We are very proud that our Chair, Tony Banfield, was one of ten recipients of the Mayor’s award (for contributions in the voluntary sector). Tony has been pivotal in saving our historical buildings and green space in the town centre, in founding the Heart of Bromley Residents Association (HOBRA) in the 1980s, then the Bromley Civic Society in 2007 as part of the national Civic Voice movement.
The moat with its algae/blanket-weed bloom in July 2023. Fountain at about 2/3 proper height.
This feature is stop 3 on the Bromley Town Centre Park Trail, here.
The original moat of the Bishops Palace – the homes of important people, such as Bishops, needed moats in the lawless years of the 1100s ‘Anarchy’ – survives in this fragment. Unfortunately, 30 years of neglect and recent tree-falls are in danger of finally letting this last part silt up.
1826 Tithe map showing the fishponds, still called the Moat, around the Old Palace. The draining stream to the south later became the Ha-ha.
Moats became fishponds in the medieval era, as fish were an important part of the diet. As such they would need draining and the silt removing every few years, (for water quality). This activity in 1754 lead to the discovery of St Blaise’s well.
Colourised version of a postcard from 1908. The Rustic Boathouse is now ruined behind a fallen tree.
The Moat, with genuine medieval masonry discovered at the bottom (see the Lord of the Manor’s Folly) was just the accessory to show off the house and gardens. When Charles Coles-Child Esq commissioned James Pulham & Sons to create a garden suitable for his new status in life, natural looking lakes had been in vogue for over 100 years.
The Medieval calendar was made up of days when various saints were remembered. Many of these days involved repentence and fasting, rather than being a feast day. Also, faith-abiding households would not eat meat on Wednesdays and Fridays. In total it is thought that this would be about 150 days a year when meat could not be consumed. Instead, if any meat was eaten on these days, it would be fish (or animals/birds that could be classed as fish, on occasions this was quite creative).
To return to the page for the Bromley Palace Park, click here.
There is a more recent post, here, as the proposals have finally come to committee, with the planners advising approval.
The Cliff Face proposed to face people driving down Masons Hill.
How the new buildings will tower over the Rail and Police Stations.
The Proposals
The development provides 353 ‘build to rent’ flats in four towers: 24, 19, 12 and 10 storeys. The existing food store is retained, and some commercial space is provided. The development is car free – ie no parking spaces for residents (there might be some disabled spaces). There is parking for the Waitrose store however – reduced from the present levels. There is some new open space provided past the bridge – also a hard landscaped ‘piazza’ at the entrance to the store. The Build to Rent flats are to be controlled and managed by John Lewis Partnership, with a minimum of 10% affordable housing (by habitable room) in the form of Discount Market Rent at London Living Rent levels.
WHAT WE ARE OBJECTING TO:
Note for people thinking of commenting: Objections that simply say ‘…the buildings are too high’ or that express a dislike of tower blocks will carry little weight by themselves. However, look at the paragraphs below for phrases you could effectively make, remembering that your own words will be better than copying ours.
The planning application is at 23/02633/FULL1. Please copy your own ward councillors in on your comments – you want them to feel accountable on this issue – which you can find here. And please copy in the Town centre’s ward councillors (LibDem) at btcouncillors@bromleylibdems.org.uk:
We have collated 12 points which you might want to comment on, against this development:
Welcome to the historic Glassmill Pond. This location is one of the stops in our heritage and biodiversity trail around the green spaces in Bromley Town Centre.
Glassmill Pond
There were a number of mills recorded in the Doomsday Book along the River Ravensbourne in Bromley, but the only one that survived until the modern era is this one.
It is often called ‘Glass Mill Pond’ as there was a glass mill on the higher bank. In Georgian times it ground pre-made glass, some of which was shipped over from China, into the convex lenses that were fashionable in large houses. They scattered the light, and frequently had little paintings on the rear and fancy lattice frames.
The mill also ground glass for scientific instruments.
Two Regency Gilt Convex Mirror by Thomas Fentham CoWorking in a glass mill in the Victorian ageWorking to cast shaped glass in the Georgian age
Currently, Thames 21 are carrying out restoration work on the river, which will include recreating the pond, separated from the river by a bank, over which the river can wash when the water levels are high. As this section has not been dredged for 30 years, there has been a lot of silt to remove.
The mill pond on a sunny day in March
There is more information on Glassmill Pond at the entry on this park in the Bromley Civic Society site, here.
To continue the Heritage Trail, you can choose a long or short route. The long route involves going straight along the pond, crossing the road and climbing the hill to the war memorial, then going out of the gates, and in the park gates diagonally opposite, where there is a carriage drive to a pergola. For the shorter route, retrace your steps to the last stop, and climb up the terraces to the balustrade.
The Cascade is also a stop on our Bromley Town Centre Park Trail, here.
The Cascade
The Pulhamite Cascade Installation (Grade II Listed by Historic England)
The Cascade is one of the stops on our Bromley Town Centre Park Trail, here.
This is one of the four installations by James Pulham & Sons, to create status-symbol rocky features in the fashionable gardens of Society. They were modelled on the waterfalls found where a rock called the Millstone Grit outcrops in the Peak District.
Restoring the Pulhamite rockery and cascade in 2006
It’s existence was a suprise discovery in 2006, when the chair of Bromley Civic Society (Tony) together with other enthusiasts, decided to see what was underneath a large bramble patch. “It was a bit like finding your own Lost Garden of Heligan”, he said later.
Inspired by the Peak District. This Victorian style water-colour is of Three Shire Bridge on the River Dane. The rocks here are Millstone Grit, the same as the Pulhamite installations were recreating.
The Monet-style bridge
The little Monet-style bridge when it was in place at the top of the Cascade
Our cascade also had a little bridge at the top – unfortunately, for some reason the council contractor has moved this to the bottom. The bridge was probably only for visual effect – you had to have good balance to cross with it, as it is rather small and narrow.
James Pulham & Sons sent their craftsmen to Derbyshire to see the actual rocks, which helped them model them convincingly. Since they were mostly based in the South East (where there are no rocks and no natural waterfalls) this would have been quite a long trip for working class men, who normally never travelled more than about 50 miles.
The page about the Bromley Palace Park, with the other historic features in it, is here.
The Mayor, and Mayoress of Bromley visited the Civic Society’s new exhibition in the Glades at Open House 2023 this year.
Our chair describes the exhibition’s context: “Most people don’t realise the Town is a treasure trove of Arts and Crafts architecture, also Dutch and French influence, Queen Anne, and Neo Georgian – it’s all there! Then there’s HG Wells, David Bowie and Hanif Kureishi… The question is asked will an Invasion of Tower Blocks put an end to all this character and history?”
In May we were contacted by a friend-of-a-friend in the South of France, about a rather stylish antique table. When they bought it, and got it home, they found a note inside:
Where to see it: Martin’s Hill is just two minutes walk from Market Square along Church Road behind Primark where Bromley’s name- sake shrub burst into spectacular bloom from mid April to the end of May.
The name ‘Bromley’ is from the Anglo Saxon ‘Bromleag’ or ‘Broomleigh’ literally meaning a clearing where broom grows.
A walk on Thursday to link with the Library Lates event that evening
Last month we conducted the walk “Bertie’s Bromley” to complement the Library Lates event. Despite the miserable weather, more than 30 people turned up for the walk, which was informative and entertaining. The title is derived from the family name for the famous author HG Wells . He was born on the High Street and described the Victorian Bromley that he grew up in, in his works.
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Browse our old photos, in
from being dominated by tower blocks: Look here and email our ward councillors about:
* High rises in the Local Plan
* housing and a hotel on the civic centre (old palace)
and
* 16+ high rises from the draft Master Plan down the Lower High Street
* and there's others...
