BROMLEY AND DISTRICT LIGHT RAILWAY - 1905
This standard gauge railway would have started very close to the pre-existing South Eastern Railway station at Bromley (North), by the boundary between the Metropolitan Borough of Lewisham and the Urban District of Bromley.
Tram Proposal
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In fact the original idea was for a tramway. In the
early part of the century there was a major expansion in tram services,
facilitated by the introduction of electric trams. These used the
planning powers established by the Tramways Act of 1874 One of the lines travelled south from Lewisham through Catford, continuing as far as Downham. The proposal involved extending it to run through Bromley and Farnborough, then terminate in Green Street Green by the "Queens Head". |
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| Tram at Lewisham c 1906 photo: Old UK Photos |
Under the terms of the act for this tramway, compulsory purchase of houses in Farnborough Village was sought to create a three acre worksite to be used for generating equipment and a depot. The depot would be in an area bounded in the South-East by Gladstone Road. The approximate location for the depot is shown in this map, click to enlarge.
These powers would last for a period of up to three years after the start of construction. The Tramway company would also be empowered to purchase further land ‘by agreement’ and resell it at a future time.
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But the
proposal was turned down. Perhaps the powers that be in Bromley
objected to having the road through the centre of the town torn
up to make way for tram tracks. Later the line was extended from Downham eastward to terminate at Grove Park (see photo, left, also the article to the right). This survived until the service was withdrawn in the 1950s. |
Trams ceased running in London altogether by 1952, although of course there has been a modern revival to build the new system centred on Croydon.
Light Railway Proposal
Not to be deterred the sponsors of the proposal quickly changed it to
become a Light Railway. The planning framework for this was potentially
easier than that for a tramway, and it would have involved less
disruption in the streets, although there was still a provision to build a large depot in Farnborough.
The line was not going to connect to the main line through Bromley, but
instead be a stand-alone service seemingly with a main objective being
to finally provide Farnborough with a railway service.The line was to start just north of Bromley town centre at about the point where the borough of Bromley borders that of Lewisham.
It would have run close to Bromley North station and along the High Street to Bromley South station, Intriguingly two routes through Bromley centre are defined: whether these are alternatives or separate alignments for the east and west lines is not made clear. |
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The draft bill does not specify where the stations would have been located, but it can surely be assumed that there would have been one at or near to the centre of the village.
The proposal included the following stipulations:
47 Carriages used on the railway may be moved by animal power or mechanical power: provided that no mechanical power shall be used except with the consent of and according to a system approved by the Board of Trade.
56 The company at all times after the opening of the railways or any portion thereof for public traffic shall run a proper and sufficient service of carriages for artisans mechanics and daily labourers each way every morning and every evening (Sundays, Christmas Day and Good Friday excepted) at such times not being later than 8 in the morning or earlier than 5 in the evening respectively as may be most convenient for such workmen going to and returning from their work at fares not exceeding one half penny for every mile or fraction of that distance.
Here are two items of correspondence concerned with the submission:
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Evidently the bill was either not approved, or the project could not be financed.
Had the railway been built it would probably not have lasted very long, as the 47 omnibus was operating along the same route by 1914.
see also Light Railway Act 1896
Speculative Housing Development
Mr. Thomas Hubbard acquired part of the pastureland of the Farnborough Hall Estate from Sir Percival Hart Dyke in 1899 for building purposes. Hubbard was a patriotic man and named the roads after parliamentary statesmen.Farnborough had no significant local industry for residential expansion except Fox's Brewery at Green Street Green, but a railway connection was planned through Farnborough which prompted Hubbard's development. This was indeed the Bromley and District Light Railway.
The village population increased markedly in the 20 years to 1911, compared to the preceding 100 years when it had been stable at only about 500 people.
The railway was of course never built and by 1910 the builder had gone bankrupt. Probably as a consequence the eastern side of Gladstone Road was not fully developed. Further housing has been added over the years, some built on the ends of gardens of villas in Tubbenden Lane South, originally much longer,
The terraced and semi-detached houses in these streets were workmen's cottages (although No. 26 Gladstone Road was a Barber's shop) named in groups such as "Ruskin Villas", "Sidney Cottages" or individually such as "The Laurels" and "vydene". The housing and remaining small scale industrial buildings dating from this era share a common local style of stock bricks, slate roofs and delicate ornamental tile and window details
The eastern frontage of the development runs along Tubbenden Lane which at the time faced directly onto the lands of Farnborough Hall, the entrance to which is today sandwiched between later housing, mainly post second world war.
Along Tubbenden Lane the Victorian/Edwardian Villas are in spacious plots which were given romantic original names like "Camelot", "Ivanhoe" and Nos. 318 and 314. "Martindale" and "Marsland". The last pair, although altered, are in the Bromley 'Arts and Crafts" style with rendered walls, high pitched roofs and carefully, arranged windows.
Adapted from a London Borough of Bromley publication 1995.
MAIN LINES
Escaping the Trams
Farnborough was a popular destination for weekend hikers and cyclists and a tramline was proposed. Under the Tramways Act of 1874, electric tram companies had the power to expand their services. However, companies found it less expensive and easier to obtain an order under the Light Railways Act of 1896.In May 1903, the British Electric Traction Company applied for an order of Parliament to extend the light railway, gauge 4 feet 8½ inches, from Lewisham and Downham south through Bromley to terminate at Farnborough and on to Chelsfield. The application was broken down into five or six different railways:
Railway No 1 was to start in London Road at the boundary between Bromley and Lewisham, terminating at a point 26 yards south-east of junction with Park End.
Railway No 2 was to start from the junction with Park End and pass along London Road, High Street, Bromley, and Masons Hill, terminating at the junction of Westmoreland Road with Masons Hill.
Railway No 2a starting in the High Street near the junction of the High Street and Church Road, terminating about 10 yards north-west from the White Hart Hotel.
Railway No 3 starting by the termination of Railway No 2, passed along Masons Hill and the road known as “Bromley Common”, terminating at about the boundary between Bromley and the parish of Farnborough.
Railway No 4 started at the termination of Railway No 3, along the main road from Bromley to Sevenoaks to a point opposite the western corner of the “George and Dragon” in Farnborough.
Railway No 5 took the tram link along the main road from Farnborough to Green Street Green to about 40 yards in a southerly direction from the “Queen’s Head”.
The intended railways were designed to be constructed along the streets or roads, but a certain amount of land, a little over an acre, mainly strips of land, was identified for compulsory purchase to provide the tram stops and termini. A generating station and depot was to be built on a three-acre plot of land on the south-east side by Gladstone Road.
It is interesting that the application does not specify a means of motivation, but stated that it would be animal, electrical or any mechanical power that the promoters decided upon. Any objections were to be sent to the Secretary of the Light Railway Commission, 54, Parliamentary Street, Westminster, as soon after the 30 May as possible and a copy of the letter to their solicitor, Sydney Morce of Norfolk Street, Strand.
Another tram route was discussed at a conference of the South London borough and caused strong opposition in Bromley. The London County Council (LCC) enquired how they might assist Woolwich, Greenwich and Deptford in dealing with the closure of insanitary properties and the rehousing of their inhabitants. Headlined in the Bromley local paper, Trams for Chislehurst – a Startling Proposal it was suggested that tram routes should connect north-east London with the south-east as far as Chislehurst, passing through Woolwich, and perhaps other lines connecting New Cross Gate with Kidbrooke and Eltham Road.
The minutes of Bromley Rural District Council provided more detail: the tramway was to run from Southend Village to Eltham via Grove Park Road in the Parish of Mottingham. The Mottingham Trades and Lewisham Borough Council provided an alternative proposal as they considered that a tramway along Grove Park Road would be detrimental to the district.
After conferring with Parliamentary Agents, it was considered advisable for the protection of Bromley to engage an experienced surveyor. By January 1924, a report showed that the matter had been dropped.
All these tramline proposals into Bromley and Chislehurst came to nothing. Bromley was fearful of a bid for power over the borough from the LCC.
Ultimately Thomas Tilling Ltd, the main competitor of the British Electric Traction Company, started operating a motor bus, number 47, from Shoreditch. Working with the London General Omnibus Company from 1908, route 47 was extended south to Farnborough in 1914.
Pam Preedy.
This article was published in the June 2021 issue of the magazine of the Bromley Borough Local History Society, It is reproduced here by permission.