The neighbourhood of Petts Wood sits in the northwest section of Orpington. The area is focussed around Petts Wood railway station, which is also the town centre (a rough square in surrounded by four streets). The locality stops around Chislehurst Road and Crofton Lane to the east – just before neighbouring St. Mary Cray; its north section is bounded by the Thameslink railway line, to the west is Jubilee Country Park and several recreation grounds. To the south is Petts Wood and Hawkwood, a tranquil woodland deliberately left untouched by development, and protected by the National Trust. The area is divided roughly into two equal portions by the Southeastern railway line running at a slope from the northwest to the southeast). Petts Wood West faces the forest and recreation grounds, but was built in a denser fashion, while Petts Wood East is slightly more suburban than forest, less than 10 minutes’ drive away to Orpington High Street, but generally has larger houses. Either side, Petts Wood railway station is still easily accessible, and provides 8 trains per hour to central London, bumping up to 12 during peak hours.

Petts Wood’s history begins in the 16th century as ‘the wood of the Pett family’, who were at the forefront of Britain’s shipbuilding industry at the time. However most of Petts Wood was built up in the interwar period, designed by Basil Scruby, and has been described as one of the best planned interwar suburbs in London. As mentioned before, the local woodlands were left deliberately untouched – but it was not as simple as a council decision. The local community fought for the protection of the woodlands from the bottom-up, raising funds to protect the area from any encroachment, at a time when London’s suburbs were rapidly expanding. As a testament to the rich history of the area, as well as its close-knit community, Peter Waymark has published a book titled ‘A History of Petts Wood’, which can be bought online (and in Petts Wood book shops, of course).

The French freedom fighter Charles de Gaulle lived on 41 Birchwood Road in 1940. Charles de Gaulle helped set up the French Fourth Republic after the fall of the Nazis in Europe and the French Fifth Republic after constant politicking led to an ineffective government.

On a different note, singer Pixie Lott lived in Petts Wood as a child. The singer, song- writer and actress cites Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston as influences on her style.

Petts Wood was the scene of the final Woolworths in the country to close. The last bag of pic n’ mix from the store was sold for more than £14500 on eBay.

While the transport into central London is fairly convenient, the town’s distance from the inner city makes commuting very pricey, and gives the area a slight feeling of isolation. That being said, the money saved on house prices and the amount of space gained by living further from central London makes up for this.

A new development of 25 luxury apartments known as Cardinal House is set to open just opposite Petts Wood station. The new mock-Tudor complex includes studio, one- and two-bedroom flats as well as parking and shops.