Editing Bexleyheath (section)

== History==
For most of its history, Bexley heath was heath land. The Romans built a road through the heath, [[Watling Street]], which connected Londinium (London) to Dubris (Dover). This Roman road still marks the spine of Bexley new town.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Mercer |first1=John |title=Bexleyheath A History |date=15 April 2012 |publisher=Amberley Publishing Limited |isbn=978-1-4456-2478-5 |language=en}}</ref>{{rp|1}}

===18th and 19th centuries===
[[File:Philip Webb's Red House in Upton.jpg|thumb|left|255px|Rear of Red House, Bexleyheath]] 
In the early 19th century, Bexley heath was a broad rough pasture and scrubland with few buildings. Its windmill stood to the north east, where [[Erith]] and Mayplace Roads now meet.{{r|McKeon2012|p=11}} In 1766 Sir John Boyd had [[Danson House]] built in his [[inclosure|enclosed land ("park")]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Danson House and Register Office {{!}} London Borough of Bexley |url=https://www.bexley.gov.uk/discover-bexley/visitor-attractions/danson-house-and-park/house |website=www.bexley.gov.uk |publisher=London Borough of Bexley |access-date=27 December 2022}}</ref> The core of this remains as [[Danson Park]] between the southern halves of Bexleyheath and [[Welling]]. In 1814 most of the rest of what was Bexley heath, north of [[Bexley]], became [[enclosed]] (privatised) with a fund of money given in compensation to trustees for the [[vestry|poor of the parish]].<ref name="McKeon2012">{{cite web |last1=McKeon |first1=Simon |last2=Allen |first2=Lucy |title=Changing Times: The Broadway, Bexleyheath 1812-1912 |url=https://www.bexley.gov.uk/sites/default/files/2020-07/Changing-Times-education-booklet.pdf |publisher=London Borough of Bexley |date=2012 |access-date=27 December 2022}}</ref>{{rp|4}}

In 1859 architect [[Philip Webb]] designed [[Red House, Bexleyheath|Red House]] for artist, reforming designer and [[socialist]] [[William Morris]] on the western edge of the heath, in the hamlet of Upton&mdash;before Upton became a suburb. The [[National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty|National Trust]] acquired the house in 2003. Morris wanted to have a "Palace of Art" in which he and his friends could enjoy producing works of art. The house is of red brick with a steep tiled roof and an emphasis on natural materials. It is in a brick-and-tile style to resemble cumulative generational additions. Its layout and geometrics are non-uniform and it is recognised and protected with highest category (Grade I) [[listed building]] status as it is [[avant-garde architecture|avant-garde]] to influential [[Arts and Crafts architecture]]. Morris lived with wife Jane in the house for five years, during which time their two daughters, Jenny and May, were born. Needing to sell the house in 1865 to economise, Morris vowed never to return to it; he said that to see the house again would be more than he could bear.{{r|McKeon2012|p=9}}

[[File:Orchard House, Bexleyheath (01).jpg|thumb|left|The early to mid 19th century, Grade II listed Orchard House in Bexleyheath]]

Bexleyheath's [[parish church]], Christ Church, dates from 1841; and the ecclesiastical parish from 1866; the building of the current church finished in 1877.{{r|McKeon2012|p=6}} Alfred Bean, railway engineer and one-time owner of Danson House, furthered the development of Bexleyheath as a London suburb by championing the [[Bexleyheath Line]] in the 1880s to support the growth of estates around Danson Park.{{citation needed|date=December 2022}}

===20th century===
The clock tower at the centre of the modern shopping area, built in 1912, commemorates the coronation of [[George V of the United Kingdom|King George V]]{{r|McKeon2012|p=24}} and the [[Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II|Diamond Jubilee]] of [[Queen Elizabeth II]] in 2012 when a bust of the Queen was installed.<ref name="Clocktower">{{cite web |title=PICTURED: Commemorative bust of the Queen is unveiled at Bexleyheath Clock Tower |url=https://www.newsshopper.co.uk/news/10476158.pictured-commemorative-bust-of-the-queen-is-unveiled-at-bexleyheath-clock-tower/ |website=www.newsshopper.co.uk/|date=11 June 2013 }}</ref>

The area was part of the [[Historic counties of England|historic county]] of [[Kent]] until the creation of [[Greater London]] in 1965, at which point Bexleyheath became the administrative base of the newly established [[London Borough of Bexley]].<ref name="legislation1963">{{cite web |title=London Government Act 1963 - Latest Available |url=https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1963/33/section/2 |access-date=2022-12-27 |website=legislation.gov.uk}}</ref> The town centre shops and road layout were redeveloped in the 1980s and 1990s. The latter decade saw the pedestrianisation of the road adjacent to the shopping centre having built two minor bypass roads, Arnsburg Way and Albion Way.{{citation needed|date=December 2022}}