Good King Wenceslas Looked Out…​

Good King Wenceslas looked out… Written by Pam Preedy. “Good King Wenceslas looked out” starts the traditional Christmas carol which tells the story of Saint Wenceslaus 1, the Duke of Bohemia (907-953).  The Holy Emperor Otto (962-973) posthumously conferred on him the royal title, King.  Later a preacher from the 12th century wrote that Wenceslaus “rose from his noble bed with bare feet and only one chamberlain (and) went around to God’s churches giving generously to widows, orphans, those in prison and afflicted by every difficulty, so much so that…

To Be Or Not To Be: A History of Bromley’s Theatres

To Be or Not To Be: A History to Bromley’s Theatres Written by Pam Preedy. I remember my parents were keen theatre-goers. There was a special deal in the 1950s at Bromley’s New Theatre: two seats for the price of one, on Mondays.   Who doesn’t like a bargain? At the time we had no knowledge of the vicissitudes of the theatre’s life or the various names it had been given: the Grand Hall (from 1889), the Lyric (from 1905), the New Theatre (from 1948 and the Churchill (opened on 19th…

The Bowler Hat

The Bowler Hat Written by Pam Preedy. In the 19th century, clothes, including the hats worn by the upper classes and aristocracy were very important, so it might surprise you to know that the bowler hat was not originally made for the ‘toffs,’ but for the working classes. In 1849, a nobleman named Edward Coke (pronounced ‘cook’) of Holkham Hall, Norfolk, needed a special hat to protect the heads of his gamekeepers. He was the younger brother of William Coke. At the time Coke’s gamekeeper and other estate groundsmen wore…

Darwin, his Theory and Down House

Darwin, his theory and Down House Written by Pam Preedy. In the little village of Downe^ lived one of the greatest scientists, Charles Darwin, who wrote ‘On the Origin of Species’ published in 1859.  He was the grandson of Erasmus Darwin and he proposed different aspects of what later would become evolutionary theory or ‘survival of the fittest’. Born in 1809, Darwin lived in Shrewsbury, Shropshire.  from a young age he was fascinated by nature, reading books on the subject and exploring the fields and woodlands around his home and…

A short history of Knitting

A History on Knitting Written by Pam Preedy. Oh, how I Longed for a machine-knitted jumper when I was young!  Most of my knitted garments were produced by my mother, or more likely my grandmother.  They always had some knitting on the go.  It is not surprising that I learned to knit when I was young.  Knitting saved money in that post-wat era. The Origins of Knitting So, when and where did knitting originate?  Since knitted work is fragile and can readily decompose, it is not easily pinpointed in time…

The Strike at Biggin Hill

The Strike at Biggin Hill Written by Pam Preedy. The RAF opened their station at Biggin Hill in 917.  It remained open after the war.  In 1919 there were 500 men of the Wireless Experimental station stationed at South Camp.  The living conditions at that time were appalling; most sleeping in tents in a sea of mud.  The dining hall, too, was a leaky canvas hangar equally muddy and the food, prepared in an open, rusty shed, was almost inedible. In spite of many complaints to the authorities, nothing changed. …

The Coronation

The Coronation Written by PAM PREEDY, historian & author. There have been 39 coronation ceremonies for monarchs held in England.  The first can be traced to the ceremony devised by Saint Dunstan for King Edgar’s crowning at Bath Abbey in 973AD (CE). The earliest form of an oath was an oral contract between a monarch and their people.  The crown may have been an ornate helmet. At this time there was no immediate (or automatic) right of succession, and so a coronation was an essential rite of passage. Nowadays, a…

Pigeons in war

Pigeons in war Written by PAM PREEDY, historian & author. The messenger birds. Pigeons have been used to send messages since around 1200 BC.  By the 1800s AD the French had an official pigeon postal service, and in Britain pigeon fancying and racing has long been a popular hobby.  What many people don’t know is that pigeons were a tremendous asset during the World Wars. In World War I carrier pigeons transported messages back to their home soops behind the lines.  Got the British this would be in a stationary…

South Hill Woods, Bromley

South Hill Woods (Bromley) Written by PAM PREEDY, historian & author. A wealth of flora and fauna At the end of Westmoreland Road is a wooded park frequented by bowlers, tennis players, dog walkers and those just out for fresh air, South Hill Woods.  Today it has regenerated into a wild woodland habitat, with a wealth of flora and fauna, including woodpeckers, nuthatches, two species of bat, and a variety of insects, bees, centipedes, and battles inhabiting the rich variety of trees, such as oak, ash, hazel and beech. The…

The Birth of Women’s Football

The birth of women’s football Written by Pam Preedy. Girls Versus Boys Football had always been a male preserve, but in December 1915, a match was played between Bromley Boys (National Team) and Vickers Girls: The Bromley & Kentish Times reported on the match (7th July 1914). “A game that finished up in a comical football match was played on the Queen’s Mead ground last Saturday … The game ended with a large amount of scoring, the Old Boys scoring 17 goals to the Ladies’ 1 … At the start…