Secondary Boys Voluntary Aided 815
Townley Grammar School Secondary Girls Grammar 1631

Places of worshipEdit

File:Trinity Baptist Church, Bexleyheath - geograph.org.uk - 980031.jpg
Trinity Baptist Church, Bexleyheath

There are 15 churches in Bexleyheath:<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

  • Bethany Hall, Chapel Road, Bexleyheath
  • Bexleyheath Community Church, Lyndhurst Chapel, Lyndhurst Road
  • Bexleyheath United Reformed Church, Geddes Place
  • Christ Church (Church of England), Broadway
  • Bexleyheath Methodist Church, Broadway
  • Trinity Baptist Church, Broadway
  • St John Vianney Roman Catholic Church, Heathfield Road
  • St Peters (Church of England), Pickford Lane
  • St Thomas More Roman Catholic Church, Long Lane
  • The Salvation Army, Lion Road
  • Bexley Christian Life Centre (Pentecostal), Rowan Road
  • Pantiles Methodist Church, Hurlingham Road
  • Grace Baptist Church, Albion Road
  • Christ Apostolic Church, Welling (CAC) Dove House
  • Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses, Upland Road

TransportEdit

RailEdit

The town is served by Bexleyheath railway station, Template:Convert northwest of the centre on Station Road. The station is on the Bexleyheath Line, the middle of three lines connecting London and Dartford. Rail services connect the station to London Victoria via Peckham Rye, London Charing Cross, London Cannon Street, Barnehurst, Gravesend and Dartford.

BusesEdit

Bexleyheath is an important hub for Transport for London bus services. There are services connecting it with Bromley, Crayford, Dartford, Eltham, Erith, Lewisham, North Greenwich, Orpington, Sidcup, Thamesmead, Welling and Woolwich.

Notable residentsEdit

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  • Harry Baker (1990–), footballer, born in Bexleyheath<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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  • Stephanie Brind (1977–), professional squash player, born in Bexleyheath and lived on Chieveley Road<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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  • Jimmy Bullard (1978–), Premiership football player<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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  • Hall Caine (1853–1931), author, lived in Aberleigh Lodge, Bexleyheath from 1884 to 1889 next door to Red House.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Aberleigh Lodge was demolished in the 1970s.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

  • David Daniels (1942–), cricketer, born in Bexleyheath<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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  • Frank Farmer (1912–2004), physicist, pioneer in developing medical applications for physics, born in Bexleyheath<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
  • Colin Gill (1892–1940), artist, born in Bexleyheath<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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|CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>1881 United Kingdom census {{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> House, Main Road (Crook Log).

  • Neal Lawson (1963–), politician and commentator, grew up and went to school in Bexleyheath<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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  • Lenny McLean (1949–98), actor, bouncer, bare-knuckle boxer and 'hardest man in Britain', lived in Bexleyheath in later life<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
  • Jo Malone (1963–), perfumer and businesswoman.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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  • William Morris (1834–96) lived in Red House for much of his life, when Bexleyheath was mostly countryside<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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  • Andy Townsend (1963–), professional footballer, grew up in Bexleyheath, attended Bexleyheath School<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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References and footnotesEdit

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External linksEdit

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