Janet Simpson A.R.E.

Book cover

Contents.

While the Bishop's Palace, now part of the Civic Centre, is largely unchanged, the addition of buildings to the side and, more particularly the four storey 1960s block just about where the large trees are, make this view difficult to reproduce today.

The church was rebuilt, with Princess Elizabeth laying the foundation stone in October 1949. The church was significantly changed internally and with the tower located to the north west of the nave, rather than the south west.

An external  view of Bromley Parish Church which, apart from the tower, was totally destroyed by a 550lb bomb during the night of 16-17th April 1941. An 18 year old fire watcher in the tower was killed, one of 1200 people killed in raids on London that night. Nearby Church House was razed to the ground with just the ornamental gardens and balustrades left today. 

This view of the central quadrangle at Bromley College in London Road looking towards the Chapel is little changed today.

Titled In College Slip, this is more difficult to place. The pathway/road between North Street/College Road and the upper High Street still exists and has one old cottage remaining on the north side. The picture shows part of the College buildings so this is almost certainly the same cottage (number 11) which exists today, the Victorian houses on the other side of the road having been demolished and replaced by the Sainsbury's car park.

This is a popular view from Church Road looking towards the east side of the Market Square . It was  reproduced as a post card which is what many of Janet Simpson's drawings were used for, presumably providing useful income at a time when such cards were used as the "email" of the time. Some of the buildings at the rear still exist and this view is easy to revisit today. 

This picture has been drawn seemingly from the window of the David Grieg shop as it looks north along the east side of the Market Square towards the easily recognisable building at the corner of East and West Streets. Next to Marks and Spencers Penny Bazaar is the shop of Frederick Fawsitt, leather seller, and just visible, at Number 22, The Market Cigar Store. Marks and Spencers was only there from around 1913 to 1922 which helps date the picture.

The White Hart was for many years the hub of activity in Bromley having large premises, stabling, a cricket ground behind and was the location of choice for inquests! The space in front of it in later years became a car park until it was demolished around 1960 to make way for some more shops. The large stag which can be seen above the main door unfortunately disappeared at the same time. On the right were the stables and garage where you could hire cars from James Young and Co. On the extreme right are the premises of Mr. Albion Russell and  Sons, bootmakers.

This is the Rose and Crown at 30 Market Square and beyond it the greengrocers shop of Mr. James Hopton & Sons. It was situated immediately round the corner from the Forresters public house in the block which also contained the Dukes Head, so no one needed to go thirsty in the centre of Bromley. However, both the Forresters and the Rose and Crown closed in 1908, with the Dukes Head not long after.

The Foresters was roughly where the jewellers shop (for many years E.W. Payne) was located.

Hookers Place was a small court set between what was then 113 and 114 High Street, just north of the the Greyhound public house. At this time, there were six households served by the small passageway from the upper High Street. During work in 1922 timbers dating back to the 17th century were discovered. The land was originally part of the "Grete House" which occupied a large site behind the High Street but was purchased by a Mrs. Hooker. The houses appear to have been abandoned in 1933 but the alleyway did not disappear until the 1940s. The spot is marked by the more modern construction of 211/213 High Street (renumbered in 1934) set between much older blocks.

This picture is almost certainly located at the top of Masons Hill at what is now the junction with Kentish Way, between the former Talbot Road and Prospect Place but with no identifying features, this can only be deduced from the topography. A photograph in the Local Archives is very similar but still not precisely located. 

This drawing has a number of confusing features. The building to the left looks like the Bricklayers Arms on the corner of Napier Road but the slope of the land seems wrong and would appera to be the Railway Signal, next to Bromley South station,  The only easily identifiable shop is that of H. Pointer who was at No. 9 Masons Hill in 1898, apparently renumbered to No. 13 five years later, until 1912 when he moved to 7 Napier Road (before moving again to 65 Masons Hill in 1916). 

Next to him is probably the premises of George Last, a second hand book seller and closest is the oddly named Railway Toilet Club which would have been the shop of John Johnson, tobacconist. The shops seem to have gradually become unoccupied so may well have fallen into decay during the First World War.

At 93 the High Street, where the Magistrates Court now stands, was Mrs E. Silk's confectionary shop which also, it appears, provided refreshment for those who had just ascended Beckenham Lane (Swan Hill) on the left.

Church Cottages are probably located opposite the Parish Church where Miss Margaret Brown ran Hethington's Servants' Registry Office at No. 15 between 1900 and 1904. It has to be assumed the business was not very successful even though it was shared with a tobacconist for some of the time! The street directory for the time does not record "Church Cottages" as a specific address, so Janet Simpson may have used the name to indicate they faced the Parish Church and some of the buildings beyond were used by the Vicar, Curate and parish officers.

The final drawing in the collection is, depending on the date, either No. 59 or more likely No.145 Widmore Road, which number it was given from 1903. The premises of coach builder Fredrick Dean can be seen on the right and the building seems to have been used by a variety of other businesses over the years. Mr. Dean was there for a considerable period but the War may have adversely affected his business which closed in 1914. The site was later taken over by KJ Motors and part of it is now a BP garage. The Siimpson family were living a few houses to the right, just at the top of the hill down to Widmore Green.

Very similar to the drawing above but on a quieter day.  We can see Mrs. Silk is selling such familiar items as Cadbury's chocolate and Players  and Wills cigarettes. The sign on the trestle says "Road Stopped". Behind the old cottages can just be glimpsed the roof of Park House already in use by various local council and other civic organisations.The drawing is dated 1923.

Labelled the High Street, 1924, this shows the row of shops just north of the Royal Bell, most of them still standing today - only those on the extreme left seem to have been replaced. The shop names show Daniel Grinsted (corn, coal and seeds), K(onstantin) Dottor (watchmaker), Shillcock and sons (chemists), Baby Castle (children's clothes) and International Stores. 

The font at Bromley Parish Church before it was bombed in 1941. This was apparently sent to Mildred Kirby "with love and best wishes for Christmas" from Janet Simpson. It is not dated.

Finally, to illustrate the artist's range, we have this picture, unusually signed J.S.C. Simpson. The text reads: "Through the long night-watches may thine angels spread their white wings above me, standing round my bed".