Sidcup originated as a tiny hamlet on the road from Maidstone to London. According to Edward Hasted, "Thomas de Sedcopp was owner of this estate in the 35th year of king Henry VI. [i.e. in the 1450s] as appears by his deed."[3] Hasted described Sidcup in the latter part of the 18th century as "a small street of houses, among which is an inn of much resort", referring to the former Black Horse pub on the high street.[4]
Sidcup parish formed the Sidcup Urban District of Kent from 1908. It was initially known as Foots Cray; however, in 1921 the urban district,[5] and in 1925 the parish,[6] were renamed Sidcup. The parish and district were abolished in 1934 and combined with Chislehurst to form the Chislehurst and Sidcup civil parish and urban district. In 1965 the parish and urban district were abolished. Sidcup went on to form part of the London Borough of Bexley in Greater London and Chislehurst formed part of the London Borough of Bromley.
Recent
A number of manor houses, converted to other uses, remain. They include Frognal House, the birthplace and residence of Thomas Townshend, 1st Viscount Sydney, converted for use as residential and nursing accommodation; Lamorbey House, now used by Rose Bruford College; Sidcup Place, a bar and restaurant; and The Hollies, converted for residential use.
Sidcup has a mixture of large Victorian and Edwardian properties alongside typical 1930s suburbia. It retains many parks and open spaces hinting at the great estates and large homes which once stood in the area.
The town contains Queen Mary's Hospital, a large Leisure Centre, four colleges and three secondary schools. Sidcup High Street is the main retail and commercial street, and there are some other shops and local businesses on the adjacent Station Road. In 2014, Sidcup High Street was the subject of a £1.8 million regeneration scheme In Store For Sidcup paid for by London Borough of Bexley.[7]
Most of the district is within the London Borough of Bexley, however, several parts in the North are under the governance of the Royal Borough of Greenwich, including Southspring, Greenhithe Close, Halfway Street (offsite Avery Hill), Radfield Way, Croyde Close and Overmead.
Geography
Sidcup lies 2.8 miles (4.5 km) south-west of Bexleyheath; 4 miles (6.4 km) north-east of Bromley; 3.3 miles (5.3 km) north of Orpington; 3.4 miles (5.5 km) north-west of Swanley.
Demographics
The war memorial on the Green at Sidcup
In 2021, the estimated population was given as 15,400. 18.5% of residents are aged 65+, slightly above the statistics for the whole of the London Borough of Bexley. At the census of 2021, the non-white population of Sidcup was recorded at 18.1%; the largest minority group were Asian or Asian British (7.0% of the total population). The percentage of those who are separated or divorced (including dissolved civil partnerships) was 11.0%, just above that of the entire borough at 10.6%. 48.5% reported Christianity as their religious belief which was lower than the borough average, with 'No religion' being the second largest category at 38.8%, higher than the borough average of 33.6%.[2]
Primary schools in Sidcup include: Birkbeck, Burnt Oak Junior School, Chatsworth, Days Lane, Holy Trinity Lamorbey, Longlands, Orchard School, Our Lady of the Rosary, Royal Park, Sherwood Park, and St Peter Chanel.
Sidcup Cottage Hospital was opened in 1882 in Birkbeck Road, Sidcup.[8] The building soon became too small and new premises were opened on the corner of Birkbeck and Granville Road in 1890.[8] The premises became financially unviable and closed in 1974.[8] The building was demolished and Sidcup Health Centre, now known as the Barnard Medical Practice was erected in the site.[8]
Notable staff included:
Alice Fortune Hodgson (1881-1942), Matron from 1913[9] until at least September 1939.[10][11][12] Hodgson trained at The London Hospital under Matron Eva Luckes between 1903-1905.[10] She remained there as a private nurse, undertook her midwifery training, and worked as a staff nurse before she left in 1908.[10] As Matron Hodgson and the nursing staff were present when a long term in patient was confirmed into the Church of England by the Bishop of Rochester in 1931.[13]
Queen Mary's Hospital was opened in 1917 with 300 beds in a number of wooden huts. Until 1925 it was the central military hospital for the reconstructive surgery of war veterans, led by Sir Harold Gillies The original hospital closed in 1929, being reopened as a general hospital in 1930 by Queen Mary, after whom it was named. A new building was opened in 1965.[14][15] Since 2013 it has been managed by the Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust.[16]
Sport and leisure
Sidcup has a Non-League football club Sporting Club Thamesmead F.C. who play at the Sporting Club Thamesmead. On Sydney Road, there is a Sidcup Sports Club, housing the local rugby and cricket clubs.
Sidcup also has a Leisure Centre on Hurst Road with 2 pools and a gym.
The Sidcup and District Motor Cycle Club was formed at the Station Hotel, Sidcup in 1928. The club owns the Canada Heights motorcycle sport venue in Button Street, Swanley.[17]
Culture, identity and community
Buildings along Faraday Avenue, reflecting a mix of high-rise and low-rise buildings in the area around Sidcup railway station
Sidcup is home to the Rose Bruford College of drama and Bird College, both of which have several famous alumni, and the Sidcup Symphony Orchestra,[18] which also serves the wider South East London area. In an interview with Lake Bell (who studied at Rose Bruford College) in 2015, comedian James Corden described Sidcup as "the armpit of England" on his late night American chat show The Late Late Show with James Corden.[19]
The murder of teenager Rob Knox at the Metro Bar on Station Road in 2008 was national headline news. Knox was an aspiring actor who had, just before his death, filmed a small part in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. He was killed protecting his brother from a group of youths.[20] His murderer, Karl Bishop, also from Sidcup, was later found guilty of murder and sentenced.[21] Following Knox's death, his family have campaigned to end knife crime among young people.[22] The Rob Knox Foundation has organised a Rob Knox Film Festival in Sidcup and the neighbouring town of Bexleyheath, and a bench was dedicated to Knox at St John's Church in Sidcup in 2015.[23]
Transport
The Church of Saint John the Evangelist, the main Anglican congregation in Sidcup
National Rail
Sidcup railway station opened in October 1866, a month after the opening of the Dartford Loop Line on 1 September 1866. It is 1 mile (1.6 km) north of Sidcup town centre. The station provides the area with Southeastern services to London Charing Cross and to Gravesend.
Roads
Sidcup High Street is on the A211, following in length the old London – Maidstone – Hythe road. The A211 starts just at the eastern end of Eltham High Street, running through New Eltham, then alongside the A20 Sidcup By-pass before ending at Foots Cray, where the B2173 continues towards Swanley along the former A20 road. The A211 connects the two main roads in this district; Station Road and Main Road.
East Rochester Way on the A2 road runs partly through the district, adjoining Blackfen Road. This road provides links to the Blackwall Tunnel and Kent.
Douglas Macmillan (1884–1969), founder of Macmillan Cancer Support, lived in Knoll Road from 1924 until 1966, and also ran his charity from that address. Bexley Civic Society placed a blue plaque on the house in 2010[45]
Ivan Magill (1888–1986), innovative anaesthetist, worked in Sidcup[46]
In the Harold Pinter play The Caretaker, Davies repeatedly says that "all his papers" are in Sidcup, and he will return there, but is "waiting for the weather to break".
^Matron’s Annual Letter to Nurses, No.21, Matron's Annual Letter to Nurses, 1894–1916; RLHLH/N/7/2, No.21, April 1914, 43; Barts Health NHS Trust Archives and Museums, London
^ abcRogers, Sarah (2022). 'A Maker of Matrons'? A study of Eva Lückes's influence on a generation of nurse leaders:1880–1919' (Unpublished PhD thesis, University of Huddersfield, April 2022)
^Hodgson, Alice Fortune, Register of Nurses, General Part 1922, 146; The General Nursing Council for England and Wales; The Nursing Registers, 1898–1968 [Available at: www.ancestry.co.uk, accessed on 14 September 2018].
^Hodgson, Alice F., RG101/1244H; 1939 England and Wales Register for Chislehurst and Sidcup, Kent; The National Archives, Kew [Available at: www.ancestry.co.uk, accessed on 14 September 2018]
^"Confirmation Service in Hospital". Gloucester Journal: 6. 28 March 1931 – via The British Newspaper Archive.
^"John Paul Jones". led-zeppelin.org. Archived from the original on 14 November 2016. Retrieved 13 November 2016.((cite web)): CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
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