This neighbourhood is roughly bounded by Parkhill and Blendon Road (B2210) in the south-west, East Rochester Way (A2) in the north and Bourne Road (A223) on the west side. The ancient remnants of a rural Kentish village can be felt along Bexley high street where places like The Kings Head pub (originally 14th century) or Freemantle Hall – a community centre – serve as a relic of the area’s historic identity. As one heads north-west from here, a gradation into traditional suburbia unravels, with a display of spacious mock-Tudor semis at the top of Blendon Road mixed with neat, close-packed terraced homes like those on Bourne Road. Indeed, the area’s truly rural nature is best experienced not on the high street, but at Bexley Park Wood, where a diverse range of birds can be spotted and the River Shuttle adds to the serenity. The area has no primary or state schools, however the all-boys Beths Grammar School is of ‘outstanding’ status and has upheld a consistently high reputation. But most uniquely, this locale stands out for its array of quaint public houses, mostly to be found along the high street, which cater to an adult clientele and which certainly explains the warmth of the local community.

As may have been inferred, this Bexley heartland neighbourhood has developed a strong sense of identity and this may stem from its roots as an ancient parish. However, the dense and concentrated nature of the high street may have been a result of the parish shrinking, rather than expanding over the course of the last few centuries. In fact, it was probably the emergence of Bexleyheath in the 19th century as the de facto centre of the borough that caused the side-lining of the old village. But as a consequence of the new settlement’s competitive commercial advantage, Bexley Village would go on to characterise itself as snug spot for independent cafés, pubs and restaurants.

A particularly noteworthy character pertaining to the second half of the 18th century was the politician Francis Dashwood, who lived at the elegant Tudor Hall Place during this time. The notorious spendthrift inherited a grand sum at an early age and would later spend it on such pleasures as travelling to St Petersburg and impersonating the King of Sweden before the tsar. Perhaps more infamously, Dashwood would go on to found the Hellfire club – a decadent society of rakes, or “hellraisers”, who would gather at secret locations and engage in indulgent activities.

A redevelopment programme in the sixties replaced some 18th century buildings on the south side of Bexley High Street with a façade of less aesthetically pleasing maisonettes. The units above the shops suffer from a slightly rickety appearance and although architectural styles are fundamentally a matter of taste, there is no doubt that the contrast with the older buildings is sharp. Others might be discouraged by the hilly landscape which may not fare well with children walking to the local schools.

There are no developments forecast directly within the area although the recently announced redevelopment programme may have an impact on these neighbourhoods. In early 2017, Bexley Council drafted a growth strategy for the borough as a whole and Bexleyheath was 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. The Growth Strategy also hada greatly ambitious set of objectives for the borough, including the development of 31,500 new homes, which would make it the largest building programme since the 1930s, and the creation of 17,500 new jobs. 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.