Elmers End is an area of south-east

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, England, within 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 ...

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 ...

and formerly part of the historic county 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 ...

. It is located south of

Beckenham Beckenham () is a town in Greater London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley. Prior to 1965, it was part of Kent. It is situated north of Elmers End and Eden Park, east of Penge, south of Lower Sydenham and Bellingham, and west ...

, west of

Eden Park Eden Park is a sports venue in Auckland, New Zealand. It is located three kilometres southwest of the Auckland CBD, on the boundary between the suburbs of Mount Eden and Kingsland. The main stadium has a nominal capacity of 50,000, and is s ...

, north of Monks Orchard and east of

Anerley Anerley () is suburb of south east London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley. It is located south south-east of Charing Cross, to the south of Upper Norwood, west of Penge, north of Elmers End and east of South Norwood. The northe ...

History

The name Elmers End was probably from the Aylmer family marking the Southern 'end' of the land, local landowners in the 13th century, although the Aylmer family's clan rarely left the Great North Wood area, which took up most of Norwood and Crystal Palace. An alternative view is that the land was owned by Ralph Aylmer during the reign of Henry III (1216-1272) and was classified as a 'district'. The name Beckenham came about 50 years later, although this claim is completely contradicted by the Bromley Council website which shows Beckenham being historically present since AD862 and Elmers End since AD1226. Elmers End station opened in 1864 in what was then still a rural area. From the 1860s a sewage farm was opened, and housing gradually began to be built in the area, centred on the large green space which is the centre of a

gyratory A roundabout, a rotary and a traffic circle are types of circular intersection or junction in which road traffic is permitted to flow in one direction around a central island, and priority is typically given to traffic already in the junct ...

.Willey, Russ. ''Chambers London Gazetteer'', p 161 Development continued apace in the early 20th century, with a large industrial estate being built on the south side of the railway track, which has since closed; it used to house the Muirhead and Twinlock factories, and can be seen from the ai
here
The companies vacated the sites and it remained derelict until 1995 when

Tesco Tesco plc () is a British multinational groceries and general merchandise retailer headquartered in the United Kingdom at its head offices in Welwyn Garden City, England. The company was founded by Jack Cohen (businessman), Sir Jack Cohen in ...

built a new superstore. The former Bolloms paint factory site, on the opposite side of the road has been redeveloped into an industrial estate. An

Odeon cinema Odeon Cinemas Limited, trading as Odeon (stylised in all caps), is a cinema brand name operating in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Norway and Greece, which along with UCI Cinemas and Nordic Cinema Group is part of the Odeon Cinemas Group subsid ...

stood on Elmers End Green from 1939 to 1959. In the 1960s the sewage farm closed; as it is thought to be contaminated with heavy metals it was considered unfit for building houses and was later converted into a nature park ( South Norwood Country Park), which falls within the boundaries of the

London Borough of Croydon The London Borough of Croydon () is a London borough, borough in South London, part of Outer London. It covers an area of and had a population of 397,741 as of mid-2023, making it the most populous London borough. It is London's southernmost ...

. The main Beckenham crematorium is situated between South Norwood Country Park and Birkbeck station. Also known as Elmers End Cemetery, it contains the final resting places of such notable people as

W.G. Grace William Gilbert Grace (18 July 1848 – 23 October 1915) was an English cricketer who is widely considered one of the sport's all-time greatest players. Always known by his initials as "WG", his first-class career spanned a record-equalling 4 ...

, Frank Bourne, Thomas Crapper, Jerzy Wołkowicki, William Stanley and George Evans (VC) who won a

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious decoration of the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British decorations system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British ...

in 1916.

Upper Elmers End

This was once a small hamlet distinct from Elmers End proper, centred on the sharp bend on Upper Elmers End Road south of the railway line.Willey, Russ. ''Chambers London Gazetteer'', p 510 The hamlet was the site of a brewery, which was converted into Kempton's bakery in the 1930s. It was around this period that large scale housing development began in the area, with Upper Elmers End merging into Elmers End and Eden Park over time and losing its separate identity.

Transport

Rail

Elmers End railway station connects the area with Southeastern services to

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 ...

and London Cannon Street via Catford Bridge and to Hayes. There are also

Tramlink Tramlink, previously Croydon Tramlink and currently branded as London Trams, is a light rail tram system serving Croydon and surrounding areas in South London, England. It is the first operational tram system serving the London region since 195 ...

services to

Wimbledon Wimbledon most often refers to: * Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London * Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships Wimbledon may also refer to: Places London * W ...

via East Croydon.

Buses

Elmers End is served by several bus routes provided by

Transport for London Transport for London (TfL) is a local government body responsible for most of the transport network in London, United Kingdom. TfL is the successor organization of the London Passenger Transport Board, which was established in 1933, and His ...

. These connect Elmers End with areas including

Bromley Bromley is a large town in Greater London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley. It is southeast of Charing Cross, and had an estimated population of 88,000 as of 2023. Originally part of Kent, Bromley became a market town, charte ...

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 ...

Croydon Croydon is a large town in South London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a Districts of England, local government district of Greater London; it is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater Lond ...

, Crystal Palace,

Lewisham Lewisham ( ) is an area of southeast London, England, south of Charing Cross. It is the principal area of the London Borough of Lewisham, and was within the Historic counties of England, historic county of Kent until 1889. It is identified 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 ...

Penge Penge () is a suburb of South East Greater London, London, England, now in the London Borough of Bromley, west of Bromley, north east of Croydon and south east of Charing Cross. Etymology The name ''Penge'' is first attested in charter of ...

, Purley and

Woolwich Woolwich () is a town in South London, southeast London, England, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich. The district's location on the River Thames led to its status as an important naval, military and industrial area; a role that was mainta ...

Notable people

Walter de la Mare Walter John de la Mare (; 25 April 1873 – 22 June 1956) was an English poet, short story writer and novelist. He is probably best remembered for his works for children, for his poem "The Listeners", and for his psychological horror short fi ...

- poet and author, commemorated with a plaque on 195 Mackenzie Road. * John Fry - renowned doctor, researcher and writer, commemorated with a plaque on St James's Practice.

Gallery

File:Elmers_End_Railway_station.jpg, Elmers End station, with the Tesco superstore to the rear-left File:Elmers_End_URC.jpg, Elmers End United Reformed Church File:Elmers_End_information_board.jpg, History information board on Elmers End Green File:John_Fry_plaque,_Elmers_End.jpg, Plaque to John Fry on St James's Practice File:St_James_Church,_Elmers_End.jpg, St James Church File:The_Elm_Treet_pub,_Elmers_End.jpg, The Elm Tree pub (formerly the William IV)

Notes

Historical images of Elmers End
{{Areas of London Districts of the London Borough of Bromley