Swanley is a town and

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

in the Sevenoaks District of

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

, England, southeast of

central London Central London is the innermost part of London, in England, spanning the City of London and several boroughs. Over time, a number of definitions have been used to define the scope of Central London for statistics, urban planning and local gove ...

, adjacent to the

Greater London Greater London is an administrative area in England, coterminous with the London region, containing most of the continuous urban area of London. It contains 33 local government districts: the 32 London boroughs, which form a Ceremonial count ...

boundary and within the

M25 motorway The M25 or London Orbital Motorway is a major ring road encircling most of Greater London. The motorway is one of the most important roads in the UK and one of the busiest. Margaret Thatcher opened the final section in 1986, making the M25 th ...

periphery. The population at the 2021 census was 17,826.

History

In 1066, Swanley only consisted of a few cattle farms, surrounded in oak, sycamore and

ash (Fraxinus) ''Fraxinus'' (), commonly called ash, is a genus of plants in the olive and lilac family, Oleaceae, and comprises 45–65 species of usually medium-to-large trees, most of which are deciduous trees, although some subtropical species are everg ...

woodland. Because Swanley only consisted of a few homesteads, it was not mentioned in the

Domesday Book Domesday Book ( ; the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book") is a manuscript record of the Great Survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...

. There is a theory that the placename Swanley developed from the

Saxon The Saxons, sometimes called the Old Saxons or Continental Saxons, were a Germanic people of early medieval "Old" Saxony () which became a Carolingian " stem duchy" in 804, in what is now northern Germany. Many of their neighbours were, like th ...

term 'Swine-ley', "Ley" meaning a clearing in the woods and "swine" meaning pigs. So it has been suggested that it was originally a

pig farm or a stopping place for pigs on the way to the markets in Kent . This later developed into what we now know as Swanley. In the sixth and seventh centuries, there were probably two homesteads. After the

Norman Conquest The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Normans, Norman, French people, French, Flemish people, Flemish, and Bretons, Breton troops, all led by the Du ...

, these portions of land were turned into manors, which were then often divided among the monks at

Ghent Ghent ( ; ; historically known as ''Gaunt'' in English) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the Provinces of Belgium, province ...

Abbey An abbey is a type of monastery used by members of a religious order under the governance of an abbot or abbess. Abbeys provide a complex of buildings and land for religious activities, work, and housing of Christians, Christian monks and nun ...

and

Bermondsey Bermondsey ( ) is a district in southeast London, part of the London Borough of Southwark, England, southeast of Charing Cross. To the west of Bermondsey lies Southwark, to the east Rotherhithe and Deptford, to the south Walworth and Peckham, ...

. The original settlement of the town of Swanley (as opposed to modern-day Swanley Village) was based around Birchwood which does get mention in later medieval and early modern documents. The modern-day town developed from a crossroads with only three houses before the advent of the railway in 1861 to a town with a population of 16,588 (in 2001) in one and a half centuries.
The newer settlement grew up around the railway junction and was originally named Swanley Junction, before becoming known as Swanley, and the original Swanley became Swanley Village, in the 1920s. The arrival of the railway changed life in Swanley. The town became the location of Swanley Horticultural College which opened in 1887 and led to horticulture becoming the predominant industry. The college originally only catered for male students. Then in the early 1890s the first female students were admitted. Local Nurseries and florists' outlets blossomed, while casual farm labouring job opportunities on farms became in short supply. Some properties in Swanley still have apple and pear trees in their gardens from the original orchards. The college amalgamated with Wye College near Canterbury in 1945 under the governorship of

Lord Northbourne Baron Northbourne, of Betteshanger in the County of Kent, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1884 for Walter James, 1st Baron Northbourne, Sir Walter James, 2nd Baronet, who had earlier represented Kingston upon H ...

. Contrary to popular myth, Swanley was never a major flower growing or orchard area (at least not more so than any other part of North Kent) however its location became attractive for London doctors seeking a cure for sick Londoners, escaping the smog of London. Three hospitals were established, the Kettlewell (or Alexandra) Hospital in 1885, Parkwood Hospital in 1893 and White Oak Hospital in 1897. The Kettlewell stood on the site of

Asda Asda Stores Limited (), trading as Asda and often styled as ASDA, is a British supermarket and petrol station chain. Its headquarters is in Leeds, England. The company was incorporated as Associated Dairies and Farm Stores in 1949. It expanded ...

's car park and was for poor patients from London who needed to recuperate after major surgery. The Parkwood hospital was similarly used and White Oak was originally for children with eye diseases. During both

World war A world war is an international War, conflict that involves most or all of the world's major powers. Conventionally, the term is reserved for two major international conflicts that occurred during the first half of the 20th century, World War I ...

I and II, Kettlewell and Parkwood were used as military hospitals, Parkwood become part of the

Sidcup Sidcup is an area of south-east London, England, primarily in the London Borough of Bexley. It is south-east of Charing Cross, bordering the London Boroughs of London Borough of Bromley, Bromley and Royal Borough of Greenwich, Greenwich. It was ...

Hospital for facial injuries. After 1948, and the creations of the

National Health Service The National Health Service (NHS) is the term for the publicly funded health care, publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom: the National Health Service (England), NHS Scotland, NHS Wales, and Health and Social Care (Northern ...

, meant these old London Hospitals became redundant – Kettlewell and White Oak closed in 1959 and Parkwood ceased being a hospital in the early 1960s. Currently, the gates of White Oak can still be seen opposite Swanley Police Station in London Road, the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

in Bartholomew Way is on the site of Kettlewell's chapel and Parkwood still exists in its entirety in Beechenlea Lane as Parkwood Hall School (a residential and day school). The

of Swanley was created in 1955 from neighbouring parishes of Farningham and Sutton at Hone reflecting the developments of the town and increase in population. In 1974 the parish council became a

Town Council A town council, city council or municipal council is a form of local government for small municipalities. Usage of the term varies under different jurisdictions. Republic of Ireland In 2002, 49 urban district councils and 26 town commissi ...

and included the settlements of Hextable, Swanley Village and the main town of Swanley. In 1988, Hextable was formed into a separate parish council. Up until 1974 it was a part of the Dartford Rural District.

Geography

Within Kent, Swanley is adjacent to the parishes of Wilmington and Hextable to the north,

Sutton-at-Hone and Hawley Sutton-at-Hone and Hawley is a civil parish within the Borough of Dartford in Kent, England. It lies to the south of the urban part of the Borough, and consists of the two settlements named, both to the west of the River Darent, one of the par ...

and Farningham to the east, and Eynsford and Crockenhill to the south. To the west there is a boundary with St Mary Cray in the

London Borough of Bromley The London Borough of Bromley () is a London Borough, borough in London, England. It is the largest and southeasternmost borough in London, and borders the county of Kent, of which it formed part until 1965. The borough's population in the 2021 ...

and Ruxley in the

London Borough of Bexley The London Borough of Bexley () is a London boroughs, London borough in south-east London, forming part of Outer London. It has a population of 248,287. The main settlements are Sidcup, Erith, Bexleyheath, Belvedere, London, Belvedere, Crayford ...

. The closest large towns are Bexleyheath,

Dartford Dartford is the principal town in the Borough of Dartford, Kent, England. It is located south-east of Central London and is situated adjacent to the London Borough of Bexley to its west. To its north, across the Thames Estuary, is Thurrock in ...

Orpington Orpington is a town in Greater London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley. It is 13.4 miles (21.6 km) south east of Charing Cross. On the south-eastern edge of the Greater London Built-up Area, it is south of St Mary Cray, sou ...

and

. The villages of Hextable Hockenden and Crockenhill use a Swanley address and are part of the Swanley urban area which has a total population of 23,489 with Hextable being earmarked for regeneration in the districts Swanley vision plan. Being on the outskirts of south east London it is a convenient commuter town for people who work in the city, as they can still be paid the London living wage. It keeps administrative and some traditional links with

Sevenoaks Sevenoaks is a town in Kent with a population of 29,506, situated south-east of London, England. Also classified as a civil parishes in England, civil parish, Sevenoaks is served by a commuter South Eastern Main Line, main line railway into Lo ...

and

but it is heavily associated with south east London due to the expansion of that area close to Swanley's borders. The majority of housing development took place from the post-war period to late 1980s. A new fire station was opened in 1962, and new post office two years later. Victorian houses and shops were demolished to create a new town centre. Its 1970s shopping centre was then re-modelled in the 1990s when the

supermarket was extended and is one of the larger

stores.

Transport

Road

Swanley has easy access to the M25, M20 and the A20 being on the M25 Junction 3 interchange. The A2 is also north of the town.

Rail

Swanley railway station provides the town with Southeastern services to London Victoria via Bromley South,

London Charing Cross Charing Cross railway station (also known as London Charing Cross) is a London station group, central London railway terminus between the Strand, London, Strand and Hungerford Bridge in the City of Westminster. It is the terminus of the South ...

(running non stop to

London Bridge The name "London Bridge" refers to several historic crossings that have spanned the River Thames between the City of London and Southwark in central London since Roman Britain, Roman times. The current crossing, which opened to traffic in 197 ...

), Ashford International via Maidstone East and to Gillingham, as well as

Thameslink Thameslink is a mainline route on the British railway network, running from , , , , , and via central London to , , , Rainham, , , and . The network opened as a through service in 1988, with severe overcrowding by 1998, carrying more than ...

services to

London Blackfriars Blackfriars (), also known as London Blackfriars, is a London station group, central London railway station and connected London Underground station in the City of London. It provides Thameslink services: local (from North to South London), ...

via Bromley South &

Catford Catford is a district in south east London, England, and the administrative centre of the London Borough of Lewisham. It is southwest of Lewisham itself, mostly in the Rushey Green (ward), Rushey Green and Catford South Ward (electoral subdivi ...

(which is extended to

Welwyn Garden City Welwyn Garden City ( ) is a town in Hertfordshire, England, north of London. It was the second Garden city movement, garden city in England (founded 1920) and one of the first New towns in the United Kingdom, new towns (designated 1948). It is ...

during peak hours) and to

Bus

*2 to

via Farningham, Eynsford, Shoreham & Otford. Monday to Saturday limited journeys, operated by

Go-Coach Go-Coachhire Limited, trading as Go-Coach, is a bus operator running a total of 40 bus services (including school services) across Kent and Sussex. The majority of these services are operated on behalf of Kent County Council from their depot in ...

. * 233 to

Eltham Eltham ( ) is a district of South London, southeast London, England, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich. It is east-southeast of Charing Cross, and is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. The three ...

via Ruxley, Foots Cray,

& New Eltham. Operated by

Go-Ahead London Go-Ahead London is a major bus operator in Greater London. The name first appeared in August 2008, before which the company had traded under separate names and brands. It is currently (as of April 2025) the largest bus operator in Greater Londo ...

for

London Buses London Buses is the subsidiary of Transport for London (TfL) that manages most bus services in London, England. It was formed following the Greater London Authority Act 1999 that transferred control of London Regional Transport (LRT) bus s ...

. *429 to

via Joydens Wood & Wilmington or to West Kingsdown via Farningham. Monday to Saturday, operated by Go Coach. *477 to Dartford via Hextable & Wilmington or to

via Crockenhill & St Mary Cray. Monday to Saturday, operated by

Arriva Southern Counties Arriva Southern Counties Limited, trading as Arriva Southern Counties, is a bus operator in Kent, Essex, Hertfordshire, and Surrey in England. It is a subsidiary of Arriva UK Bus, which is part of the Arriva group owned by Deutsche Bahn. The ...

Politics

Swanley has had a

town council A town council, city council or municipal council is a form of local government for small municipalities. Usage of the term varies under different jurisdictions. Republic of Ireland In 2002, 49 urban district councils and 26 town commissi ...

since 1974, owning some 150 acres of parks and recreation areas. The town is also administered by Sevenoaks District and

Kent County Council Kent County Council is a county council that governs the non-metropolitan county of Kent in England. The non-metropolitan county is smaller than the ceremonial county, which additionally includes the Unitary authorities of England, unitary auth ...

. It is in the Sevenoaks parliamentary constituency with Laura Trott as its MP. Ryan Hayman is Swanley's CEO having been appointed in 2020

Facilities

Local business sponsor the floral displays, while the Town Council maintains the grass verges and open spaces. The residential is a mix of private housing with social housing on two main estates at St Mary's and White Oak largely provided by West Kent Housing Association who have an office in Swanley Centre. Swanley Park (which covers 60 acres) was previously known as New Barn park. It was previously New Barn Farm until various fields and orchards were bought by the Town Council to protect the

green belt A green belt or greenbelt is a policy, and land-use zone designation used in land-use planning to retain areas of largely undeveloped, wilderness, wild, or agricultural landscape, land surrounding or neighboring urban areas. Similar concepts ...

between Hextable and Swanley. There remains acknowledgement of the former use as a farm with a remaining avenue of fruit trees and new avenues of trees linking the car parks to the central play park, soft play centre, café, water park and boating lake. The town council has maintained old hedgerows and trees around the outside of the park and has created allotments and an environment area that is now managed by local volunteers. The park is home to Swanley Athletics Club and hosts a number of county cross country races and other events each year. Around one of the large fields is Swanley New Barn Model railway (running on 800 metres of track) operated by a group of volunteers throughout the summer. A classical music and firework event – formerly called the '1812 Night' until the Russian invasion of Ukraine – is held on the Friday before the August bank holiday. Awarded worldwide recognition in 2018, the park has 400,000 visitors annually and is one of the most popular parks in the region.

Places of worship

The Victorian St Mary the Virgin's Church is the Anglican parish church of Swanley. The

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

Church of the Holy Apostles was registered for worship in 1965, superseding a church hall used since 1931. Christ Church, originally

Congregational Congregationalism (also Congregational Churches or Congregationalist Churches) is a Reformed Christianity, Reformed Christian (Calvinist) tradition of Protestant Christianity in which churches practice Congregationalist polity, congregational ...

and registered in 1904, is now part of the

United Reformed Church The United Reformed Church (URC) is a Protestant Christian church in the United Kingdom. As of 2024 it had approximately 44,000 members in around 1,250 congregations with 334 stipendiary ministers. The URC is a Trinitarian church whose theolog ...

. Also in the town are the Swanley Full Gospel Church (

Assemblies of God The World Assemblies of God Fellowship (WAGF), commonly known as the Assemblies of God (AG), is a global cooperative body or communion of over 170 Pentecostal denominations that was established on August 15, 1989. The WAGF was created to provi ...

), Elim Christian Centre ( Elim Pentecostal), a

Jehovah's Witnesses Jehovah's Witnesses is a Christian denomination that is an outgrowth of the Bible Student movement founded by Charles Taze Russell in the nineteenth century. The denomination is nontrinitarian, millenarian, and restorationist. Russell co-fou ...

Kingdom Hall and a Brethren meeting room.

Education

Orchards Academy is located close to the Town Centre and is the only Secondary School in the town. Other schools are located in the nearby towns of

and

within 5 miles of Swanley. There are five Primary Schools in Swanley, with others in the surrounding villages. The closest Further Education Colleges are North Kent College and London South East College.

Media

Since the town is close to London, television signals are received from the Crystal Palace TV transmitter, placing Swanley in the BBC London and ITV London areas. Swanley is served by both BBC Radio Kent and

BBC Radio London BBC Radio London is the BBC Local Radio, BBC's local radio station serving Greater London. It broadcasts on FM broadcasting, FM, Digital Audio Broadcasting, DAB, digital TV and via BBC Sounds from studios at Broadcasting House in Langham Plac ...

. Other radio stations including Heart South,

Gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

and KMFM West Kent. The local newspaper is ''Dartford & Swanley News Shopper'' which publishes on Wednesdays.

Sport

Alma Swanley F.C. was a popular local side but went bankrupt. Swanley Furness F.C. was another team from the town, though many support nearby Crockenhill F.C. as it is more successful. Titan Tigers is a popular local youth football club, which was formerly run from and trained in Swanley, but now are based in Hextable, training on the grounds of Hextable School. Titan Tigers has also just expanded into adult football with an Under 21s and Veterans team. Hexley Rangers F.C. is a FA Charter Standard (Hextable/Swanley) community-based junior football club that play at Downsview Primary School. Petham Park Panthers is another FA Charter club. The Swanley and District Athletic Club, founded in 1988, meets at New Barn Park. The club organises and helps run a number of annual running and cross-country events. Swanley Sub Aqua Club meets at the White Oak swimming pool on Monday nights. SSAC is an independent club that has been training people to dive safely since 1967. Since 2009 it has been offering free PADI training for club members. The Leisure Centre was rebuilt in 2022, costing £20m. Sidcup and District Motor Cycle Club owns the Canada Heights international motocross circuit at Button Street, Swanley. The venue was first used in 1948 and was purchased by the club in the 1980s. A round of the ACU

British Motocross Championship The ACU British Motocross Championship (abbreviated to MXGB and currently known for sponsorship reasons as the Motul ACU British Motocross Championship) is the premier motocross series in the United Kingdom. The championship is recognised as b ...

is run each year as well as open

Motocross Motocross is a form of off-road motorcycle racing held on enclosed off-road circuits. The sport evolved from motorcycle trials competitions held in the United Kingdom. History Motocross first evolved in Britain from motorcycle trials competi ...

, Enduro and Trials events for all types of motorcycles. The motor racing circuit

Brands Hatch Brands Hatch is a motor racing circuit in West Kingsdown, Kent, England, United Kingdom. Originally used as a grasstrack motorcycle circuit on farmland, it hosted 12 runnings of the British Grand Prix between 1964 and 1986 and currently hosts ...

is situated five miles from Swanley. Swanley now has a rugby union club formed in 2017. At the time of writing they have achieved 3 promotions in 3 years, most recently winning Metropolitan Kent 4.

Wasps RFC Wasps Rugby Football Club was a professional rugby union team. They last played in Premiership Rugby, the top division of English rugby, until being suspended on 12 October 2022. On 17 October 2022, the club entered administration, resulting in ...

have indicated plans to build a 28,000 all seater stadium in Swanley (Crockenhill) Boxing Stables amateur boxing club is based in the community hub St.Mary’s road. They were previously based in Longfield The club is affiliated to England Boxing Southern Counties and is the only official boxing club in Swanley. Boxing stables had a fire at their previous club.

Demography

The population of the civil parish at the 2021 census was 17,825.

Notable people

* Janice Hadlow — former controller, BBC 2, went to school in Swanley * Alan Knott —

and

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

cricketer, spent his childhood in Swanley * Crispian St. Peters — singer and guitarist, born Robin Peter Smith in Swanley * Mark Steel — columnist and comedian, born and grew up in Swanley * Mike Stock (musician), Mike Stock — songwriter and record producer, came from Swanley * James Dickson Innes (painter) — died in Swanley * Ruben Loftus-Cheek — footballer for Chelsea F.C., Chelsea and England national football team, England, grew up in Swanley

Twin town

Swanley is sister city, twinned with: * Verrières-le-Buisson in France * Fastiv in Ukraine

References

External links

Swanley Town Council
{{Authority control Swanley, Towns in Kent Civil parishes in Kent