Orpington, a town in Kent

Orpington, Kent is part of the London Borough of Bromley. It is located in the SE corner of Greater London just inside the M25. A report from 2007 showed a population of 15,248 people.

Orpington is an old town. It is first mentioned in 1032AD when King Cnut's treasurer Eadsy gave land at "Orpedingetune" to the Monastery of Christ Church at Canterbury. This land is now The Priory Gardens. All the buildings in this northern part of the town are within a Conservation Area and the Priory, its outbuildings and walls are designated Listed Buildings. The park is also Grade II listed on the English Heritage's register of parks and gardens. Located within the Priory you can also find the Bromley Museum.

All Saint's Church located next to the Priory Gardens in Orpington predates the Domesday Book which was compiled in the late 11th Century.

Even so, Orpington remained a small country village, surrounded by orchards and hop fields until 1904 when the railway station in Orpington was remodelled and enlarged. The main commercial center until that time was nearby St Mary's Cray.

Xian Restaurant
324 High Street
Orpington
Kent
BR6 0NG

Xian menu and photos

This restaurant has the distinction of being one of celebrity and michelin star chef, Gary Rhodes' favourite places to eat. In an article he wrote for the Guardian, Rhodes stated:

"When my wife, Jane, went through our bank statements from last year, she found we'd eaten here 43 times - it's that good. We inevitably order the same things every time: tempura-style crispy squid and steamed scallops with black bean dressing. Superb."

The Xian was voted best Chinese food in London back in the 1990s. They don't have a web page. They don't need one. They're always busy.
We don't get to the Xian as often as the Rhodes family, but if we want Chinese food this is where we go.

Fiesta Mexicana
99-100 High Street
Orpington
Kent
BR6 0LG

This place has good Mexican food. Actually, it's great Mexican food. Some of the best I've ever tasted. Great and authentic. This isn't Tex-Mex.

The Fiesta has a well deserved reputation for excellent food and service.

Panacea Coffee and Wine Lounge
190 High Street
Orpington, Kent
BR6 0JW

If you want a good cup of coffee, a place to enjoy afternoon tea, or a relaxing glass of wine the place to go is Panacea. They also have a good selection of sandwiches, fruit, and sweet treats.

One Panacea fan put it best on Facebook:

Forget Costa and Silver Lounge this is the place to have a coffee in Orpington!

Mystic Brew Fine Tea and Coffee
294 HIGH ST
ORPINGTON
KENT
BR6 0NF

This tea shop is my new fave place for a cuppa. They have a grand selection of black, green, white, and herbal teas plus provide breakfast and lunch menus, and a variety of snacks and cakes. Stop by here for a traditional English tea.

Recently, Bromley Council has invested in major improvements along Orpington High Street. It is hopeful that these changes can help to revitalise the town and bring more businesses into Orpington.

Image courtesy London Borough of Bromley

The area around Orpington has been inhabited by people for over 5,000 years.

Stone Age tools have been found at sites around Orpington as well as Bronze Age pottery and an Iron Age farmstead.

Crofton Roman Villa in Orpington, located near the railway station was occupied from approximately 140 until 400 AD. It was the centre of a farming estate of about 500 acres and at one point the villa may have contained up to 20 rooms. Nearby Fordcroft in Poverest, Orpington contains the remains of a Roman bath-house.

The Orpington car, built by Frank Smith & Jack Milroy at their works in Wellington Road, was shown at the 1920 Motor Show. It was a two-seater convertible, with a dickey seat, and a 10 horsepower (7 kW) engine. Although briefly successful, Smith and Milroy could not compete with mass production, and the last car was built in 1925. Unfortunately, there are no surviving examples.

- Wikipedia entry.

During the first World War a large hospital, the Sixteenth Canadian General, funded by the government of Ontario, Canada, was built south east of Orpington Rail Station. Many of the 182 soldiers who died at the Sixteenth General are buried in the "Canadian Corner" at All Saint's Church in Orpington.

The hospital is now called Orpington Hospital, it covers outpatient services for the Borough of Bromley. Even though it has never had a maternity unit, my husband was born here back in 1960. His parents lived in a flat on the hospital grounds as my father-in-law was working as a registrar at Orpington Hospital at the time.

"My, mother, Kate (Kit) Foster, was born in Orpington in 1915 and lived there all her life. The picture above shows her with her mother at a family wedding in 1951. She married Jim Churcher in 1939 and moved from Elmcroft Road to a house in Court Road which overlooks the Priory Gardens. Although they travelled quite widely in later years, they both loved Orpington and were always pleased to come home. Mum wrote this account of the Orpington of her childhood a few years before she died in May 1988."

Read her account of what life was like growing up in Orpington. It will also give you a good look at what life would have been like for people in England in the years between the two world wars.

Growing Up in Orpington

Orpington was located on the flightpath towards London and was also in close proximity to Biggin Hill RAF Airfield. Because of these two things, Orpington suffered a lot of incendiary bomb damage, and later V-1 and V-2 attacks. A great deal of the damage from bombings came when German pilots would release their remaining bombs to save fuel prior to returning to France.

The last British civilian killed by German bombers in 1945 lived on Kynaston Road, Orpington, about a half-mile from our home.

The photograph is of the Orpington War Memorial, erected after WW1 to honour those men from Orpington who had died during the Great War. Plaques around the memorial honour those who died during WW2 and in later wars and conflicts.

The Romany, or Romani, are an ethnic group of Europe that has its origins in medieval India.

They have their own language, with several dialects and their numbers are estimated to be around 4 million in the world.

Until the railway line was built in Orpington, it was a small village surrounded by hop farms and orchards. It was these farms and orchards that attracted the Romany to the area as itinerant pickers. A permanent settlement site is provided for the Romany at Star Rise in nearby St Mary Cray and the UK has one of the largest settled Romany and Irish Traveller communities there.

In 1971, the first World Romani Congress was held in Orpington, funded in part by the World Council of Churches and the government of India. It was attended by representatives from 9 nations plus observers from 3 others.

Some famous Romanies from Orpington include:
Gypsy Rose Lee (not to be confused with the American entertainer)

Gilderoy Scamp and Henry Jackson

Mark Ripley and Johnny Love- bare knuckle fighting champions

Private Walter Pateman, who enlisted in 1916 and was sent to France. He took part in actions in the Le Transloy ridges and in the Bouchavsnes sector of the front line. He trained for a major attack in March 1917, but was killed during a preparatory raid. The story of Walter's journey from his birth on Leg of Mutton Common, Kent, to his death near Leg of Mutton Wood, France.

Seven steps to glory:
Private Pateman goes to war

Charles Darwin lived at Downe House in nearby Downe Village, where he formulated his ground-breaking theory of evolution. 12 February 2009 marked the 200th anniversary of Darwin's birth.

Sir John Lubbock, friend of Darwin and benefactor to Bromley Museum, lived at High Elms, now a country park

Gary Rhodes, Michelin-starred celebrity chef used to live in Orpington. As noted above, one of his favourite places to eat is the Xian Restaurant in Orpington.

Before becoming famous, David Bowie used to play gigs in the St Mary Crays area of Orpington.

David Nobbs, author and comedy writer, was born here. His book "The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin" was set in Orpington.

Eastenders actresses, Kim Medcalf and Leslie Grantham were both from Orpington.

UK Gladiator Wolf once lived in the Orpington village of Pratt's Bottom.