Bromley

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For other uses, see Bromley (disambiguation).

Location
Bromley


OS grid reference:	TQ405695
Latitude:	51.407041°
Longitude:	0.021022°
Administration
London borough:	Bromley
County level:	Greater London
Region:	London
Constituent country:	England
Sovereign state:	United Kingdom
Other
Ceremonial county:	Greater London
Historic county:	Kent (1965)
Services
Police force:	Metropolitan Police
Fire brigade:	London Fire Brigade
Ambulance service:	London Ambulance
Post office and telephone
Post town:	BROMLEY
Postal district:	BR1
Dialling code:	020
Politics
UK Parliament:	Bromley & Chislehurst
London Assembly:	Bexley and Bromley
European Parliament:	London
London \| List of places in London

Bromley is the principal town in the London Borough of Bromley, England. It is a suburban development situated 9.3 miles (14.9 km) south east of London 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.

1 About the town
2 Notable Residents
3 Nearest places:
4 Nearest stations
5 See Also
6 External Links

[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.

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 Isthmian League Premier Division.

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

H. G. Wells, most famous for his book The War of the Worlds, was born in Bromley. 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.

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).

Other famous people who lived in Bromley include David Bowie who went to Ravens Wood School for Boys, Peter Frampton who went to Beckenham Technical School (which Bowie also attended), 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. The childrens author Enid Blyton also lived for a time in the borough, opposite Shortlands Library.