Did you know that...
Wyborne School on Footscray Road was established in 1904. The initial name was Pope Street School after one of the main streets in the area. The school building still has a sign with the original name. Pope Street was also the name of the local railway station opened in 1878. In 1886, the name changed to New Eltham station. The Beehive pub is a 19th-century public house. Back in the day, the pub organized harness races and hosted traveling circuses on the nearby field. South East London Green Chain walk crosses this SE9 area. Local jogging enthusiasts have formed the New Eltham Joggers club.
The New Eltham library was built in 1931. It was around that time when the area started to develop into a residential suburb. During the Cold War, a building without windows was raised behind the library. It was a borough control and it was part of the South East London Group that was a division of the Chislehurst Regional War HQ. Waterford Place buildings have names such as Glengarriff and Kenmare because Gaelic sports were played on the site. The developers of the Waterford Palace, Linden Homes, renovated Bardhill community sports ground to get the planning permission.
Charlton Athletic, an ELF Championship football club, has a training ground on Sparrows Lane. Newpark, a South London Football Alliance Division 3 football club, holds the Beckenham Hospital Cup. There’s also a New Eltham team that plays in the London and Kent Borders League. Footscray Road houses Footscray RUFC, a rugby club. The club was founded in Foots Cray, Kent in 1967 by some Kolster-Brandes Factory workers. In 1995, the club re-located to New Eltham. The Footscray 7s is a tournament that takes place each year on the first Saturday of May. It’s a popular event among SE9 residents.