insideKENT Magazine Issue 95 - February 2020 | Page 65

TOWNSPOTLIGHT
SPOTLIGHT ON
CHISLEHURST
THERE IS SOMETHING RATHER INTOXICATING ABOUT THE IDEA OF REALLY BEING
ABLE TO HAVE IT ALL, OF HAVING YOUR CAKE AND EATING IT TOO, AS THEY SAY.
THERE IS ALSO SOMETHING RATHER INTOXICATING ABOUT THE IDEAL OF LIVING IN
YOUR PERFECT PLACE. COMBINE THESE TWO IDEAS AND YOU’VE GOT SOMETHING
QUITE MAGICAL HAPPENING; YOU’VE GOT SOMETHING JUST LIKE CHISLEHURST.
Because Chislehurst is whatever you want it to be.
It’s a leafy suburb, a bustling, busy town, it’s a hop
and a skip away from London, it’s got plenty of
green places, plenty of space to grow and play. From
the village atmosphere to the restaurants, events,
and leisure activities of a big town, it’s all here, in
one exceptional place.
History in Brief
Chislehurst is an ancient place, first mentioned in
records in AD973 when King Edgar gave it to St
Andrews Priory in Rochester. The name itself is
Saxon; it essentially means ‘gravelly wood’. This
links to the fact that the area isn’t somewhere that
agriculture flourished thanks to the soil there (this is
probably at least part of the reason why it was given
away to the priory – no one else could really use it);
there are many wooded areas which certainly doesn’t
help, but also plenty of chalk and lime.
So not much was done with Chislehurst for many
centuries, although a settlement grew up, which
became a village, which became a small town. Mining
was, as might be expected, the main industry, and
the Chislehurst Caves are a reminder of the hard
work that went on there. Chislehurst carried on quite
peacefully until the advent of the railway in 1865.
At this point, wealthy Londoners found they could
move out of the city into more peaceful surroundings
but still commute to the office for work.
From then on, Chislehurst kept growing and
adapting, reaching a peak in the mid-1970s after
which new building slowed and the village settled
back down to an attractive, fascinating existence.
65