Plaistow ( , , or ) is an area of 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 ...

located in 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 ...

and, until 1965, in 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 Downham and Grove Park and north of Sundridge Park 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 ...

. Nowadays Plaistow overlaps somewhat with Sundridge, for example the main Sundridge Park shopping parade by the station sits directly east of Plaistow Green, with business and facilities in the area using the two names interchangeably. Plaistow now refers especially to the area north of Sundridge Park station along Burnt Ash Lane, part of the A2212 road which runs north to south between Grove Park and

History

The area is first mentioned in 1278, and is thought to refer to games that were played here. Much of the area was purchased by the banker Peter Thellusson in 1777, and he built Plaistow Lodge here as his home (now converted into Parish Church of England Primary School and listed at grade II*). An iron church was later built besides the lodge in 1875. Housing development by the People's Freehold Land Society began after the arrival of the

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 ...

in 1878 (later rebuilt in 1896). St Mary's Church was consecrated in 1863 and enlarged three times between 1881 and 1900. The churchyard closed for burials in 1893 when Plaistow Cemetery opened. In 1926 a wall was built along Valeswood Road after complaints by local residents that 'vulgar' working class persons from the Downham estate were cutting through the area on their way to Bromley town centre. The wall remained in place for roughly 10 years.

Gallery

File:Plaistow_Green.jpg, Plaistow Green File:Prince_Frederick_pub,_Nichol_Lane.jpg, The Prince Frederick pub, Nichol Lane File:King's_Meadow,_Plaistow.jpg, King's Meadow File:St_Andrew's_church,_Plaistow.jpg, St Andrew's Church, Burnt Ash Lane, built in 1929 by Sir Charles Nicholson File:Burnt_Ash_Lane_shops.jpg, Shops along Burnt Ash Lane

References

{{LB Bromley Areas of London Districts of the London Borough of Bromley