•  Orpington, Kent

          Click on the map for other historical maps of this place

In 1870-72, John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales described Orpington like this:

ORPINGTON, a village and a parish in Bromley district, Kent. The village stands adjacent to a station ofits own name, on the Direct Tunbridge railway, 4 miles S E of Bromley; is a pleasant place; and has a post-office under Bromley, Kent, and a fair on Holy Thursday. The parish contains also the hamlet of Crofton, and com.prises 3, 477 acres. ...

---

Real property, £6, 142. Pop. in 1851, 1, 203; in 1861, 1, 727. Houses, 320. The increase of pop. arose from the operations of a building society. The property is divided among a few. The manor of Great Orpington belongs to Sir P. H. Dyke, Bart.; and that of Little Orpington, to J. G. Stapelton, Esq. Crofton Hall is the seat of Sir R. M. Bromley; Crofton House, of J. F. Skeggs, Esq.; Aynscombe House, of A. Jackson, Esq.; the Priory, ofBarry, Esq.; and Bark Hart, of H. D. Francis, Esq. Hops and all kinds offruit are plentifully grown. The springs are so numerous as frequently to flood the village. Brickmaking iscarried on. The living is a vicarage in the dio. of Canterbury; and, till 1868, was united with St. Mary Cray. Value, £420.* Patron, the Archbishop of Canterbury. The church is mainly early English; includes Normanportions; and has a low embattled tower. There are a British school, and charities £39. Queen Elizabeth wasentertained at Bark Hart, in 1573, by Sir P. Hart.

Orpington through time

Orpington is now part of Bromley district. Click here for graphs and data of how Bromley has changed over two centuries. For statistics about Orpington itself, go to Units and Statistics.

---

Not where you were looking for?

Click here for more detailed advice on finding places within A Vision of Britain through Time, and maybe some references to other places called "Orpington".