Borough

Bexley

About:

The London Borough of Bexley is a London borough in south east London, England and forms part of Outer London. The Borough follows the River Thames as it meanders out of London. It is bordered by Greenwich to the west and Dartford to the east, while Bromley lies to the south.

The name Bexley, which means the 'clearing in the box wood', first turned up in records in 814 when King Kenulph, the King of the Mercians, granted lands at Bexley to Wulfred, Archbishop of Canterbury. However, there is evidence that the area was a place of habitation long before that time. Tools and other artifacts have been found in many places in the Borough dating from the old and new Stone Ages, the Bronze and Iron Ages, and from Roman times.

It is difficult, when looking at the Bexley Borough of today with its almost wholly urban appearance and its extensive communications, to realise that little more than a century ago the area was almost entirely open country and surprisingly remote country at that.

Routes that go through Bexley:

Population:

218,307 which is 3.0% of the total London population (2001 Census)

Area:

64 square kilometres

Tube:

There are no tube services in Bexley.

Rail:

From London, services to all stations in the borough leave regularly from Charing Cross, Cannon Street, London Bridge and Waterloo East. There is also an occasional service from Victoria. The borough is served by Southeastern trains on the Dartford Loop Line, Bexleyheath Line and North Kent Line. Visit http://www.tfl.gov.uk/rail/ for more information.

Bus:

Numerous bus routes operate within Bexley and link to other areas of the South East. Visit http://www.tfl.gov.uk/buses/ for more information.

Green space:

Although part of suburban London, Bexley includes much open land. The line of higher land, mostly heathland, which follows the course of the River Thames, crosses the borough in Belvedere, where it is named Lessness Heath. In the woodlands on this heath lie the ruins of Lesnes Abbey. Danson Park, in Welling, and Hall Place Gardens near Bexley provide public open spaces. Renovated Danson House is now open to the public. To the south of the borough, Foots Cray Meadows flank the River Cray, which joins the River Darent north of Dartford and flows through the borough. Bexley has over 100 parks and open spaces covering 638 hectares. This makes it the tenth largest of London's 33 boroughs in terms of parks and open spaces. These range from small pretty gardens for sitting and relaxing to beautiful river and woodland areas for long walks and rambling, and large parks with ponds or lakes and many facilities such as boating, tennis and golf, children's playgrounds and restaurants.