Orpington: Meaning (information, definition, explanation, facts)

Orpington is a town in the London Borough of Bromley, England (although historically the town was located in the county of Kent, and it still retains Kent in its postal address). Orpington is a substantial conurbation, whose population rivals that of Bromley. It is situated in the far South East of Greater London, close to the green belt and the orbital M25 motorway. The town functions as a suburban commuter town for London, and is well connected to central London by train from Orpington railway station.

The Orpington chicken (called the Orpington Buff) was named by its developer, William Cook, after the town.

Geography and Location

Aerial map

History

In World War II this town sustained fairly regular damage from bombings and the occasional V-1 and V-2 attack partly due to its location with regard to London (and the miscalculations/lack of fuel of bombers that that entailed) and also the proximity of Biggin Hill aerodrome which was an important airbase for Spitfire and Hurricane fighters in the Battle of Britain.

Two local secondary schools are grammar schools which attract pupils from all over south London and north west Kent; St. Olave's (formally named St.Olave's and St. Saviour's Grammar School for Boys, and until the 20th century located in Southwark, London) and Newstead Wood (which remains solely a girls' school, unlike St. Olave's which began accepting girls into the Sixth Form in September 1998 - though the rest of the school remains single-sex).

The town also contains a sixth form college, Orpington College.

• Petts Wood
• Chislehurst
• Sidcup
• Elmstead
• Mottingham

• Orpington railway station
• Chelsfield railway station
• Eynsford railway station
• Knockholt railway station
• St.Mary Cray railway station
• Shoreham railway station