Did you know that...
Penge name derives from the Celtic words “pen” which means head and “ceat” which means wood. Penceat, as it was called in a 957 deed, was a small Anglo-Saxon town. Only a few houses and an inn were found here back in the day. On a map dating from 1607, Penge Green appears as Pensgreene. St John’s Road and Newlands Park Road were known as Penge Road. The Crooked Billet is one of the oldest South East London pubs. It dates from the 17th century or even earlier. English writer William Hone visited the pub in 1827 and drew a sketch of the building.
Playwright and editor of the Fun Victorian magazine Thomas Hood, UK’s first woman barrister Helena Normanton, bassist Bill Wyman of the Rolling Stones, painter Camille Pissarro, and Victoria Cross recipient Joseph Petrus Hendrik Crowe lived in this SE20 area. A house on Thornsett Road carries a blue plaque that honors resident George Daniels. He is the inventor of the coaxial escapement and was considered the world’s best watchmaker. The Space Traveller’s Watch I by Daniels is one of the most expensive watches sold at auction. John Clunies-Ross of the Cocos Islands’ first settlers was another famous resident.
Architects Edwin Nash and J.N. Round designed the St John the Evangelist church. It was built in 1850 and it was declared a grade II listed building in 1990. Congregational Church is another Penge church. It was established in 1912. Cricketer Derek Underwood, professor Keith Lewin, composer Michael Finnissy, Royal Air Force officer Ronald Dick, violinist Hugh Bean, and Rolling Stones’ Bill Wyman attended Beckenham and Penge County Grammar School. Penge East railway station features a listed footbridge dating from 1880. The now-closed police station on High Street supposedly was UK’s oldest police station.