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.[4]: 1
Eighteenth and nineteenth centuries
Rear of Red House, Bexleyheath
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.[5]: 11 In 1766 Sir John Boyd had Danson House built in his enclosed land ("park").[6] 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.[5]: 4
In 1859 architect Philip Webb designed Red House for artist, reforming designer and socialistWilliam 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.[5]: 9
The early to mid 19th century, Grade II listed Orchard House in Bexleyheath
Bexleyheath's parish church, Christ Church, dates from 1841; and the ecclesiastical parish from 1866; the building of the current church finished in 1877.[5]: 6 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.[citation needed]
Twentieth century
The clock tower at the centre of the modern shopping area, built in 1912, commemorates the coronation of King George V[5]: 24 and the Diamond JubileeofQueen Elizabeth II in 2012 when a bust of the Queen was installed.[7]
The area was part of the historic countyofKent until the creation of Greater London in 1965, at which point Bexleyheath became the administrative base of the newly established London Borough of Bexley.[8] 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.[citation needed]
Demographics
According to the 2021 census from the ONS, Bexleyheath has a population of roughly 15,600, 21.8% of which are aged 65+, above the borough average of 16.5%. The largest ethnic group is White at 78.2%, higher than the borough average of 71.9%, with the second largest being Asian/Asian British at 10.7%. The largest religious group is Christianity at 49.7% of the population, followed by No religion at 33.8%, roughly the same as the borough average.[1]
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,[b] 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.[9]
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.[10] 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.[11]
Bexleyheath and Belvedere Hockey Club are based in Welling, but play some home matches at Erith School.[12]
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.[citation needed]
Education
Bexleyheath has eight primary schools and four secondary schools.
Hall Caine (1853–1931), author, lived in Aberleigh Lodge, Bexleyheath from 1884 to 1889 next door to Red House.[20][21] Aberleigh Lodge was demolished in the 1970s.[22]
Mary Kingsley (1862–1900), ethnographer, scientific writer, and explorer, lived as a young woman with her mother and brother in Southwood[31] or Southwark[32][33] House, Main Road (Crook Log).
Neal Lawson (1963–), politician and commentator, grew up and went to school in Bexleyheath[34]
Lenny McLean (1949–98), actor, bouncer, bare-knuckle boxer and 'hardest man in Britain', lived in Bexleyheath in later life[35]
^Schoeman, Chris (1 April 2013). "5". Angels of Mercy: Foreign Women in the Anglo-Boer War. Penguin Random House South Africa. ISBN9781770225008. Retrieved 5 September 2021.
^Greenwell, Bill. "Mary Kingsley". billgreenwell.com. Retrieved 5 September 2021.
^Competing definitions are, for instance, the sum of the separate parishes of Christ Church and St Peter, Bexleyheath,[3]orwards which change to ensure minimal malapportionment i.e. a fair level of councillor representation
