Cudham is a village in

Greater London Greater may refer to: *Greatness, the state of being great *Greater than, in inequality (mathematics), inequality *Greater (film), ''Greater'' (film), a 2016 American film *Greater (flamingo), the oldest flamingo on record *Greater (song), "Greate ...

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 within 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 332,336 ...

and beyond

London London is the capital and 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 down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

urban sprawl Urban sprawl (also known as suburban sprawl or urban encroachment) is defined as "the spreading of urban developments (such as houses and shopping centers) on undeveloped land near a city." Urban sprawl has been described as the unrestricted growt ...

. It is located on the Greater London border with

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 ...

, bordering the

Sevenoaks District Sevenoaks is a Non-metropolitan district, local government district in west Kent, England. Its council is based in the town of Sevenoaks. The district was Local Government Act 1972, formed on 1 April 1974 by the merger of Sevenoaks Urban District ...

. Cudham lies south 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 ...

and north west of

Sevenoaks Sevenoaks is a town in Kent with a population of 29,506 situated south-east of London, England. Also classified as a civil parishes in England, civil parish, Sevenoaks is served by a commuter South Eastern Main Line, main line railway into Lon ...

. It is located south-southeast of

Charing Cross Charing Cross ( ) is a junction in Westminster, London, England, where six routes meet. Clockwise from north these are: the east side of Trafalgar Square leading to St Martin's Place and then Charing Cross Road; the Strand leading to the City; ...

History

Cudham church, dedicated to

St Peter ) (Simeon, Simon) , birth_date = , birth_place = Bethsaida, Gaulanitis, Syria, Roman Empire , death_date = Between AD 64–68 , death_place = probably Vatican Hill, Rome, Italia, Roman Empire , parents = John (or Jonah; Jona) , occupation ...

and

St Paul Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...

, is mentioned in the

Domesday Book Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...

. Lord Simon de

Manning Manning (a.k.a. Mannion, Manning) is a family name. Origin and meaning Manning is from an old Norse word — manningi — meaning a brave or valiant man; and one of the first forms of the name was Mannin; another cartography was Mannyg ...

, a former Lord of the Manor for Kevington, London, and holder of the land which now includes Cudham, was a Grandson of Rudolph de Manning,

Count Palatine A count palatine (Latin ''comes palatinus''), also count of the palace or palsgrave (from German ''Pfalzgraf''), was originally an official attached to a royal or imperial palace or household and later a nobleman of a rank above that of an ord ...

, (who, married Elgida, aunt to King

Harold I Harold I (died 17 March 1040), also known as Harold Harefoot, was King of the English from 1035 to 1040. Harold's nickname "Harefoot" is first recorded as "Harefoh" or "Harefah" in the twelfth century in the history of Ely Abbey, and accordin ...

, (Harold Harefoot), of England); he was the royal

Standard Bearer A standard-bearer, also known as a flag-bearer is a person (soldier or civilian) who bears an emblem known as a standard or military colours, i.e. either a type of flag or an inflexible but mobile image, which is used (and often honoured) as a ...

to King

Richard the Lionheart Richard I (8 September 1157 – 6 April 1199) was King of England from 1189 until his death in 1199. He also ruled as Duke of Normandy, Aquitaine and Gascony, Lord of Cyprus, and Count of Poitiers, Anjou, Maine, and Nantes, and was overl ...

, who carried the royal Standard to Jerusalem in 1190, during the

First Crusade The First Crusade (1096–1099) was the first of a series of religious wars, or Crusades, initiated, supported and at times directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The objective was the recovery of the Holy Land from Islamic ru ...

. In England, the forms Earl

Palatine A palatine or palatinus (in Latin; plural ''palatini''; cf. derivative spellings below) is a high-level official attached to imperial or royal courts in Europe since Roman times.

and Palatine Earldom are preferred. The ''Blacksmith's Arms'', originally a 17th-century farmhouse, has memorabilia relating to the

music hall Music hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment that was popular from the early Victorian era, beginning around 1850. It faded away after 1918 as the halls rebranded their entertainment as variety. Perceptions of a distinction in Bri ...

artiste known as "

Little Tich Harry Relph (21 July 186710 February 1928),Russell, Dav"Relph, Harry (1867–1928)" ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 2004, online edition, January 2011. Retrieved 1 August 2013 professionally known as Littl ...

". Cudham was part of

Bromley Rural District Bromley was a rural district in north-west Kent, England from 1894 to 1934. Its area now forms part of the London Borough of Bromley in Greater London. It did not include the main settlement of the same name, which constituted the Municipal Boro ...

from 1894 and

Orpington Urban District Orpington was an English local government district in north west Kent from 1934 to 1965 around the town of Orpington. It was a suburb of London, but formed part of the Metropolitan Police District. Most of the former area of the urban district i ...

from 1934 to 1965. The village was therefore part of

(and therefore administered by

Kent County Council Kent County Council is a county council that governs most of the county of Kent in England. It is the upper tier of elected local government, below which are 12 district councils, and around 300 town and parish councils. The county council h ...

) until the creation of

on 1 April 1965. Cudham Recreation Ground, behind the church and pub, is home to Cudham Wyse Cricket Club, which was formed in 1965.

Transport

Cudham, being in the county of Greater London, is still under the Transport for London remit and is served by a

London Buses London Buses is the subsidiary of Transport for London (TfL) that manages most bus services in London, England. It was formed following the Greater London Authority Act 1999 that transferred control of London Regional Transport (LRT) bus se ...

bus service, with the R5/R10 connecting the area with

via

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 also to

Knockholt Knockholt is a village and civil parish in the Sevenoaks District of Kent, England. It is located north west of Sevenoaks & south of Orpington, adjacent to the Kent border with Greater London. The village is mostly a ribbon development, sur ...

. The closest rail links to the area are Chelsfield station and

Knockholt station Knockholt railway station is on the South Eastern Main Line, located in the London Borough of Bromley, Greater London. It is down the line from London Charing Cross and is situated between and stations. It is in Travelcard Zone 6 and is locat ...

, in

Travelcard Zone 6 Fare zone 6 is an outer zone of Transport for London's zonal fare system used for calculating the price of tickets for travel on the London Underground, London Overground, Docklands Light Railway, National Rail services (since 2007), and the El ...

Events

Cudham hosts one of the oldest village shows and fetes, dating back to Victorian times. It is held annually on the August

Bank Holiday A bank holiday is a national public holiday in the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland and the Crown Dependencies. The term refers to all public holidays in the United Kingdom, be they set out in statute, declared by royal proclamation or held ...

Monday. Cudham also hosts the famous annual Cudham

Craic ''Craic'' ( ) or ''crack'' is a term for news, gossip, fun, entertainment, and enjoyable conversation, particularly prominent in Ireland. It is often used with the definite article – ''the'' craic – as in the expression "What's the craic ...

music festival, a popular two day music event in Cudham's recreation ground promoted by KentBand.com.

Local politics

Cudham is part of the largest ward in Greater London,

Darwin (ward) Darwin is a ward of the London Borough of Bromley, named after Charles Darwin, who lived and worked in the ward for 40 years. Geography It is the largest ward in Greater London, covering a very rural area including Downe, Cudham, Leaves Green, ...

, covering a rural area including

Downe Downe, formerly Down, () is a village in Greater London, England, located within the London Borough of Bromley but beyond the London urban sprawl. Downe is south west of Orpington and south east of Charing Cross. Downe lies on a hill, and ...

Leaves Green Leaves Green is a village in Greater London within the London Borough of Bromley. The village lies on the Bromley to Westerham road ( A233), adjacent to the north-western perimeter of Biggin Hill Airport. It is some south of Bromley and nort ...

, Berry's Green,

Single Street Single Street is a hamlet in the London Borough of Bromley in Greater London, located between Luxted and Berry's Green,Willey, Russ. ''Chambers London Gazetter'', p 443. and centred around a street of the same name. The first record of a settl ...

, and

Westerham Westerham is a town and civil parish in the Sevenoaks District of Kent, England. It is located 3.4 miles east of Oxted and 6 miles west of Sevenoaks, adjacent to the Kent border with both Greater London and Surrey. It is recorded as early as t ...

Hill. Since 2019, the local Member of Parliament is

Gareth Bacon Gareth Andrew Bacon (born 7 April 1972) is a British politician who has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Orpington since 2019. A member of the Conservative Party, he was a member of the London Assembly from 2008 until he stood down ...

, elected with 30,882 votes or 63.4% of the vote share. Previously, the local Member of Parliament has been

Jo Johnson Joseph Edmund Johnson, Baron Johnson of Marylebone, (born 23 December 1971) is a British politician who was Minister of State for Universities, Science, Research and Innovation from July to September 2019, as well as previously from 2015 to 2 ...

of the

Conservatives Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

who is brother of the Prime Minister,

Boris Johnson Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (; born 19 June 1964) is a British politician, writer and journalist who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2019 to 2022. He previously served as F ...

. Johnson served as Minister for Transport and Minister for London up until his resignation in November 2018. He did so in order to support a

People's Vote People's Vote was a United Kingdom campaign group that unsuccessfully campaigned for a second referendum following the UK's Brexit vote to leave the European Union (EU) in 2016. The group was launched in April 2018 at which four Members of Pa ...

on the final

Brexit Brexit (; a portmanteau of "British exit") was the withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU) at 23:00 GMT on 31 January 2020 (00:00 1 February 2020 CET).The UK also left the European Atomic Energy Community (EAEC or ...

deal. In July 2019, he was subsequently reinstated in his ministerial role as Minister for Universities before resigning in September 2019 and announced that he would stand down as an MP at the next United Kingdom general election. By a numerical majority of 22,378 votes (45.9%),

is the safest Conservative Parliamentary seat in London. One councillor is elected every four years to

Bromley London Borough Council Bromley London Borough Council is the local authority for the London Borough of Bromley in Greater London, England. It is one of 32 London borough councils. History There have previously been a number of local authorities responsible for the Bro ...

. To date, the Darwin ward has only been represented by representatives from the Conservative Party.

References

External links

Church historyCudham Wyse Cricket Club
Villages in the London Borough of Bromley Districts of the London Borough of Bromley Former civil parishes in the London Borough of Bromley {{london-geo-stub