About Chislehurst Village

Also known as the High Street, Chislehurst Village is one of four distinct areas that make up Chislehurst. The area has also been called Prickend, a name that lives on with the pond, and West Chislehurst, to distinguish it from Royal Parade, Mill Place and Perry Street. The village has a long and interesting history, and this trail has been designed to highlight some of the features that are of particular interest.
There are many places to stop for refreshments, and a wide range of shops and boutiques. Parking in and around the Village is plentiful.

Buses: 160, 161, 162, 273, 638 and 661 stop here. Chislehurst Railway Station is one mile to the south-west

Lash’s Forge. A busy blacksmith’s forge was here from 1792, owned by the Blackney family opposite the Queens Head public house where the trail begins. From the early 20th century, three generations of the Lash family made motorcar bodies. Demolished in the 1960s. Find the plaque on Barclays Bank.

Former Post Office, now Café Rouge. Note the big curved window bays above the shop frontage. The Post Office was opened in 1911, and above the entrance you can see the monogram of King George V.

Late Georgian and early 19thcentury houses with attractive plasterwork, named after the man who owned them. Note the date, 1889, above Champion Wines. The owl perched high above Annabel’s is not a relic from Harry Potter but serves the useful purpose of scaring pigeons – we hope!

If you look up at the gable you might just make out the words Coffee Tavern carved on a stone tablet. The building was designed by architect George Somers Leigh Clarke; it housed public baths in the basement, a club room with a billiard table, bagatelle and chess boards. It was a temperance institution providing non-alcoholic refreshments. Opened in 1881, it closed a few years later ‘owing to some of the managing committee refusing to permit Sunday opening’.

Opened in 1893. Note the date high up in the gable and the name above the door. The Inspector lived in the station and the complement of police for Chislehurst in the early 19th century was 49! The station closed in 2000.

Originally a cinema, operating from 1930 to 1960. The projection room above the entrance is now the organ loft, the ticket office houses a Holy Water stoup, and where the screen was is now the altar. The floor still slopes downwards. Note that the seats are the tip-up type, a little noisy during quieter moments of reflection!

Look up to see the name carved in stone above the shops. Mr Squires, who had invested money in a South African goldmine at a town called Burlington, built this parade.

Built in 1881 as homes for 12 poor Christian residents over 60 years of age. Anna Maria Manning, sister to Cardinal Manning, a prominent Catholic of the Victorian era, married John Anderdon (Canon Murray’s brother in law). Their daughters, Anna and Maria Anderdon, nieces to both Cardinal Manning and Canon Murray, endowed these almshouses.

Begun in June 1868. The site was paid for by local residents, including Canon Murray of St Nicholas Church, who donated money from the sales of his hymn book, Hymns Ancient and Modern. Designed by James Brooks, the church is rare in the UK for its flying buttresses and separate tower (1930), designed by local architect E.J.May. The lychgate, also by May (1905), is a memorial to local man Henry James (not the famous author!). Can you find an inscription to him in the beams?