Local Roads and Place Names.

On a map published in 1890 there appeared a field named “Bushey Ten Acres” through which now runs BUSHEY WAY. STONE PARK AVENUE was named after Stone Fanny. Old maps of Shortlands show Kings Wood and Toots Wood. Just off KINGSWOOD ROAD were traces of a Roman Camp, shown on maps as recent as 1890. The house was called ‘Romanhurst’ and today we have in that neighbourhood KINGSWOOD ROAD and AVENUE, ROMANHURST GARDENS, CELTIC AVENUE, DRUIDS WAY, HENGIST WAY and TOOTSWOOD ROAD, many with Roman associations.

None of the residents at Shortlands seems to have been remembered in any road names. Oakwood House at one time belonged to a Dr. Scott, of Bromley; SCOTTS LANE, therefore, was the lane leading to the doctor’s house.

At Village Place in the High Street, after Richard Lea, Col. Samuel Wilson took possession. LEA ROAD is off Fairfield Road, and VILLAGE WAY was once just a lane leading to Village Place. The Old Manor House in Bromley Road only gave us MANOR ROAD and GROVE, COURT DOWNS ROAD, DOWNS ROAD, and BEVINGTON ROAD, named after Col. Bevington who once resided at the Manor House.

Occupiers of the former Elmer Lodge, now in Dunbar Avenue, were Raymond (of Langley), Adams and Goddard, and their names have been remembered on the Municipal Housing Estate at EImers End. And at EImers End, in addition to Eden and Langley Roads we have GWYDOR ROAD, near EImers End Station. This may well be a mis-spelling of Gwydir.

ANCASTER ROAD derived from the fact that a daughter of the Duke of Ancaster married Lord Gwydir, of Langley; and a daughter of Lord Perth married the second Lord Gwydir; PERTH ROAD is off Oakwood Avenue. Incidentally DUNBAR AVENUE, HAMPDEN ROAD and AVENUE, are said to have associations with CROMWELL, while KIMBERLEY and MACKENZIE ROADS have associations with the Boer War.

CRAMPTON ROAD, which is partly in the old Beckenham area, has associations with the building of the Penge Tunnel, while on the Birkbeck Estate people associated with the Land Society leave their names in such roads as RAVENSCROFT ROAD, BIRKBECK ROAD, SULTAN STREET, ARROL, BLANDFORD, CLEMENT, SEWARD and VILLIERS ROADS.

FORSTER ROAD was named after our local M.P. in 1892, Mr. Forster representing the Sevenoaks Division of which Beckenham was then a part. He lived at Southend, Catford. When the Shortlands Housing Estate was developed after the first World War Councilor Dykes was Chairman of the Housing Committee and his name was used for DYKES WAY on that estate. C.A. Elgood was Chairman of the Local Education Committee and gave his name to the ELGOOD PLAYING FIELD, in Manor Way, the site of the present Kelsey Park School. Also on the Education Committee were Miss MARIAN VIAN and Rev. R. STEWART FLEMING whose names have been given to two of our local schools.

Many of the recent blocks of Council Flats and Houses have been given names of local celebrities, including former Mayors and Aldermen of Beckenham, and members of the N.F.S. who died while on Active Service. And in Langley Road we have STADDON CLOSE (C. Eric Staddon was our former Town Clerk, and Mrs. S. Staddon is a J.P, whikle off Greenways, where a new rd was formed, we have THORNTON DENE, the Thornton family having many associations with Beckenham Past and Present.

Another block of Council Flats in Upper EImers End Road has names of some of the former Lords of the Manor:- BOLINBROKE and Ie BRUN:

BRANDRAM (Rector in 1838) CADE (The Village Schoolmaster of 1750) and BERNEY (whose daughter married a Style in the 16th century).

And still the process goes on. With the rapid development of Courts and Closes new names appear, almost without notice!