Historically, Shortlands was known as Clay or Cley Hill. There was a house of that name which, in the early 19th century was renamed Shortlands House – and is now Bishop Challoner school. A history of the house and estate from the 14th to the 21st century has been written by local historical researcher K M Baldwin and is available on the Friends of Beckenham Place Park website. See link below.
http://www.beckenhamplaceparkfriends.org.uk/ShortlandsHouse.pdf
It became known as Shortlands in around 1800. The name is a medieval term that refers to the layout of fields alongside a river, where the fields would have been on the valley sides. In some valleys, fields run parallel to the river, making them long and thin – long lands. Here, by the Ravensbourne, they ran at right angles to the river up the slopes either side making them shorter and wider.
The area was largely rural until the mid-19th century when the coming of the railway in 1858 and the sale of older estates promoted the development of many of the large Victorian properties that can still be seen, with substantial suburban development following in the 1920s and 30s.
For biographies of famous old Shortlanders click here.
You can also read A Short History of Shortlands – Powerpoint Presentation given by Linda Baldwin on 16 November 2024.
The SRA covers more that just the Shortlands ward. As a result of boundary changes over the years – parts of Bromley Town (especially Shortlands “village”) and Copers Cope wards.
Click below to view a map or a list of roads covered by the SRA.