A neat and convenient location, this locale which forms part of Bexleyheath town is a crisscross of semi-detached 1930s houses with a strong bungalow presence, giving the area a unique flavour. The main street (Pickford Lane), has a typical collection of amenities: hairdressers, dry-cleaners, convenience stores, cafes, takeaways, an interiors shop and most notably a railway station. Trains to London leave approximately every ten minutes and take thirty to forty minutes to arrive. The evangelical Anglican church, St Peters, was built in 1956 and together with the stunning 1877 Christ Church in French Gothic style, serves the Christian population of the area. St Thomas More Catholic and Pelham are two of the neighbourhood’s primary schools which are rated ‘good’ and above by Ofsted. The nearby Russell Park features something for all ages: a junior football pitch, six hard tennis courts, and two bowling fields. For those requiring some rhythm-fuelled motivation, perhaps the Salsa Mundo Latino club on Long Lane will provide the right sort of flare.

From squatters’ paradise, through a strawberry and broomstick trade era, to a modern commercial centre, the area pertaining to Bexleyheath has experienced a significant metamorphosis in the past couple hundred years. An Enclosure Act at the start of the 19th century saw local squatter inhabitants – dubbed the Broom Dashers for having established a broom-making industry – having to share the space with new agricultural workers and traders. A village sprouted as an outskirt of what used to be the original Bexley; it was henceforth named New Bexley and later underwent the transformation from Bexley Heath, to the conjoint current spelling of the place name, apparently to be more associated with Blackheath rather than Dartford Heath as the former town was more sophisticated than the latter. 1895 was a critical year for the area when the newly-constructed railway attracted commuters’ interest, prompting the 20th century to open the door to modern suburbia. Interestingly, as Bexleyheath grew outwards, the importance of Bexley Village as the borough’s centre would diminish.

The history of pop music may be said to have been contoured by those individuals who broke contemporary boundaries and inspired new fashions. Certainly, the eclectic Kate Bush of the late 1970s can be counted as one of those individuals. At the age of 19, she released her debut, self-written single ‘Wuthering Heights’ which went straight to number one, thus making her the first female artist whose own song would become a chart-topper. Bush was born into a medical family at the Bexley maternity hospital, which was active in the area from 1921 to 1978. Taking her artistic influences from Irish folk music and from karate training alike, Bush would come to define a unique, experimental, progressive rock flavoured niche which would in turn serve as inspiration for the likes of Ellie Goulding and Coldplay.

During times which to present-day Bexleyheath may seem prehistoric, a small beer shop known as Ye Olde Crook Log stood by the single ancient road which passed through the area. The road itself had been upgraded by the New Cross Turnpike trust in order to repel the highwaymen of the 18th century, but the Crook Log was probably present throughout that period. It is said that the small house derived its peculiar name from a nearby woods which was perpetually pollarded. The branches were to be sold as firewood to the capital, while the remaining logs made good material for shipbuilding.

There have been some tensions between the inhabitants of the town centre, closer to Broadway (A207) and those spending leisure time at Bexleyheath. Being the de facto centre of the borough and featuring many entertainment activities, the high street can at times feel a little rowdy. This creates something of a mini identity crisis for the area – it is a very comfortable residential seat with the occasional burst of dynamism.

In early 2017, Bexley Council drafted a growth strategy for the borough as a whole. Bexleyheath is noted in the plan to remain the borough’s strategic shopping and civic centre and ‘the hub of its bus network, enabling a thriving and diverse daytime and night-time economy.’ Bexleyheath is envisaged to profit from over 1,500 new homes and 1,500 new jobs. Developer Bellway London also has an ongoing development in the area, Eastside Quarter, comprising a range of studio, one, two and three-bedroom apartments, which are regenerating the brownfield site that once housed Bexley Council’s Civic Centre. By the end of 2021, 218 of the 518 homes were completed and out of the 400 apartments for private sale within the development, more than half have already been purchased.From May 2021 to October 2022, Bexley Council established their High Streets for All Programme, securing funding from the Mayor of London’s High Streets for All Challenge, to develop and enact a new vision for Bexleyheath Town Centre.