Shortlands

For the island group in the Solomon Islands, see Shortland Islands.
Shortlands
Shortlands
 Shortlands shown within Greater London
Population 9,303 
(ward, 2001 census) [1]
9,824 (2011 Census. Ward)[2]
OS grid referenceTQ395685
London borough Bromley
Ceremonial county Greater London
RegionLondon
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post town BROMLEY
Postcode district BR2
Dialling code 020
Police Metropolitan
Fire London
Ambulance London
EU Parliament London
UK ParliamentBeckenham
London Assembly Bexley and Bromley
List of places
UK
England
London

Coordinates: 51°23′54″N 0°00′14″E / 51.3983°N 0.0039°E / 51.3983; 0.0039

Shortlands is a suburban village in the London Borough of Bromley, Greater London, England.

History

The Shortlands war memorial before it was destroyed in 2016

Historically, Shortlands was known as Clay Hill. It became known as Shortlands around 1800, after the fields which, at this point of the Ravensbourne river, ran at right angles up the slopes on either side. Suburban development began in 1863 with the sale of the Shortlands House estate, making full advantage of the railway station opened in May 1858.

In 1921, a war memorial, designed by W. D. Caroe in the form of a Celtic cross, was unveiled in the village, in the middle of a road junction. On 8 July 2016, a Mini car collided with the memorial, breaking it into pieces.[3]

Transport

Shortlands station serves the area with rail services to London Victoria via Herne Hill, Kentish Town via Catford, Orpington and Sevenoaks via Swanley. Shortlands is served by several Transport for London bus services linking it with areas including Beckenham, Bromley, Croydon, Crystal Palace, Orpington and Penge.

Nearby areas

Background

Shortlands is most famous for Enid Blyton having lived there in the later stages of her life. Other famous residents have included the novelist Mrs Craik, for whom Norman Shaw built a house on Shortlands Road, and the electrical engineer Alexander Muirhead, credited with recording the first human electrocardiogram. George Grote, the eminent historian of Greece, was born here when it was known as Clay Hill. Lord Stamp of Shortlands, first Charter Mayor of Beckenham and Chairman of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway lived in Shortlands and died with his family when his house was bombed in 1941. Actor Brian Murphy lives in the village. Adele Atiyah, (a famous vegetarian rights activist), also lived in Shortlands but has now moved to Kuwait.

The main schools in Shortlands are Valley Primary School, Highfield Infant and Junior Schools, Clare House Primary School and Bishop Challoner School. On top of Shortlands Hill towards the Chinese Garage is the Shortlands library, linked with other libraries of the Bromley borough.

The Prime Meridian runs through Shortlands.

Sports and leisure

Beccehamians RFC a Rugby Union Club founded in 1933 plays competitive rugby at Sparrows Den at the bottom of Corkscrew Hill near West Wickham.[4]

References

  1. Bromley.org 2001 Census information for the Shortlands ward "Shortlands ward population - 9303"
  2. "Bromley Ward population 2011". Neighbourhood Statistics. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 11 October 2016.
  3. "War memorial destroyed after car crash Mini lands on top of it". Daily Telegraph. 8 July 2016. Retrieved 10 July 2016.
  4. Beccehamians RFC


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