Editing Kidbrooke

{{About||the house in Sussex|Kidbrooke Park}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2015}}
{{Use British English|date=September 2015}}

{{Infobox UK place
 | official_name            = Kidbrooke
 | coordinates              = {{coord|51.4621|0.0273|type:city(10000)_region:GB|display=inline,title}}
 | region                   = London
 | country                  = England
 | population               = 14,300
 | population_ref           = (2011 Census: Kidbrooke with Hornfair Ward)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadKeyFigures.do?a=7&b=13688730&c=Kidbrooke+with+Hornfair&d=14&e=62&g=6325315&i=1001x1003x1032x1004&o=362&m=0&r=1&s=1476440551406&enc=1|title=Greenwich Ward population 2011|access-date=14 October 2016|publisher=Office for National Statistics |work=Neighbourhood Statistics}}</ref>
 | map_type                 = Greater London
 | post_town                = LONDON
 | postcode_area            = SE
 | postcode_district        = SE3, SE9
 | dial_code                = 020
 | constituency_westminster1= [[Greenwich and Woolwich (UK Parliament constituency)|Greenwich and Woolwich]]
 | constituency_westminster2= [[Eltham (UK Parliament constituency)|Eltham]]
 | charingX_distance_mi     = 7.5
 | charingX_direction       = WNW
 | os_grid_reference        = TQ413760
 | london_borough           = Greenwich
 | static_image_name        = File:Nelson Mandela Road - geograph.org.uk - 19596.jpg
 | static_image_caption     = Nelson Mandela Road, Kidbrooke
}}

'''Kidbrooke''' is an area of south-east [[London]], England, in the [[Royal Borough of Greenwich]] {{convert|7+1/2|mi|km|0}} south-east of [[Charing Cross]] and north west of [[Eltham, London|Eltham]].

The district takes its name from the Kyd Brook, a watercourse which runs from [[Orpington]] to [[Lewisham]], by which point it is part of the [[River Quaggy]]. It is a tributary to the [[River Ravensbourne]].

==History==
Kidbrooke, derived from an [[Anglo-Saxon]] name meaning 'the brook where the [[Kite (bird)|kites]] were seen,' indicates that the area was uninhabited at the time of naming. With its three streams and heavy, wet clay, Kidbrooke would have been unsuitable for Saxon settlement.

However, by the late 11th or 12th century, Kidbrooke had established a church and likely had a small population, although this presence didn't endure. By 1428, the church lacked a priest, and by 1494, it had fallen into disrepair.

Remaining rural until the inauguration of [[Kidbrooke railway station]] in 1895, the region was primarily dedicated to farming until the 1930s. Significant development ensued thereafter, particularly following the construction of the Rochester Way.

===Housing===
{{main|Kidbrooke Village}}
[[File:Greenwich Met. B Ward Map 1916.svg|thumb|A map showing the Kidbrooke ward of Greenwich Metropolitan Borough as it appeared in 1916]]
The area contains a large amount of 1920s and 1930s domestic housing, developed partly as the Kidbrooke Park Estate, between [[Shooters Hill]] and Rochester Way.

A large RAF stores base, [[RAF Kidbrooke]], formerly occupied much of the land around [[Kidbrooke railway station]], north and south of the railway line.<ref>See eg [https://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/#zoom=17&lat=51.46247&lon=0.02723&layers=170&b=1&marker=51.4621,0.0273 1949 Ordnance Survey map], via [[National Library of Scotland]]</ref>  In 1965 the Government released most of the land to the Greater London Council for housing. The [[Ferrier Estate]], built from 1968, was conceived to be a flagship scheme but became one of the largest and most deprived council housing developments in London.

The housing estate was demolished in 2012 and has been redeveloped as [[Kidbrooke Village]], a development of 5,300 homes masterplanned by [[Lifschutz Davidson Sandilands]] with Design and Build MEP contractor Cilantro Engineering.

==Features==
[[File:Kidbrooke1980.jpg|thumb|right|Houses and gardens in Kidbrooke, January 1980]]
Immediately south of the former Ferrier Estate is [[Sutcliffe Park]] which includes a lake, acting as a flood defence, and created by partly releasing the Kyd Brook from concrete conduits underground in which it had run until 2006.

Rochester Way, a road which was built along much of the course of the old country lane Kidbrooke Lane, was intended as a bypass for Shooters Hill to the north. Rochester Way has itself now been bypassed by a dual carriageway – part of the [[A2 road (Great Britain)|A2 road]] – built in the 1980s over most of Kidbrooke Green. A small remaining piece of this open land, alongside the road, is now Kidbrooke Green Park, and adjacent to that, a small [[nature reserve]] managed by Greenwich Council. The nature reserve is visible, but not open to the public.

Little sign of the former RAF base remains. A handful of buildings survive, south of the houses of Nelson Mandela Road, to the north of the railway line, that escaped demolition when the Rochester Way Relief Road dual carriageway was constructed. These are currently used for additional collection storage by the [[National Maritime Museum]],<ref>[https://www.secret-bases.co.uk/secret5.htm Secret Bases]</ref> with some now removed to make way for a new purpose-built conservation facility, the Prince Philip Maritime Collections Centre, which opened in 2019.<ref>[https://www.rmg.co.uk/collections/prince-philip-maritime-collections-centre The Prince Philip Maritime Collections Centre], [[Royal Museums Greenwich]]. Accessed 2022-08-14.</ref><ref>Will Noble, [https://londonist.com/london/secret/prince-philip-maritime-collections-centre-visit This Kidbrooke Housing Estate Is Hiding An Incredible Collection Of Maritime Treasures], ''[[londonist.com]]''.</ref>

To the west of this [[Thomas Tallis School]] is built on another part of the former base, the former site of a prisoner-of-war camp, [[barrage balloon]] centre, and then a military language-teaching facility.<ref name="TFE">{{cite web|title=Barrage balloons and trainee spies in Kidbrooke|url=https://thamesfacingeast.wordpress.com/tag/ferrier-estate/|website=Thames Facing East|access-date=2 October 2017}}</ref><ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ww2peopleswar/stories/06/a8175206.shtml BBC "People's War"]</ref> (There are several other military facilities in the general vicinity, which is also close to a surviving base in [[Woolwich]], long home to the [[Royal Artillery]] and now to other parts of the [[British Army]].)

==Transport==
===Rail===
[[Kidbrooke railway station]] provides the area with [[Southeastern (train operating company)|Southeastern]] services to [[London Victoria railway station|London Victoria]], [[Charing Cross railway station|London Charing Cross]], [[Cannon Street railway station|London Cannon Street]], [[Dartford railway station|Dartford]] and [[Slade Green railway station|Slade Green]].

===Buses===
Kidbrooke is served by [[London Buses]] routes [[London Buses route 132|132]], [[London Buses route 178|178]], [[London Buses route 286|286]], [[London Buses route 335|335]], [[London Buses route 386|386]] and [[London Buses route B16|B16]]. These connect it with areas including [[Bexleyheath]], [[Blackheath, London|Blackheath]], [[Eltham, London|Eltham]], [[Greenwich, London|Greenwich]], [[Lewisham]], [[Greenwich Peninsula|North Greenwich]], [[Sidcup]], [[Welling]] and [[Woolwich]].

===Roads===
The [[A2 road (England)|A2 road]] gives the area rapid access to the [[London Inner Ring Road]], the [[South Circular Road, London|South Circular Road]] and the [[M25 motorway]].

==Education==
{{See also|Royal Borough of Greenwich#Education}}

===Primary schools===
* Wingfield School
* Kidbrooke Park
* Holy Family R.C.
* Henwick Primary School
* Ealdham Primary School

===Secondary schools===
* [[The Halley Academy]] — opened in 1954 as Kidbrooke School; the first purpose-built [[comprehensive school]] in Britain and became an academy in 2011 as Corelli College
* [[Thomas Tallis School]] — opened in 1971

==Notable inhabitants==

Famous residents have included comedian [[Jim Davidson]], who grew up in Holburne Road; interior designer [[Lawrence Llewelyn Bowen]], who lived in a bungalow on Kidbrooke Park Road until 2004; and singer [[Sandie Shaw]]. Former [[AFC Bournemouth]] player [[Junior Stanislas]] was born in Kidbrooke.{{cn|date=April 2025}}

==See also==
{{Portal|London}}
* [[List of people from Greenwich]]
* [[List of schools in Greenwich]]
* [[Kidbrooke Village]]

===Roads===
* [[County of London Plan]]
* [[London Ringways]]
* [[East Cross Route]]

===Nearby areas===
{{Geographic location
|title     = '''Districts closest to Kidbrooke'''
|Centre    = Kidbrooke
|North     = [[Charlton, Greenwich|Charlton]]
|Northeast = [[Woolwich, London, England|Woolwich]]
|East      = [[Well Hall]]
|Southeast = [[Eltham]]
|South     = [[Lee, London|Lee]]
|Southwest = [[Hither Green]]
|West      = [[Blackheath, London|Blackheath]]
|Northwest = [[Greenwich, London|Greenwich]]
}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Kidbrooke}}
* [http://www.lds-uk.com/projects/kidbrooke-masterplan/ Kidbrooke Village masterplan]
* [http://www.lds-uk.com/projects/kidbrooke-village-phase-1/ Kidbrooke Village Phase 1]
* [http://www.lds-uk.com/projects/kidbrooke-village-phase-3/ Kidbrooke Village Phase 3]
* [http://www.kidbrookekite.co.uk The Kidbrooke Kite – News and blog site covering Kidbrooke and surrounding area]

{{LB Greenwich}}
{{Major Development Projects in London}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Districts of the Royal Borough of Greenwich]]
[[Category:Areas of London]]
[[Category:Districts of London on the River Thames]]
[[Category:Former civil parishes in the Royal Borough of Greenwich]]