A comfortable and orderly neighbourhood area, this part of Bexley is an overwhelmingly residential locale in which most of the traditional 1930s properties are owned outright or mortgaged. In the south-east of the area,
Lamorbey, part of Sidcup, is home to some more dated houses, many of which have been renovated from manors dating from as long ago as the 15th century. The Hollies, a converted children’s home, is currently an upmarket housing estate in a very rural setting, with a countryside leisure establishment for its residents. In the north part of the area, Blackfen is a settlement built around the very typical suburban high street (Blackfen Road), which itself is home to a few very quaint establishments such as the locally renowned J. Ayre bakery or The Broken Drum micropub – where even dogs are treated like welcome visitors. For the less chic, more free-spirited canines, the several green spaces like Parish or Holly Oak Wood Park – featuring its own river, are sure to provide an excellent spot for ball-games and summer picnics.

In order to get a flavour of the rich history pervading the crescents and lanes of this neighbourhood area, take a stroll through the aforementioned Hollies. This is where, at the turn of the previous century Greenwich and Deptford Union built the children’s home that stood here for approximately 90 years. Some of the buildings which were in use then are still standing, such as the clock tower at 58 Rowanwood Avenue, built by Thomas Dinwiddy, probably in the early decades of the 19th century. Experiences at the children’s home were mixed, with some former residents recounting awful tales of beatings and deprivation while others look back at the place as a ‘spiritual home’. Venture west from here down Halfway Street which, prior to the building of The Hollies, used to be an independent hamlet. It still bears the remnants of rural England with a few ancient cottages and Ye Old Horse Pub, built originally in 1689.

In 2015, the illustrator of global fame, Quentin Blake, returned to his hometown in Sidcup to Holy Trinity Church, in the south-east of the area, to give a talk at Sidcup Words and Music Festival. Blake, most notably known for his illustrations of Roald Dahl children’s stories was born not too far from here into a family which he recalls had ‘as little money as it was possible to have and still be middle class’. Notorious for portraying bony, impish characters in a sketch-like manner, the man who illustrated so many childhoods himself resembles one of his drawings. He tells us how the secret to bringing his illustrations to life involves imagining what the characters feel like. That is, jumping into the story itself.

A little-known fact about the Jolly Fenman on Blackfen Road relates to the public house during the roaring 40s. By this time it had been around for 30 years already and had set up its own brewery in-house. Today the pub has been refurbished and no longer brews its own beer, but it benefits from almost 60 years of experience.

For those considering moving into the northern-most part of the neighbourhood area, it may be of worth noting that the A2 trunk road leading to Rochester is very close to the high street. As a result, the noise levels may be a deterring factor, together with this part of the area’s lack of greenery or the aesthetic streamlining present in, say, the recently-regenerated Sidcup town, just south of Sidcup station. What makes Blackfen more affordable relative to its southern counterparts, however, is the lack of railway stations in walking distance, recalls one local, as well as being ‘a good place to live for schools’.

Over the next five years, the nearby areas around Lamorbey Park and above Hurst Road will benefit from a total of £835,000 of funding as part of the recently assigned Sidcup Business Improvement District (BID). By levying already established businesses in the area, money will be raised which will be directed towards improving local infrastructure, streamlining common supply chains for local businesses, and externally promoting Sidcup to attract visitors. The BID stretches beyond this particular neighbourhood area, down to Sidcup High Street.