Editing Petts Wood (section)

==History==
The name appeared first in 1577 as "the wood of the [[Pett dynasty|Pett family]]", who were [[shipbuilder]]s and leased the wood as a source of [[timber]]. (A pub, The Sovereign of the Seas, is named after [[English ship Sovereign of the Seas|a ship]] built at [[Woolwich]] to a design by [[Phineas Pett]].)<ref name="Lavery, SoLv1 p163">Lavery, ''Ships of the Line'' vol. 1, p. 163.</ref>

The area remained rural right up until the late 19th century; in 1872 just one house ('Ladywood') stood here.<ref name="Willey">{{cite book |last1=Willey |first1=Russ |title=The London Gazetteer |date=2006 |publisher=Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd |page=383}}</ref> Most of the modern suburb of Petts Wood was built in the late 1920s by the [[Harlow]]-based developer Basil Scruby together with architect Leonard Culliford who designed the layout of the roads.<ref name="Willey"/> A number of individual builders developed individual plots, amongst others the master builder, Noel Rees, as well as Walter Reed and George Hoad.<ref name="Willey"/> Scruby also paid the [[Southern Railway (UK)|Southern Railway Company]] £6,000 to build [[Petts Wood railway station]] to serve the new suburb.<ref name="Willey"/> Shops and a cinema were also built adjacent to the railway.<ref name="Willey"/>

[[File:Daylight Inn - geograph.org.uk - 1098681.jpg|thumb|[[The Daylight Inn]] in 2011. The pub is listed at grade II.<ref name="Listing">{{National Heritage List for England |num=1427230  |desc=The Daylight Inn, Petts Wood |access-date=30 August 2015}}</ref>]]
The generally higher quality of large homes built to the east of the railway line, as compared to smaller and more densely packed development to the west, was due to the fact that Scruby's increasing financial difficulties meant he had little control over its developers, Morrell's and New Ideal Homesteads.<ref name="Willey"/>

The area between Petts Wood and Bickley sustained heavy bombing during the [[Second World War]] because of its proximity to an important railway junction. Three bombs landed on the town centre itself.{{citation needed|date=August 2020}}

The [[Jubilee Country Park]] is to the northwest of the main shopping area. Before this park was created in 1977 the area was known as 'The Gun Sites', as it had been the location for anti-aircraft guns in the Second World War, and was the home of the 1st Petts Wood scout group.

According to [[Keith Waterhouse]] in his book ''Streets Ahead'', Petts Wood was popular with Fleet Street newspaper staff in the 1950s: "… this Kent suburb, recommended in Fleet Street for the all-night train service it afforded sub-editors and reporters coming off late duty, thus giving them a round-the-clock, heaven-sent excuse for one more for the road."<ref name="Waterhouse 1995 p. ">{{cite book | last=Waterhouse | first=Keith | title=Streets ahead : life after City lights | publisher=Hodder & Stoughton | publication-place=London | year=1995 | isbn=0-340-63267-4 | oclc=35911768 | page=69}}</ref>

In 2009, the local [[Woolworths (United Kingdom)|Woolworths]] store gained media attention when its manager, realising his was the last of the chain to close, gathered the remains of the [[Bulk confectionery|pick and mix]] section and auctioned the bag of sweets for £14,500.<ref name="Gua-21Feb2009">{{cite news |title=Rich pickings: last bag of Woolworths pic 'n' mix fetches £14,500 on eBay |url=https://www.theguardian.com/business/2009/feb/21/woolworths-retail |access-date=28 June 2018 |work=The Guardian|agency=Press Association |date=21 February 2009}}</ref>