Biggin Hill

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Coordinates: 51°18′46″N 0°02′01″E / 51.3127°N 0.0336°E / 51.3127; 0.0336

Biggin Hill
Biggin Hill is located in Greater London
Biggin Hill

 Biggin Hill shown within Greater London
Population 9,888 (Biggin Hill ward 2007)[1]
OS grid reference TQ418590
London borough Bromley
Ceremonial county Greater London
Region London
Country England
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town WESTERHAM
Postcode district TN16
Dialling code 01959
Police Metropolitan
Fire London
Ambulance London
EU Parliament London
UK Parliament Orpington
London Assembly Bexley and Bromley
List of places: UK • England • London

Biggin Hill is an area and electoral ward in the outskirts of the London Borough of Bromley in South-East London, UK.

Contents

History

Historically the settlement was known as Aperfield and formed part of the parish of Cudham. It took the name Biggin Hill after the Second World War in recognition of the historic role played by the adjoining Biggin Hill Aerodrome.

The most architecturally noteworthy building within Biggin Hill is St Mark's Church, Church Road - 'the moving church'.[2] - designed by Richard Gilbert Scott. It was erected in the 1950s using the dismantled materials from All Saints Church, North Peckham. Much of the work was undertaken by volunteers led by Rev Vivian Symons who undertook much of the decorative work himself.

Airport

Biggin Hill also has a airport, London Biggin Hill Airport, which uses much of the land formerly used by RAF Biggin Hill Aerodrome. The latter hosted the "Operations Room" for the Operation Crossbow V-1 flying bomb defence during World War II. The aerodrome famously appeared in the novel, The Da Vinci Code.

The old "west camp" of the airport is now owned by Bernie Ecclestone of Formula One fame. A small section remains in the care of the RAF, and the chapel (guarded by replicas of the base gate guardians, a Hawker Hurricane and a Supermarine Spitfire) is open to the public.

The old "south camp" is now occupied by the Biggin Hill Business Park, Airport Industrial Estate and various private flying clubs. There are further commercial premises, hangars, private flying clubs and a helicopter joy-ride and pilot training centre to the east of the main runway.

The term "airport", rather than airfield, is used to describe the present-day facility because Biggin Hill has a terminal building and customs facilities. It is host to a wide range of private/business jet and turbo-prop aircraft up to the size of a Boeing 737. The main airport apron has recently been enlarged; the one remaining hangar on the old south camp has been totally re-clad and a planning application has been posted for further hangars on the eastern side.

Another aviation connection is Biggin Hill's status as the location of a VHF omnidirectional range navigational beacon, codenamed "BIG", which anchors the South East Arrival Stack for London Heathrow Airport.

Education

Main article: List of schools in the London Borough of Bromley
Ward of Biggin Hill (red) shown within the London Borough of Bromley (orange)

Charles Darwin School is the only secondary school in the immediate area.

There are two main primary schools; Oaklands Primary School and Biggin Hill Primary School. On the outskirts of Biggin Hill, there is also Cudham CoE Primary School which is situated near Foal Farm, Tatsfield Primary and Downe Primary in the Downe village.


Location

Neighbouring areas of Biggin Hill
New Addington Leaves Green Downe
Biggin Hill Valley North Berry's Green & Cudham
West   Biggin Hill    East
South
Tatsfield Tatsfield East Aperfield

Biggin Hill is on the outskirts of the London Borough of Bromley. The A233 road is the only main road that runs through the area, from North to South. Most places surrounded by Biggin Hill are small towns and villages. Biggin Hill's postcode is TN16 and its post town is WESTERHAM. Although Westerham itself is located outside Greater London.


Transport

Biggin Hill always had poor transport links. It only has some buses serving the area, but not even one station. the bad news is that the closest railway station and tram stop is already far away.

Rail

The area does not have any railway station in its own location. The following stations are the closest:

Buses

The area is served by five London Buses, along with another bus not operated by Transport for London:

Trams

Just like rail, the area is not served by Croydon Tramlink services. Although there is a close tram stop, New Addington, which is the terminus of Tramlink Route 3, and is 3.5 miles (5.6 km) away, and linked by bus 464. Recently, Croydon Tramlink has been talking about an extension of Route 3 to Biggin Hill. Currently, there are no plans at present.

Nearby areas

Ghosts

Biggin Hill is a place that is believed to be the home of many ghosts. This is commonly attributed to the fact that it is the home of a World War II airbase.[3]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Mid-2007 Population Estimates for 2007 Wards in England". Office for National Statistics. 2009. http://www.statistics.gov.uk/statbase/Product.asp?vlnk=13893. Retrieved 2009-11-04. 
  2. ^ Symons, Vivian. The Moving Church. London: Herbert Jenkins. 
  3. ^ Bob Ogley, The Ghosts of Biggin Hill, 2001, ISBN 978-1872337418

External links

v • d • e
London Borough of Bromley
Districts LondonBromley.png
Attractions
Constituencies
Parks and open spaces in Bromley
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biggin_Hill"

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