Kevington, sometimes spelt Kevingtown, is a rural hamlet in South East

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 England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, 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 ...

. It is located north east of

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 ...

and south west of

Swanley Swanley is a town and civil parishes in England, 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 2021 ce ...

and is adjacent to the Greater London border with

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 ...

, in the

Metropolitan 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 ...

History

Kevington was in the historic county of Kent until 1965 when Greater London was formed. The name is thought to refer either to a 'place on a hillock', or else a Saxon-era landowner named Cyfa. Some old maps show two distinct places here - Kevington and Kevingtown - however this distinction has since been lost. 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, (which included

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 settle ...

Luxted Luxted is a hamlet in the London Borough of Bromley, located to the south of Downe, at grid reference TQ434602. The area is rural, noted for its abundance of woods and grasslands.Willey, Russ. ''Chambers London Gazetteer'', p 307-308. It is a pa ...

Cudham Cudham is an area in Greater London, England, located within the London Borough of Bromley and beyond London's urban sprawl. It is located on the Greater London border with Kent, bordering the Sevenoaks District. Cudham lies south of Orpington ...

Downe Downe, formerly Down (), is a village in Greater London, England, located within the London Borough of Bromley, which formed part of the historical county of Kent until 1965, and is beyond London's contiguous urban area. Charles Darwin lived ...

, and

Berry's Green Berry's Green a small hamlet in the London Borough of Bromley in Greater London, UK, situated outside of London's contiguous built-up area. It is a fairly wooded rural area with a scattering of farmland. Housing consists mainly of detached pro ...

), and grandson to Rudolf de Manning, (who married Elgida, aunt to King Harold 1,

Harold Harefoot Harold Harefoot or Harold I (died 17 March 1040) was regent of Kingdom of England, England from 1035 to 1037 and King of the English from 1037 to 1040. Harold's nickname "Harefoot" is first recorded as "Harefoh" or "Harefah" in the twelfth cen ...

), of England); he was the royal

Standard Bearer A standard-bearer, also known as a colour-bearer or flag-bearer, is a person who bears an emblem known as a Standard (flag), standard or Military colours, standards and guidons, military colours, i.e. either a type of flag or an inflexible ...

to King

Richard the Lionheart Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic language">Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'st ...

. He 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 Middle Ages. The objective was the recovery of the Holy Land from Muslim conquest ...

. In the Middle Ages the area formed part of Kevington manor and was in the hands of the

and

Onslow (surname) Onslow is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Alexander Onslow (1842–1908), third Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Western Australia * Arthur Onslow (disambiguation) * Cranley Onslow (1926–2001), British politician * D ...

families. In the mid 1700s the Onslows sold part of their lands to the Dutch financial merchant Herman Behrens, who employed

Sir Robert Taylor Sir Robert Taylor (1714 – 27 September 1788) was an English architect and sculptor who worked in London and the south of England. Early life Born at Woodford, Essex, Taylor followed in his father's footsteps and started working as a stonema ...

to build him Kevington Hall in 1769. The Hall was used to billet Canadian troops 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 ...

and was later used as a primary school; it now functions as a conference and events space. Oak View School (originally Shawcroft Special School) opened nearby in 1976 to cater for young people with special needs. There was once a pub in the hamlet called the Kevington Arms, however this is now a farm building.

Transport

Buses

*477 to

via

St Mary Cray St Mary Cray is an area of South London, South East London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley. Historically it was a market town in the county of Kent. It is located north of Orpington, and south-east of Charing Cross. History ...

or to

Dartford Dartford is the principal town in the Borough of Dartford, Kent, England. It is located south-east of Central London and is situated adjacent to the London Borough of Bexley to its west. To its north, across the Thames Estuary, is Thurrock in ...

via

Crockenhill Crockenhill is a village in the Sevenoaks District of West Kent, England. The hamlet of Skeet Hill falls within the Crockenhill boundary and Skeet Hill Lane in Orpington is in the South East region of England. The postcode is within the Crocke ...

Hextable Hextable is a village and civil parish in the Sevenoaks District of Kent, England. It lies north of Swanley and south of Dartford. History The origin of the village name goes back to Anglo-Saxons, Saxon times. Its first documented appearanc ...

& Wilmington. Mondays to Saturdays only. Operated by

Arriva Kent Thameside Arriva Kent Thameside Limited, trading as Arriva Kent Thameside, formerly known as London Transport, London Country and Kentish Bus, is a bus operator based in north-west Kent, England. It is a subsidiary of Arriva UK Bus. The company operates ...

Rail

The nearest

National Rail National Rail (NR) is the trading name licensed for use by the Rail Delivery Group, a group representing passenger train operating companies (TOCs) of England, Scotland, and Wales. The TOCs run the passenger services previously provided by ...

station is

References

Districts of the London Borough of Bromley Hamlets in the London Borough of Bromley St Mary Cray {{London-geo-stub