Hayes is a suburban area of southeast

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, England and part of 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 ...

. It is located south-east of

Charing Cross Charing Cross ( ) is a junction in Westminster, London, England, where six routes meet. Since the early 19th century, Charing Cross has been the notional "centre of London" and became the point from which distances from London are measured. ...

, to the north of Keston and

Coney Hall Coney Hall is an area of Greater London, within the London Borough of Bromley, Greater London and formerly in the historic county of Kent. It is located south of Hayes, west of Keston, north of Nash, and east of West Wickham of which it is ...

, west 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 ...

, south of

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 ...

town centre, and east of West Wickham. An

ancient 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. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

in the 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 ...

, Hayes was within the

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

that became part of

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 ...

in 1965.

History

The Ancient Village

The name ''Hayes'' is recorded from 1177 as ''hoese'' from the Anglo-Saxon meaning "a settlement in open land overgrown with shrubs and rough bushes". It formed an ancient, and later civil, parish of

of around . The village stood at the junction of Hayes Lane, leading north to

(one mile distant), and what is now known as Pickhurst Lane, leading west to West Wickham; the centre of the old village is now called ''Hayes Street''. The village school was here, as is the parish church of St Mary the Virgin. Parts of the church date back to the thirteenth century, however it was subject to heavy restorations by

George Gilbert Scott Sir George Gilbert Scott (13 July 1811 – 27 March 1878), largely known as Sir Gilbert Scott, was a prolific English Gothic Revival architect, chiefly associated with the design, building and renovation of churches and cathedrals, although he ...

and John Oldrid Scott in the 19th century. The village's public house, also on Hayes Street, is called "The George" (first recorded 1759).) Hayes Street Farm, still shown on modern maps, is to the north of the village centre. Both

William Pitt the Elder William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham (15 November 170811 May 1778) was a British Whig statesman who served as Prime Minister of Great Britain from 1766 to 1768. Historians call him "Chatham" or "Pitt the Elder" to distinguish him from his son ...

, 1st Earl of Chatham (1708–1778), and

William Pitt the Younger William Pitt (28 May 1759 – 23 January 1806) was a British statesman who served as the last prime minister of Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain from 1783 until the Acts of Union 1800, and then first Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, p ...

(1759–1806) lived at Hayes Place. The house, which dated back to the 15th century, was demolished in 1933 by the developer

Henry Boot Henry Boot (1851–1931) was an English businessman who was the founder of Henry Boot plc. Personal life Henry Boot was the eldest surviving son of Charles and Ann Boot. He was born on 9 December 1851 in Heeley, a small village two miles (3. ...

and the site redeveloped, but its occupants are remembered in such road names as Chatham and Pittsmead Avenues. Prior to being demolished, Hayes Place was owned by the Hambro family (of Hambros Bank fame) and a couple of roads bear the family names. Although the parish church of Hayes can trace its history back over 800 years, and locals joined Jack Cade in his rebellion of 1450, the story of modern Hayes begins a little over a century ago, when Hayes became a popular place in which to live with bankers, stockbrokers and other City financiers buying property in the area. Development was aided when the branch

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

from Elmers End, originally known as the West Wickham and Hayes Railway, was opened on 29 May 1882. Between 1801, when the population was just 382, and 1921, it had almost tripled to 1,010.

Modern suburban Hayes

Throughout the 20th century, the Hayes village area continued to grow and thrive. Further commercial development occurred on Station Approach because the increased traffic through the railway terminus created an incentive for growth. In the old village area ('Old Hayes'), the former village school was converted to a church hall when the local primary school opened in 1937; it lies along George Lane, which was further expanded at around the same time to facilitate further suburban housing developments. To cope with the increase in commuter traffic, the station was rebuilt in 1935, and ''Station Approach'' became the main shopping area, including a

Post Office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letter (message), letters and parcel (package), parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post o ...

, petrol station, two mini-supermarkets and numerous small shops. It also contains a

public house A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption Licensing laws of the United Kingdom#On-licence, on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the ...

called The New Inn. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

an anti-aircraft gun battery was locally based on Hayes Common, and the soldiers of the

1st Canadian Division The 1st Canadian Division (French: ) is a joint operational command and control formation based at CFB Kingston, and falls under Canadian Joint Operations Command. It is a high-readiness unit, able to move on very short notice, and is staffed and ...

who manned it were barracked in local homes. Grandfields Nursery on West Common Road was hit by a

V-2 rocket The V2 (), with the technical name ''Aggregat (rocket family), Aggregat-4'' (A4), was the world's first long-range missile guidance, guided ballistic missile. The missile, powered by a liquid-propellant rocket engine, was developed during the S ...

in the late afternoon of 9 February 1945, killing four people, including three members of the Grandfield family. Our Lady of the Rosary Catholic Church was later built on the site. Much of the area to the west and north-west of the original village has been taken over by

suburbia A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area. They are oftentimes where most of a metropolitan areas jobs are located with some being predominantly residential. They can either be denser or less densely populated ...

. West Wickham and Bromley are completely joined with Hayes; and

estate, beyond the

Orpington Orpington is a town in Greater 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 Mary Cray, sou ...

Croydon Croydon is a large town in South London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a Districts of England, local government district of Greater London; it is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater Lond ...

road is also part of the pattern. To the east and south, however, the open space of Hayes Common precludes building of any kind. The old village area along Hayes Street, also known as 'Old Hayes', today contains some small shops, though the local post office closed in 2004 (the nearest is now in the main shopping area near the station). The timbered cottage on the eastern side of Hayes Street was originally the village bakery, then it became a newsagents called "The Walnut Tree", until 2006, when it changed to residential use. The former village school remains a second village hall; the local primary school in George Lane has expanded in size in recent years, and now has three class groups in each year. It is extremely popular, and many of its pupils go on to Hayes School in West Common Road. The shopping area in ''Old Hayes'' functions as a second hub for commercial businesses, running along Hayes street opposite the church building. It consists of the public house, "The George", a mini-market, several hairdressers, a cycle shop, two coffee shops and a fish and chip shop. Next to the church is the village

public library A public library is a library, most often a lending library, that is accessible by the general public and is usually funded from public sources, such as taxes. It is operated by librarians and library paraprofessionals, who are also Civil servic ...

, part of the Bromley Borough Libraries Service, occupying the old

rectory A clergy house is the residence, or former residence, of one or more priests or ministers of a given religion, serving as both a home and a base for the occupant's ministry. Residences of this type can have a variety of names, such as manse, p ...

building (since replaced by the new rectory). The library is surrounded by the library gardens, a small area of parkland containing tennis courts. On the north side of the church is Hayes Village Hall, built in 1927 by Hayes Community Council. This was led by Canon Thompson. It remains a hub of Village life. Hayes Street Farm continues to play an important role in the village setting. Several public pathways and popular walking routes run through the farmland, and regular car boot sales are hosted on the farm fields. There is a group called Hayes Village Association (HVA) which meet regularly to inform people about local issues. They regularly liaise with Bromley Council on planning matters and they give a voice to residents and businesses on a variety of issues. HVA produce a quarterly magazine with local interest articles and events, as well as details of businesses in the locality.

Sports and leisure

There are numerous playing fields and sports grounds around the periphery of Hayes: such as the Metropolitan Police Sports Ground at the Warren. Was also home, since 1926, to the world-famous Blackheath Harriers Athletics Club (now Blackheath and Bromley Harriers Athletic Club) at their clubhouse ''The Sydney Wooderson Centre in 2023'' moved now to (and run) the nearby Athletics track in Norman Park. Sports bodies based in the area include: * Hayes Town FC (Formed 2016). Members of the Surrey South Eastern Combination, based at

FC's Tiepigs Lane ground. * Beccehamians RFC – a Rugby Union Club founded in 1933 plays competitive rugby and walking rugby at Sparrows Den at the bottom of Corkscrew Hill near West Wickham. * Hayes Cricket Club, based at the Warman Sport ground. * Bromley RFC – a Rugby union club started in 1886 and moved to Hayes Village in 1956 and are based at the Warman Sport ground. * Norman Park Athletics Track – one of the main athletics tracks in Bromley and run now by the " Blackheath Harriers" running club who have built a sports centre there. *

Bromley F.C. Bromley Football Club is a professional association football club based in Bromley, Greater London, England. They are currently members of EFL League Two. Bromley play their home matches at Hayes Lane. Formed in 1892, they were founder members ...

– A football club based at the

Hayes Lane Hayes Lane, currently known as the Copperjax Community Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is a association football, football Football-specific stadium, stadium in Bromley, Greater London, England. Located between Bromley town centre and Hayes, B ...

Stadium. * Hayes (Lawn) Tennis club - based at the Warman Sport ground. * Old Wilsonians Sports Club - on fields formerly known as Hayes Hill Sports Ground with facilities from Tennis, Squash, Cricket and Football. * Urban

Krav Maga Krav Maga ( ; , ; ) is an Israeli Hand-to-hand combat, self-defence system. Developed for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), it uses techniques derived from aikido, boxing, judo, karate and wrestling. It is known for its focus on real-world situat ...

based at the Old School. * Bigfoot Cycle club. * Roebucks Cricket Club, based at Burton Pynsent House.

Arts and culture

Cultural bodies in the area include: * Hayes

Philharmonic An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * String instruments, such as the violin, viola, cello, a ...

Choir — 1945 - May 2017 * Allegri Singers —

Chamber choir A chamber choir is a small or medium-sized choir of roughly 8 to 40 singers (occasionally called "chamber singers"), typically singing classical or religious music in a concert setting.Riemann, Hugo. Dictionary of Music'. Trans. J.A. Shedlock. A ...

created in 1981 * Hayes Players —

Amateur theatre Amateur theatre, also known as amateur dramatics, is theatre performed by amateur actors and singers. Amateur theatre groups may stage plays, revues, musicals, light opera, pantomime or variety shows, and do so for the social activity as well as f ...

club founded in 1933 *Hayes Symphony Orchestra — community

orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * String instruments, such as the violin, viola, cello, ...

, created in 1947

Transport

Rail

Hayes railway station is the terminus for Hayes line services operated by Southeastern to and from

London Charing Cross Charing Cross railway station (also known as London Charing Cross) is a London station group, central London railway terminus between the Strand, London, Strand and Hungerford Bridge in the City of Westminster. It is the terminus of the South ...

and London Cannon Street stations. In 2022 the direct line from Hayes to Cannon Street was withdrawn.

Buses

Hayes is served by

Transport for London Transport for London (TfL) is a local government body responsible for most of the transport network in London, United Kingdom. TfL is the successor organization of the London Passenger Transport Board, which was established in 1933, and His ...

bus routes 119 (24 hour service), 138, 146,

246 __NOTOC__ Year 246 ( CCXLVI) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar, the 246th Year of the Common Era ( CE) and Anno Domini ( AD) designations, the 246th year of the 1st millennium, the 46th year of the 3rd century, and t ...

, 314,

353 __NOTOC__ Year 353 (Roman numerals, CCCLIII) was a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Magnentius and Decentius (or, less frequently, year 1106 ''Ab urbe condita''). ...

and 638. These connect Hayes with areas including

(for trains to

Gatwick Airport Gatwick Airport , also known as London Gatwick Airport (), is the Airports of London, secondary international airport serving London, West Sussex and Surrey. It is located near Crawley in West Sussex, south of Central London. In 2024, Gatwic ...

and Brighton),

Eltham Eltham ( ) is a district of South London, southeast London, England, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich. It is east-southeast of Charing Cross, and is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. The three ...

New Addington New Addington is an area of South London, England, within the London Borough of Croydon. It is located 5 miles south east of Croydon and is adjacent to the Greater London boundary with Surrey. History Until the 1930s, the area now known as New ...

, West Wickham &

Westerham Westerham is a town and civil parishes in England, 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. I ...

Education

* Hayes School - a mixed

secondary school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., b ...

with academy status. Awarded WCSQM "World Class" status in October 2015. * Hayes Primary School - a mixed

primary school A primary school (in Ireland, India, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, South Africa, and Singapore), elementary school, or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ...

with academy status

Green spaces

The area sits near the edge of the London conurbation and contains several parks, notably: * Hayes Common - a 79-hectare area of public open land. * Husseywell Park * Coney Hall Recreation Ground * Pickhurst Park * The Knoll - an Ornamental Ground of four and a half hectares with lakes and specimen forest trees

Notable residents

* Vicary Gibbs (1751-1820) — judge and politician, buried at St Mary the Virgin churchyard * Christopher Greener (1943-2015) — actor and basketball player, lived for much of his life in Hayes * Everard Hambro (1842-1925) — banker and philanthropist, lived at Hayes Place * Thomas John Hussey (1792-1866) — local clergyman and astronomer, thought to be first person to suggest the existence of

Neptune Neptune is the eighth and farthest known planet from the Sun. It is the List of Solar System objects by size, fourth-largest planet in the Solar System by diameter, the third-most-massive planet, and the densest giant planet. It is 17 t ...

* John Ferguson McLennan (1827-1881) — advocate, social anthropologist and ethnologist, died in Hayes *

(1708-1778) — British Prime Minister, lived at Hayes Place *

(1759-1806) — British Prime Minister, born and grew up at Hayes Place * Pete Sears — musician, grew up in Hayes

Gallery

File:Hayes shops on Station Approach.jpg, Shops on Station Approach File:The New Inn, Hayes.jpg, The New Inn pub opposite the train station File:Hayes village shops.jpg, Shops on Hayes Street File:Hayes library.jpg, Hayes Library File:St Mary the Virgin, Hayes.jpg, St Mary the Virgin church, listed at grade II File:The George pub, Hayes.jpg, The George pub