Visit Beckenham Places

Welcome to Visit Beckenham Places
The Walkfo guide to things to do & explore in Beckenham

  

Beckenham Places Overview: History, Culture & Facts about Beckenham

---

Beckenham history

---

A Roman camp was sited here, and a Roman road, the London to Lewes Way passed through the district. With the arrival of the Normans, the Manor of Beckenham took on added importance. The area remained a small village until well into the 19th century. The estates of John Cator and Peter Burrell, Baron Gwydir began to be developed after 1825.

Modern Beckenham

Today Beckenham is an outer London suburb, though it has maintained its own identity. It is centred on its non-pedestrianised curving high street. Further rows of shops run east from the town centre along Bromley Road, south along Croydon Road, and west along Beckenam Road around Clock House station.

Beckenham etymology

The place-name ‘Beckenham’ is first attested in a Saxon charter of 862 as Biohhahema mearc. The name is thought to derive from Beohha’s homestead (Beohha + ham in Old English) The name of the small stream here – the River Beck – is most likely to have been named after the village.

Beckenham geography / climate

Beckenham lies 1.7 miles (2.7 km) west of Bromley and 3.8 miles (6.1 km) north-east of Croydon. The area is part of an outcrop of London Clay and consists of many small hills. The River Ravensbourne flows northwards at the eastern side of the town towards its confluence with the River Thames.

You can visit Beckenham places with Walkfo Beckenham to hear history at Beckenham’s places whilst walking around using the free digital tour app. Walkfo Beckenham has 120 places to visit in our interactive Beckenham map, with amazing history, culture & travel facts you can explore the same way you would at a museum or art gallery with information audio headset. With Walkfo, you can travel by foot, bike or bus throughout Beckenham, being in the moment, without digital distraction or limits to a specific walking route. Our historic audio walks, National Trust interactive audio experiences, digital tour guides for English Heritage locations are available at Beckenham places, with a AI tour guide to help you get the best from a visit to Beckenham & the surrounding areas.

“Curated content for millions of locations across the UK, with 120 audio facts unique to Beckenham places in an interactive Beckenham map you can explore.”

Walkfo: Visit Beckenham Places Map
120 tourist, history, culture & geography spots

---

–

Beckenham historic spots	Beckenham tourist destinations	Beckenham plaques	Beckenham geographic features
Walkfo Beckenham tourism map key: places to see & visit like National Trust sites, Blue Plaques, English Heritage locations & top tourist destinations in Beckenham

  

Best Beckenham places to visit

---

Beckenham has places to explore by foot, bike or bus. Below are a selection of the varied Beckenham’s destinations you can visit with additional content available at the Walkfo Beckenham’s information audio spots:

South Norwood Country Park South Norwood Country Park is a 47 hectare (116 acre) green space which opened in 1989 . The park is a mix of countryside and parkland, and land formerly used for sewage farms .

Crystal Palace Bowl Crystal Palace Bowl has 60 years of live music heritage and a legacy as an outdoor performance venue stretching back over a century . It has a unique sculptural permanent stage designed by Ian Ritchie Architects, which won multiple awards .

Forest Hill Pools Forest Hill Pools is a leisure centre in Forest Hill, London . After being closed in 2006, it was rebuilt including two pools and a health and fitness suite . It reopened in September 2012 .

Wellcome Research Laboratories Wellcome Research Laboratories was a site in Beckenham, south-east London, that was a main research centre for pharmaceuticals . Until 1965, this laboratory site was situated in Kent .

Downham Fields Downham Fields is a 20-acre park located in Downham, South East London . It was left as parkland during the construction of the interwar Downham Estate . It is sometimes referred to in documents by the name Durham Hill, but this is not in common usage .

Millers Pond Millers Pond is a small park in the Spring Park area of the London Borough of Croydon, England. It is located in Spring Park, Spring Park and Millers Park.

Visit Beckenham plaques