Bromley
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Bromley is the principal town of the London Borough of Bromley and is listed as a metropolitan centre in the London Plan. It is a suburban development situated 9.3 miles (14.9 km) south east of Charing Cross.
The origin of the town's name is from Old English brōme-hlǣwe, or "broom hill", as supported by records of the name as Bramelewe in 1272. Other places with this name are from Old English brōme-leah meaning 'broom clearing' or wood clearing. Twinned with Neuwied, Germany.
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[edit] About the town
The town has a large shopping and retail area including a pedestrianised High Street and The Glades shopping centre. It is one of ten major metropolitan centres identified in the London Plan. The London Borough of Bromley Civic Centre is located in the town. The historic Wickham Court with its crow-stepped gable construction is located in Bromley. Bromley's main retail rival is Croydon, to the west.
There are two railway stations providing connections to the City and West End. Bromley South is located on the main line from Dover and is served by fast and local services to Victoria and Blackfriars. Bromley North is located at the southern end of a short branch line from Grove Park from where connections can be made for London Bridge, Cannon Street and London Charing Cross.
The town's football club Bromley F.C. are currently playing in the Conference South, which is the highest level of regionalised football in England, two divisions below the Football League.
It has a number of theatres, the most notable being the Churchill Theatre in the town centre and the Bromley Little Theatre close to Bromley North railway station.
[edit] Notable Residents
Judos Brian Jacks lives in Orpington, also European Boxing Champion Mark Baker lives in Orpington, Jimmy Cable European Boxing Champion, Mark Ripley of bare knuckle fame and Jonny Love Mark was mentioned in Bartley Gomans book, aslo World Thai Boxing Champion Keiran Keddle and Alan Keddle who run the infamous keddles and have been on TV and countless martial art mags,aslo Danny Kalfman British boxing Champion went to Ramsden school, and Darren Jackson,has been on TV and many martial art magazines[[1]]aslo went to Ramsden.[[2]][[3]] Now lives in Maidstone.
H. G. Wells, most famous for his novel,The War of the Worlds, was born in Bromley in 1866. In August 2005, the wall honouring H.G Wells in Market Square was repainted. The current wall painting features a rich green background with the same H.G Wells reference and the evolution sequence of homosapiens featured on Origin of Species by Charles Darwin (a former resident of nearby Downe).
Bromley and its neighbouring suburbs provide the setting for the Hanif Kureshi novel The Buddha of Suburbia.
Richard Reid, the shoe bomber was born in Bromley.
Sir Thomas James Harper a decorated officer in the Crimean war, hailed from Bromley.
Bromley is also known for "The Bromley Contingent", who were a group of followers and fans of the Sex Pistols including Siouxsie Sioux, Sid Vicious and Billy Idol (Idol's mother still lives in Bromley) who also went on to become famous.
Actor Michael York, best known for roles in Cabaret, Jesus Of Nazareth and all three Austin Powers films, lived in Bromley and attended Bromley Grammar School, now The Ravensbourne School.
Other famous people who lived in Bromley include David Bowie and Peter Frampton who both went to Bromley Technical [High School (now known as The Ravenswood School), Aleister Crowley, who had stayed shortly to study Freemasonry in Locksbottom, the England cricketer Jill Cruwys, the anarchist Peter Kropotkin, the former Clash drummer Topper Headon, McLaren test driver Gary Paffett, and fellow racing driver, and 2006 British Formula Three champion Mike Conway, who is currently racing in the GP2 series and is also a test driver for the Honda F1 team. The children's author Enid Blyton also lived for a time in the borough, opposite Shortlands Library. Bill Wilkinson also lives in bromley, a famous love poet. Steve Allen (LBC radio presenter) was born in Bromley in 1954. Sir George Martin and jazz guitarist Billy Jenkins both attended Bromley Grammar School (now the Ravensbourne School).
Kym Scott, star of The Learning Environment, Teachers TV, lives in Bromley.
Daniel Woodgate of the Ska band Madness worked at Hayes School in Bromley, and currently lives in Beckenham, Bromley.
[edit] References In Pop Culture
- In the Monty Python's Flying Circus episode 'Spam', the Green Midget Café in the 'Spam' sketch was located in Bromley.
- In Bert Fegg's Nasty Book for Boys and Girls, in a section entitled The Wonderful World of Nature, there are descriptions of several fictional animals including the "West Bromley Fighting Haddock" (in reality there is no such district as "West Bromley").
- In the famous Rik Mayall and Adrian Edmondson sit-com Bottom, the episode 'Hole' includes a rather humorous reference to Bromley. Stuck at the top of a ferris wheel and shouting down to the fun-fair workers, Mayall's character Richie, in an attempt to convey a veneer of belligerence, shouts out: 'Now look here. I used to live in Bromley. And that's a pretty wild place! And I picked up one or two tips on punch-ups while I was down there.' The reference is a rather satirical one in which the two comedians gently mock the pretentious nature of the conservative suburban London town.
- In Jane Austen's most enduringly popular novel Pride and Prejudice (1813) there is a reference to Bromley in chapter XIV of Volume 2. Lady Catherine, talking to Mrs Collins, says: 'Where shall you change horses? Oh! Bromley, of course. If you mention my name at The Bell, you will be attended to.' The Bell public house in Bromley no longer exists since it was converted into a contemporary bar called 'Sky' in late 2005. This had since shut down, in 2007 and has now been replaced by another Bar, named 'Bromleys', but the sign of the Royal Bell are still visible on the stones on the front of the building.
- Guitarist Billy Jenkins has recorded two albums entitled Sounds Like Bromley and Still Sounds Like Bromley (Babel).
- Malaysian folk singer, Sohaimi Mior Hassan who studied in UK in the early 80's, recorded a poignant love song called 'Epilog Cinta Dari Bromley' (Love Epilogue From Bromley). It was a big hit in the early 80's in the Malay music world.
- Biggin Hill Airport, a small private former-RAF airfield in the borough, was a setting in Dan Brown's bestselling thriller novel The Da Vinci Code, and the film of the same name.
[edit] Nearest places
- Anerley
- Beckenham
- Bickley
- Chislehurst
- Downham
- Hayes
- Grove Park
- Orpington
- Petts Wood
- Penge
- Lee Green
- Shortlands
[edit] Nearest railway stations
[edit] External links
- London Borough of Bromley Homepage
- Young Bromley - A place for young people in Bromley to share views and ideas.
- Bromley Community Directory
- Speakers of Bromley Speakers Club
London Borough of Bromley | ||
|---|---|---|
| Districts | Anerley · Beckenham · Bickley · Biggin Hill · Bromley · Bromley Common · Chislehurst · Downe · Elmstead · Farnborough · Hayes · Keston · Mottingham · Orpington · Penge · Petts Wood · Pratt's Bottom · Shortlands · Southborough · St Mary Cray · St Paul's Cray · West Wickham | Image:Arms-bromley-lb.jpg |
| Attractions | Bromley Museum · Chislehurst Caves · Churchill Theatre · Crofton Roman Villa · Crystal Palace · Down House | |
| Constituencies | ||
| Parks and open spaces in Bromley | ||
hi:ब्रॉमली nl:Bromley no:Bromley
