Some facts about Sidcup ...

Did you know that ... Sidcup started as a pleasant village and ecclesiastical district formed out of the parish of nearby Chislehurst in 1844. The town grew up around a Blacksmith's in Cross Road and The Black Horse Pub.

According to a book called The Dictionary of London Place Names by David Mills, Sidcup went on public record in 1254 when the area was known as Cetecopp ( the Anglo-Saxon words: 'cete' meaning 'fold' or 'flat' & 'copp' meaning 'a hill top' - so Sidcup means 'fold in the hill' [ seat-shaped ] or a 'flat hill top' ). In 1301 the name changed to Settecope and again in 1407 to Sidycope.

Queen Mary's Hospital ( seen above )

Sidcup's population in 1851 was 390 and grew to to 5,829 by 1901 and ten years later to 8,493.

Sidcup BR Station ( seen right ).

Once the railway came to Sidcup in 1865 the population grew outwards from the station's surroundings. Nearby shops were built in 1880's and then in 1930's, large-scale suburban development gave Sidcup the look it still has today. The tall office block, Marlowe House which towers over the station was topped out on 22nd October ( same date as this author's birthday but alas not year of ) 1966. In the 1970's Sidcup's population reached over 52,000.

Sidcup, once known as the gateway to Kent, now dominates the southern border of the borough of Bexley, flanked by London Borough of Bromley and Kent County Council.

Two swans & Rose Bruford College in background ( seen left ).

It also refers to a house in Proston, Queensland, Australia which was built by Harold Edward Douglas. It is now known as Sidcup Castle, a replica of his childhood home in England.

Sidcup Library ..	in Hadlow Road.

This author was interested to discover that a Hadlow House ( also known as Sidcup Lodge ) was built in 1750 and later pulled down to accommodate a new and current library in Hadlow Road.

From Sidcup's beginnings as a tiny hamlet on the road from London to Maidstone, now nearly 12,000 people a week visit the town to shop and work, using public transport like the 80 hourly buses that pass through or the mentioned nearby railway station.

Note: if interested in the town's history may I suggest that you get hold of Chislehurst & Sidcup or Sidcup: A Pictorial History both by local resident John Mercer.