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Bromley’s little sister lies two miles to its west. The name is generally held to derive from Beohha, a Saxon farmer.
The river that flows through the town is called the Beck, but this is a ‘back formation’, which is to say that
the name Beckenham came first. The recent discovery of pottery dated to the period 900–1150 has revealed evidence of
previously unknown Saxo-Norman occupation. The site, on what is now Fairfield Road, was abandoned early in the Middle Ages
and not reoccupied until houses began to line the High Street in the late seventeenth century. Because Beckenham was off the
beaten track that ran through Bromley it became popular as a country retreat at this time, retaining its appeal for more than
a century. One of the grandest mansions was Beckenham Place, built in the late 1770s for wealthy local landowner John Cator.
Much of its surrounding parkland was later sold off for building, including a station in 1857. What remains of Beckenham Place
Park contains one of the few surviving areas of ancient woodland in inner London. Rapid development ensued over the next three
decades, with detached properties for the middle classes and terraced cottages for the workers who provided their services,
while shopping parades marched in all directions. After the First World War compact, densely packed terraces covered the remaining
fields in the southern half of the district and the council compulsorily purchased and widened the High Street. Bomb damage
during the next war led to clearance for council flats and town houses, and for new commercial property, though as a shopping
centre Beckenham has been totally eclipsed by nearby Bromley.
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