Locksbottom is a suburb 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 ...

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 ...

. Prior to 1965 it was within 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

Bromley Common Bromley Common is an unincorporated village in Greater London, within the London Borough of Bromley. Prior to 1965 it was within the historic county of Kent. It is south of Bromley town centre and Bickley, west of Southborough and Petts Woo ...

, west of Crofton, north-west of Farnborough, and east of Keston.

History

The area is named after the Lock family, who owned land here in the 1700s. A

workhouse In Britain and Ireland, a workhouse (, lit. "poor-house") was a total institution where those unable to support themselves financially were offered accommodation and employment. In Scotland, they were usually known as Scottish poorhouse, poorh ...

was built here in March 1845, though by the 1920s it had been converted into an infirmary known as Farnborough Hospital. The interwar years saw suburban development and the area merged into Orpington in the east. In 2003 the hospital was redeveloped and renamed

Princess Royal University Hospital Princess Royal University Hospital or PRUH is a large acute district general hospital situated in Locksbottom, near Farnborough, in the London Borough of Bromley. It is managed by King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust. History The hosp ...

and is now one of the major hospitals in this part of London.

Amenities

Locksbottom is centred on a

parade of shops A shopping parade, also known as a parade of shops, suburban parade, neighbourhood parade, or just a simply a parade is a group of between five and 40 shops in one or more continuous rows, mostly being retail and serving a local customer base; in ...

on the western end of Crofton Road, running from the junction with Farnborough Common to Tugmutton Common. To the west lies Keston Park and to the north Farnborough Park, both of which are exclusive gated communities. A large supermarket backs onto the Princess Royal Hospital. There are also three pubs in the area - the Black Horse, the British Queen, and Ye Olde Whyte Lion. The multiple award winning Chapter One Restaurant (previously known as the Fantail) has been operating in the village since the 1930s. The church is St. Michael's and all Angel's Roman Catholic Church, and was built between 1961 and 1964 by Henry Bingham Towner of loadbearing brickwork, laid in English bond, around a steel frame.

Transport

Rail

The nearest

National Rail National Rail (NR) is the trading name licensed for use by the Rail Delivery Group, a group representing passenger train operating companies (TOCs) of England, Scotland, and Wales. The TOCs run the passenger services previously provided by ...

station to Locksbottom is Orpington station, located 1.8 miles away.

Buses

Locksbottom is served by

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 ...

routes 61, 261, 336, 353, 358, R2, R3 & R4. These connect it with areas including Biggin Hill,

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 ...

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 ...

Chislehurst Chislehurst () is a suburban district of south-east London, England, in the London Borough of Bromley. It lies east of Bromley, south-west of Sidcup and north-west of Orpington, south-east of Charing Cross. Before the creation of Greater ...

, Crystal Palace, Grove Park, Hayes,

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 ...

Gallery

File:Loksbottom 1948c.png, Crofton Road, Locksbottom in 1948 File:Locksbottom_shops.jpg, Shops along the Crofton Road File:British_Queen,_Locksbottom.jpg, The British Queen pub File:Princess_Royal_Hospital,_Locksbottom.jpg, Princess Royal University Hospital File:Ye_Olde_Whyte_Lyon,_Locksbottom.jpg, Ye Olde Whyte Lyon pub File:St_Michael_and_All_Saints_Roman_Catholic_Church,_Locksbottom.jpg, St Michael and All Saints Roman Catholic Church, built 1961-4 by Henry Bingham Towner and officially opened by Archbishop Cyril Cowderoy

In Film

The former 'Fantail Restaurant', with views over and into the village, showing the land where now Saint Michael's Church stands, heavily planted with trees, with unidentified spots along the A21 nearby, may be seen in the now re-released on DVD film, Calling All Cars (1954 film).

Culture

Locksbottom hosts two sports clubs: Locksbottom Cricket Club who compete in the Kent County Village League Division 2. Their home ground is Tugmutton Common. Locksbottom Town FC are a

Sunday League football Sunday league football is a term used in Britain, Ireland and Australia to describe the amateur association football competitions which take place on Sunday rather than the more usual Saturday. The term ''pub league'' may also be used, owing to ...

team, who play in the Orpington & Bromley District Sunday Football League.

References

Areas of London Districts of the London Borough of Bromley {{London-geo-stub