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Bexleyheath

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75-608: Bexleyheath is a town in south-east London , England , in the London Borough of Bexley . It had a population of approximately 15,600 in 2021 and is 12 miles (19 kilometres) southeast of Charing Cross . It is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in London. Its post town takes in other surrounding neighbourhoods, including Barnehurst , West Heath and Upton . For most of its history, Bexley heath

150-589: A glazed white frontage was added to the main Broadway entrance area and the Townley Road entrance area as part of the 2007 alterations. In addition to the main retail units, small kiosks have featured within the centre to offer additional retail space within the malls; currently there are a number of kiosks in the 'RMU' format also used in a number of the Mall Fund 's other centres. The inaugural winner of

225-415: A 'false' upper level in their stores, though none are currently open using this format; the former HMV , Next and Waterstones (later JD Sports ) stores did this, though the stores which replaced them do not - Select, Deichmann and EE having reverted these units to trading on a single retail level. The building encompasses three covered malls of shops which converge on a central square, and also includes

300-471: A 50,000sq ft department store in the centre in spring 2017, taking the space vacated by the collapse of British Home Stores . In 2018 construction work began to install a gym above Morley's, this is operated by The Gym Group and opened in winter 2018-19. Metro Bank applied to Bexley Council for permission to convert units at the Broadway entrance of the mall to create a new bank branch, to open in 2016; to enable this development to go ahead, in late 2015

375-422: A new library and a series of residential blocks located above this. This development was approved by Bexley Council in 2009 and was expected to be developed between 2010 and 2012. The plans were submitted to the council by Capital & Regional (as The Mall Fund) prior to the sale of The Mall to JLL; it was not immediately clear what effect the sale would have on the redevelopment plans, or if JLL would take over

450-404: A period of time. Other centres which have been sold off by The Mall Fund (such as The Ashley Centre ) have reverted to their former names following their sale. Some marketing materials for the centre, as of Spring 2010, began to appear bearing the names 'Broadway' or 'Broadway Shopping Centre' in plain text. In September 2010, new signage bearing the name "Broadway Shopping Centre Bexleyheath", with

525-421: A population of 1,329,000. This definition is used by organisations such as Connexions . Between 2008 and 2011 it was replaced with a South East sub-region consisting of Southwark, Lewisham, Greenwich, Bexley and Bromley and a South West sub-region consisting of Croydon, Kingston, Lambeth, Merton, Sutton, Richmond and Wandsworth. In 2011 a new south London region was created consisting of Bromley, Croydon,

600-547: A possibility. There are 59 retail shop units considered to be within the Mall building (including several premises where public access is from the Broadway itself) and additional smaller retailers in 'RMUs' (small, freestanding kiosk -like units). In the early years of the centre's existence, the site was known as the Broadway Shopping Centre; its owners included Norwich Union . In the early 21st century

675-478: A pub and six large retail units, with an associated two-level (basement and ground) car park. Broadway Square was initially independent of the neighbouring covered centre, until it was subsequently acquired by The Mall Fund and run in conjunction with the main Mall. Retailers currently trading from Broadway Square (as at June 2012) are TK Maxx , JD Sports , Poundland , Poundstretcher , Wilko and Sainsbury's , along with The Furze Wren (a J D Wetherspoon pub). It

750-456: A row of shops facing onto the Broadway itself (the shops between Marks & Spencer and EweMove (formerly Thomson ) (inclusive) are considered part of the Mall, though their postal addresses are given as being on the Broadway). The sloping nature of the land in the centre of Bexleyheath means that the Broadway entrance leads to a mall which is inclined until it meets the central square, and

825-431: A single store for Footasylum. Following the closure of Woolworths at the end of 2008, its later (ex-Safeway) premises were extensively remodelled and divided into two new retail units. Posters were subsequently applied to the hoardings which confirmed New Look would be taking up a portion of the redeveloped space, relocating from their smaller existing store in the centre; subsequently, a strap appeared on another section of

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900-551: A smaller way, most likely by extending the building onto the Broadway Square car park which neighbours the existing building. Bexley Council subsequently came to an agreement with Tesco , which had earlier bought the former Woolwich Building Society offices on Erith Road and had planned a supermarket for the site; under this deal, the Civic Offices would transfer their operations to the former Woolwich site, with

975-553: A substantial supermarket four years later, as in other urban places including New Towns . A cinema stands to the east facing a medium-sized supermarket. A renovation in 2008 on "The Mall" gave the centre a more modern interior. The appending of "Bexleyheath Square" took place in the early 2000s, more retail units. Much of this investment provides local competition to Bluewater Shopping Centre , 5 + 1 ⁄ 2 miles (9 kilometres) east in Greenhithe, Kent . The statue outside

1050-469: A suburb. The National Trust acquired the house in 2003. Morris wanted to have a "Palace of Art" in which he and his friends could enjoy producing works of art. The house is of red brick with a steep tiled roof and an emphasis on natural materials. It is in a brick-and-tile style to resemble cumulative generational additions. Its layout and geometrics are non-uniform and it is recognised and protected with highest category (Grade I) listed building status as it

1125-415: A wider regeneration of the surrounding area of Bexleyheath over the coming years, which would have seen additional retail amenity, Bexley Council offices, a library and residential development adjacent to the existing building. However, in 2010, following the sale of the centre, its new owners confirmed the major expansion plan would not be going ahead, though a small extension to the existing site remains

1200-408: Is avant-garde to influential Arts and Crafts architecture . Morris lived with wife Jane in the house for five years, during which time their two daughters, Jenny and May, were born. Needing to sell the house in 1865 to economise, Morris vowed never to return to it; he said that to see the house again would be more than he could bear. Bexleyheath's parish church , Christ Church, dates from 1841; and

1275-444: Is a four-storey building; public access to the retail stores is on the ground level; the first floor contains primarily 'service' (delivery bays), office space including the centre management suite, and the customer toilets ; and the upper floors are car parking . There are two levels of parking - Upper and Lower - and each is divided into three sectors (East, West and Central), with associated lifts and stairs linking each sector to

1350-453: Is the principal covered shopping centre in the town centre of Bexleyheath and is the largest single covered shopping facility in the London Borough of Bexley . Whilst some parts of the centre opened in 1981, Woolworths being the first on 23 November, the centre was opened in its current form by Prince Philip , Duke of Edinburgh on the thirteenth of March 1984 and underwent an extensive refurbishment in 2007. It had been due to form part of

1425-614: Is the southern part of Greater London , England , south of the River Thames . The region consists of the boroughs , in whole or in part, of Bexley , Bromley , Croydon , Greenwich , Kingston , Lambeth , Lewisham , Merton , Richmond , Southwark , Sutton and Wandsworth . South London originally emerged from Southwark , first recorded as Suthriganaweorc , meaning 'fort of the men of Surrey '. From Southwark , London then extended further down into northern Surrey and western Kent . South London began at Southwark at

1500-618: The River Thames . Bexleyheath has leisure facilities including the Edward Alderton Theatre , Cineworld cinema, hotel, the Central Library , Bexley Local Studies and Archive Centre , five-a-side football centre , bingo hall and ten-pin bowling alley (Ten Pin). Bexleyheath and Belvedere Hockey Club are based in Welling , but play some home matches at Erith School. Cultural events include regular concerts by

1575-472: The 1980s and 1990s. The latter decade saw the pedestrianisation of the road adjacent to the shopping centre having built two minor bypass roads, Arnsburg Way and Albion Way. According to the 2021 census from the ONS, Bexleyheath has a population of roughly 15,600, 21.8% of which are aged 65+, above the borough average of 16.5%. The largest ethnic group is White at 78.2%, higher than the borough average of 71.9%, with

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1650-531: The Broadway Centre is "Family Outing" by local artist John Ravera; it was commissioned by Norwich Union and unveiled in 1985. In May 2009 a major redevelopment scheme was approved by the local council following public consultation. This involved the redevelopment of the Bexley council buildings. The magistrates' court was to move to a new building where the library stands, which would be incorporated into

1725-472: The Broadway Shopping Centre but no longer do so include Dixons , Topshop and Topman , Miss Selfridge , Woolworths , Safeway , Rosebys , Radio Rentals , Our Price , Dolcis , JJB Sports , Waterstone's , The Link , Rumbelows , Principles , Bay Trading Company , Next , Birthdays /Pure Party, Burton / Dorothy Perkins , Monsoon Accessorize Pandora (jewelry) and Clarks (latterly as Clarks Outlet). Some of these firms are still trading elsewhere in

1800-399: The Broadway having been pedestrianised in 1993, and Norwich Place - partly closed off in the 1993 changes - was fully paved as part of the Broadway Square changes of 2001. Access to the malls is via pedestrian entrances at three sides of the mall (Broadway, Townley Road and Norwich Place), and vehicle access to the centre (for parking and deliveries) is via ramping at Albion Road. The centre

1875-486: The Broadway opened earlier. Woolworths being the first, opening their new store at 93 - 105 Broadway on Monday 23 November 1981. The centre was built on a site previously largely occupied by Hides department store, the Lord Bexley Arms pub and neighbouring smaller buildings. The design of the new mall was a rectangular building facing onto Broadway, anchored by large stores at either end - Marks & Spencer at

1950-455: The Broadway, outside the centre's boundaries, in 2013. The former ELC/Harris's store is now absorbed as part of the 2015-21 Peacocks store. HMV traded from a unit in the mall - now occupied by Yours Clothing - between November 1994 and March 2013, when it closed along with over sixty other branches of the chain. In August 2022 it was announced that the firm, having since come under the ownership of Doug Putman 's Sunrise Records , would reopen

2025-455: The Mall Fund's 'Make Your Mark' competition for new retailers was 'Daisy's Dog Deli', a pet food RMU based at The Mall, Bexleyheath. This firm has since relocated to trade from a kiosk at the Bluewater regional shopping mall. In 2001, a new shopping development adjacent to the Mall was opened, having been under development for some time. Broadway Square uses a ' strip mall ' format to offer

2100-434: The Mall on its south-eastern side, moved to the current Central Library site, and the Broadway Square car park replaced by a new parking facility on part of the current Civic Offices site. The existing magistrates' court, Broadway Square car park and the remainder of the Civic Offices site would then have been redeveloped with two levels of retail stores (linked into the existing Mall at ground level), with new council offices,

2175-568: The Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, Richmond upon Thames, Merton, Sutton, Wandsworth, Bexley, Greenwich and Lewisham. South London is, like other parts of London and the UK in general, a temperate maritime climate according to the Köppen climate classification system . Three Met Office weather stations currently collect climate data south of the river; Kew, Hampton and Kenley Airfield, on

2250-628: The Sidcup Symphony Orchestra held in the hall of Townley Grammar School . The town's theatre, founded in 1976, produces many amateur productions. Bexleyheath has eight primary schools and four secondary schools. There are 15 churches in Bexleyheath: The town is served by Bexleyheath railway station , 750 metres (820 yards) northwest of the centre on Station Road. The station is on the Bexleyheath Line ,

2325-619: The Thames. Often snow can be seen to lie on the North Downs near Croydon when central London is snow free. The record high temperature at Greenwich is 37.5 °C (99.5 °F) recorded during August 2003. Sunshine is notably lower than other London area weather stations (by about 50–100 hours a year), suggesting Greenwich may be a fog trap in winter, and that the hillier land to the south may obscure early morning and late evening sunshine. The highest temperature recorded across south London

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2400-529: The Tower' (East London) . The area now usually referred to as North London developed later. As late as the mid 18th century, however, there were no other bridges crossing the river and as a result urban growth was considerably slower in the south than in areas north of the Thames . The opening of Westminster Bridge and other subsequent bridges to the west encouraged growth in the south-west, but only Tower Bridge

2475-413: The Townley Road entrance is the only entrance of the three to be connected to the street level by steps/ramping. Stores trading within the centre's buildings include Boots , Card Factory , GAME , Greggs , H&M , Marks & Spencer , Morleys Stores , New Look , Sainsbury's (with Argos ), Superdrug , and WHSmith . The Mall opened in its current form in 1984, although outer sections fronting

2550-651: The Vikings. Southwark was also known as the Borough due to be it being an incorporated (nationally represented) Borough from 1295. From 1550 to 1899 it was administered as part of the City of London and referred to as the ward of Bridge Without . In 1720, John Strype's 'Survey of London' described Southwark as one of the then four distinct areas of London; in it he describes the City of London , Westminster (West London) , Southwark (South London) , and 'That Part Beyond

2625-429: The area. The 12 boroughs included, in whole or part are: (Outer London for statistics) A small area of land, on which the southern end of Blackfriars Bridge stands, is not part of Southwark. It forms part of the City of London , a sui generis local authority which is mainly located north of the Thames. The term 'south London' has been used for a variety of formal purposes with the boundaries defined according to

2700-475: The banner of Eastside Quarter. As part of Eastside Quarter, Frasers opened a large store featuring its Sports Direct, USC and Game brands in late 2022, leading to the closure of the existing Game store in the Broadway Centre building (in part of the original Woolworths space facing Broadway) - this has since been taken over by the Bakers+Baristas coffee shop . Retailers which have formerly traded at

2775-528: The building during this run closed in June 2011 and was not replaced; the hospice's other charity shops elsewhere continued to trade as normal. A new Hospice charity shop opened (in the former Hype store) in November 2011, moving to the former Pure Party premises in 2012, and this store closed in early 2013. Peacocks traded from Broadway Square from the unit's opening in 2001 until the firm's collapse in 2012; it

2850-547: The building was acquired by The Mall Fund , becoming one of their network of centres under the generic "The Mall" branding. The Mall Fund subsequently purchased the neighbouring Broadway Square, and ran it alongside The Mall. In 2009, The Mall Fund's parent company Capital & Regional agreed a deal to sell the centre to Jones Lang LaSalle . As a result of its departure from the network, use of The Mall corporate material declined, though some elements (such as signage and branding) remained under The Mall identity, being replaced over

2925-426: The building, with the mall level at the bottom of a four-storey development, access to natural light had been limited prior to the changes. There were also new glazed entrances developed at two of the three pedestrian entrances. The revamp also allowed space for Mall TV displays (monitors broadcasting a loop of information and promotional material) and advertising hoardings. Some of The Mall branded elements introduced in

3000-472: The centre from September 2010. In April 2016, Jones Lang LaSalle concluded the sale of the Bexleyheath complex to NewRiver Retail. The Mall is located in a rectangular building in the centre of Bexleyheath . The boundaries of the centre are the Broadway to the north, Townley Road to the west, Albion Road to the south and Norwich Place to the east. Norwich Place and the Broadway are now pedestrianised;

3075-565: The centre's new red-and-white logo, began replacing the Mall-branded elements. The full rebranding of the centre was timed to coincide with the opening of major new H&M and New Look stores on the former Woolworths site. Following the sale of the centre, it was removed from The Mall's corporate website; initially, it did not have a dedicated website of its own as a replacement. However, JLL subsequently established one at broadwayshoppingcentre.com - with signs promoting this URL appearing in

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3150-505: The centre, which have made a limited number of new units available. Two of these changes involved the division of the centre's original Woolworths store. When the centre opened in 1984, a large Woolworths was located at the eastern side of the centre close to Marks & Spencer . In 1990 this was cut in half, creating three new units - one which was initially occupied by Miss Selfridge , then by HMV from 1994 to 2013, and then by fashion retailer Select from 2014; one for Superdrug , which

3225-519: The coronation of King George V and the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II in 2012 when a bust of the Queen was installed. The area was part of the historic county of Kent until the creation of Greater London in 1965, at which point Bexleyheath became the administrative base of the newly established London Borough of Bexley . The town centre shops and road layout were redeveloped in

3300-459: The country, though others are now defunct or dormant: see the retailers' pages for more detailed information about each firm. JD Sports traded inside the mall for a time (in what is now T-Mobile) after their merger with First Sport, which previously occupied the unit, but subsequently closed this small store to focus on their larger and more recent Broadway Square site. Mothercare and Early Learning Centre were located in separate stores inside

3375-469: The current Civic Offices to be replaced with a Tesco store. The relocation of Civic Offices functions to the former WBS building and the demolition of the prior offices went ahead as planned, but Tesco subsequently included the Bexleyheath site among a list of over 40 new stores which would now not be going ahead; the former Civic Offices site was later sold off to Frasers Group and used for a predominantly residential development constructed by Bellway , under

3450-424: The development of three new shop units, taken up by GAME , Phones4U and Sussex Stationers. Former office space above Woolworths was let to Reed , with public access to this space created by converting a former Woolworths fire exit. Following the move of Reed out of the centre and the collapse of Phones4U, these areas were pulled together, with the removal of the staircase at the former Reed entrance, in 2015 to form

3525-437: The eastern end and British Home Stores at the westernmost end - with accommodation around the centre for further large stores including a supermarket (Presto, later Safeway) and WH Smith and Woolworths all three of which opened both onto Broadway itself and into the new centre, and a large Boots store inside the mall, alongside smaller units providing capacity for around fifty further retail stores. The interior colour scheme of

3600-408: The ecclesiastical parish from 1866; the building of the current church finished in 1877. Alfred Bean, railway engineer and one-time owner of Danson House, furthered the development of Bexleyheath as a London suburb by championing the Bexleyheath Line in the 1880s to support the growth of estates around Danson Park. The clock tower at the centre of the modern shopping area, built in 1912, commemorates

3675-544: The first half of the 20th century, towns in the Home Counties such as Kingston, Croydon and Bromley gradually coalesced with South London, until Greater London was formed in 1965. A significant feature of south London's economic geography is that while there are more than thirty bridges linking the area with West London and the City , there is only one, Tower Bridge , linking the area with East London . Very little of London's underground rail network lies south of

3750-530: The former (pre-2011) River Island premises within the main centre on a list of new and forthcoming stores posted to its website; when opened, the new Peacocks in fact combined the ex-River Island site with the neighbouring former Harris's. This newer Peacocks had closed by 2021, following another collapse and partial rescue of the Peacocks chain. The store was later reoccupied by Choice Outlet. Local ladieswear boutique Honeybee closed in 2012 having been located in

3825-469: The hoarding confirming an H&M store would be occupying that section of the space from September: this would be H&M's first presence in Bexleyheath. The New Look store opened in late August 2010, followed by the H&;M in early September. The relocation of New Look in turn allowed their former premises to be relet to The Entertainer . The only other major store to have changed its configuration since

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3900-461: The mall level. Marks & Spencer , W H Smith and BHS have since opening offered some of their retail activity on the first floor, accessed via lifts/stairs/escalators within the relevant store; the 2010 H&M and New Look stores, and the 2011 River Island store, introduced retail space on the first floor as part of the remodelling process to develop their retail space. Additionally, some stores have used internal mezzanine ceilings to create

3975-408: The mall opened was Boots , which expanded to its current size in 2001 by taking over a vacant single store (formerly occupied by Instep Sports ) neighbouring their original unit. Deichmann opened in a double-fronted store by joining the former Next premises within the mall to the neighbouring former Sussex Stationers store (which had prior to 2000 been part of Woolworths). Morleys Stores opened

4050-423: The mall, until the 2007 revamp, was in hues of brown , gold and cream , with marbled pillars, brown tiling in selected areas, cream and brown marble effect floor tiles and copper -coloured ceiling tiles and strips. The 2007 revamp altered this, most significantly in replacing the entire ceiling with a new white and grey one. The exterior of the building is principally brick , with dark brown roof tiles ;

4125-412: The men's toilet was relocated , with the previous men's room becoming a baby changing and feeding area. The mall level was also revamped, with the copper ceiling strips and tiles, which had been in place since the centre's opening, removed, and replaced by a new white and grey ceiling. Several new skylights were also cut into the roof of the centre to allow more natural light in - due to the design of

4200-521: The middle of three lines connecting London and Dartford. Rail services connect the station to London Victoria via Peckham Rye , London Charing Cross , London Cannon Street , Barnehurst , Gravesend and Dartford . Bexleyheath is an important hub for Transport for London bus services. There are services connecting it with Bromley , Crayford , Dartford , Eltham , Erith , Lewisham , North Greenwich , Orpington , Sidcup , Thamesmead , Welling and Woolwich . South London South London

4275-646: The new development of 300 new homes. The work did not proceed as the shopping centre was sold. In work commencing 2012, the Borough's Civic Offices were converted from the former main office of The Woolwich , which had been vacant seven years. For the resultant vacant site in June 2018, housebuilder Bellway was approved to build 518 homes, of which 110 affordable. The development will include Bexleyheath's tallest building (13 storeys), public realm improvements and offices/retail. Given cumulative retail investment, Bexleyheath draws many customers particularly from Erith , Thamesmead , Plumstead and Woolwich which adjoin

4350-441: The project in its existing form. In 2010 it was confirmed that the large-scale redevelopment proposed by C&R would not be going ahead: the library and magistrates' court would remain in their existing locations, with the council selling the civic offices site to a large food store (as had been proposed by construction firm John Laing in the rival bid for the original development plan). JLL may redevelop and extend their mall site in

4425-472: The purposes of the designation. In 2017 the government asked the Boundary Commission for England to reconsider the boundaries of parliamentary constituencies. The commission's study, was to start with existing regions of England and then group the local authorities within that area into sub-regions for further sub-division. The south London sub-region included the 11 boroughs which lay south of

4500-404: The revamp remained in the centre briefly following the sale to JLL but have now largely been replaced. Due to the location and design of the building, historically bounded by roadways on all four sides (albeit with two of these later pedestrianised), it has not been possible to extend or materially alter the Mall. However, there have been a small number of changes to the configuration of units in

4575-535: The river, largely due to the challenging geology; however, 21st-century technology makes tunnelling much cheaper (though stations are still expensive) and this may lead to an improved underground provision in south London with the Crossrail 2 line proposed alongside extensions to the Northern and Bakerloo Lines . South London contains an extensive overground rail network and all of London's trams operate within

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4650-454: The river, plus the parts of cross-river Richmond upon Thames that did so. An earlier 2013 study, whose recommendations were not adopted, took a different approach by including all of Richmond in its south London sub-region. For the purposes of progress reporting on the London Plan , there was a south London sub-region in operation from 2004 to 2008 consisting of Bromley, Croydon, Kingston, Merton, Richmond and Sutton. In 2001 this area had

4725-511: The same position in the centre for over 25 years. Its place was taken by Gosh relocating from its previous site. As of 2018 this store is occupied by Smiggle , who carried out the most thorough refurbishment of the space undertaken since the Honeybee era. Footwear retailer Harris's took up the former ELC store inside the mall in December 2010, then moved to the former La Senza store site on

4800-407: The second largest being Asian/Asian British at 10.7%. The largest religious group is Christianity at 49.7% of the population, followed by No religion at 33.8%, roughly the same as the borough average. The vast majority of restaurants and eateries are on Broadway. The south side of the central, pedestrianised section of Broadway hosts Broadway Shopping Centre , a covered example completed in 1984, and

4875-645: The shopping centre for a number of years, but relocated in September 2010 to a former Aldi store on Market Place, outside the centre's boundaries. (This store has since closed, and as of 2020 all UK Mothercare stores have ceased operations.) The Greenwich & Bexley Community Hospice (formerly Cottage Hospice) charity operated a retail store at various store locations within the mall building from 2009, generally taking short-term lets of then-vacant units and relocating as and when required to release stores for new regular tenants. The hospice's final store location within

4950-444: The southern edge of the urban area. Long term climate observations dating back to 1763 are available for Greenwich, although observations ceased here in 2003. Temperatures increase towards the Thames, firstly because of the urban warming effect of the surrounding area, but secondly due to altitude decreasing towards the river, meaning the southern margins of south London are often a couple of degrees cooler than those areas adjacent to

5025-585: The southern end of London Bridge , the first permanent crossing over the river, with early development of the area being a direct result of the existence and location of the bridge . Southwark was first known as Suthriganaweorc , the fortress of the men of Surrey , mentioned in the Burghal Hidage as part of military system created by Alfred the Great to defeat the Great Heathen Army of

5100-437: The southern halves of Bexleyheath and Welling . In 1814 most of the rest of what was Bexley heath, north of Bexley , became enclosed (privatised) with a fund of money given in compensation to trustees for the poor of the parish . In 1859 architect Philip Webb designed Red House for artist, reforming designer and socialist William Morris on the western edge of the heath, in the hamlet of Upton—before Upton became

5175-433: The stores then trading in the affected units - Carphone Warehouse , Thomas Cook and Sblended Milkshakes - were relocated to alternative spaces within the building, with Sblended moving to an in-mall kiosk and the others taking then-vacant units. The Mall Company backed a scheme as part of a proposed redevelopment of Bexleyheath town centre. The scheme would have seen Bexley Magistrates' Court , which currently neighbours

5250-594: Was 38.1 °C (100.6 °F) on the same occasion at Kew Gardens. Although the Met Office accepts a higher reading from Brogdale in Kent, many have questioned the accuracy of this and regard the Kew reading as the most reliable highest UK temperature reading. Broadway Shopping Centre, Bexleyheath Broadway Shopping Centre (branded as The Mall Bexleyheath from c. 2004 until reverting to its original name in 2009)

5325-538: Was at the time under common ownership with Woolworths; and one for Argos facing onto Broadway. The remainder continued as a smaller Woolworths. In 2000, Woolworths moved to the former Safeway unit on the western side of the centre (near to W H Smith ), where they would remain until the UK Woolworths chain collapsed in 2008: this move saw the vacated smaller Woolworths divided again; this allowed Superdrug and Argos to extend to their current sizes, and also allowed

5400-545: Was built to the east of London Bridge , so south-east London grew more slowly, at least until the Surrey Commercial Docks were built. The development of a dense network of railway lines in the mid nineteenth century significantly accelerated growth. The County of London was formed in 1899, which incorporated these boroughs south of the river: Wandsworth, Lambeth, Battersea, Camberwell, Southwark, Bermondsey, Deptford, Lewisham, Greenwich and Woolwich. During

5475-501: Was heath land. The Romans built a road through the heath, Watling Street , which connected Londinium (London) to Dubris (Dover). This Roman road still marks the spine of Bexley new town. In the early 19th century, Bexley heath was a broad rough pasture and scrubland with few buildings. Its windmill stood to the north east, where Erith and Mayplace Roads now meet. In 1766 Sir John Boyd had Danson House built in his enclosed land ("park") . The core of this remains as Danson Park between

5550-511: Was not initially clear whether the sale of the Mall to JLL also included Broadway Square, as the two buildings retained their separate identities under Mall Fund ownership, but new centre maps installed by JLL in September 2010 included the Square stores as well as the main centre, suggesting the whole site had indeed been sold. In late 2006 work began on a major refurbishment of the Mall. The lavatory facilities were revamped , and as part of this

5625-460: Was not one of the stores rescued by Edinburgh Woollen Mill . In its later years Peacocks had operated a Bonmarche concession on its upper level; this too has closed. In May 2012, Poundworld took over the Peacocks premises, installing its own sister firm DiscountUK in the former Bonmarche space. (This store closed in summer 2018 along with all other Poundworld stores, and has more recently been occupied by OneBelow .) In spring 2015, Peacocks included

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