Petts Wood
Petts Wood Location within the United Kingdom
Population	13,651 (2011 Census. Petts Wood and Knoll Ward)[1]
OS grid reference	TQ445675
Greater London
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	ORPINGTON
Postcode district	BR5
Dialling code	01689
UK Parliament	Orpington
List of places UK England 51°23′19″N 0°04′34″E / 51.3885°N 0.0760°E / 51.3885; 0.0760

Petts Wood is a town in south-east ,England, located in the historic county of Kent. It lies south of Chislehurst, west of St Paul's Cray and Poverest, north of Orpington and Crofton, and east of Southborough and Bromley Common. The area forms part of the London Borough of Bromley local authority district in the ceremonial district of Orpington in the county of Kent.

History

The name appeared first in 1577 as "the wood of the Pett family", who were shipbuilders and leased the wood as a source of timber. (A pub, The Sovereign of the Seas, is named after a ship built at Woolwich to a design by Phineas Pett.)^[2]

The area remained rural right up until the late 19th century; in 1872 just one house ('Ladywood') stood here.^[3] 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.^[3] A number of individual builders developed individual plots, amongst others the master builder, Noel Rees, as well as Walter Reed and George Hoad.^[3] Scruby also paid the Southern Railway Company £6,000 to build Petts Wood railway station to serve the new suburb.^[3] Shops and a cinema were also built adjacent to the railway.^[3]

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.^[3]

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

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 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."^[5]

In 2009, the local Woolworths store had the privilege of writing the last word in the history of that chain in the UK, when its manager, realising his was the last one to close, gathered the remains of the Pick 'n' Mix sweet section and auctioned the bagful of sweets, which would normally have retailed for a couple of pounds, for £14,500.^[6]

The woods

The eponymous wood itself survives and is managed by the National Trust. Originally just 88 acres (36 hectares) were bought by public subscription and donated to the Trust in 1927, after it became clear that the area would be developed for housing.^[3] This asset expanded when the neighbouring Hawkwood Estate and Edlmann Wood, comprising a further 250 acres (100 hectares), were donated to the Trust by landowners Robert and Francesca Hall in 1957.^{[citation needed]} The woodland features oak, birch, rowan, alder, ash, hornbeam and sweet chestnut.

Transport

Rail

Petts Wood station provides the area with National Rail services to London Victoria via Bromley South and Herne Hill, Kentish Town via Bromley South and Catford, London Charing Cross via Grove Park, London Cannon Street via Grove Park and Lewisham, Orpington and Sevenoaks.

Buses

Petts Wood is served by London Buses routes 208, 273, N199, R3 and R7. These connect it with areas including Bromley, Catford, Chislehurst, Grove Park, Lewisham and Orpington.

Notable people

The sundial that memorialises William Willett in the woodland at Petts Wood

• Cerrie Burnell (b. 1979) - actress, singer, playwright, and television presenter, grew up in Petts Wood.^[7]
• Jack Dee (b. 1961) - comedian and winner of Celebrity Big Brother 1, grew up in Petts Wood.^[3]
• Charles De Gaulle (1890-1970) - French general, statesman and future President of France who led the Free French Forces during Second World War.^[8] He rented a home at 41 Birchwood Road for four months before moving his family further inland to Shropshire later in 1940.^[9][3]
• Sir Geraint Evans (1922-1992) - Welsh baritone or bass-baritone noted for his operatic roles. Lived at 34 Birchwood Road where he is commemorated with a blue plaque.^[10]
• David Fletcher (military historian) (b. 1942) - MBE, Military historian, Author, was born in Petts Wood.^[11]

• Pat Keysell (1926-2009) - TV presenter and sign language interpreter, grew up in Petts Wood.^[12]
• Pixie Lott (b. 1991) - singer and songwriter.^[13]
• John Loveday - physicist.^{[citation needed]}
• Ian Mortimer (b. 1967) - medieval historian, grew up in Petts Wood.^[14]
• David Nobbs (1935-2015) - comedy writer and the creator of the sitcom The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin, grew up in Petts Wood.^[15]
• Major Phil Packer (b. 1972) - British soldier who was rendered paraplegic in 2008 by injuries sustained while serving in Iraq, grew up in Petts Wood. He has since raised over a million pounds through charitable fundraising efforts which have garnered him several national awards.^{[16][17][18][19]}
• Arthur Seldon (1916-2005) - economist.^[20]
• Ivor Spencer (1924-2009) - toastmaster and promoter of the butler arts.^[21]
• William Willett (1856-1915) - promoter of Daylight Saving Time, an idea he is thought to have come up with whilst riding in Petts Wood.^[3] He is commemorated by a memorial sundial in the wood, and the pub The Daylight Inn is named in his honour.

In Film

Birchwood Road, Kingsway, and other surrounding roads, were used as a location for the 1978 feature film, 'Give Us Tomorrow', with Sylvia Syms.

The Famous Orpington & District Boxing Club

Orpington & District Amateur boxing club located in Pettswood Orpington , Kent, England. The club was originally established as Orpington Lads Club in 1912 by the St. Mary Cray Scout Troop, a scout group in St. Mary's Cray. Its purpose was to support underprivileged young men in the Orpington area. The Clubs Motto Progredior is translated Progression. ^[22]

Between the years 1962 to 1990, Orpington & District ABC had produced numerous notable amateur champions and had several distinguished former members. Some of these include Jimmy Cable , Albert Hillman, and Mark Baker. The club was affiliated to the Kent Amateur Boxing Association with England Boxing.

Orpington & District ABC produced the most national champions of any boxing club within the Borough and held the record for most kent, Southern Counties and London Champions ^[23]

Orpington & District ABC won a record number of school boy titles of any club in Kent during the period from 1962 to 1980 and also held the Kent and Southern counties school boy championships at the RoseCroft Club. Due to the clubs position on Kent borders the club also went on to box in the South East Divisional's winning multiple London titles.

The club later affiliated to Surrey ABA Southern counties, when located in Westerham in 1986.^[24]

The club holds the distinction of being one of the oldest boxing clubs in Kent and is currently situated in Pettswood. Its name was changed to Orpington & District Amateur Boxing Club in 1936 from Orpington lads Club under the guidance of former professional boxer Harry Taylor, who introduced the prestigious Taylor's Cup.^[25]

In 1937 under the guidance of Harry Taylor,his stable of boxers put on various tournaments to raise funds for Cray Wanders Football Club to prevent it from closing.

During World War II, the club temporarily closed down for obvious reasons. It wasn't until 1962, under the leadership of Alf Reilly at St. Joseph's Boys School in Orpington and Eric Lubbock MP as the president , that the club reopened. It later moved to St. Mary's Cray Sea Cadet Hall and then the Rose Croft Social Club in the late 1960s and 1970s, With Jack Stewart the then president of the Rosecroft ensuring the club had a home until he resigned in 1980.^[26]

Orpington & District ABC has a rich history of producing champions, including,Mick Spencer, Gary Cable, Alan Cable, Johnny Hillman, Albert Hillman, Mark Baker, Robert Mullholland, Robert Stacey, Terry Pearson, P Martin and Ray Mason. ^[27]

In 1966, the club successfully raised funds to build the Magpie Hall Lane Youth Centre in Southborough. It briefly operated from the Youth Centre at Magpie Hall Lane Pettswood before relocating to the Rosecroft social club in St.Mary’s cray coached by ex England international and national champion and previous boxer for the club Mick Spencer. ^[28]

The club then relocated behind the Queenshead public house in Green St. Green in 1980 with Mick Spencer moving to the Fitzroy lodge. Ex pro Arthur Davis was now the head coach.In 1986, the club moved again, due lack of funding and unsuitable venue, this time to Westerham, where it merged with the Sir Winston Churchill Boxing Club,and the Spitfire Boxing club Bigginhill with Jimmy Cable serving as president and John Hart as coach. During this period, the club continued to produce national champions such as Robert Stacey and Mark Baker and good regional boxers such as Neville Smith,Dean Philp, Justin Worrel,Ian Tebbit and Mark Dalton. ^[29]

Unfortunately, the club faced challenges in the 1990s, when the Royal Standard pub in Westerham closed this was the closure of all 3 clubs the Spitfire, Sir Winston Churchill and Orpington ABC leading to temporary closures due to a lack of venues and funding. However, in 2007 the Cray valley boxing club in Poverest claimed the Orpington & District ABC name and briefly re-opened and again produced regional champions under coach Olly Rutherford. The club sadly closed in 2013 due to lack of funding yet again. ^[30]

Orpington & District ABC reopened its doors again in Pettswood on the 8th April 2024 with an 15 year lease, ensuring the continuation of its legacy in the boxing community. ^[31]

The club is the only official regulated boxing club affiliated to the National Governing Body England Boxing & Sport England based in Pettswood and was the Original boxing club in Pettswood being located there in 1966. Amateur tournaments were held at the Daylight Inn with Great Elms Boxing club which was located in Great Elms road in Bromley. ^[32]

The club also has a professional affiliation to the British Boxing Board of Control.

The club is now run by ex boxers & family members of the original Orpington & District ABC under the affiliation of England Boxing established in 1880. ^[33]

Sports and recreation facilities

• Petts Wood Football Club
• Petts Wood Recreation Ground
• Willett Recreation Ground
• Petts Wood Runners, running club
• Petts Wood Bowling Club.
• Petts Wood Snooker Club (above Morrisons)
• Orpington Ojays Swimming Club
• Oakley Fitness Above (Orpington & District Amateur Boxing Club)
• Orpington & District Amateur Boxing Club

References