Bexleyheath, Greater London, England, United Kingdom

History | Eighteenth and nineteenth centuries | History : 20th century | Town centre | Leisure and culture | Education | Places of worship | Transport : Rail : Bus

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Bexleyheath is a town in south-east London, England, located in the historic county of Kent. Bexleyheath is located 12 miles south-east of Charing Cross, and forms part of the London Borough of Bexley. It is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in London. Its wider definition is that of a small post town that takes in other surrounding neighbourhoods, including Barnehurst, much of West Heath and the former hamlet of Upton.

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History 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.

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Eighteenth and nineteenth centuries 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. In 1766 Sir John Boyd had Danson House built in his enclosed land ("park"). 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.

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.

Bexleyheath's parish church, Christ Church, dates from 1841; and the ecclesiastical parish from 1866; the building of the current church finished in 1877. 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.

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History: 20th century The clock tower at the centre of the modern shopping area, built in 1912, commemorates the coronation of King George V and the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II in 2012 when a bust of the Queen was installed.

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. 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.

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Town centre 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, 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, 5+1⁄2 miles (8.9 km) 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.

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. 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.

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

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Leisure and culture 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.

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.

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Education Bexleyheath has eight primary schools and four secondary schools.

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Places of worship There are 15 churches in Bexleyheath: • 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

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Transport: Rail The town is served by Bexleyheath railway station, 3⁄4 kilometre (0.5 mi) north-west 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.

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Transport: Bus 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.

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Bexleyheath, Greater London, England, United Kingdom 
<b>Bexleyheath, Greater London, England, United Kingdom</b>
Image: PAUL FARMER

Bexleyheath has a population of over 31,929 people. Bexleyheath also forms one of the centres of the wider Bexley District which has a population of over 248,287 people. It is also a part of the larger Greater London area. Bexleyheath is situated 3 km north of Bexley.

To set up a UBI Lab for Bexleyheath see: https://www.ubilabnetwork.org Twitter: https://twitter.com/UBILabNetwork

Text Atribution: Wikipedia Text under CC-BY-SA license

  • William Gerald St. John Cogswell |

    🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Architect William Gerald St. John Cogswell is associated with Bexleyheath. He was elected an Associate of the Royal Institute of British Architects (ARIBA) in 1901.

Antipodal to Bexleyheath is: -179.862,-51.459

Locations Near: Bexleyheath 0.138,51.459

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Welling 0.11,51.459 d: 2  

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Bexley 0.133,51.417 d: 4.7  

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 South London 0.1,51.5 d: 5.3  

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Bankside 0.1,51.5 d: 5.3  

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Woolwich 0.083,51.483 d: 4.7  

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Dagenham 0.142,51.54 d: 9  

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Dartford 0.217,51.433 d: 6.2  

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Barking 0.08,51.54 d: 9.9  

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Ilford 0.083,51.55 d: 10.8  

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 East Ham 0.053,51.529 d: 9.8  

Antipodal to: Bexleyheath -179.862,-51.459

🇹🇴 Nuku'alofa -175.216,-21.136 d: 16619.3  

🇦🇸 Pago Pago -170.701,-14.279 d: 15800.4  

🇼🇸 Apia -171.76,-13.833 d: 15768.6  

🇵🇫 Papeete -149.566,-17.537 d: 15397.7  

🇺🇸 Hilo -155.089,19.725 d: 11739.7  

🇺🇸 Maui -156.446,20.72 d: 11670.4  

🇺🇸 Maui County -156.617,20.868 d: 11659  

🇺🇸 Honolulu -157.85,21.3 d: 11644.2  

🇺🇸 Wailuku -156.505,20.894 d: 11653.3  

🇺🇸 Kahului -156.466,20.891 d: 11652.5  

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