| Downe | |
|---|---|
 George and Dragon public house, Downe | |
  Downe Location within Greater London | |
| OS grid reference | TQ435615 |
| London borough | |
| Ceremonial county | Greater London |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | ORPINGTON |
| Postcode district | BR6 |
| Dialling code | 01689 |
| Police | Metropolitan |
| Fire | London |
| Ambulance | London |
| UK Parliament | |
| London Assembly | |
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Downe, formerly Down (/daʊn/), is a village in Greater London, England, located within the London Borough of Bromley but beyond London's contiguous urban area. Downe is 3.4 miles (5.5 km) south west of Orpington and 14.2 miles (22.9 km) south east of Charing Cross. Downe lies on a hill, and much of the centre of the village is unchanged; the former village school now acts as the village hall. The word Downe originates from the Anglo Saxon word dūn, latterly down, hence the South and North Downs. In April 1965, Downe and the remaining part of Orpington Urban District Council, was abolished, and transferred from the historic countyofKent and placed within the newly created London Borough of Bromley.
Lord Simon de Manning, a former Lord of the Manor for Kevington, London, and holder of the land which now includes Downe, was a Grandson of Rudolph de Manning, Count Palatine, (who married Elgida, aunt to King Harold I, of England); he was the royal Standard Bearer to King Richard the Lionheart, who carried the royal Standard to Jerusalem in 1190, during the First Crusade. In England, the forms Earl Palatine and Palatine Earldom are preferred. As well as Downe, the Manning's Kevington Manor included the areas which later became Berry's Green, Luxted, Single Street, Westerham Hill, and Leaves Green, which formed, collectively, (excluding Kelvington), the Darwin (ward), (Greater London's largest electoral Ward), as it was first constituted in 1965. The current elected political party's website (2022), states the Ward's present named other areas as Cudham, Leaves Green, Leavesden Estate, Westerham Hill, Beechwood, Berry's Green, and Pratts Bottom.
When Charles Darwin moved there in 1842, the village was still known as Down.[1] Its name was changed later in the 1940s to Downe, to avoid confusion with County Down in Ireland.[2]
Charles Darwin lived in Down House for 40 years, from 1842 until he died there in 1882. He became a close friend of Sir John Lubbock, 3rd Baronet, who lived nearby at the Lubbock's High Elms estate on the other side of the village. A favourite place of Darwin's was Downe Bank, now a nature reserve and Site of Special Scientific Interest, and several members of his family are buried in the graveyard of St Mary's Church.
Down House and the surrounding area has been nominated by the Department of Culture, Media and Sport to become a World Heritage Site.[3] However, this decision has been deferred.[4]
Since 2019, the local Member of Parliament has been Gareth Bacon of the Conservative Party. By a numerical majority of 19,453 votes (38.5%), Orpington is the safest Conservative Parliamentary seat in London.
One councillor is elected every four years to Bromley London Borough Council. To date, the Darwin ward has only been represented by representatives from the Conservative Party. It is the largest Greater London Ward, and includes Berry's Green, Single Street, Luxted, Leaves Green, Westerham Hill, and Cudham.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Richard Scoates | 1,201 | 72.8 | ||
| Labour | Frank Evans | 185 | 11.2 | ||
| Liberal Democrats | Millicent Scott Brooks | 133 | 8.1 | ||
| Green | Jan Wilson | 130 | 7.9 | ||
| Turnout | 1,649 | 40.0 | |||
| Conservative hold | Swing | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Richard Scoates | 987 | 51.2 | ||
| UKIP | Eric Hayward | 681 | 35.3 | ||
| Labour | John Evans | 105 | 5.4 | ||
| Green | Eileen Galloway | 89 | 4.6 | ||
| Liberal Democrats | William Ritchie | 45 | 2.3 | ||
| Majority | 306 | ||||
| Turnout | 1,927 | ||||
| Conservative hold | Swing | ||||
Downe is the location of Buckston Browne Farm, built in 1931 as a surgical research centre by the Royal College of Surgeons (RCS). In the 1980s, the farm caused controversy because of its use of vivisection techniques, and in August 1984 it was raided by anti-vivisection activists.
The farm has now been made into four houses.
There are two scout campsites in the Downe area:
Despite the village's separation from the capital's built-up area, Downe is still under Transport for London because of its location within the Greater London administrative area. It is served by several London bus services but overall has limited connections further into London. There are no rail links to the village (the nearest stations are Orpington, Bromley South, Bromley North and Hayes), but it is served by two hourly bus routes:
146 - Bromley North to Downe via Old Hayes and Keston
R8 – Biggin Hill to Orpington via Downe and Green Street Green
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