Local Area

An Overview

At the beginning of the 19th century, Bexleyheath was a tract of rough open common land which was unpopulated. The only building of note was "The Golden Lion" which was a coaching inn dating from about 1730. A public house of the same name stands on the same site, just opposite Lion Road.

The prelude to the development of Bexleyheath was the passing of two acts of Parliament for the enclosure of the Heath. After the Bexley Act of 1812 and the Crayford act of 1814 allotments were given to 107 residents in the Bexley part of the Heath. In a short space of time many houses were being built. By 1837 there were 100 houses and 170 cottages in this Bexley heath area. Indeed this part was sometimes referred to as Bexley New Town or Bexley Heath New Town.

In the mid 19th century most of the residents were employed as agricultural workers or in the textile printing industry at Crayford or indeed in domestic service. By 1851 there were 2,000 residents and the map shows that many public buildings had been erected to meet the needs of the people: pubs, churches and schools. The 1862 Ordnance Survey Map shows three schools, all run by the National Society for Promoting the Education of the Poor. By the end of the 19th century Bexleyheath [which included part of Welling] had become a populous town with about 8,000 inhabitants.

Bexleyheath was considered to be a very healthy place to live. William Morris, the famous painter, writer, socialist from the Arts and Crafts Movement, lived at the Red House for five years. It was designed by Morris' friend Philip Webb and is now owned by the National Trust and well worth a visit. South of the Red House is The Mount where Archbishop Amigo stayed during his holidays. It was demolished in 1927.

Christianity in the Bexleyheath Area

In March 1939 a small plaque was attached to the wall of the porch of St Patrick's, Plumstead, to commemorate the first historical record of a parish priest of Kent. The name of this priest was Siward and the date was 1109. The first known Vicar of Plumstead was William de Blaneford who was appointed in 1242. At this time the county of Kent included Plumstead and Woolwich. The Church of Mary the Virgin at Bexley and St Paulinus at Crayford were mentioned in the Domesday Book. At Welling there was the chapel of St Michael dating from the twelfth century. The lay people of Pre-Reformation Bexleyheath were not numerous. The heath was a wild unpopulated area. Today it is still wild but well populated! Up till the eighteenth century it was the haunt of highwaymen who robbed travellers on the Old Dover Road that ran through the heath. Is it true that Dick Turpin wandered the highways of Shooter's Hill?

The first Anglican place of worship was the Chapel of Ease in Oaklands Road. The foundation stone was laid by the Archbishop of Canterbury in 1835 before a crowd of 3,000. A spire was added in 1851 and the graveyard was consecrated in 1842. It was full after only 14 years. Any remains, I am told, have now been removed, but some gravestones are still there and it is a pleasant shady green space that backs on to the Presbytery garden. Until 1868 Bexleyheath was part of the parish of St Mary's Bexley, but then became a separate parish. Christchurch was built in the Broadway where it still stands in all its glory and consecrated in 1877. Most of the Chapel of Ease was demolished in 1878 but the steeple stood as a landmark until 1926. It served as a mortuary chapel. It was certainly a very attractive landmark! The war memorial occupies this area today.

The first nonconformist place of worship was a small chapel in Mayplace Road, opposite the Bricklayer's Arms. It was certainly there in 1822 but was sold in 1827 and used as a school. There was also a Baptist chapel with a small cemetery dating from 1823. It was demolished in 1956 to make way for the Co-op store, but I am not sure where that is. There was a Congregational chapel on the corner of Chapel Road (now Chapel Street). It was built in 1854 and demolished as late as 1987. At the other end of Chapel Street there was a Weslyan Chapel dating from 1860 and it still exists as Bethany Hall. (I have no details about the Baptist church in the Broadway or the Methodist church or the Salvation Army in Lion Road - or indeed the URC in Geddes Place. What of the Spiritualist church in Lion Road?) The Catholics were certainly late on the scene in Bexleyheath!