Beckenham, Kent

Historical Description

Beckenham, a large parish and suburb of London in Kent, situated at the head of the Ravensbourne river, 10 miles from London, and 2 from Bromley. The L.C. & D. and the Mid-Kent railways have joint use of Beckenham junction station, and the Mid-Kent has a station at New Beckenham. Kent House station belongs to the L.C. & D.R. There is a post, money order, and telegraph office. Acreage, 3881; population, 20,707. The parish is governed by a local board consisting of 15 members. The Church of St George was entirely rebuilt in 1887, replacing a structure of old date in the Perpendicular style. The new church occupies the same site, is an edifice in the Decorated style of Kentish ragstone, and has sittings for over 1000 persons. Edward King, author of "Munimenta Antiqua," is buried in the churchyard, the entrance to which is by a very picturesque lych gate. The living is a rectory; value, £623. St James's, erected in 1879, is a large building of red brick in the Gothic style. St Paul's is an ecclesiastical parish formed in 1872; the church is a stone building in the Early English style. The living is a vicarage; gross value, £785 with residence. Holy Trinity is a parish formed in 1878; the church is a building of Kentish ragstone in the Early English style. Christchurch is a parish formed in 1878; the church is a building of Suffolk brick in the Gothic style. St Barnabas is a parish formed in 1879; the church is only partly built, the nave being still of iron. There are two other district churches, and chapels for Wesleyans, Baptists, Congregationalists, three almshouses, a cottage hospital, a large public hall, a freemasons' lodge, several mission rooms, and a small naval asylum. There are several fine residences in the neighbourhood, including Beckenham Park, Langley Park, and Eden Park.

Transcribed from The Comprehensive Gazetteer of England & Wales, 1894-5

Administration

The following is a list of the administrative units in which this place was either wholly or partly included.

Ancient County	Kent
Ecclesiastical parish	Beckenham St. George
Hundred	Bromley and Beckenham
Lathe	Sutton-at-Hone
Poor Law union	Bromley

Any dates in this table should be used as a guide only.

Church Records

The parish register of St. George's dates from the year 1538, and under date of October 24, 1740, has an entry of the burial of Margaret Finch, queen of the gipsies, aged 109.

The parish register of St. Paul's dates from the year 1872.

The register of Holy Trinity dates from the year 1878.

The register of Christ Church dates from the year 1876.

The parish register of St. Michael and All Angels dates from the year 1908.

The register of St. Barnabas dates from the year 1877.

Findmypast have the following online for Beckenham, St George: marriages 1539-1822, burials 1813-1864

Churches

Church of England

Christ Church (parish church)

Christ Church is an ecclesiastical parish, formed August 27, 1878: the church is an edifice of brick, with Bath stone dressings and columns of shap granite, in the Gothic style, and was erected partly at the cost of and on a site given by the late C. Lea Wilson esq. J.P. and consecrated on May 20, 1876; it has a western tower with spire containing one bell: there are 750 sittings, 100 being free: adjoining are two lecture halls, seating 300 persons, and Sunday schools, with central hall.

Holy Trinity, Lennard Road (parish church)

Holy Trinity is an ecclesiestical parish, formed August 30, 1878; the church, situated in Lennard road, and consecrated 1878, is a building of Kentish rag with white stone dressings, in the Gothic style, and has a western tower, added in 1883, and containing one bell: all the windows are stained: in 1904 a brass eagle lectern, raised on an oak platform, was presented by the late Mr. W. Church: there are about 900 sittings, of which more than half are free.

St. Barnabas (parish church)

St. Barnabas is an ecclesiastical parish, formed in 1877: the foundation of a permanent church was laid June 11, 1878, but only the chancel, erected in 1885, and half the nave have been built, and these afford 300 sittings.

St. George (parish church)

The church of St. George, rebuilt in 1886, at a cost of about £30,000, on the same site, though on an enlarged scale, is an edifice of Kentish ragstone, in the Late Decorated style, from designs by Mr. W. G. Bartleet F.R.I.B.A. architect, of London: most of the windows are stained: the chancel has a carved reredos of alabaster, credence, sedilia and an aumbry: the fittings are of carved oak and the Cator chapel has also a communion table and reredos of carved oak, and an ancient piscina removed from the old building. There are some monuments to the Style, Raymond, Burrell, Vansittart, Clarke, Lambton and Eden families; a brass to Margaret, wife of Sir William Damsell kt. d. 1563; and mural tablets to Captain Hedley Vicars, 97th (Royal West Kent) Regiment, who fell at Sebastopol; and to Dr. William Marsh, late vicar of Beddington: the tower was completed at a cost of over £6,000, and dedicated by the Archbishop of Canterbury Dec. 1904: the church holds 1,150 persons. In the churchyard, beneath a sarcophagus, lies buried Edward King F.R.S., P.Soc.Antiq. author of "Muniments Antiqua," and some monographs on the Antiquities of Oxford, d. April 16, 1807; the entrance to the churchyard it by a picturesque lych gate, whence an avenue of clipped yews leads to the south porch: the church has 8 bells. The church and churchyard were wholly closed to interments, with certain exceptions, in Aug. 1892.

St. Michael and All Angels, Ravenscroft Road (parish church)

St. Michael's and All Angels is an ecclesiastical parish, formed in 1907 from St. George's: the church, situated in Ravenscroft road, built in 1877, is a structure of brick in the Early English style, consisting of chancel, side chapel and part of a nave, and has 500 sittings.

St. Paul (parish church)

St. Paul's is an ecclesiastical parish, formed June 28, 1872; the church, situated near the New Beckenham railway station, is a stone building in the Early English style, and has a western tower with fine spire containing a striking clock and one bell: the chancel screen of brass and alabaster is a memorial to the late Mrs. J. O. Hewlett: the pulpit, of carved oak and alabaster, is also a memorial: all the windows are stained, and there are 1,160 sittings, 330 being free.

Civil Registration

For general information about Civil Registration (births, marriages and deaths) see the Civil Registration page.

Directories & Gazetteers

We have transcribed the entry for Beckenham from the following:

Samuel Lewis' A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858. (Beckenham (St. George))

Maps

Online maps of Beckenham are available from a number of sites:

Bing (Current Ordnance Survey maps).
Google Streetview.
National Library of Scotland. (Old maps)
OpenStreetMap.
old-maps.co.uk (Old Ordnance Survey maps to buy).
Streetmap.co.uk (Current Ordnance Survey maps).
A Vision of Britain through Time. (Old maps)

Newspapers and Periodicals

The British Newspaper Archive have fully searchable digitised copies of the following Kent newspapers online:

Visitations Heraldic

The Visitation of Kent, 1619 is available on the Heraldry page, as is also The Visitation of Kent, 1663-68.

District	Bromley
County	Greater London
Region	London
Country	England
Postal district	BR3
Post Town	Beckenham