Did you know that...
The name Kidbrooke comes from Kyd Brook. This is a watercourse tributary to the River Ravensbourne. It flows from Orpington to Lewisham. The Kidbrooke Park Estate has many houses from the 1920s and 1930s. Kidbrooke Village is built on the site of the now-demolished Ferrier Estate. This South East London estate was built in 1968 and redeveloped in 2012. It now has more than 4,200 homes. Sutcliffe Park can be found nearby. The lake in the park was made by releasing the underground channels from Kyd Brook. The lake acts as a defense against flooding. The local railway station opened in 1895. New station buildings took the place of the original ones in 1979 and 2014.
Kidbrooke Green Park is what remains of the Kidbrooke Green after the A2 was built. There’s a nature reserve near the park that is not open to the public. RAF Kidbrooke operated between 1917 and 1965. It was an equipment store and training facility. Some of its buildings remain near the Nelson Mandela Road. Thomas Tallis School is built on the site of a camp for war prisoners that was part of the RAF facility. The school was built in 1971. Actor Dominic Cooper, footballer Pat Van Den Hauwe, and poet Kate Tempest are some of the notable former pupils.
Jim Davidson, known for hosting the shows Big Break and The Generation Game, was born in this SE3 area and lived on Holburne Road. Singer Sandie Shaw is a notable resident. Her song Puppet on a String was the first British song to win the Eurovision contest. Actor Jude Law attended The Halley Academy in Kidbrooke. This school was part of the TV show and campaign Jamie’s School Dinner. Nora Sands, known for Nora’s Dinners book, worked at this school as a head cook. She left her position at the school after the book became successful.