The Eden Park neighbourhood stretches from Beckenham Hospital (near the high street) in the north down to Bethlem Royal Hospital 40 minutes’ walk to the south. To the west is Croydon Road, an extension of the high street, and to the east is Kelsey Park and Langley Park, the latter of which is also home to the Langley Park Centre for the Performing Arts, a secondary school which also has a large hall for community use. Incidentally, the area hosts two rugby clubs, Old Dunstonian RFC and Beckenham RFC, and is home to the Parklangley Tennis Club. All of this, combined with Beckenham Town Football Club, Warren Junior Football Club and Harvington Sports Ground, makes this a very good place for health conscious, sports inclined people to live. With Harris Academy Beckenham smack in the middle, and the large homes with lots of open space surrounding them, the area is also popular with families.

Eden Park station serves the neighbourhood, and is located near Langley Park School and Bethlem Royal Hospital. It runs 4 Southeastern trains per hour into central London (2 to Cannon Street, 2 to Waterloo East and Charing Cross) at off-peak times, and 4 trains per hour southbound to Hayes.

East of Eden Park lies a harmless-looking but intriguing garage, built in a Japanese pagoda style called (unimaginatively and erroneously), the Chinese Garage. The family that built it were allegedly shipping moguls, bringing them frequently to the Orient and inspiring the design of the garage. Part of their business ventures were also underwriting the Titanic and when it sank, so too did their fortunes, and they sold the place off soon after. The Chinese Garage was voted the most unusual garage in England back in 2001 (it is no longer used as a service station today, however).

A short walk away, Langley Court also has an interesting history – built in the late 1800s, it was used as a prisoners of war camp for officers during the First World War, after which it was purchased by Wellcome, developing the site into a medicinal research and production centre.

Langley Court’s history actually stretches back to Odo, the Bishop of Bayuex, Earl of Kent and half-brother of William the Conqueror, which the Domesday Book first records as the owner of the site. He led a rich life – though part of the clergy, he was famous for being a warrior and statesman, being one of the few proven companions of William the Conqueror (as depicted in the famous Bayeux Tapestry, which he commissioned). He was a royal minister and trusted companion to William, for some time being the second most powerful person in England after him; however, around the middle of his life he was trialled for defrauding the Crown as well as disgraced and imprisoned for planning a military expedition, where he lost his estates and earlship (though not his bishophood). He would perish on his way to the First Crusade, having lived for about 60 years.

Bethlem Royal Hospital used to be based in Bishopsgate, moving many times – to Moorfields, to Southwark and finally to Monks Orchard, Beckenham. This is indeed the hospital best associated with mental illnesses, notably the TV series Bedlam. In fact, the word bedlam itself was derived from this hospital’s name. The hospital is actually far older than one might expect – having been founded as a priory in 1247 and made into a hospital in 1330.

The young tennis player Emma Raducanu grew up playing at the local Parklangley Club, winning the 2021 US Open at the age of 18.

Some residents are worried about new development in the area encroaching on the countryside. Fears were directed for a while at a new development in Langley Court by Cala Home, on the site of the former Wellcome (later GlaxoSmithKline) medicinal research centre. At the time, the developer stated that it would develop new green spaces along the Beck and has even agreed to preserve the existing sports pitch and pavillion. Completed in Spring 2021, the developer seems to have stuck to their promises, and the overall scheme comprises 280 new homes including two to five bedroom houses and apartments in buildings up to 5 storeys in height together with a 100 bed care home for Signature Senior Lifestyle by other architects. There has also been planning permission granted in 2019 for the building of 133 flats spread over 6 buildings on South Eden Park Road along with 200 underground parking spaces. The development once again has caused issues with local residents as it will building over a large local green space. That said, the rest of the area is incredibly green so it shouldn’t feel like too much of a loss.