Hayes Lane and Bromley Common intersect at the top of the large open space, Bromley Common. Large and comfortable detached homes, built up in the late 90s and early 2000s, line these two roads. Following Masons Hill to the north-east leads up towards Bromley South station. The northern-most area belongs to the Bromley and Chislehurst constituency, whilst everything below the intersection of these two roads is part of Beckenham constituency. The conservatives hold majorities in both constituencies. Besides the two main roads, the area contains a mix of mainly terraced and detached housing. Ravensbourne secondary school, rated ‘good’ by Ofsted, is housed in the Grade II-listed neo-Georgian building at the top of Hayes Lane. Bromley Common is home to the semi-professional Bromley Football Club, along with other sports facilities such as the athletics track. Bromley Wendover Lawn Tennis club has 7 courts and provides a family friendly atmosphere for both social and competitive players. Among the newer developments, Trinity Village is a quiet pocket of modern homes on the edge of Southborough.

The history of the locale centres around the Norman family. A rich timber merchant, James Norman, settled in Bromley Common to the south of the area, in 1755. Norman Park gets its name from this family and in the 1930s, the land was purchased by Bromley Council to transform into a recreation ground and athletics track. Chatterton Village stands just south-west of Whitehall Recreation Ground, on the site of what used to be Bromley Villa, inhabited by a wealthy landowner named Henry Hebbert. His death in 1864, prompted the development of this land into fashionable semis and terraces. This area revolving around the Victorian streets of the old villa, later renamed Walpole Lodge – hence Walpole Road – has been populated over the years with a delicatessen, restaurants, and a beauty salon. Today the locale is popular with young professionals moving out of the city.

The inspiring author of the Just William series, Richmal Crompton, lived on Cherry Orchard Road and then Oakley Road during the latter part of her life. Her children’s books about a mischievous young boy and his band of ‘outlaws’ have sold 12 million copies in the UK since the 1920s and have been translated into nine languages. It is thought that she drew inspiration from the expansive nature of Bromley Common and Biggin Hill Aerodrome in neighbouring Keston.

The Chatterton Arms pub is a peculiar local landmark for a number of reasons: originally it was called the “Hit and Miss”, referencing to the olden days when the common was known as the “Shooting Common”: a playground for the highwaymen that ruled the roads approaching London from the suburbs. Hammond Wearne occupied Bromley Villa by the 1890s and in 1895 made a complaint to Bromley Urban District Council about the persistent racket erupting from the Chatterton Arms on weekends. Though it still retains the air of a traditional pub, the pub during the 19th century contrasts significantly with today’s “chilled and peaceful atmosphere”.

Whilst much of Bromley presents a rather hilly terrain, potentially posing somewhat of an inconvenience for the walk to primary school, the bus network more than compensates for this shortfall. Some complain that Bromley lacks the cultural and ethnic diversity which is typical of most London boroughs.

The main development under way just north of this neighbourhood area is the multi- purpose St Mark’s Square, a five-minute walk from Bromley South Station. The recently completed multi-purpose development delivers 200 private and affordable apartments, 25,000 sq-feet of various eateries, and a VUE cinema complex, all tied together through a landscaped public plaza. The economic ambitions for the development involve creating over 200 jobs in Bromley and injecting £220 million of Gross Value Added to the neighbourhood over the next 10 years.