Kenley

Kenley

All Saints Church, Kenley
Kenley
Kenley shown within Greater London
OS grid reference TQ327600
London borough
Ceremonial county Greater London
Region
Country England
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town KENLEY
Postcode district CR8
Dialling code 020
Police Metropolitan
Fire London
Ambulance London
EU Parliament London
UK Parliament
London Assembly

Kenley is a district in the south of the London Borough of Croydon (historically in Surrey). It borders Purley, Coulsdon, Riddlesdown, Caterham and Whyteleafe. Kenley is situated 13 miles south of Charing Cross. The 2011 census showed Kenley having a population of 14,966.

Significant portions of Kenley lie within the Metropolitan Green Belt. In particular, the south of Kenley is dominated by the open green spaces of Kenley Common and Kenley Aerodrome.

History

A comprehensive history of Kenley is found in the Bourne Society's 'Kenley Village History'.

Suburban development

For centuries, Kenley was part of Coulsdon Manor which covered the whole area now known as Coulsdon, Old Coulsdon, Purley and Kenley. As with most of this area, Kenley was primarily farm land, with a few big houses and their estates.

The official opening of the railway on 4 August 1856 transformed Kenley. The new railway prompted urban development. By the end of the Victorian era, Kenley had assumed its own identity. Magnificent gentlemen's houses in substantial grounds were constructed during the 1860s. These houses gave Kenley its distinctive appearance on its western hillside. More modest housing and shops were built along the Godstone Road in the 1880s. Finally, the compact housing of the lower lying Roke area was constructed toward the end of the 19th century.

All Saints' Church, now a Grade II listed building,[1] was built in 1870, and enlarged in 1897 and 1902. In 1888, Kenley was created as a parish in its own right.

One of Kenley's landmark buildings is the Memorial Hall. It was opened in 1922 to commemorate those who gave their lives in the First World War. It was subsequently extended and re-opened by Group Captain Douglas Bader in 1975.

Second World War

RAF Kenley was a strategic airfield in the Battle of Britain. Given RAF Kenley's importance, the Luftwaffe attempted to destroy it by means of a massive bombing raid on 18 August 1940. The attacking Luftwaffe aircraft suffered heavy casualties during the raid. Despite some damage to the airfield and the surrounding buildings and homes, this bombing raid proved unsuccessful. By the following day, RAF Kenley was operational again.

Kenley airfield plays a unique and important role in Britain’s history. As the UK’s most complete surviving Battle of Britain fighter airfield, it gives us a direct and tangible link to our aviation past. As an active airfield today, it builds on that heritage, whilst the surrounding environs provide visitors with a site of nature conservation and a protected public open space. The National Lottery funded Kenley Revival Project enables people to connect with, and take ownership of, a vital part of British history.

Hammond Innes' book Attack Alarm was based on his experiences as a Royal Artillery anti-aircraft gunner at RAF Kenley during the Battle of Britain. It contains graphic descriptions of the station and attacks on it in 1940.

Post-war development

In the post-war period, many of the substantial Victorian properties with their extensive grounds were developed for executive housing. In 1959, Kenley was closed as an operational base of the RAF. Today, the aerodrome is used exclusively by the gliders of the Air Training Corps (615 Volunteer Gliding Squadron)[2] and the Surrey Hills Gliding Club.[3]

Kenley Common

Kenley Common comprises 138 acres of green open space surrounding the former Battle of Britain airfield. It is a mixture of chalk grassland and ancient woodland set among gently rolling hills. Blessed with fine views across the Caterham valley and the North Downs beyond, visitors find it hard to believe that the centre of London is only 14 miles to the north.

The original common was bought by the Corporation of London in 1883. At that time, it encompassed some of the area that is now Kenley Airfield. Over the years, compulsory purchases by the Government and subsequent land acquisitions and re-acquisitions have meant that the Common has changed its shape and position, and almost doubled in size.

The common’s history as an airfield goes back to the First World War when planes were assembled and tested for squadrons in France. It proved an important link in the chain of supply and became established as a permanent Royal Air Force station. The Second World War saw concrete runways being laid and, as headquarters of ‘B’ Sector in the No 11 Group of fighter stations, it was soon playing a key role in the Battle of Britain. Kenley is now the last remaining Battle of Britain fighter station in the southeast to remain in its Second World War form. Evidence of its wartime role has survived and the old blast bays, air raid shelters, officer’s mess and the original runways can still be seen. English Heritage identified Kenley as the "most complete fighter airfield associated with the Battle of Britain to have survived".

Demography

The Kenley ward was 70% White British in the 2011 census.[4]

Politics

Kenley is located in the Parliamentary constituency of Croydon South where the current MP as of May 2015 has been Chris Philp of the Conservative Party. He was re-elected with 33,334 votes at the 2017 General Election. [5]

At a local level, Kenley has three Conservative councilors on Croydon Borough Council.

Boundary changes at the 2018 Local Elections saw the number of Councillors reduced from three to two.

Kenley 2018 (2)
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Conservative Jan Buttinger* 2,025 34.17
Conservative Stephen O'Connell* 1,966 33.17
Labour Maggie Conway 613 10.34
Labour Appu Srinivasan 448 7.56
Green Kate Morris 250 4.22
Green Ian Dixon 232 3.91
Liberal Democrat Anne Howard 207 3.49
Liberal Democrat Arfan Bhatti 186 3.14
Majority 1,353 22.83
Turnout
Conservative hold Swing
Conservative hold Swing
Kenley 2014(3)
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Conservative Janice Buttinger 2,271 19.3
Conservative Steven Hollands 2,123 18.0
Conservative Steve O'Connell 2,111 17.9
UKIP John Hooper 914 7.7
UKIP Ian Manton 903 7.6
UKIP 898 7.6
Labour Sarah Ward 451 3.8
Labour Chris Williams 388 3.3
Labour Mary Crous 356 3.0
Green Shorai Dixon 336 2.8
Liberal Democrat Mary Catto 271 2.3
Green Tomas Vute 265 2.1
Liberal Democrat Olive Abdi 238 2.0
Liberal Democrat Thomas Knight 217 1.8
Total votes 11,733
Conservative hold Swing
Conservative hold Swing
Conservative hold Swing

Climate

Climate data for Kenley, United Kingdom (1981-2010)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Average high °C (°F) 6.7
(44.1)		 6.9
(44.4)		 9.8
(49.6)		 12.6
(54.7)		 16.2
(61.2)		 19.3
(66.7)		 21.6
(70.9)		 21.4
(70.5)		 18.2
(64.8)		 14.0
(57.2)		 9.9
(49.8)		 7.2
(45)		 13.7
(56.6)
Average low °C (°F) 1.8
(35.2)		 1.5
(34.7)		 3.2
(37.8)		 4.8
(40.6)		 7.8
(46)		 10.5
(50.9)		 12.8
(55)		 12.8
(55)		 10.6
(51.1)		 8.0
(46.4)		 4.7
(40.5)		 2.3
(36.1)		 6.7
(44.1)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 80.3
(3.161)		 59.5
(2.343)		 57.9
(2.28)		 60.3
(2.374)		 58.9
(2.319)		 53.4
(2.102)		 51.9
(2.043)		 58.6
(2.307)		 69.9
(2.752)		 98.6
(3.882)		 88.3
(3.476)		 81.4
(3.205)		 819
(32.244)
Source: Met Office[6]

Schools

Nearest places

Nearest stations

Notable current or former residents

References

  1. ↑ Good Stuff IT Services. "Church of All Saints - Croydon - Greater London - England". British Listed Buildings.
  2. ↑ "615 Volunteer Gliding Squadron - Home". www.615vgs.com. Retrieved 9 June 2017.
  3. ↑ "Surrey Hills Gliding Club, Kenley Airfield home page". www.southlondongliding.co.uk. Retrieved 9 June 2017.
  4. ↑ Services, Good Stuff IT. "Kenley - UK Census Data 2011". UK Census Data. Retrieved 9 June 2017.
  5. ↑ https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/politics/constituencies/E14000656
  6. ↑ "Kenley climate". metoffice.gov.uk.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.