Bromley Gloss - London Borough of Bromley - Current, Upcoming, Historic

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Page Founder/Manager/Editor/Narrator, Researcher - Historical/Topical, Post Creator, Administrator, Videographer/Photographer. Bjorn: Page Researcher, Videographer, Photographer
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MEMORIES OF BROMLEY’S DRIPPING TAP JUNCTION. A unique Victorian classic. Here is a look back at The Dripping Tap's forme...
29/09/2026

MEMORIES OF BROMLEY’S DRIPPING TAP JUNCTION. A unique Victorian classic. Here is a look back at The Dripping Tap's former home on Masons Hill. While the business itself was fantastic, its old premises was arguably one of the erm🏚️…. lesser attractive examples of Victorian architecture in Bromley, jaded charm non-the-less🙂. With its twiddly Catweazle exterior and weathered paint, the building looked like a crumbling set piece from a Dickens novel that had somehow survived into the 21st century.

CLEARING UP THE CONFUSION
When the "FOR SALE FREEHOLD" board went up, locals naturally assumed the shop was finished. Apparently to stop the rumours, the owners put up those bright yellow entrance signs declaring: "WE ARE NOT CLOSING DOWN" and "BECAUSE WE LOVE IT HERE." It was a message to show that while the brickwork was on its last legs, the business itself wasn't going anywhere.

THE NEXT CHAPTER🎉
The freehold went up for grabs around 2013, and the original building was ultimately demolished in 2017. True to their word, the thriving business survived. Still trading as The Dripping Tap, they moved just down the road to 121 Masons Hill (BR2 9HT), where they operate today as kitchen and bathroom design specialists.

TWEEDY ROAD, BROMLEY, THEN AND NOW showing that the front section of the old Art School—later the Library, and now resid...
27/09/2026

TWEEDY ROAD, BROMLEY, THEN AND NOW showing that the front section of the old Art School—later the Library, and now residential flats—was actually a huge extension. In the early photo the iconic red-brick front section and the green clock tower are missing.

When the Bromley School of Science and Art first opened here in 1878, the original building sat way back, leaving the giant Baptist Church next door to dominate the view. But by 1894, the town desperately needed its first Free Public Library. Instead of buying a new plot of land, builders simply took over the space infront, adding the extension right onto the face of the art school.

What looks today like one single, grand Victorian building is actually a flawless architectural masterstroke—a brilliant piece of town planning that leaves a wonderful, lasting legacy on Tweedy Road today.

05/09/2026

TWO YEARS AFTER THE FIRE: RACING IN THE RUINS OF THE PALACE GROUNDS 🏎🏁 In 1938, just two years after the Crystal Palace was destroyed by fire, manager Sir Henry Buckland repurposed the surviving park grounds to generate new revenue.

He constructed a tarmac circuit directly inside the grounds, creating a challenging track that wound past the surviving Victorian stone terraces and ponds.The venue quickly drew top-tier drivers like Prince Bira and Raymond Mays to compete for the Imperial Trophy.

The event successfully transformed a site of recent disaster into a major attraction for pre-war motorsport, drawing large crowds to watch cars race against the backdrop of the palace ruins.

CHANGING FACE OF ELMERS END. A look back at this lost corner in the late 1980s📍 Rare photos captured by local resident H...
03/09/2026

CHANGING FACE OF ELMERS END. A look back at this lost corner in the late 1980s📍 Rare photos captured by local resident Harry Hill. With much thanks to Maureen.

These shots show the block of shops known as The Pantiles, which stood on the corner of Croydon Road and Elmers End Road heading up the hill toward the station. The images capture local independent businesses as things were about to change forever. The visible storefronts shown here include: a printers, The Stationery Cupboard (complete with the 01 for London telephone number), Partytime, a reproduction furniture shop, and the Blooming-Lovely Florist.

By this point in the late 80s, many of the units were already boarded up or sitting empty. In the mid-1990s, this entire parade—along with the massive Muirhead & Co. engineering factory next door—was demolished to make way for redevelopment. Today, this land is occopied by Elmers End Tesco Superstore which opened in 1995.

What foresight to have taken these images before this view was lost.

⬆️ click hashtag for stream of lost local shops of old.
03/09/2026


⬆️ click hashtag for stream of lost local shops of old.

BROMLEY TOWN CENTRE BY ALBERT VAUGHN LEVENS 1965: The Carnegie Public Library (partially visible in the background) and...
03/09/2026

BROMLEY TOWN CENTRE BY ALBERT VAUGHN LEVENS 1965: The Carnegie Public Library (partially visible in the background) and the Wesleyan Methodist Church on Bromley High Street were both demolished a few years later during the late 1960s, whereas the retail parade housing the Dolcis shoe shop survived much longer and was demolished later in 1987 to make way for the construction of The Glades Shopping Centre.

BROMLEY JUVENILE COURT, SOUTH STREET (1937) A progressive courtroom for minors. Following the strict rules of the UK's C...
02/09/2026

BROMLEY JUVENILE COURT, SOUTH STREET (1937) A progressive courtroom for minors. Following the strict rules of the UK's Children and Young Persons Act of 1933, local councils were legally required to separate youth cases from adult criminals. To meet this law, Bromley hired famed architect C. Cowles Voysey to design a progressive, less-intimidating courtroom environment specifically to protect and handle minors.

UNIFIED COURTHOUSE WITH DEDICATED SPACES FOR ADULT AND YOUTH CASES
When construction across the complete municipal block was completed in 1939, the building operated as a unified courthouse. It handled juvenile cases in its specialised room while simultaneously taking over adult Magistrates' Court duties for the borough.

It was the courtroom shown that was reserved for youth cases under the Children and Young Persons Act of 1933. The court processed harsh realities including severe neglect, parental abandonment, truancy, petty theft, property destruction, and street fights.

Under Section 53 of the Act, grave crimes such as murder, manslaughter, s.a, and armed burglaries could not be handled locally; magistrates were legally required to push these severe juvenile and child cases up to the adult Crown Court or Assizes.

CELLS
Local lore tells us that two original holding cells still remain preserved deep down in the building's vaults.

REPURPOSING
Today, the historic building has traded legal battles for community gatherings. It now operates as Community House—a thriving neighbourhood hub featuring local rooms for hire and a large public cafe serving up hot and cold food.

Source: 1937 interior architectural prints from the Alfred Newton & Sons Collection [Historic England Archive], statutory requirements of the Children and Young Persons Act 1933, and municipal timelines from the Bromley Civic Society.

ENTERTAINMENT PRICE LIST. What it cost to book the likes of Fleetwood Mac, Pink Floyd and Deep Purple in 1969. This vint...
02/09/2026

ENTERTAINMENT PRICE LIST. What it cost to book the likes of Fleetwood Mac, Pink Floyd and Deep Purple in 1969. This vintage price list from a London entertainment agent gives the lowdown.

OLD BROMLEY, EAST STREET. This image captures a gritty, unvarnished look at East Street in Bromley North during the late...
02/09/2026

OLD BROMLEY, EAST STREET. This image captures a gritty, unvarnished look at East Street in Bromley North during the late 19th century. Looking at the sagging frames and drafty gaps, it is easy to imagine how the bitter winter cold and choking smog would have seeped into such a neglected abode. This exact site was entirely demolished shortly after to make way for the Post Office building completed in 1896.

ALFRED JOB STOREFRONT
The shopfront on the left is severely neglected. The dark wood is warped from moisture, and wooden slats lean against a grime-streaked display window.

CASH FRUIT & VEGETABLE MARKET
The upper brickwork features a hand-painted whitewash sign. Below it, the windows host thin, soot-grayed curtains. The ground floor is boarded up and dead, flanked by a corner pillar buried under tattered theater flyers—including one advertising Babes in the Wood.

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