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Alma Road
Alma Pub
Birkbeck Road
One of the earliest roads
developed in the area with cottages for tradesmen.
Carlton Road.
The northern arm of this road, with its avenue of plane
trees, has on both sides a complete series of imposing though rather sombre
pairs, c1880.
Chiselhurst Road
The Red Lodge.
A red brick building, probably c1896, which was
a lodge for Sidcup Place; it is now becoming derelict. It has distinct architectural similarities with the
north front of Sidcup Place.
'Anonymous' pillar box, ie without a royal cypher, a relatively rare type, c1880.
Church Road
St.John the Evangelist.1899-1901 .The first
parish church of Sidcup, rebuilt in its present form between 1882 and 1899. a
large, imposing building in the
Early English style, with a fine oak pulpit made in the 17th
century. I on the south wall is a
stone recording the laying of the foundations of the first church in 1841 which
was completed in 1844 and later became Sidcup Parish Church. columns from the
outside arcade of this first church were
incorporated in shops at Station Road. The present church was completed in
1901, retaining the chancel, Lady Chapel and churchyard wall from the second
church.
Churchyard has
many tombs and monuments, but note in particular, towards the rear on the
right, the curious bronze cross to Mary Sheffield 1899, conspicuous in its blue colour, with strange art nouveau
motifs.
1/10 this attractive terrace of cottages of 1852 was on the original lane
from Sidcup to Chislehurst. Some have been considerably altered
Elm Road
30 is part of the same development as the park
Hatherley Road
One of the first new roads laid out
locally. Houses from 1870 – highly ornamented detached and semi detached.
High Street,
follows the winding course of the old road from London to
Maidstone which was improved by the New Cross Turnpike Trust in 1781. Further
development took place in the late 19th century after the arrival of the
railway, and above the modern shop fronts much of the facades and roofline has
hardly changed since that time. There was the Nucleus of a tiny hamlet at the
top of Sidcup Hill.
1 The Black
Horse. an old coaching inn
with a highly attractive frontage which preserves its basic appearance of the
time when the road was improved in
1781.
63/75 1880s, in classical style with some small circular windows.
64 c1881, is the
only building in the High Street to retain the appearance of the original house
with an unaltered ground floor.
77 Cannon Cinema.
The cinema entrance is c1933, but
the actual auditorium is of 1911 and is
located behind Kings Hall, a building c1870 with patterned brick, Gothic window heads and other decorative detail.
Originally called The Regal and later the ABC and then Cannon. Closed 2001.
Bitter Experience
King's Hall
Police Station 1902
Main Road
136 Horse and
Groom Pub. Antique
interior disguises its modern background.
Sidcup Fire
Station. Classical brick and stone Edwardian building
1914 for the Sidcup UDC as Fire Station, Council Offices and Council Chamber.
Charcoal Burner Pub
Marechal Niel Parade. Built in 1937. newsagents, grocers, greengrocers, butcher,
hairdresser, baker and ironmonger, catered for the majority of the needs of
local residents. Brunshaws were shortly to be taken over by Charringtons.
Robins, the grocers, was the
nearest to a chain with three shores locally. They remained in business until
the early 1950s.
Christ Church owes
its origin to a dispute between one of the early vicars of St. John's and a
group of his parishioners, who resolved to found another church nearby. At
first they worshipped in an iron church in Chislehurst Road, but their
congregation flourished and they were able to build the present church which was consecrated in 1901.
Old Forge Way
1936 intended to create cul
de sac with garages in a Wealden vernacular style by Kenneth Dalgleish
1887-1964. Organic extension to Sidcup High Street
1/15 are a
delightful enclave of vernacular houses off Rectory Lane, formed by two
terraces leading to a semi-circular group. Designed by Kenneth Dalgleish in
1936 in the style of 17th & 18th century cottages of the Kent
& Sussex Weald.
Rectory Lane
the main road to Maidstone originally followed the route
of Rectory Lane until a new
highway was made down Sidcup Hill in 1776
Rectory. in the 19th century caves and grottoes were cut into the sand in the Rectory Garden.
White Walls an
attractive romantic house c1910 in vaguely Arts & Crafts style.
Toucy &
Selwood. another
distinctive house of c1910, Toucy & Selwood the front rather difficult to
see, but the rear, with two full height bows and a profusion of pargetting, readily visible from Knoll Road.
The Grange near the junction with Cross Road. Tolhurst family.
Demolished for Old Forge Way 1930s
Selborne Road
23 Selborne Court. A large and impressive classical-style house c1903 with a fine baroque
frontispiece
Sidcup
Sidcup appears in medieval documents as ‘Cetecopp’. Thomas
de Sedcopp is recorded as having sold land in the district. It was
a straggling hamlet along
the Maidstone road with. The Black Horse, and some larger houses. In the early
19th century it began to increase in size. A church was built in 1841 and in
1866 the railway line was opened, though the station was sited a mile to the
north. electrification of the Line in 1926 released a flood of building. No main drainage until the 1880s.
Hop pickers
Sidcup Hill
the main road to Maidstone built as a new highway was made down Sidcup Hill in 1776
Ursula Lodges. A fine group of almshouses built 1972 around a square with a pond;
the front entrance is round the corner in Eynswood Drive. They replaced previous buildings funded by the
Berens family of Sidcup Place in 1847, and from this time a low brick wall to
the east survives
Kentish Times Building. Three storey building 1931 for local paper
and print works. Now offices.
The Drive
Manor Farm fields alongside. Slow development from the
1880s
The
Green
Important conservation
area. Informal recreation space. This small tract of
common land is separated from the grounds of Sidcup Place by a screen-belt of
tall lime trees on a mound. a corner of Sidcup which still keeps a distinctly
Victorian atmosphere with its large houses and spacious gardens.
The War Memorial commemorates the dead of both world wars.
Manor House. 1780s, council offices. Architect
not known. Eighteenth century remarkable roughness. A
very handsome house of red brick c1790 in a prominent position opposite Sidcup
Green. It was built on the site of an old farmhouse, and was originally called
Place Green House. It was named
Manor House in the 1860s, though there never was a manor of Sidcup. It is now
used as the Registry Office by Bexley Borough Council.
Place Cottage. brick house, it loos late 18th century , but the structure is of a timber-framed house, probably c1675. There are
substantial extensions to the rear, and a two storey bay to the east, added
c1895.
Cluny Cottage, has an ornate porch and steep barge
boarded gable; the lower floor is of knapped flint, the upper floor jettied and
tile-hung. It was originally three cottages of 1886.
Summerfield
Lodge, was built in identical style c1986, a hundred years later.
Freeby, a large house with tile-hung upper floor, of 1896.
Cluny Cottage
Summerfield Lodge
Freeby
Sidcup Place. An extraordinary building, partly 18th
century, but very irregular because of its 19th century extensions. It is
surrounded by a great area of open
space. said
to have been designed to resemble a fort with projecting bastions at each
corner by a Royal
Engineers officer and Planned like a
staff tent,. The Berens family
lived here From 1822 to 1919 and were well-known for their local benefactions –
they funded the Sidcup National School, Ursula Lodges and ohns Church. Later
the house became a private school and in 1933 was purchased by the Chislehurst
and Sidcup Urban District Councils for use as their headquarters. It was later
transferred to the London Borough of
Bexley and used by the Directorate of Engineering and Works. The old
core, said to date to 1743, is at the south-east corner. only the north-east
bastion remains free, the the others merged into extensions of 1853. The north
front has a tower, with a concave roof,
and the coat of arms of the Berens added in c1896. There is a mounting-block by
the foot of the tower. Has
since become a pub.
stable-block, c1780 and a section
altered c1930.
Park The grounds of Sidcup Place, cover just over 25
acres, with gardens and sports facilities,
and a special playground for children. There is a rose garden, the old kitchen
garden with its 19th century walling. There is a long ha-ha of
knapped flint.
The Park
The Park was a development of the
1870s. Three houses remain from that time
Kingston House on the south side,
Westburton
Amberley on the north side.
Anonymous pillar box
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