Sidcup



Sidcup is a district in South East London and is a part of the London Borough of Bexley, with small parts of the district in the Royal Borough of Greenwich. Located 11.3 mi south east of Charing Cross, Sidcup is bordered by the London Boroughs of Greenwich and Bromley and Sevenoaks District Council. Whilst now a part of Greater London, it was once referred to as the gateway to Kent.

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

The town contains a major hospital, a recently opened sports and leisure centre, as well as two colleges (Bird College and Rose Bruford College) and an orchestra. The town centre has a mix of high street stores, independent shops, a modern library, coffee shops, several pubs and two supermarkets, Morrisons near the high street and Tesco on the out skirts. Sidcup contains a number of districts, some of them once villages in their own right - Blackfen, Foots Cray, Longlands, and Lamorbey.

History
The name is thought to be derived from Cetecopp meaning 'seat shaped or flat topped hill'; it had its earliest recorded use in 1254. Sidcup originated as a tiny hamlet on the road from London to Maidstone.

A number of manor houses (converted to other uses) remain. They include Frognal House, the birthplace and residence of Thomas Townshend, 1st Viscount Sydney, after whom Sydney, Australia was named (now converted for use as residential and nursing accommodation), Lamorbey House (now used by Rose Bruford College), Sidcup Place (now a Brewers Fayre bar and restaurant) and "The Hollies" (now converted for residential use).

Sidcup parish formed the Sidcup Urban District of Kent from 1908. It was initially known as Foots Cray; however, in 1921 the urban district, and in 1925 the parish, were renamed Sidcup. The parish and district were abolished in 1934 and combined with Chislehurst to form the Chislehurst and Sidcup civil parish and urban district. In 1965 the parish and urban district were abolished. Sidcup went on to form part of the London Borough of Bexley in Greater London and Chislehurst formed part of the London Borough of Bromley.

Sidcup is mentioned in two famous plays and their film adaptations, Noël Coward's Relative Values and Harold Pinter's The Caretaker, and it was the location of the 2004 Dasani scandal.

It is also reputed that it was on the platform of Sidcup railway station that Mick Jagger and Keith Richards first agreed to form a band, which later became the Rolling Stones. Other connections of Sidcup to the world of entertainment and show business include the Rose Bruford College of drama and Bird College, both of which have many well known and famous alumni; regular large-scale concerts are given by Sidcup Symphony Orchestra, conducted by James Ross, which also serves the wider South East London area.

For many years, Sidcup had as its constituency (Old Bexley and Sidcup) Member of Parliament, the Rt Hon. Sir Edward Heath, Prime Minister 1970-1974.

Associated notable people
(in alphabetical order)
 * Michele Austin - Actress. Schooled in Sidcup.
 * Steve Backley - Olympic sportsman. Born in Sidcup.
 * Doreen Bird - Dance teacher. Lived in Sidcup and established college.
 * Quentin Blake - Illustrator/Artist. Born in Sidcup.
 * Garry Bushell - Journalist lives in Sidcup.
 * George Albert Cairns - Winner of the last Victoria Cross of World War II. Worked in Sidcup.
 * Ben Chorley - Footballer. Born in Sidcup.
 * Charlie Clements - Actor. Born in Sidcup.
 * Steve Clement-Large - Artist. Grew up in Sidcup - now resident in Plymouth.Creator of "Argyle Man"
 * Jason Crowe - Footballer. Born in Sidcup.
 * Ian Davenport - Artist. Born in Sidcup.
 * Martin Evans - Musician, former drummer of American Indie Pop band Milton and the Devils Party. Born and raised in Sidcup.
 * Ashley Glazebrook - Dancer, part of Twist and Pulse
 * Steve Hillier - Musician. Schooled in Sidcup.
 * Will Hutton - Economist. Schooled in Sidcup.
 * Alfred Garth Jones - Illustrator died in Sidcup in 1955.
 * John Paul Jones - Bass guitarist Led Zeppelin. Born in Sidcup.
 * Rob Knox - Actor, murdered in Sidcup.
 * Ivan Magill - Innovative anaesthetist. Worked in Sidcup.
 * Clive Mendonca - Footballer for Charlton Athletic. Lived in Sidcup
 * Lee Murray - Former kickboxer and mixed martial arts champion, wanted for Securitas depot robbery. Lived in Sidcup.
 * Emma Noble - Glamour model. Born in Sidcup.
 * Mike Rann - Premier of South Australia, politician. Born in Sidcup, lived in Blackfen prior to emigrating to New Zealand with his parents.
 * John Regis - Olympic athlete. Lived in Sidcup.
 * Keith Richards - Guitarist Rolling Stones. Attended college in Sidcup
 * Wayne Routledge - Footballer. Born in Sidcup.
 * Ethel Smyth - Composer and Suffragette. Born in Sidcup.
 * Jim Staples - International Rugby Union captain, educated in Sidcup.
 * Dick Taylor - Founder Member of The Pretty Things and early bass guitarist in the Rolling Stones. Schooled in Sidcup.
 * Philip Thomas - Record Producer/Musician. Educated in Sidcup.
 * John Topham - Photographed daily life around Sidcup from 1931 - 1973.
 * Thomas Townshend, 1st Viscount Sydney - died in Sidcup.
 * Mark Ricketts - Footballer, born & raised in Sidcup
 * Gordon Watson - Former Sheffield Wednesday footballer was born in Sidcup.
 * Elizabeth Wiskemann - Journalist. Born in Sidcup.
 * Doug Wright - Cricketer. Born in Sidcup.

Education

 * For education in Sidcup see the main London Borough of Bexley article

Orchard primary school
 * Benedict House Primary School (Private)
 * Birkbeck Primary School
 * Burnt Oak Junior School
 * Days Lane Primary School
 * Hurst Primary School
 * Longlands Primary School
 * Merton Court Preparatory School (Private)
 * West Lodge Primary School (Private)
 * Royal Park Primary School
 * Holy Trinity Lamorbey Primary School
 * Burnt Oak Primary School

Local Secondary Schools

 * Chislehurst and Sidcup Grammar School
 * Cleeve Park School
 * Hurstmere School

Local Further & Higher Education Institutes

 * Bird College, which also provides pre-vocational music and dance services on behalf of Bexley London Borough
 * Rose Bruford College

Places of Worship

 * All Saints Church, Rectory Lane
 * Avery Hill Christian Fellowship, Southspring
 * Christchurch, Main Road
 * Churches Together in Sidcup
 * Days Lane Baptist Church, Days Lane
 * Emmanuel Church, Hadlow Road
 * Foots Cray Baptist Church, Sidcup Hill
 * Holy Redeemer Church, Days Lane
 * Holy Trinity Church, Hurst Road
 * New Community Church, Station Road
 * New Generation Church, New Generation Centre, Birkbeck Road
 * Our Lady of the Rosary Church, Burnt Oak Lane
 * Redeemed Christian Church of God-Victory Assembly, Footscray Road
 * St Andrew's Church, Maylands Drive
 * St James Church, North Cray Road
 * St John's Church, Church Road
 * St Lawrence's Church, Hamilton Road
 * Sidcup Baptist Church, Main Road

Nearby places
Nearby places often considered as part of Sidcup and having Sidcup as the "post town".
 * Blackfen
 * Lamorbey
 * Longlands
 * Foots Cray
 * Albany Park

Other nearby places
 * New Eltham
 * Chislehurst
 * St Paul's Cray
 * Swanley
 * Eltham
 * Bexley
 * Bexleyheath
 * Orpington
 * Bromley
 * Woolwich
 * Welling
 * Mottingham

Railway station
Sidcup is in London Zone 5 and is served by two lines operated by Southeastern: London Charing Cross - Gravesend and the London Cannon Street loop line.

Buses
Sidcup is served by a number of bus services operated for Transport for London.
 * 51 - Woolwich and Orpington Station
 * 160 - Catford Bridge and Sidcup Station
 * 233 - Eltham Station and Swanley
 * 286 - Greenwich Cutty Sark and Sidcup Queen Mary's Hospital
 * 229 - Thamesmead and Sidcup Queen Mary's Hospital
 * 269 - Bexleyheath Shopping Centre and Bromley North
 * 321 - New Cross Gate and Foots Cray Tesco
 * 492 - Bluewater and Sidcup Station
 * 625 - Chislehurst War Memorial and Plumstead Common
 * 669 - Thamesmead and Cleeve Park School
 * B14 - Bexleyheath Shopping Centre and Orpington Station
 * R11 - Sidcup Queen Mary's Hospital and Green Street Green

Sidcup bus garage used to be located in Foots Cray High Street; it was opened by the London General Omnibus Company in June 1924, then operated by London Transport from 1933 until its closure in January 1988.

Sport and leisure
Sidcup has a Non-League football club Seven Acre & Sidcup F.C. who play at Sidcup & District Conservative Club.

Sidcup Sports Cub in Sydney Road, home to Sidcup Rugby Club grounds, Sidcup Cricket Club grounds and practice nets, Tennis Courts and coaching, Martial Arts, Slimming World every Tuesday 7pm www.slimmingworld.com, gym, changing room, showers, function room, bar, free parking in large on site car park.