Chelsfield is an area in south-east

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, 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 332,3 ...

and 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 lies south of

Goddington Goddington is an area in south-east London, located in the London Borough of Bromley. It is situated south of Ramsden, south-east of Orpington town centre, and north of Chelsfield. It lies directly adjacent to the London Green Belt. Until 1965 i ...

, west of

Well Hill Well Hill is a small rural hamlet within the civil parish of Shoreham in the Sevenoaks District of Kent, England. It lies 3 miles south east of Orpington & 3.5 miles south of Swanley, adjacent to the Kent border with Greater London. Well Hil ...

, north of Pratt's Bottom and east of Green Street Green. The area is split into two distinct areas – the historic 'village' section, and the newer development by the train station.

History

The name is recorded 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 manus ...

of 1086 as "Cillesfelle", meaning "land of a man called Cēol". Another older variant was 'Chilesfeld'. The village church was constructed in the early Norman period, and gives its names to the Five Bells pubs. Chelsfield was historically a stopping place for drovers. In 1868 Chelsfield station was opened, however, it was located 1 mile west of the village. As a result, in 1925 land near the station was bought by Homesteads Ltd. and developed for housing, thus creating what is sometimes referred to as 'New Chelsfield.' Further development occurred after the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

, with New Chelsfield eventually merging with Green Street Green and Goddington, however the introduction of the

London Green Belt The Metropolitan Green Belt is a statutory green belt around London, England. It comprises parts of Greater London, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Kent and Surrey, parts of two of the three districts of Bedfordshire and a s ...

stymied development around the village. The New Chelsfield area is now largely a commuter suburb.

Governance

Chelsfield once formed an ancient parish, and later

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authorit ...

of , in

. The parish included Green Street Green and Pratt's Bottom and stretched as far as Cudham and

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 ...

. Circa 1894, it was part of the

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 ...

. The parish was abolished in 1934 and its former area became part of the

parish and urban district. In 1965 it was transferred to Greater London, to form part of the London Borough of Bromley.

Geography

In practice, Chelsfield is split into two very distinct areas: the historic Chelsfield Village sited to the east of the main Orpington bypass (the A224) and New Chelsfield, which grew up in the first half of the 20th century after the sale of some of the Waring family estates. The A224, known as Court Road, now separates the historic village from its Anglican church which is dedicated to

St Martin of Tours Martin of Tours ( la, Sanctus Martinus Turonensis; 316/336 – 8 November 397), also known as Martin the Merciful, was the third bishop of Tours. He has become one of the most familiar and recognizable Christian saints in France, heralded as the ...

and which dates back, in parts, to the 12th Century.

Transport

Chelsfield station connects the area with

National Rail National Rail (NR) is the trading name licensed for use by the Rail Delivery Group, an unincorporated association whose membership consists of the passenger train operating companies (TOCs) of England, Scotland, and Wales. The TOCs run the ...

services northbound to London Charing Cross via

and

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 ...

and southbound to

Sevenoaks Sevenoaks is a town in Kent with a population of 29,506 situated south-east of London, England. Also classified as a civil parish, Sevenoaks is served by a commuter main line railway into London. Sevenoaks is from Charing Cross, the traditio ...

. Connections can be made at Orpington for

London Victoria Victoria station, also known as London Victoria, is a central London railway terminus and connected London Underground station in Victoria, in the City of Westminster, managed by Network Rail. Named after the nearby Victoria Street (not the Q ...

via Bromley South and Brixton, and at Sevenoaks for

Hastings Hastings () is a large seaside town and borough in East Sussex on the south coast of England, east to the county town of Lewes and south east of London. The town gives its name to the Battle of Hastings, which took place to the north-west ...

via

Tunbridge Wells Royal Tunbridge Wells is a town in Kent, England, southeast of central London. It lies close to the border with East Sussex on the northern edge of the High Weald, whose sandstone geology is exemplified by the rock formation High Rocks. T ...

and to Ramsgate via Ashford International and Canterbury West. Chelsfield is served by the Transport for London bus route R1 to

St Paul's Cray St Paul's Cray is an area of South East London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley in Greater London. Prior to 1965 it was within the historic county of Kent. It is located south of Sidcup and north of Orpington. The area The vill ...

via

and to Green Street Green and the R7 to Chislehurst via

. Connections can be made at Orpington for buses to

Beckenham Beckenham () is a town in Greater London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley, in Greater London. Until 1965 it was part of the historic county of Kent. It is located south-east of Charing Cross, situated north of Elmers End and E ...

, Bexleyheath, Bluewater,

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 ...

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 ...

Crystal Palace Crystal Palace may refer to: Places Canada * Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick * Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario * Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition building ...

, Dartford,

Sidcup Sidcup is an area of south-east London, England, primarily in the London Borough of Bexley. It is south-east of Charing Cross, bordering the London Boroughs of Bromley and Greenwich. Before the creation of Greater London in 1965, it was in the ...

Swanley Swanley is a town and civil parish in the Sevenoaks District of Kent, England, southeast of central London, adjacent to the Greater London boundary and within the M25 motorway periphery. The population at the 2011 census was 16,226. History ...

and

Woolwich Woolwich () is a district in southeast London, England, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich. The district's location on the River Thames led to its status as an important naval, military and industrial area; a role that was maintained thr ...

Notable residents

Brass Crosby Brass Crosby (8 May 17251793) was an English radical lawyer, Member of Parliament and Lord Mayor of the City of London. Life Brass Crosby was born in 1725 the son of Hercules Crosby, a respectable burgess of Stockton-on-Tees and his wife Mary Br ...

(1725–1793) – 18th Century parliamentarian and one-time

Lord Mayor of London The Lord Mayor of London is the mayor of the City of London and the leader of the City of London Corporation. Within the City, the Lord Mayor is accorded precedence over all individuals except the sovereign and retains various traditional pow ...

, lived at Court Lodge where he is commemorated with a blue plaque. *

Edith Nesbit Edith Nesbit (married name Edith Bland; 15 August 1858 – 4 May 1924) was an English writer and poet, who published her books for children as E. Nesbit. She wrote or collaborated on more than 60 such books. She was also a political activist a ...

(1858–1924) – children's author who lived nearby

Halstead Halstead is a town and civil parish in the Braintree District of Essex, England. Its population of 11,906 in 2011Railway Children'' is said to have been inspired by her frequent use of Chelsfield station. *

Michael Oakeshott Michael Joseph Oakeshott FBA (; 11 December 1901 – 19 December 1990) was an English philosopher and political theorist who wrote about philosophy of history, philosophy of religion, aesthetics, philosophy of education, and philosophy of ...

(1901–1990) – philosopher and political theorist, born in Chelsfield. * Miss Read (1913–2012, birth name Dora Jessie Saint) – author, spent most her childhood in Chelsfield. *

Gary Rhodes Gary Rhodes (22 April 1960 – 26 November 2019) was an English restaurateur and television chef, known for his love of English cuisine and ingredients and for his distinctive spiked hair style. He fronted shows such as ''MasterChef'', '' Mas ...

(1960–2019) – television chef, lived in Chelsfield.

Gallery

File:Windsor Drive shops, Chelsfield.jpg, Shops on Windsor Drive, New Chelsfield File:Methodist Church, Chelsfield.jpg, Methodist Church, New Chelsfield File:Glentrammon Recreation Ground, Chelsfield.jpg, Glentrammon Recreation Ground, New Chelsfield File:Windsor Drive, Chelsfield.jpg, Windsor Drive, New Chelsfield File:Chelsfield pub.jpg, The Chelsfield pub, New Chelsfield File:The Five Bells in Chelsfield.jpg, The Five Bells pub, Chelsfield Village, listed at grade II

External links

References

{{authority control Districts of the London Borough of Bromley Areas of London Former civil parishes in the London Borough of Bromley