Shortlands

Historically, Shortlands was known as Clay Hill.[3] It became known as Shortlands around 1800, after the fields which, at this point of the River Ravensbourne, ran at right angles up the slopes on either side.

The earliest known settlement was an Iron Age hillfort at Toots Wood, where traces of a Roman Camp and pottery has also been found.[4]

A medieval field pattern here was of sets of long and short fields, called Longelonds and Shortelonds, and the latter gave name to Shortlands house (now a part of Bishop Challoner School) built at the start of the 18th century. The house with its extensive farmland was acquired in 1848 by a railway magnate William Wilkinson, who also built several cottages for his farm labourers.[5]

Suburban development began in 1863 with the sale of the Shortlands House estate, making full advantage of the railway station opened in May 1858.

Pearson & Cox was a British automobile manufacturer in Shortlands, trading from 1908 to 1916. In 1913 they manufactured both steam-powered vehicles (cars and bicycles) and petrol powered cyclecars.[6][7]

In 1921, a war memorial, designed by W. D. Caroe in the form of a Celtic cross, was unveiled in the village, in the middle of a road junction. On 8 July 2016, a Mini car collided with the memorial, breaking it into pieces.[8] The memorial was restored in October 2017 and re-positioned on its site.[9]

• Bromley
• Beckenham
• Southend
• Eden Park
• Hayes
• Downham
• West Wickham
• Elmers End
• Bickley
• Bellingham
• Park Langley
• Penge
• Crystal Palace

The main schools in Shortlands are Valley Primary School, Highfield Infant and Junior Schools, Harris Academy Shortlands, Clare House Primary School and Bishop Challoner School. On top of Shortlands Hill towards the Chinese Garage is the Shortlands library, linked with other libraries of the Bromley borough.

The Prime Meridian runs through Shortlands.

Beccehamians RFC a Rugby Union Club founded in 1933 plays competitive rugby at Sparrows Den at the bottom of Corkscrew Hill near West Wickham.[10]

Shortlands is most famous for Enid Blyton having lived there in the later stages of her life.

Others have included:

• Sir John Brown (1816–1896), (of shipbuilding fame) died at Shortlands house.
• Grahame Clark (1907–1995), archaeologist who specialised in Mesolithic Europe and palaeoeconomics grew up here.
• Mrs Craik (Dinah Craik) (1826–1887), the novelist for whom Norman Shaw built a house on Shortlands Road.
• John Ossian Davies (1851–1916), the Welsh Congregationalist minister died here.
• George Grote (1794–1871), eminent historian of Greece, was born here at Shortlands House when it was known as Clay Hill.
• General Sir Reginald Hewetson, GCB CBE DSO (1908–1993) British Army
• Charles Keeping (1924–1988), English illustrator, children's book author and lithographer, lived on Church Road.
• Joseph Thomas Last (1849-1933), English missionary, explorer and naturalist died here.
• Alexander Muirhead, electrical engineer, credited with recording the first human electrocardiogram.
• Brian Murphy, the actor (George Roper in the sitcom George and Mildred) and his wife the author and actress Linda Regan lived in the village until February 2019.
• Peter Ricketts a former Permanent Secretary to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office was created Baron Ricketts, of Shortlands, in 2017.
• Lord Stamp of Shortlands (1880–1941), the first Chartered Mayor of Beckenham and Chairman of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway lived and died here when his house was bombed in 1941.
• John Veale (1922–2006), English classical composer born here.
• Charles Paget Wade (1883–1956), English architect, artist-craftsman and poet was born in Shortlands.

• Historical images of Shortlands