Beckenham

infobox UK place
country = England
map_type = Greater London
region= London
population=
official_name= Beckenham
london_borough= Bromley
constituency_westminster= Beckenham
post_town= BECKENHAM
post_town1= LONDON
postcode_area= BR
postcode_area1=SE
postcode_district=BR3
postcode_district1=SE20
dial_code= 020
os_grid_reference= TQ375695
latitude= 51.4077
longitude= -0.0220

Beckenham is a town in the London Borough of Bromley, England. It is located 8.4 miles (13.5 km) south east of Charing Cross.

It is referred to as Bacheham in the Domesday Book of 1086. The name appears to derive from Beohha's homestead (Beohhan + ham in Old English).Brewer's Britain and Ireland, compiled by John Ayto and Ian Crofton, Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2005, ISBN 0-304-35385-X] The River Beck was named after the town. The word Beck also means a stream in Middle English. Many attribute John Cator as being responsible for turning the village of Beckenham into a significant town in the late 1700s - a process that accelerated after his death in 1806 with the arrival of the railway from the 1830s.

About the Town

St George's church at the centre of Beckenham has a 13th century lychgate that is said to be the oldest in England.

Beckenham Cricket Club staged the Kent All-Comers' Championships, an international tennis tournament, from 1886 to 1996. The club held the world's first Open grass-court tournament in June 1968 - one month after the sport became 'open' to amateur and professional players - with Australians Fred Stolle and Margaret Court winning the singles titles.

The local Odeon cinema has four screens and is a grade II listed building.

Notable people

Famous people who lived and/or have been buried in Beckenham include:
* Nigel Benn
* CSgt Frank Bourne of Rorke's Drift, South African Zulu war, lived at 16 King's Hall Road, Beckenham and is buried in Beckenham Cemetery
* Admiral Sir Peircy Brett
* Fr. Thomas Pelham Dale SSC, Anglo-Catholic clergyman prosecuted for Ritualist practices in the 1870s
* Peter Frampton
* Nick Heyward
* Robert Key
* Robin Knox-Johnston
* Kate Lawler
* Buster Mottram
* Tom Pettitt - Real Tennis world champion 1885-90
* Frederick York Wolseley
* Wende Snijders - Dutch singer

References in pop culture

*In The Streets' song "Who Got The Funk?" from their first album "Original Pirate Material" Mike Skinner talks of London towns and names: 'Barnet; Brixton; Beckenham.'
*In Simon Brett's long-running BBC Radio 4 comedy drama, "No Commitments", Beckenham is the home of the wildly snobbish, socially aspirational and insecure sister Victoria, and the town is frequently mocked by association.

Notable places

* Kelsey Park
* Chinese Garage
* Croydon Road Recreation Ground
* St George's Parish Church
* Beckenham Place Park
* Beckenham Crematorium aka Elmers End Cemetery
* South Norwood Country Park

Nearest places

* Anerley
* Elmers End
* Penge
* Eden Park, London
* Shortlands

External links

* [http://www.beckenham.net Beckenham Local Information & Links]

References

* [http://www.beckenham.net/articles.asp?option=sp&item=1502 Beckenham Town Introduction] , as of March 29, 2003.