TOWNSPOTLIGHT
Spotlight on Orpington
THE LONDON / KENT GATEWAY
ORPINGTON MAY HAVE LONDON ON ITS DOORSTEP( JUST 16 MINUTES BY TRAIN), AND IT MAY BE PART OF THE LONDON BOROUGH OF BROMLEY. IT MAY EVEN BE ONE OF THE 35 MAJOR CENTRES OF GREATER LONDON, BUT IT HAS KENT IN ITS HEART AND IN ITS BLOOD. SURROUNDED BY HOP FIELDS, FARMS AND ORCHARDS, IT COULDN’ T BE ANYWHERE ELSE. BY LISAMARIE LAMB
HISTORY IN BRIEF
It was the Romans who first found Orpington – they inhabited Crofton Roman Vila from AD140 to AD400. The reason that they decided the area around Orpington was such a great place to settle was the land; it was rich and fertile, easy to grow crops in, and there was plenty of it too. The land was so well regarded that by 862 it had become a reward that was given away by Ethelbert, King of Wessex. He gave it to his first minister, Dryhtwald.
The land passed from person to person, each one a custodian of this perfect farming soil. In 1032 it was a man named Eadsy, chaplain to King Canute, who owned the land; it was known as Orped’ s Farm, or Orpedingetune. Eadsy, with no one to pass the land on to, gave it instead to Christ Church Priory in Canterbury.
As the years, decades and centuries passed, Orpington and the land around it became more and more important to trade. Rich landowners chose to settle there, and a number of manor houses were built( notably at Ruxley and Lullingstone). Orpington was the place to be for the wealthy and influential. At this point, along with new shops, taverns, inns and buildings, Orpington became a town to be reckoned with – an important stop on the way to and from Canterbury from London for those travelling for business and those on pilgrimage.
Orpington’ s railway was built in 1868( this was later improved and enlarged in 1904) giving it links to the capital and further out into Kent. Orpington was – and is – an important hub.
In 2013, Orpington’ s business community came together to form Orpington 1st, the borough’ s first Business Improvement District( BID)( www. orpington1st. co. uk). A BID is a not-for-profit company owned and led by local employers. Businesses in a defined area pay a levy based on their premises’ rateable value which is reinvested back into the area.
Capitalising on the town’ s position as the London / Kent Gateway, Orpington 1st funds a wide range of projects with the aim of improving Orpington as an area to work, visit and live. These include a calendar of events, improvements to the look and feel of the town, safety and security initiatives, measures to reduce businesses’ operating costs as well as promoting the town and its businesses to a wider audience.
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