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4
PHYSICAL FEATURES AND GENERAL CHARACTER OF
THE DISTRICT.
The area of the Borough is 4,696 acres, giving 7.7 persons per
acre. It extends some four miles from the Northern boundary—where
it joins the- Lewisham and Mottingham districts—to the Southern
boundary—where it joins Hayes and Farnborough, and from the
Eastern boundary — where it joins Chislehurst — to the Western
boundary—where it joins Beckenham and Hayes—the distance varies
from three-quarters of a mile to two miles. This area is very open as
it contains large private parks, several golf links, as well as Public
Recreation Grounds. The parks are fairly well wooded and trees are
planted along a number of streets. The built-over areas are well
spread out.
The elevation of the district varies from 125 feet above sea level
in the Shortlands valley in the west to 370 feet in the Bickley Ward.
The business part of the town and the surrounding neighbourhood in
the northern half of the district lie on fairly level ground about 200
feet above sea level.
The greater part of Bromley is gravel and said with chalk at a
depth of 70 to 150 feet from the surface. This from a sanitary point
of view is an excellent soil to build upon. There is, however, on
either side of the road at Bromley Common a large tract of clay some
35 feet deep extending about a mile and a half long—from Mason's
Hill to Holy Trinity Church—and half a mile wide. Owing to the
impermeable nature of the clay flat tracts are not, on account of their
dampness, desirable for building upon, but slopes which drain
naturally are not open to this objection.
The means of communication are good. The main road to
Sevenoaks and coast towns passes through the centre of the town ;
motor buses pass through the town from London to the villages around
and there are six or seven railway stations and a good service of trains
to serve the needs of the inhabitants.
Bromley is largely a residential district, many of the inhabitants
going to London and elsewhere for business or employment.