New Eltham is a suburban 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 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 ...

, primarily in the

Royal Borough of Greenwich The Royal Borough of Greenwich (, , or ) is a London borough in southeast Greater London, England. The London Borough of Greenwich was formed in 1965 by the London Government Act 1963. The new borough covered the former area of the Metropolita ...

with some parts 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 ...

. It is located south east of

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 ...

and north west of

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 ...

History

New Eltham is a largely residential suburb of Greater London developed on former farmland to the south of Eltham in and around the small hamlet and crossroads of Pope Street, centred around what is today Avery Hill Road. On the main building of Wyborne School (Footscray Road) there is a sign clearly identifying it as "Pope Street" School, built in 1904. New Eltham railway station was opened as Pope Street Station in April 1878, twelve years after the opening of the

Dartford Loop Line The Dartford Loop Line is one of three lines linking London with Dartford in Kent, England. It lies to the south of the other two: the North Kent Line (or Woolwich Line) and the Bexleyheath Line. Informally, the line is known as the Sidcup L ...

. The station was renamed New Eltham in 1886 although Pope Street was retained as a suffix until 1927. In 1974 the bridge (crossing the railway line) at Avery Hill Road was widened to allow buses to cross it. This replaced a narrow iron bridge which only had a separate path on one side for pedestrians. The Beehive public house was rebuilt in 1897. Most of New Eltham's housing dates from the 1930s. A library was built in 1931. As part of London's Cold War civil defences, a rectangular windowless blockhouse was built in 1954 behind New Eltham library. It served as the Woolwich Borough Control and when Woolwich merged with Greenwich in 1965 it took over the role as the Greenwich Borough Control. The control was part of the South East London Group reporting to the Regional Group War HQ at

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 ...

and later to Pear Tree House. Until the mid-1970s New Eltham had 3 butchers, 2 greengrocers, 3

grocers The Worshipful Company of Grocers is one of the 111 livery companies of the City of London, ranking second in order of precedence. Established in 1345 for merchants engaged in the grocery trade, it is one of the Great Twelve City Livery Compani ...

, 2 toy shops, a shoe repairer, 2 barbers, a radio and television repair shop, a clothing and material store, timber yard, cycle sales and repairs, 2 motor spares, hardware store, 2 dairies and a fishmongers. The Co-operative supermarket was previously a series of smaller separate purpose Co-op shops: a greengrocer, a chemist, butcher, and grocery store. A fishmongers later became a fish and chips shop (and still is as of 2021). Behind this, in what is now the car park was the Co-op dairy; the other (Unigate) was in Green Lane near Fiveways in what is now a small

business park A business park or office park is a designated area of land in which many office buildings are grouped together. These types of developments are often located in suburban areas where land and building costs are more affordable, and are typically ...

Sport and recreation

Championship side

Charlton Athletic Charlton Athletic Football Club is a professional association football club based in Charlton, south-east London, England. The team compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. Their home ground is ...

has a training ground in New Eltham, down Sparrows Lane. The area's other football teams include Newpark F.C., which played in the

South London Football Alliance The South London Football Alliance was a football competition based in South London, England. It was founded in 1920 and had in its last season 2016/17 a total of 2 divisions with 23 teams. The league was not part of the English football league ...

Division 3 and are currently holders of the Beckenham Hospital Cup, and one New Eltham team, playing in the London & Kent Borders League and based at the STC Ground on Ivor Grove Footscray RUFC is located on Footscray Road. It has three men's team (the first team playing in the Shepherd Neame Kent 2 league), a ladies team and minis rugby. RACS Cricket Club are based in the area. New Eltham also has a running club, New Eltham Joggers. A section of the

South East London Green Chain The South East London Green Chain, also known as the Green Chain Walk, is a linked system of Greenway (landscape), open spaces between the River Thames and Crystal Palace Park in London, England. In 1977 four London boroughs and the Greater Lon ...

walk passes through New Eltham. New Eltham Operatic Society is a member of the National Operatic and Dramatic Association. Dance classes are held above the Co-op store.

Amenities

Near the railway station is the library, the Co-operative food store, a cluster of small shops and the Post Office. Larger chain stores may be found in nearby Eltham and Sidcup high streets. The public house was refurbished in 2009.

Nearby places

New Eltham borders

Avery Hill Avery Hill is an area of South East London mainly within Royal Borough of Greenwich, and with some parts in the London Borough of Bexley. It is located east of Eltham and north west of Sidcup. It is believed that the area is named after an aviary ...

to the north and north east,

to the east and south east,

to the south,

Mottingham Mottingham is a district of south-east London, England, which straddles the border of the London Borough of Bromley, the London Borough of Lewisham and the Royal Borough of Greenwich. It is located southwest of Eltham, . It was historically wi ...

to the west and

to the north west.

Transport

New Eltham station New Eltham railway station is in the Royal Borough of Greenwich in south-east London. It is down the line from . It is operated by Southeastern and is in Travelcard Zone 4. It has two platforms: Platform 1 the "up" platform for services to ...

serves the area, with services to Central London and

Gravesend Gravesend is a town in northwest Kent, England, situated 21 miles (35 km) east-southeast of Charing Cross (central London) on the Bank (geography), south bank of the River Thames, opposite Tilbury in Essex. Located in the diocese of Roche ...

. New Eltham is served by several

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 ...

bus services connecting it with

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 ...

Bexleyheath Bexleyheath is a town in southeast London, England, in the London Borough of Bexley. It had a population of approximately 15,600 in 2021 and is southeast of Charing Cross. It is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in London ...

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 ...

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 ...

New Addington New Addington is an area of South London, England, within the London Borough of Croydon. It is located 5 miles south east of Croydon and is adjacent to the Greater London boundary with Surrey. History Until the 1930s, the area now known as New ...

New Cross New Cross is an area in south-east London, England, south-east of Charing Cross in the London Borough of Lewisham and the London_postal_district#List_of_London_postal_districts, SE14 postcode district. New Cross is near St Johns, London, St Jo ...

and

Swanley Swanley is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Sevenoaks District of Kent, England, southeast of central London, adjacent to the Greater London boundary and within the M25 motorway periphery. The population at the 2021 ce ...

References

External links

Community Association of New ElthamNew Eltham Residents AssociationDominic Drive Residents AssociationThis is New Eltham
{{LB Bexley Areas of London Districts of the Royal Borough of Greenwich Districts of the London Borough of Bexley