Bromley

infobox UK place
official_name= Bromley
london_borough= Bromley
region= London
country = England
population = 14,499
(Bromley Town ward, 2001 census) [ [http://www.bromley.org/ciswebpl/ward/warddetail.asp?id=4 2001 Census information for the Bromley Town ward] "Bromley Town ward population - 15078"]
post_town= BROMLEY
postcode_area= BR
postcode_district= BR1
dial_code= 020
os_grid_reference= TQ405695
latitude= 51.4070
longitude= 0.0210
constituency_westminster= Bromley & Chislehurst

About the town

The town has a large shopping and retail area including a pedestrianised High Street and "The Glades" shopping centre. Bromley is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the London Plan. The London Borough of Bromley Civic Centre is located in the town. The historic Wickham Court with its crow-stepped gable construction is located in Bromley. Bromley's main retail rival is Croydon, to the west. Bromley is represented by Conservative MP Bob Neill.

There are two railway stations providing connections to the Central London. Bromley South is located on the Chatham main line and is served by fast and local services to Victoria and Blackfriars. Bromley North is located at the southern end of a short branch line from Grove Park from where connections can be made for London Bridge, Cannon Street and London Charing Cross.

The town's football club Bromley F.C. are currently playing in the Conference South, which is the highest level of regionalised football in England, two divisions below the Football League.

Bromley is home to a 4-screen Empire cinema, with screen 1 being its biggest with a capacity of 392.Screens 2 and 3 have disabled access. They provide special showings on a Wednesday for seniors, known as the Senior Screen, which costs £3.50 to get in, and a free hot drink and biscuits are provided. This has given the seniors in Bromley a weekly social event to go to, where their requests for films are listened to and the programme consists of their choices of films.Another of Empire's offers is Empire Juniors, whereby every ticket is £1 (children and adults) on a Saturday and Sunday morning for a selected childrens film.This cinema also participates in Orange Wednesdays.

Bromley has a number of theatres, the most notable being the Churchill Theatre in the town centre and the Bromley Little Theatre close to Bromley North railway station. As any large town Bromley has numerous schools, and is home to Bromley College of Further & Higher Education.

Notable Residents

* H. G. Wells, most famous for his novel,"The War of the Worlds", was born in Bromley in 1866 [cite book|url= http://www.online-literature.com/wellshg/|title= HG Wells| publisher= www.online-literature.com |accessdate=|date] . In August 2005, the wall honouring H.G Wells in Market Square was repainted. The current wall painting features a rich green background with the same H.G Wells reference and the evolution sequence of homosapiens featured on "Origin of Species" by Charles Darwin, a former resident of nearby Downe Village. [cite book|url= http://www.bromley.gov.uk/news/newsarchive2005/oct2005/Darwin+comes+to+Market+Square.htm|title= Darwin| publisher= www.bromley.gov.uk |accessdate=|date]
* Other famous people who lived in Bromley include David Bowie, Peter Frampton,Fighter Darren M Jackson , Aleister CrowleyFact|date=May 2008, cricketer Jill CruwysFact|date=May 2008, the anarchist Peter KropotkinFact|date=May 2008, the former Clash drummer Topper Headon, McLaren test driver Gary Paffett, GP2 driver Mike Conway, Sir Thomas James Harper a decorated officer in the Crimean war, all hailed from Bromley.

Nearest places

* Bickley
* Chislehurst
* Downham
* Hayes
* Grove Park
* Petts Wood
* Keston
* Shortlands

References

External links

* [http://www.orpingtonjuniors.com Orpington Junior Badminton Club]
* [http://www.bromley.gov.uk/Default.bromley London Borough of Bromley Homepage]
* [http://www.youngbromley.com Young Bromley] - A place for young people in Bromley to share views and ideas.
* [http://www.1bromley.co.uk Bromley Community Directory]
* [http://www.speakersofbromley.org.uk/ Speakers of Bromley Speakers Club]
* [http://www.fredasgarden.co.uk/ Freda's Victorian Garden, Bromley]
* [http://www.empirecinemas.co.uk/ Empire Cinema, Bromley]