Orpington

For the breed of chicken see Orpington (chicken).

Template:Infobox London place Orpington is a place in the London Borough of Bromley. It is a suburban development located 13.3 miles (21.4 km) south east of Charing Cross.

Retail and commerce

The High Street and adjacent Walnuts Shopping Centre contain a wide selection of high-street shops. There is a general market located in front of Orpington College, three days a week. Planning permission has been granted (in 2005) to demolish a multistorey car park at the south end of the High Street, and replace it with a large Tesco supermarket. The industrial estate on Cray Avenue and Sevenoaks Way in St Mary Cray contains larger retail outlets. A major rebuild is currently (2006) taking place. There is a wide selection of restaurants in Orpington.

Leisure

The Walnuts Leisure Centre [1], just east of the High Street, has a six lane, 33.3 metre indoor swimming pool which is home to Orpington Ojays Swimming Club [2] which competes at county, district and national level. Other facilities include squash courts and gym with sauna and steam room as well as a sports hall used for activities such as badminton, basketball and fitness classes.

There are two other local leisure centres: one at the Priory School [3], which has a floodlit synthetic pitch for hockey and football, 3 outdoor tennis courts, 2 netball courts, 4 outdoor cricket nets, and a sports hall, gymnasium/fitness suite and dance studio. The other is a members only health club on Sandy Lane called Dragons Health club. [4]

There are rugby, football and cricket pitches in Goddington Park. Orpington has a football club [5] based here.

Set back from the High Street and near to the historic parish church, Orpington has a large and well-used public library [6], set in attractive grounds: Priory Gardens. The Priory itself contains Bromley Museum [7].

History

Like much of suburban London, until the 1870s, Orpington was a small country village surrounded by soft fruit farms, hopfields and orchards.

Coming of the railway

The South Eastern Railway arrived in 1868, linking Orpington to central London and Sevenoaks. Housing development began on a small scale on the Knoll. The line was widened and Orpington railway station was rebuilt in 1904, expanding to six platforms. The resulting improvement in rail services lead to an acceleration in housing development, and hundreds of houses were built in the 1920s and 30s. The population rose from 5,000 in 1911 to 25,000 in 1931, and 49,500 in 1939. Development was brought to a halt by the second world war.

Second World War

In World War II the town suffered incendiary bomb damage and, later, V-1 and V-2 attacks because of its location on the flightpath to London and also its proximity to Biggin Hill aerodrome which was an important airbase for Spitfire and Hurricane fighters in the Battle of Britain. The last British civilian killed by German bombing was Mrs Ivy Millichamp, 34, who was killed in her home at 88 Kynaston Road, Orpington on 27 March 1945, by a V-2.

After 1945

After the war, a large estate of council housing was built at Ramsden, but Green Belt legislation has limited further expansion to the east and south. As a result, suburban semi-detached houses incongruously adjoin open fields.

Politics

From 1894 to 1934 Orpington formed part of the Bromley Rural District of Kent. The rural district was abolished in 1934 and until 1965 Orpington formed part of the Orpington Urban District. In 1965 the urban district was abolished and its area transferred to Greater London. It became part of the present-day London Borough of Bromley.

Politically, the Orpington constituency is famous for its 1962 by-election. A shock win by Eric Lubbock of the Liberal Party spelt the beginning of the end for the Conservative Macmillan government.

Fame

Orpington chicken

Orpington is known for the "Buff", "Black" and "Speckled" chickens bred locally by William Cook in the 1890s. The Buff Orpington can still be seen at Tripes Farm, Chelsfield Lane.

Orpington car

The Orpington Car, built by Frank Smith & Jack Milroy at their works in Wellington Road, was shown at the 1920 Motor Show. It was a two-seater convertible, with a dickey seat, and a 10 horsepower (7 kW) engine. Although briefly successful, Smith and Milroy could not compete with mass production, and the last car was built in 1925. Unfortunately, there are no surviving examples.

Famous residents

Charles Darwin, in nearby Downe
Gary Rhodes

Places of interest

The art deco tower at Allied Bakery is a local landmark.
Crofton Roman Villa

Parish Church

The Parish Church, "All Saints", stands upon pre-Norman foundations. Mentioned in the Domesday Book, it is Early English in style, but some Saxon work is visible. It was endowed by the Archbishop of Canterbury in 1173. The tower and steeple were damaged by a storm in 1771. The rebuilt steeple was struck by lightning in 1809, and it was not replaced. The church was greatly enlarged in 1957.

Orpington Priory

Orpington Priory is a fine example of a medieval 'hall house'. In 1032, Eadsy, chaplain to King Cnut, gave his estate at Orpedingetune to Christ Church Priory, Canterbury. The first Rector of Orpington, Hugh de Mortimer, held court here in 1270. The house was rebuilt, this time of stone, in 1290, and added to in 1393 and 1471. In the 17th century the house ceased to be a rectory and passed into private ownership - a timber framed extension was added, which no longer exists. The house was acquired by Orpington Urban District Council in 1947, and now it houses a museum and a public library. The garden forms an attractive public park, and contains a natural pond which is the source of the River Cray.

Orpington Hospital

During the first world war a large military hospital was built south-east of the station, funded by the government of Ontario, Canada. Now called Orpington Hospital it had, up until a few years a go a working A&E department, but now only caters for outpatients. The nearest A&E is Queen Mary's, Sidcup, or Princess Royal University Hospital, Farnborough.

Hewitt's Farm

Orpington is home to Hewitt's Farm. It is a large "pick your own" fruit business is all that remains of what was a major farming enterprise. After a failed attempt to get planning permission for an out-of-town shopping centre in the 1990s, much of the land is now an 18 hole golf course, Chelsfield Lakes Golf Centre. The old barn, which was used to sell locally grown produce, has been turned into a showroom for a furnishings company.

Education

Newstead Wood School for Girls
St Olave's Grammar School moved here from Southwark in 1968.
The Priory School [8]
Darrick Wood School [9]
Orpington College, the tallest building in the town

Transport

Orpington railway station is a transport hub served by South Eastern Trains services to Charing Cross, Cannon Street and Victoria stations.

Orpington is also a major hub on the London Bus network and is served by routes to Sidcup, Chislehurst, Bromley, Lewisham, New Addington, Chelsfield, Green Street Green, Farnborough, Cudham, Downe, Knockholt, Halstead, and Biggin Hill.

Nearest places

External links

Bromley London Borough Council - Orpington town centre Accessed on 1 February 2006
Orpington Town Talk - Local sites of interest Accessed 1 February 2006
Orpington and District Archaelogical Society

References

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