Southborough is an area of South East London, within the

London Borough of Bromley The London Borough of Bromley () is a London Borough, borough in London, England. It is the largest and southeasternmost borough in London, and borders the county of Kent, of which it formed part until 1965. The borough's population in the 2021 ...

Greater London Greater London is an administrative area in England, coterminous with the London region, containing most of the continuous urban area of London. It contains 33 local government districts: the 32 London boroughs, which form a Ceremonial count ...

. Prior to 1965 it was within the historic county of

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

. It is located south of

Bickley Bickley is a district and a local government electoral ward in South East London, within the London Borough of Bromley. It is located 10.4 miles (16.7 km) south east of Charing Cross, bordering Elmstead to the north, Chislehurst to the n ...

and

Bromley Bromley is a large town in Greater London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley. It is southeast of Charing Cross, and had an estimated population of 88,000 as of 2023. Originally part of Kent, Bromley became a market town, charte ...

, east of

Bromley Common Bromley Common is an unincorporated village in Greater London, within the London Borough of Bromley. Prior to 1965 it was within the historic county of Kent. It is south of Bromley town centre and Bickley, west of Southborough and Petts Woo ...

, north of Locksbottom, and west 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 ...

History

The area gets its name from South Barrow, a house that stood where Birdham Close now is in the 1600s. By the mid-19th century it remained a hamlet, with a few large houses and about 16 cottages. A description of Southborough is given in Charles Freeman's ''History, Antiquities, Improvements, &c. of the Parish of Bromley, Kent'', published in 1832.

''Southborough is situated from Bromley nearly two miles: it contains about sixteen houses, among which are the pleasant seats of Abraham Welland, Esq., the late Governor Cameron, and others. Some of the premises here, from their appearance, would indicate their erection to have taken place many years ago.''

"Local tradition had it the hamlet had once been the court of a baron with the right to carry out executions, and that a gatehouse that had once stood on a farm there had been his prison. However John Dunkin, writing in 1815, believed that the fact that the Southborough had been part of a manor belonging to the

Bishop of Rochester The Bishop of Rochester is the Ordinary (officer), ordinary of the Church of England's Diocese of Rochester in the Province of Canterbury. The town of Rochester, Kent, Rochester has the bishop's seat, at the Rochester Cathedral, Cathedral Chur ...

made the story "fabulous, or at least exaggerated by the mistakes of the ignorant rustics." Further development occurred following the opening of Southborough Road train station in 1856, later renamed Bickley station. South Barrow went through a number of changes: it became Belmont School in 1901, Cloisters old people's home in 1922, and then later an office of the War Damage Commission, before being demolished in 1954. In 1977 Jubilee Country Park was opened to commemorate the Queen's Silver Jubilee.

Amenities

The identity of the area has merged somewhat with the contiguous areas of Bromley Common, Bickley and Petts Wood. It is centred on Southborough Road, which contains shops, two pubs (The Chequers and The Crooked Billet), a library and various places of worship.

Gallery

File:Fairway_shops,_Southborough.jpg, Shops on the Fairway/Southborough Lane junction File:The_Chequers_pub,_Southborough.jpg, The Chequers pub, listed at grade II File:Library_in_Southborough.jpg, Southborough Library File:Flat,_Southborough.jpg, Flats on Turpington Lane File:St_Augustine's_Church,_Southborough.jpg, St Augustine's Church File:Crooked Billet Harvester, Southborough.jpg, The Crooked Billet (Harvester) pub. The pub bears a plaque commemorating those who died when it was hit by a V2 rocket in 1944.

References

Districts of the London Borough of Bromley Areas of London {{London-geo-stub