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]] [[et:Bromley]] [[hi:ब्रॉमली]] [[nl:Bromley]] [[no:Bromley]] [[fr:Bromley]]