Sidcup

Sidcup borders Blackfen to the north, Albany Park to the northeast and east, Foots Cray to the south-east, Chislehurst to the south and south-west, New Eltham to the west and Avery Hill to the north-west.

Sidcup has a mixture of large Victorian and Edwardian properties alongside typical 1930s suburbia. It retains many parks and open spaces hinting at the great estates and large homes which once stood in the area.

The town contains Queen Mary's Hospital, a large Leisure Centre, four colleges and three secondary schools. Sidcup High Street is the main retail and commercial street, and there are some other shops and local businesses on the adjacent Station Road. In 2014, Sidcup High Street was the subject of a £1.8 million regeneration scheme In Store For Sidcup paid for by London Borough of Bexley.[7]

Most of the district is within the London Borough of Bexley, however, several parts in the North are under the governance of the Royal Borough of Greenwich, including Southspring, Greenhithe Close, Halfway Street (offsite Avery Hill), Radfield Way, Croyde Close and Overmead.

Sidcup lies 2.8 miles (4.5 km) south-west of Bexleyheath; 4 miles (6.4 km) north-east of Bromley; 3.3 miles (5.3 km) north of Orpington; 3.4 miles (5.5 km) north-west of Swanley.

The war memorial on the Green at Sidcup

In 2011 The total population was recorded as 10,844. Many residents are aged 65+ or 85+, in line with the whole of London Borough of Bexley. At the census of 2011, the non-white population of Sidcup was recorded at 10.1%; the largest minority group were Asian or Asian British (5.4% of the total population), with White Other totalling 4.8% of the total population. The number of single-parent families was higher in the district in comparison to the rest of the London Borough of Bexley. 63.8% reported Christianity as their religious belief which was above the borough average. However, these figures do not include the Blackfen and Lamorbey wards within the district.[8]

Primary schools in Sidcup include: Birkbeck, Burnt Oak Junior School, Chatsworth, Days Lane, Holy Trinity Lamorbey, Longlands, Orchard School, Our Lady of the Rosary, Royal Park, Sherwood Park, and St Peter Chanel.

Secondary schools in Sidcup include Chislehurst and Sidcup Grammar School, Blackfen, Cleeve Park, Hurstmere and Kemnal Technology College.

Bird College, Christ the King: St Mary's (RC) Sixth Form College, and Rose Bruford College all have sites in Sidcup.

Sidcup Cottage Hospital was opened in 1882 in Birkbeck Road, Sidcup.[9] The building soon became too small and new premises were opened on the corner of Birkbeck and Granville Road in 1890.[9] The premises became financially unviable and closed in 1974.[9] The building was demolished and Sidcup Health Centre, now known as the Barnard Medical Practice was erected in the site.[9]

Notable staff included:

• Alice Fortune Hodgson (1881-1942), Matron from 1913[10] until at least September 1939.[11][12][13] Hodgson trained at The London Hospital under Matron Eva Luckes between 1903-1905.[11] She remained there as a private nurse, undertook her midwifery training, and worked as a staff nurse before she left in 1908.[11] As Matron Hodgson and the nursing staff were present when a long term in patient was confirmed into the Church of England by the Bishop of Rochester in 1931.[14]

Sidcup has a Non-League football club Sporting Club Thamesmead F.C. who play at the Sporting Club Thamesmead. On Sydney Road, there is a Sidcup Sports Club, housing the local rugby and cricket clubs.

Sidcup also has a Leisure Centre on Hurst Road with 2 pools and a gym.

The Sidcup and District Motor Cycle Club was formed at the Station Hotel, Sidcup in 1928. The club owns the Canada Heights motorcycle sport venue in Button Street, Swanley.[15]

Buildings along Faraday Avenue, reflecting a mix of high-rise and low-rise buildings in the area around Sidcup railway station

Sidcup is home to the Rose Bruford College of drama and Bird College, both of which have several famous alumni, and the Sidcup Symphony Orchestra,[16] which also serves the wider South East London area. In an interview with Lake Bell (who studied at Rose Bruford College) in 2015, comedian James Corden described Sidcup as "the armpit of England" on his late night American chat show The Late Late Show with James Corden.[17]

The murder of teenager Rob Knox at the Metro Bar on Station Road in 2008 was national headline news. Knox was an aspiring actor who had, just before his death, filmed a small part in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. He was killed protecting his brother from a group of youths.[18] His murderer, Karl Bishop, also from Sidcup, was later found guilty of murder and sentenced.[19] Following Knox's death, his family have campaigned to end knife crime among young people.[20] The Rob Knox Foundation has organised a Rob Knox Film Festival in Sidcup and the neighbouring town of Bexleyheath, and a bench was dedicated to Knox at St John's Church in Sidcup in 2015.[21]

The 19th-century mansion house of Abbeyhill in Sidcup, now a Grade II listed building

A 19th-century lodge in Sidcup, now a Grade II listed building

• F. Matthias Alexander (1869–1955), Australian actor and inventor of the Alexander technique, lived in Penhill House, Sidcup, for 30 years[23]
• Harry Arter (1989–) footballer (Bournemouth F.C. and Republic of Ireland), born in Sidcup[24]
• Steve Backley (1969–), Olympic javelin silver medallist, born in Sidcup[25]
• Gareth Bacon (1972–), politician and leader of the Conservative Party in the Greater London Assembly
• Sam Bailey (1977–), winning contestant, The X Factor, grew up in Sidcup[26]
• Angela Barnes (1976–) actress, stand-up comedian, born in Sidcup
• Michael Barnard, (1976–) darts player, lived in Sidcup
• Christopher Battarbee (1975–), cricketer (Oxford University), born in Sidcup[27]
• Lake Bell (1979–), American actress, lived in Sidcup while studying at Rose Bruford College in the 1990s.[17]
• Doreen Bird (1928–2004), dance teacher, lived in Sidcup and established Bird College[28]
• Quentin Blake (1932–), illustrator, artist, born in Sidcup[25]
• Denis Bond (1946–), children's author, actor and scriptwriter, lives in Sidcup[25]
• Tom Burns (1944–), Catholic bishop, lived and ministered in Sidcup and taught at St Mary's School in the 1970s[29]
• Garry Bushell (1955–), journalist, lives in Sidcup[30]
• George Albert Cairns (1913–44), recipient of the last Victoria Cross of World War II, lived and worked in Sidcup[31]
• Sheila Callender (1914–2004), haematologist, born in Sidcup[32]
• Ben Chorley (1982–), footballer (Tranmere Rovers, Leyton Orient, now Bromley F.C.), born in Sidcup[33]
• Charlie Clements (1987–), actor (EastEnders), born in Sidcup[34]
• Jason Crowe (1978–), footballer, born in Sidcup[35]
• Jay Darlington (1968–), musician (former keyboardist for the band Kula Shaker and currently a member of the band Magic Bus), born in Sidcup[36]
• Ian Davenport (1966–), abstract painter and former Turner Prize nominee, born in Sidcup[37]
• Douglas Harries (1893–1972), Royal Air Force air vice-marshal and first-class cricketer
• Joe Healy (1986–), footballer who previously played in the Football League for Millwall, born in Sidcup[38]
• Deren Ibrahim (1991–), Gibraltarian footballer, born in Sidcup[39]
• Alfred Garth Jones (1872–1955), illustrator, spent the last years of his life in Sidcup
• John Paul Jones (1946–), bass guitarist (Led Zeppelin), born in Sidcup[40]
• Rob Knox (1989–2008), actor, murdered in Sidcup[41][42]
• Douglas Macmillan (1884–1969), founder of Macmillan Cancer Support, lived in Knoll Road from 1924 until 1966, and also ran his charity from that address. Bexley Civic Society placed a blue plaque on the house in 2010[43]
• Ivan Magill (1888–1986), innovative anaesthetist, worked in Sidcup[44]
• Lee Murray (1977–), former kickboxer and mixed martial arts champion, convicted of the Securitas depot robbery, lived in Sidcup[45]
• Emma Noble (1971–), model and actress, born in Sidcup[46]
• Mike Rann (1953–), Premier of South Australia, politician, born in Sidcup, lived in Blackfen prior to emigrating to New Zealand with his parents[47]
• John Regis (1966–), Olympic sprinter, lived in Sidcup[48]
• Mark Ricketts (1984–), footballer, born in Sidcup[49]
• Wayne Routledge (1985–), footballer, born in Sidcup[50]
• Gerard Shelley (1891–1980), author, translator and Catholic bishop, born in Sidcup[51]
• Nevil Shute (1899–1960), novelist and aeronautical engineer, lived in Hatherley Road from 1924 to 1930 while working at Vickers in Crayford[52]
• Ethel Smyth (1858–1944), composer and suffragette, born in St. John's Road, Sidcup[53]
• Thomas Townshend, 1st Viscount Sydney (1733–1800), politician and Cabinet minister, lived in Frognal House, Foots Cray[54]
• Gordon Watson (1971–), former Sheffield Wednesday footballer, born in Sidcup[55]
• Elizabeth Wiskemann (1899–1971), historian and journalist, born in Sidcup[56]
• Doug Wright (1914–98), cricketer (Kent and England), born in Sidcup[57]

• Media related to Sidcup at Wikimedia Commons
• Bexley London Borough Council website