Comprising Elmstead and the western part of Chislehurst, this green and affluent suburban area has lots to offer. Known for its open spaces, from the National Trust’s Hawkwood Estate and Petts Wood – ‘a haven for all kinds of bird, butterfly, amphibian and plant life’- to the Chislehurst golf course, to the Elmstead Woods, scenic spots for outdoor recreation and relaxation abound. There is even a bird sanctuary in a designated part of Whyte’s Woodland, around Walden Road. There are plenty of dining and drinking options to choose from too. Dennys Seafood Restaurant is a popular local institution with a focus on fresh, seasonal ingredients and the Crown Inn serves traditional English dishes using seasonal and local produce wherever possible. The Rambler’s Rest, situated in a clapboard cottage dating back to the 1680s, was described by The Telegraph as ‘Chislehurst’s best-kept secret’. If that’s not enough to whet the appetite, there’s the Tiger’s Head and a cluster of eateries along the high street.

This postal sector is imbued with a diverse history. The Elmstead Pit is a site of special scientific interest (although not open to the public), with fossils dating back from the Eocene epoch. The Chislehurst Caves is a twenty-two mile long network of intersecting tunnels used for chalk and flint mining from the 13th – 19th centuries. They have since been used variously as an ammunition depot, a site for mushroom cultivation and an air raid shelter. A baby – given the middle name ‘Cavena’ – was even born here during the blitz! Nestled on the green between School Road and Church Road is a perfectly preserved cockpit, used for cock fighting until it was banned in 1834.

The Chislehurst Caves are regularly used as a filming location for Dr. Who. In addition, Napoleon III, exiled emperor of France, lived here from 1871 until his death in 1873.

The suburban feel may be off-putting to some, and Chislehurst’s ‘posh’ reputation means that property here doesn’t come cheap. However, those that do move here will be richly rewarded by good schools, great restaurants, a sense of the sector’s rich and varied history, and an enviable range of green spaces. Local residents describe Chislehurst as ‘lovely’.

FC Elmstead returned to Chislehurst Recreation Ground in 2016 after extensive pitch improvement work, including drainage works. Viscount Mews, off the High Street, is a development of one and two-bedroom flats and duplexes built to resemble 3 mews houses, and was completed in February 2016.

More recently, Bromley Council completed a residential development off Bushell Way containing 25 modern one- and two-bedroom affordable apartments; some of the first to be developed under the council’s recently launched ‘Bromley Homes for Bromley People’ initiative. Contractors M-AR worked in partnership with the Council to deliver these homes, as well as 10 more apartments on a site adjacent to Anerley Town Hall. A proposal was also submitted to the council in 2021 for a scheme that intends to build a zero-carbon, flower-shaped housing development made up of 13 homes on the grounds of a historic farm in Chislehurst. Designed by Lipton Plant Architects, the vision for the development is of 11 properties arrayed around a central pond, and the proposal also involves the refurbishment of a Grade-II listed building on Frogpool Manor Farm.