Bromley
377242
225580455
2008-07-14T12:08:48Z
77.103.170.218
/* Notable Residents */
{{otheruses}}
{{infobox UK place|
|official_name= Bromley
|london_borough= Bromley
|region= London
|country = England
|population = 14,499<br>(Bromley Town ward, 2001 census)<ref>[http://www.bromley.org/ciswebpl/ward/warddetail.asp?id=4 2001 Census information for the Bromley Town ward] "Bromley Town ward population - 15078"</ref>
|post_town= BROMLEY
|postcode_area= BR
|postcode_district= BR1
|dial_code= 020
|os_grid_reference= TQ405695
|latitude= 51.4070
|longitude= 0.0210
|constituency_westminster= [[Bromley and Chislehurst (UK Parliament constituency)|Bromley & Chislehurst]]
}}
'''Bromley''' is an urban centre in the [[London Borough of Bromley]] and is listed as a metropolitan centre in the [[London Plan]]. It is situated {{convert|9.3|mi|km|1|lk=on}} south east of [[Charing Cross]]. Formerly within the [[county]] of [[Kent]], 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 [[Glade (geography)|clearing]]' or wood clearing.
==About the town==
The town has a large shopping and retail area including a [[Pedestrian street|pedestrianised]] High Street and ''[[The Glades (Bromley)|The Glades]]'' shopping centre. Bromley is one of the 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-step]]ped [[gable]] construction is located in Bromley. Bromley's main retail rival is [[Croydon]], to the west. Bromley is represented by [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative]] MP [[Bob Neill]].
There are two railway stations providing connections to the [[City of London|City]] and [[West End of London|West End]]. [[Bromley South railway station|Bromley South]] is located on the main line from [[Dover]] and is served by fast and local services to [[Victoria Station (London)|Victoria]] and [[Blackfriars station|Blackfriars]]. [[Bromley North railway station|Bromley North]] is located at the southern end of a short branch line from [[Grove Park railway station|Grove Park]] from where connections can be made for [[London Bridge station|London Bridge]], [[Cannon Street station|Cannon Street]] and [[Charing Cross railway station|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]].
Bromley 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. As any large town Bromley has numerous schools, and is home to [[Bromley College of Further & Higher Education]].
==Popular Culture==
===Notable Residents===
{{Refimprovesect|date=May 2008}}
* [[H. G. Wells]], most famous for his novel,''[[The War of the Worlds (novel)|The War of the Worlds]]'', was born in Bromley in 1866<ref>{{cite book|url= http://www.online-literature.com/wellshg/|title= HG Wells| publisher= www.online-literature.com |accessdate=|date}}</ref>. 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 Village.<ref>{{cite book|url= http://www.bromley.gov.uk/news/newsarchive2005/oct2005/Darwin+comes+to+Market+Square.htm|title= Darwin| publisher= www.bromley.gov.uk |accessdate=|date}}</ref>
* Other famous people who lived in Bromley include [[David Bowie]], [[Peter Frampton]],Fighter [[Darren M Jackson]] , [[Aleister Crowley]]{{Fact|date=May 2008}}, cricketer [[Jill Cruwys]]{{Fact|date=May 2008}}, the anarchist [[Peter Kropotkin]]{{Fact|date=May 2008}}, the former [[The Clash|Clash]] drummer [[Topper Headon]], [[McLaren]] test driver [[Gary Paffett]], [[GP2]] driver [[Mike Conway]], [[Sir Thomas James Harper]] a decorated officer in the Crimean war, all hailed from Bromley.
===In popular culture===
{{Trivia|date=May 2008}}
{{Refimprovesect|date=April 2008}}
* In the ''[[Monty Python's Flying Circus]]'' episode 'Spam', the Green Midget Café in the '[[Spam (Monty Python)|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 [[Jane Austen]]'s 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.'
* Bromley and its neighboring 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.
==Nearest places==
* [[Bickley]]
* [[Chislehurst]]
* [[Downham]]
* [[Hayes, Bromley|Hayes]]
* [[Grove Park, Lewisham|Grove Park]]
* [[Petts Wood]]
* [[Shortlands]]
* [[Orpington]]
== Notes ==
{{reflist|2}}
==External links==
* [http://www.orpingtonjuniors.com Orpington Junior Badminton Club]
* [http://www.bromley.gov.uk/Default.bromley London Borough of Bromley Homepage]
* [http://www.youngbromley.com Young Bromley] - A place for young people in Bromley to share views and ideas.
* [http://www.1bromley.co.uk Bromley Community Directory]
* [http://www.speakersofbromley.org.uk/ Speakers of Bromley Speakers Club]
* [http://www.fredasgarden.co.uk/ Freda's Victorian Garden, Bromley]
{{LB Bromley}}
{{London Districts}}
[[Category:Districts of London]]
[[Category:Neighbourhoods of Bromley]]
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