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SECTION A
NATURAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS OF
BECKENHAM
The Borough lies on the outskirts of London and occupies part
of the extreme North-west corner of Kent. It has an area of 5,935 acres
of which 2,000 acres are open spaces consisting of Parks, Recreation
Grounds, Playing Fields and privately owned Sports Grounds. It
contains 270 acres of public open spaces of various kinds, and over
300 acres of other open land without full public access.
From North to South of the Borough is a chain of open spaces
while farmland and woods to the South form a green belt. The Town
extends from the Crystal Palace Grounds to the fringe of the Kentish
farmlands and its neighbours are Lewisham (Sydenham and Catford)
to the North, Bromley and Hayes to the East—Penge and Croydon to
the West and Orpington to the South.
The contours fall in height from South to North, so that the
district of West Wickham on the South side of the borough averages
210 feet above sea level, whereas Beckenham itself averages 150 feet
above sea level.
Running from South to North are four streams—the Ravensbourne,
the Beck, the Chaffinch Brook, and Pool River. These are
culverted through the greater part of their course which is through
beds of " valley gravel ". Half of the area geologically consists of
" Blackheath Pebble Beds and the remaining half of " London
Clay ". These valleys create a series of undulations. The Ravesbourne
in the East forms part of the boundary between Bromley and Beckenham,
but otherwise lies outside the borough. The Pool River is a stream
formed by the junction of the Boundary Brook in Cator Park. It
leaves the borough in the Worsley Bridge Area. The Chaffinch Brook
is formed from the South Norwood and St. James tributaries in the
South of the Borough.
The climate is comparatively mild, and the annual rainfall is low.
The average for 1959 was 17.746 inches.
The population has grown from 26,330 in 1901 to 74,834 in the
1951 Census (Estimated population in June 1959 was 75,220). The
figure is likely to remain fairly steady in the future because the process
of development of the existing area is practically complete. Areas of
west Wickham and Hayes were added to the former Urban District
in 1934 and in 1955 the Registrar General estimated the population of
the West Wickham area as 20,600.
Beckenham is now a coherent and well-ordered borough with a
wide variety of houses most of which are owner occupied and have
been built between the wars. Most of the larger older houses have been
converted or replaced by self-contained flats.
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