Bromley Historic Collections

26/08/2026

Bromley Football Club, nicknamed ‘The Ravens’, was established in 1892. The team initially played at the Queensmead Recreation Ground before moving to Glebe Road. When this land was developed for housing, they played at Plaistow Cricket Club before moving to its current site at Hayes Lane in 1904. In 1895 Bromley joined the Second Division in South London League, which the club won in season 1893-94. By 1900 due to financial problems, the club nearly collapsed. 1907 was a much better year with the formation of Spartan League, which Bromley celebrated by winning the championship. Over the next few years, the team won and lost a few important games and was closed for two years during WW2. In the season 1945-6 the club won The London Senior Club.

The image below is a front page from the official programme of the 1949 FA Amateur Cup Final in which Bromley played Romford at Wembley (Empire) Stadium. The game took place on Saturday 23 April 1949 with kick-off at 3pm. Watched by 90,000 to 96,000 spectators, Bromley won 1-0 (with a goal by Tommy Hopper) securing an iconic win.

In the 1970’s the club went through difficult times as chronicled in the 2008 book and later film ‘The Bromley Boys’. In recent years the club has made huge progress, playing at Wembley 3 times in the last 10 years, two of them resulting in victory. In 2024 they were elevated to the Football League for the first time, following a win over Solihull Moors after their latest Wembley visit. On 18 April 2026, the Bromley team made history again by being promoted to League One. Wishing the team good luck for the 2026/27 season. We hope that we will see Bromley FC play at Wembley Stadium again soon.

Sources:

History of Bromley Football Club 1892-1938 by A.S. Bissmire

The story of the Bromley football by C.F. King

The Bromley Boys: The true story of supporting the worse football club in Britain by David Roberts

Bromley Football Club: a century history by Muriel V. Searle (LVE 796.334)

Bromley Football Club Leaflets and Programmes L29.3

Bromley FC

Photo:

Bromley-Romford 1949 Wembley Programme BHC L29.3

19/08/2026

Open House Festival 2026 takes places next month with booking for ticketed events opening at midday today!

Bromley has plenty to offer including Scadbury Moated Manor, Bromley and Sheppard's College, the Crystal Palace Subway, walking tours of Bethlem Royal Hospital and more!

We'll be supporting the Open House events at Beckenham Library on Tuesday 15th September with out Meet Bromley Historic Collections Pop-Up. It's a great opportunity to explore the newly installed Battle of Britain of Lace. https://programme.openhouse.org.uk/listings/13782

On Saturday 19th September our Meet Bromley Historic Collections Pop-Up will be at West Wickham Library all day and we're hosting a Reminiscence-Style Session in the afternoon (booking required). https://programme.openhouse.org.uk/listings/12207

To learn more about the events happening in Bromley and across London, check out the Open House Festival 2026 Programme: https://programme.openhouse.org.uk/

Lewisham Heritage is responsible for the collection, preservation and making available the history and heritage for Lewisham Council and its communities. While Lewisham Library is being refurbished our Heritage Reading Room is located at Catford Library. There will be a display of archive material i...

17/08/2026

We had a great time in Biggin Hill last week. Starting with a Meet BHC Pop-Up in the Library, we were happy to chat to lots of new customers and explain how our resources. Many were pleasantly surprised to learn that their Library Card gives them free access to Ancestry, FindMyPast and The British Newspaper Archive from any Bromley Library, not just Central!

We then spent the afternoon exploring the area with a stop at the RAF Biggin Hill Museum & Chapel a small but comprehensive museum about the history of the airfield and its pioneering role in air history, including an exhibition about the women of the Air Transport Auxiliary (ATA) female officers and women who served in the Women’s Auxiliary Airforce (WAAF). They also have a wide range of activities and events available, more here: https://bigginhillmuseum.com/events/

This week we're at Chislehurst, St Paul Cray and Penge Libraries. Our current line up of events can be found here: https://www.better.org.uk/.../news/2026-bhc-summer-showcases with more events coming soon.

11/08/2026

Last week was a busy one for us. We hosted a Reminiscence-Style session at Southborough and our Meet BHC Pop-Up at Hayes. Thank you so much to everyone who came to chat with us. It was lovely hearing your stories and questions from new and existing users.

Our Senior Archivist also attended the 2026 ARA Conference in Glasgow, attending 3 days of talks around the theme of authenticity. They were able to attend thanks to a Bursary from Ancestry.

We're at Biggin Hill Library until 1:30pm today and our current line up of events can be found here: https://www.better.org.uk/library/news/2026-bhc-summer-showcases with more events coming soon.

Please do come along if you can.

01/08/2026

Whilst our Search Room is closed as part of the Central Library relocation, the team will be out and about exploring the Borough and running events in Branches.

This week we undertook a walking tour of Central Bromley, following heritage guides created by the Bromley Civic Society and Bromley Council (links below)

We were grateful to Bromley and Sheppard's College for facilitating an informative tour about their founding and continued mission. The college dates back to 1666 and is one of Bromley's oldest buildings.

We also visited Bromley Palace Park, tucked away behind the old Civic Centre also known as Bishops Palace. The volunteer led Friends of Bromley Palace Park group are working to restore the area to its former glory, preserving its historic features (including the ha-ha pictured) and attracting wildlife whilst creating a valuable space for the community.

Lastly, we stopped off at St Peter & St Paul Church. It was mostly destroyed during the Blitz, with only the tower remaining. It was one of the first churches to be rebuilt after the war and includes fragments of the old church within the exterior walls. We spotted part of a cross and the face of a Green Man.

There was lots to see between these stops and you can follow the walk here:
https://www.bromley.gov.uk/local-history-heritage/bromley-north-heritage-trail and https://www.bromleycivicsociety.org.uk/heritage-walk-bromley-north/

Keep an eye out in your local branches for information about Bromley Historic Collections events! Next, we're at Hayes Library on Saturday 8th August with our Meet Bromley Historic Collections Pop-Up.

Whilst our Search Room is closed and our collections inaccessible, our email ([email protected]) remains open.

23/07/2026

For July’s Picture of the Month we bring you a local story, talked about by Bromley residents a century ago.



Exactly 100 years ago, in July 1926, thousands of people gathered to witness the inauguration of a new public garden. A few months earlier Bromley Borough Council had purchased Church House and its surrounding 12 acres of land (the hill behind the High Street). The scheme was controversial, because it cost the rate payers over £7,000, while the average rateable assessment for Bromley was £40 a year.



In his opening speech, Alderman Harris, who was aware of the public feeling, joked that 'the town people had the right to entry, but they had more than that, for every one of them could call it his own garden, because every one of them was a part-time owner of it (...) provided they conducted themselves properly there'. Luckily, the crowd laughed and applauded with loud cheering.



The costs were forgotten as, accompanied by wonderful summer weather, young and old begun to enjoy the newly opened public park. The general feeling was one of gratitude to the forward-thinking Mayor and the Council.



The District Times, published on 6 August 1926, remarked on the beauty of the lawns, planting, shrubberies, trees and fishponds. The editor also noted the comment of one man, who wrote to them saying 'as a taxpayer and a tradesman, I have not the smallest fear, that it will be, as the years pass, an ever-increasing boon to Bromley'. Sadly, Church House itself was lost in the bombing raids of April 1941, which also destroyed the main part of the church and much of the Markey Square but 100 years later, all of us can still enjoy the park as much as our ancestors.



Picture References:

H5/110- The Terrace, Church House Gardens, Bromley, c.1960, Bromley Historic Collections

H5/102-Church House Gardens, Bromley, Looking towards St Peter and St Paul's Church, c.1936, Bromley Historic Collections

30/06/2026

[Reposted with corrections and clarifications]

In June's Picture of the Month, we bring you a well-known local pub. The current Star and Garter (H5/445) was built in 1898 replacing a much smaller establishment of the same name (H5/440). This rebuilding also helped widen this end of the high street. Its name refers to the Order of the Garter, which is the oldest of the most prestigious Order of the Chivalry in the United Kingdom, founded by King Edward III in 1348.

The pub's first Owner (1798 until 1800) was James Agnew, who also owned land around the area. During William Beecroft's ownership (1863-1865), a brewer from Keston, the pub became one of the Nalder and Collyer's houses. Another notable owner was Mr Henry Draper, a well-known West Kent Cricketer and umpire.

We don't know what residents thought at the time of its distinctive style, but it's still a talking point today. The author of the book 'Public House: A cultural and social history of the London pub', (2021) wrote about the pub; 'the Star's protruding turret, voluptuous plasterwork and Mock-Tudor half-timbering (that doesn't even look try to look structural) would not be out of place in a fantasy novel'.

The pub was closed in 2014 for refurbishment but re-opened in 2016. It is best known for its beer garden and craft beers.


Sources:

Bromley: From the earliest times to the present day by E.L.S. Horsburgh (942.23 BRO)
A cultural and social history of the Public House: London pub edited by David Knight and Cristina Monteiro (647.954212)
Baxter's News cuttings: Star and Garter
Star & Garter L26.8
Bromley Record 1897-1898

Photos:

H5/440 & H5/445, Bromley Historic Collections

09/06/2026

Can you help us solve a little mystery? We recently came across a set of these hats in a box but don't have any further information. Do you recognise them as part of a school uniform you used to wear? Perhaps you remember seeing local students walking around wearing them?

Image 1: A black felt capped hat with yellow cross in top.
Image 2: The white label inside reads "School Outfitters, Warne's Ltd. Lewisham and Branches"

05/05/2026

Exactly 200 years ago, on 5 May 1826 in Spanish Granada, Princess Maria Eugenia Ignacia Agustina de Montijo was born.

Better known as the Empress of the French after her marriage to Napoleon III from the House of Bonaparte in 1830, Eugenie was famously born in the middle of an earthquake; and through her life, the Spanish noblewoman continued to experience life-shaking events.

In September 1870 Napoleon III was overthrown, and in December the couple and their son Louis Napoleon moved to Chislehurst. The Imperial Family was instantly popular in the community as they brought with them a touch of royalty into the small Kentish village. The Bonapartes set up their home at Camden Place. The attached photo (P/NAP/8) in which Eugenie is standing behind her husband, while their son is sited at the opposite site of the coffee table, was taken inside its walls c.1871-72.

The family was hoping that one day the monarchy would be restored in France, but Eugenie's dreams were first shattered on 9 January 1873 when her husband died after a prolonged illness. On the day of his funeral on 15 January, Queen Victoria arrived in Chislehurst bringing with her over a thousand distinguished visitors. Among the mourners were the Prince and Princess of Wales, the Duke of Edinburgh, the Duke of Cambridge, the Duke of Connaught, the Crown Prince of Sweden and Norway, and Prince Leopold.

Eugenie's and the French monarchists' plan never materialised after another tragedy shocked the family a few years later. After coming of age, Louis Napoleon went fighting in Zululand (now South Africa), where he died from his injuries in 1879 at the age of only 23. A year later, the heart-broken former French Empress left Chislehurst and moved to Farnborough in Hants.

Eugenie continued to be active in the UK. During WW1 she donated her steam yacht Thistle to the British Navy and founded a military hospital. She died in Madrid in Spain on 11 July 1920, at the age of 94, and was interred in the Imperial Crypt at St Michael's Abbey, Farnborough.

Photo: BHC, P/NAP/8

Sources and books:
The History of Chislehurst by E.A. Webb, G.W. Miller and J. Beckwith
Edwardian Chislehurst by Arthur Battle
Imperial Chislehurst by T.A. Bushell
Empress Eugenie: her secret revealed by Joyce Cartlidge
Recollections of the Empress Eugenie by Augustin Filon

21/04/2026

Exactly 100 years ago on 21st April 1926, Elizabeth Windsor (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary) was born, who at the age of 25 became Queen Elizabeth II.

For April's Picture of the Month, we present you with a photo taken when the Queen (at that point still Princess Elizabeth) visited Bromley. It was taken on 13th October 1949, when Princess Elizabeth came to lay the foundation stone of the new St. Peter and St. Paul Church.

The original Church, known as Bromley Parish Church, was built in 1553, and was largely altered in 1829 and 1871, but survived until WW2. The rebuild took place due to the destruction of the Church when a bomb fell on it on 16th April 1941. The damage was so intensive that only the tower survived, while the rest was destroyed and turned into rubble. That night, Bromley was fiercely attacked and many people lost their lives, homes and places of work. Among the victims was sixth-former Hasel Kissick, who volunteered to be on fire guarding duty that night. Her body was found in the Vestry, and she is now commemorated by a window in the Children's Chapel. By 1945, eight churches around the Bromley area were destroyed, and after the war the community resolved to raise money to rebuild them.

During her visit, Princess Elizabeth said 'Whenever I look on the great cathedrals and abbeys which are our country's inherence - I'm deeply impressed (...). We must certainly build new houses and flats - but it would be altogether wrong to neglect our spiritual welfare'. That day, thousands of locals lined the streets to welcome the Princess.

Today, a century from her birthday, we hope that you enjoyed reading a story from the day she visited our neighbourhood.

Sources:

A Short History of Bromley Parish Church dedicated to St. Peter and St. Paul (BHC - L.78.8a, 726.50942178 BRO)

Bromley parish Church: Guide and Kalendar 1950 (L 9ba, 726.50942178 BRO)

Bromley from the Earliest Times to the Present Century by E.L. S. Horsborgh

Photograph:

Laying of the foundation stone of the New Parish Church by H.R.H. The Princess Elizabeth on 13th October 1949. From the Bromley Parish Church Guide and Kalendar 1950 (726.50942178 BRO)