Crofton is a suburb of

Orpington Orpington is a town and area in south east London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley. It is 13.4 miles (21.6 km) south east of Charing Cross. On the south-eastern edge of the Greater London Built-up Area, it is south of St Ma ...

in southeast

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, located in the

London Borough of Bromley The London Borough of Bromley () is the southeasternmost of the London boroughs that make up Greater London, bordering the ceremonial county of Kent, which most of Bromley was part of before 1965. The borough's population is an estimated 332,3 ...

in Greater London. Prior to 1965 it was within the historic county of

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

. It is about 13.6 miles (21.9 km) southeast of Charing Cross. It lies south of

Petts Wood Petts Wood is a town in south-east London, England, previously located in the historic county of Kent. It lies south of Chislehurst, west of St Paul's Cray and Poverest, north of Orpington and Crofton, and east of Southborough and Bromley ...

, west of Orpington and Broom Hill, north of

Green Street Green Green Street Green an area in south-east London, located in the London Borough of Bromley and, prior to 1965, in the historic county of Kent. It is located south of Orpington, west of Chelsfield, north-west of Pratt's Bottom, north of Hazelwo ...

and Farnborough, north-east of

Locksbottom Locksbottom is a suburb of south-east London within the London Borough of Bromley, Greater London. Prior to 1965 it was within the historic county of Kent. It is located south of Bromley Common, west of Crofton, north-west of Farnborough, and e ...

and east of Bromley Common.

History

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

settlement existed here from circa 140 ADs-400, with the ruins of a Roman villa forming a small museum just next to Orpington train station. The name Crofton comes from

Old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlers in the mid-5th c ...

and means 'farm on a rounded hill'. Little is known of its subsequent history, though it remained a rural locality until well into the 19th century. Some small-scale development occurred from 1868 following the opening of Orpington train station, and St Paul's Church, Crofton Road was built in 1887 (later rebuilt in 1958). The inter-war years saw extensive development and the area is now effectively a suburban extension of Orpington.

Amenities

The area contains two small shopping parades on Crofton Lane and Kelvin Parade. To the north-west lies Crofton Wood, which is designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest.

Governance

Crofton falls within the

and is in the

Parliament constituency. For local council elections it forms a part of the Farnborough and Crofton ward along with Farnborough.

Demography

Demographic data is produced by the

Office for National Statistics The Office for National Statistics (ONS; cy, Swyddfa Ystadegau Gwladol) is the executive office of the UK Statistics Authority, a non-ministerial department which reports directly to the UK Parliament. Overview The ONS is responsible for t ...

for the Farnborough and Crofton ward. In the 2011 census, the population for the Farnborough and Crofton ward was 14,632. The most common ethnic group was White British in the Farnborough and Crofton ward, measured at 90.5%, followed by Asian or British Asian (5.5%) and mixed-race (1.9%). The remaining percentage was made up of Black or Black British and other unspecified ethnic groups.

Transport

Crofton has no railway station of its own, but east of Crofton is

Orpington railway station Orpington railway station is on the South Eastern Main Line, serving the town of Orpington in the London Borough of Bromley, south-east London. It is down the line from London Charing Cross and is situated between and stations. It is in Tr ...

which runs on the

South Eastern Main Line The South Eastern Main Line is a major long-distance railway route in South East England, UK, one of the three main routes crossing the county of Kent, going via Sevenoaks, Tonbridge, Ashford and Folkestone to Dover. The other routes are the ...

. There is good bus infrastructure in Crofton, having six daytime routes, one nighttime route and one school bus route. Buses in Crofton include bus routes 61, 208, 353, N199, R2, R3, R7 and school route 654 with connections to many towns, villages and suburbs such as Biggin Hill,

Bromley Bromley is a large town in Greater London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley. It is south-east of Charing Cross, and had an estimated population of 87,889 as of 2011. Originally part of Kent, Bromley became a market town, c ...

town centre,

Catford Catford is a district in south east London, England, and the administrative centre of the London Borough of Lewisham. It is southwest of Lewisham itself, mostly in the Rushey Green and Catford South wards. The population of Catford, includ ...

Lewisham Lewisham () is an area of southeast London, England, south of Charing Cross. It is the principal area of the London Borough of Lewisham, and was within the historic county of Kent until 1889. It is identified in the London Plan as one of ...

town centre,

, St Mary Cray and several other areas.

Gallery

File:Crofton_Lane_shops.jpg, Shops on Crofton Lane File:Kelvin_Parade.jpg, Oregon Square Open Space, with the Kelvin Parade shops at the far end File:St_Paul's_Church,_Crofton.jpg, St Paul's Church, built in 1958 by AB Knapp-Fisher File:Sign at Crofton - geograph.org.uk - 666791.jpg, Crofton village sign File:Crofton_War_Memorial.jpg, Crofton War Memorial at St Paul's Church File:Crofton Roman Villa - geograph.org.uk - 612839.jpg, Crofton Roman Villa Museum

References

{{LB Bromley Areas of London Districts of the London Borough of Bromley Orpington