The name appeared first in 1577 as "the wood of the Pett family", who were shipbuilders and leased the wood as a source of timber. (A pub, The Sovereign of the Seas, is named after a ship built at Woolwich to a design by Phineas Pett.)[2]
The area remained rural right up until the late 19th century; in 1872 just one house ('Ladywood') stood here.[3] Most of the modern suburb of Petts Wood was built in the late 1920s by the Harlow-based developer Basil Scruby together with architect Leonard Culliford who designed the layout of the roads.[3] A number of individual builders developed individual plots, amongst others the master builder, Noel Rees, as well as Walter Reed and George Hoad.[3] Scruby also paid the Southern Railway Company £6,000 to build Petts Wood railway station to serve the new suburb.[3] Shops and a cinema were also built adjacent to the railway.[3]
The generally higher quality of large homes built to the east of the railway line, as compared to smaller and more densely packed development to the west, was due to the fact that Scruby's increasing financial difficulties meant he had little control over its developers, Morrell's and New Ideal Homesteads.[3]
The area between Petts Wood and Bickley sustained heavy bombing during the Second World War because of its proximity to an important railway junction. Three bombs landed on the town centre itself.[citation needed]
The Jubilee Country Park is to the northwest of the main shopping area. Before this park was created in 1977 the area was known as 'The Gun Sites', as it had been the location for anti-aircraft guns in the Second World War, and was the home of the 1st Petts Wood scout group.
According to Keith Waterhouse in his book Streets Ahead, Petts Wood was popular with Fleet Street newspaper staff in the 1950s: "… this Kent suburb, recommended in Fleet Street for the all-night train service it afforded sub-editors and reporters coming off late duty, thus giving them a round-the-clock, heaven-sent excuse for one more for the road."[5]
In 2009, the local Woolworths store gained media attention when its manager, realising his was the last of the chain to close, gathered the remains of the pick and mix section and auctioned the bag of sweets for £14,500.[6]
The woods
The Petts Wood area of woodlandOpen fields on the Hawkwood Estate
The eponymous wood itself survives and is managed by the National Trust. Originally just 88 acres (36 hectares) were bought by public subscription and donated to the Trust in 1927, after it became clear that the area would be developed for housing.[3] This asset expanded when the neighbouring Hawkwood Estate and Edlmann Wood, comprising a further 250 acres (100 hectares), were donated to the Trust by landowners Robert and Francesca Hall in 1957.[citation needed] The woodland features oak, birch, rowan, alder, ash, hornbeam and sweet chestnut.
Sir Geraint Evans (1922–1992) – Welsh baritone or bass-baritone noted for his operatic roles. Lived at 34 Birchwood Road where he is commemorated with a blue plaque.[10]
Major Phil Packer (b. 1972) – British soldier who was rendered paraplegic in 2008 by injuries sustained while serving in Iraq, grew up in Petts Wood. He has since raised over a million pounds through charitable fundraising efforts which have garnered him several national awards.[16][17][18][19]
Ivor Spencer (1924–2009) – toastmaster and promoter of the butler arts.[21]
William Willett (1856–1915) – promoter of Daylight Saving Time, an idea he is thought to have come up with whilst riding in Petts Wood.[3] He is commemorated by a memorial sundial in the wood, and the pub The Daylight Inn is named in his honour.
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