The London/Kent Boundary Well Hill and Maypole

A SQUARE BY SQUARE LOOK AT LONDON
TQ 49 64 An area of scattered housing and woodland, plus the hamlet of Maypole

Boundary London/Kent/Bromley
The boundary comes south from Pump Lane and crosses Rock Hill onto a path across Well Hill. It diverges east from the path and reaches the edge of Pascalls Wood. It turns south west into the wood and crosses Horeham Lane, and continues along the edge of Coneyearth Wood to intercept a path running south west.

The area round the closed Rock Fountain pub intrigues me - it looks like it ought to be something to do with quarries and rock - and all these watery names in the area about pumps and fountains. Something is going on here I can't quite get into.

Post to the north Well Hill
Post to the east Shoreham Great Cockerhurst

On the Kent, Sevenoaks side of the border
Bo-Peep.
This area was known as ‘Bo-Peep’ or just ‘Peep’ from the late 18th and it has associations with smuggling, and said to be an area where spirits were warehoused before being taken to London.

Chelsfield Lane
The name of the lane changes at the boundary to Shoreham Lane

Coneyearth Wood
Used for paintballing

Hewitts Road
Bo Peep. The pub is now essentially a restaurant. It was registered in 1809 as the ‘White Hart’ and the pub has two later windows engraved with a hart. It is however considerably older and has been licenced since 1627. It has associations with smugglers and the area became known as ‘Bo Peep’ in the 18th. The name is supposed to be associated with the smuggling of wool. There are said to be complexes of caves and tunnels in the area and one from the pub is said to go Crockenhill. The name was changed to ‘Bo Peep’ in 1971. It is built of knapped flint with a tiled upper floor and dates from 1548. It was originally a farm building.

Hollows Wood
Managed by the Woodlands Trust and part of woodland which was once continuous from Well Hill to Pole Hill. The wood is steep and wet.

Pascalls Wood

Rock Hill
Rock Fountain pub. Closed.

West Wood

Westwood Farm,

Well Hill
tip

Well Hill Lane
Reservoir
Goat Hill

On the London, Bromley side of the boundary
Hollybush Lane
Kilnfields Cottages
Maypole Road
Marked as this on the Ordnance Survey map of 1871, and could be thought to note a site where Maytime festivities took place
Maypole pub is now one of a terrace of cottages

Shoreham Lane
The name of the lane changes at the boundary to Chelsfield Lane

Compilation of this work has taken many years and numerous sources of material.

Comments

Unknown said…
I grew up at wellhill nursery with my grand parents on school holidays my gran worked for Constance spry at parkgate house in the years leading up to the war many a memory has come back reading edits streets

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