View source for Penge

{{Short description|Suburb of south-east London}}
{{other uses}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2016}}
{{Use British English|date=September 2015}}
{{infobox UK place
| static_image_name = Penge Congregational Church.jpg
| static_image_caption = Congregational Church, Penge
| country = England
| region = London
| official_name = Penge
| london_borough = Bromley
| post_town = LONDON
| postcode_area = SE
| postcode_district = SE20
| dial_code = 020
| os_grid_reference = TQ345705
| coordinates = {{coord|51.417|-0.062|display=inline,title}}
| charingX_distance_mi = 7.1
| charingX_direction = NNW
| constituency_westminster = [[Beckenham and Penge (UK Parliament constituency)|Beckenham and Penge]]
}}
[[File:Penge Watermen's Almshouses.JPG|thumb|The Watermen's Almshouses]]
'''Penge''' ({{IPAc-en|p|ɛ|n|dʒ}}) is a [[suburb]] of South East [[Greater London|London]], [[England]], now in the [[London Borough of Bromley]], {{convert|3.5|miles}} west of [[Bromley]], {{convert|3.7|miles}} north east of [[Croydon]] and {{convert|7.1|miles }} south east of [[Charing Cross]].

==Etymology==
The name ''Penge'' is first attested in charter of 1067, as ''penceat'', and in a twelfth-century copy of a [[charter]] of 957 as ''pænge'' (where the place is described as a "wood" ({{langx|ang|wudu}}, and in which [[Eadwig|King Eadwig]] gives [[Penge Common]] to the thane Lyfing). The name comes from the [[Common Brittonic]] words that survive in modern Welsh as {{lang|cy|pen}} ("head, end, summit") and {{lang|cy|coed}} ("woodland"), and thus it once meant "end of the wood", like a number of similar names, including [[Pencoed]] in Wales.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |title=The Cambridge Dictionary of English Place-Names, Based on the Collections of the English Place-Name Society |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2004 |isbn=9780521168557 |editor-last=Watts |editor-first=Victor |location=Cambridge}}, s.v. ''Penge''.</ref>

The largest [[Grunerite|amosite]] mine in the world, in South Africa, was named [[Penge, Limpopo|Penge]] apparently because one of the British directors thought the two areas were similar in appearance.<ref>Quest for Justice, VOL 9/NO 3, JUL/SEP 2003, p219</ref>

==History==
Penge was once a small [[Hamlet (place)|hamlet]] attached to the manor of Battersea and became independent from the manor in 1888.<ref name=":0" />

===Pensgreene and the Crooked Billet===
Penge was an inconspicuous area with few residents before the arrival of the railways. A traveller passing through Penge would have noticed the large common with a small inn on its boundary. Penge Green appears as Pensgreene on Kip's 1607 map.<ref>''in'' Abbott, Peter (2002) ''Book of Penge, Anerley and Crystal Palace: The Community, Past Present and Future, p18'' Halsgrove. {{ISBN|1-84114-210-7}}</ref> The green was bounded to the north by [[Penge Lane]], the west by Beckenham Road and the southeast by the [[Crooked Billet, Penge|Crooked Billet]]. On a modern map that is a very small area, but the modern-day Penge Lane and Crooked Billet are not in their original locations, and Beckenham Road would have been little more than a cart track following the property line on the west side of Penge High Street. Penge Lane was the road from Penge to [[Sydenham, London|Sydenham]] which is now named St John's Road and Newlands Park. There was also an old footpath crossing the Green leading to Sydenham, that was known as Old Penge Lane. After the [[London, Chatham and Dover Railway]] was built, Penge Lane crossed the line by level crossing. When this crossing was closed, Penge Lane was renamed and Old Penge Lane became the present-day Penge Lane.

{{Infobox UK legislation
| short_title           = Penge Inclosure Act 1827
| type                  = Act
| parliament            = Parliament of the United Kingdom
| long_title            = An Act for dividing, allotting, inclosing, and exonerating from Tithes, Lands in the Hamlet of Penge, in the Parish of Battersea in the County of Surrey.
| year                  = 1827
| citation              = [[7 & 8 Geo. 4]]. c. ''35'' {{small|Pr.}}
| introduced_commons    = 
| introduced_lords      = 
| territorial_extent    = 
| royal_assent          = 14 June 1827
| commencement          = 
| expiry_date           = 
| repeal_date           = 
| amends                = 
| replaces              = 
| amendments            = 
| repealing_legislation = 
| related_legislation   = 
| status                = 
| legislation_history   = 
| theyworkforyou        = 
| millbankhansard       = 
| original_text         = 
| revised_text          = 
| use_new_UK-LEG        = 
| UK-LEG_title          = 
| collapsed             = yes
}}
The 1868 [[Ordnance Survey]] map shows the Old Crooked Billet located to the southeast of the current location. This earlier location was on the eastward side of Penge Green, which disappeared as a result of the '''{{visible anchor|Penge Inclosure Act 1827}}''' ([[7 & 8 Geo. 4]]. c. ''35'' {{small|Pr.}}) which enclosed the whole green. This left the Crooked Billet with no frontage to Beckenham Road; hence, new premises were constructed on the present site in 1827, and subsequently replaced in 1840 with a three-storey building. This was severely damaged by enemy action in the [[World War II|Second World War]], and subsequently rebuilt.<ref>Abbott, Peter (2002) Book of Penge, Anerley and Crystal Palace: The Community, Past Present and Future, p48 Halsgrove. {{ISBN|1-84114-210-7}}</ref>

[[File:Crooked Billet in Penge.jpg|thumb|The Crooked Billet Pub in Penge]]

The Crooked Billet (pictured above) is by far the oldest public house in Penge. Peter Abbott<ref>Abbott, Peter (2002) Book of Penge, Anerley and Crystal Palace: The Community, Past Present and Future, p10 Halsgrove. {{ISBN|1-84114-210-7}}</ref> states that it was there in 1601, and speculates that it might be much more ancient. In modern times it is particularly well known for lending its name to a bus route terminus. From 1914, General Omnibus routes 109 and 609 operated, along different paths, between Bromley Market and the Crooked Billet. The 109 was renumbered 227 by London Transport, and continued to terminate at the Crooked Billet. (Route 609 was shortened, terminating in [[Beckenham]]). Around 1950, some services were extended past the Crooked Billet to Crystal Palace. Eventually nearly all buses travelled the extended route. The 354 buses now use the terminus, as do short-running buses on routes 194 and 358.

[[File:The Crooked Billet, on Penge Common.JPG|thumb|The Crooked Billet, as seen by Hone in 1827]]

[[William Hone]] wrote about a visit to the Crooked Billet in 1827<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=PzsHAAAAQAAJ "The Crooked Billet, on Penge Common"], ''The Every-day Book and Table Book; or, Everlasting Calendar of Popular Amusements, Sports, Pastimes, Ceremonies, Manners, Customs, and Events, Each of the Three Hundred and Sixty-Five Days, in Past and Present Times; Forming a Complete History of the Year, Months, and Seasons, and a Perpetual Key to the Almanac, Including Accounts of the Weather, Rules for Health and Conduct, Remarkable and Important Anecdotes, Facts, and Notices, in Chronology, Antiquities, Topography, biography, Natural History, Art, Science, and General Literature; Derived from the Most Authentic Sources, and Valuable Original Communication, with Poetical Elucidations, for Daily Use and Diversion. Vol III.'', ed. William Hone, (London: 1838) p 669-74.</ref> and included a detailed sketch of the last building on the original site.

===Expansion===
The London and [[Croydon Canal]] was built across [[Penge Common]] along what is now the line of the railway through [[Penge West railway station]], deviating to the south before [[Anerley railway station]]. There is a remnant at the northern corner of [[Betts Park]], [[Anerley]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ww1.familygrowsontrees.com/|title=familygrowsontrees.com&nbsp;-&nbsp;familygrowsontrees Resources and Information.|website=ww1.familygrowsontrees.com|access-date=2 January 2019|archive-date=13 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210613133845/http://ww1.familygrowsontrees.com/|url-status=dead}}</ref> Following the closure of the canal, the [[London and Croydon Railway]] was built largely along the same course, opening in 1839. Isambard Kingdom [[Brunel]] built an [[atmospheric railway]] along this alignment as far as Croydon. The [[Crystal Palace pneumatic railway]], which ran underground between the Sydenham and Penge entrances to [[Crystal Palace Park]], operated for a short while but proved not to be economically viable.

In the Victorian era, Penge developed into a fashionable suburb because of the railway line and its proximity to the relocated [[The Crystal Palace|Crystal Palace]]. It became a fashionable day out to visit the Crystal Palace during the day and to take the tram down the hill to one of the 'twenty-five pubs to the square mile'<ref>Abbott, Peter (2002) Book of Penge, Anerley and Crystal Palace: The Community, Past Present and Future, p114 Halsgrove. {{ISBN|1-84114-210-7}}</ref> that Penge was reputed to possess, or the two music halls—The King's Hall (later the Gaumont cinema) and, established in 1915, the Empire Theatre (later the Essoldo cinema).<ref>[http://www.ideal-homes.org.uk/bromley/penge/empire-theatre.htm http://www.ideal-homes.org.uk/bromley/penge/empire-theatre.htm] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060526022625/http://www.ideal-homes.org.uk/bromley/penge/empire-theatre.htm |date=26 May 2006 }} ''idealhomes.org.uk''</ref><ref>[http://viewfinder.english-heritage.org.uk/search/reference.asp?index=565&main_query=&theme=&period=&county=&district=&place_name=London&imageUID=77020&=&JS=True http://viewfinder.english-heritage.org.uk/search/reference.asp?index=565&main_query=&theme=&period=&county=&district=&place_name=London&imageUID=77020&=&JS=True] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071001162156/http://viewfinder.english-heritage.org.uk/search/reference.asp?index=565&main_query=&theme=&period=&county=&district=&place_name=London&imageUID=77020&=&JS=True |date=1 October 2007 }} ''viewfinder.english.heritage.org.uk''</ref>

By 1862, Stanford's map of London and its Suburbs<ref>[http://www.mappalondon.com/london/south-east/map-london.htm http://www.mappalondon.com/london/south-east/map-london.htm] ''mappalondon.com''</ref> shows large homes had been constructed along Penge New Road (now Crystal Palace Park Road, Sydenham and Penge High Street), Thick Wood (now Thicket) Road and Anerley Road.<ref>[http://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/postcodes/places/SE20/stories/CAT122.html http://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/postcodes/places/SE20/stories/CAT122.html] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070712125308/http://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/postcodes/places/SE20/stories/CAT122.html |date=12 July 2007 }} ''museumoflondon.org.uk''</ref>
This all came to an end in 1875 and 1877, with the notorious Penge murders. In 1875 Frederick Hunt murdered his wife and children,<ref>The Penge Murder, H. Sutherland, British Medical Journal v2 (766) 4 September 1875, 316–317</ref> then in 1877 a wealthy heiress, [[Murder of Harriet Staunton|Harriet Staunton]], together with her infant son, was starved to death by her husband and his associates.<ref>The Great Penge Murder, Victorian Calendar 19 September 1877 http://victoriancalendar.blogspot.com.au/2011/09/september-19-1877-great-penge-murder.html</ref> In 1934, [[Elizabeth Jenkins (author)|Elizabeth Jenkins]] published the novel ''Harriet'', based on the case,<ref>{{cite news|author=Rachel Cooke |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2012/apr/15/harriet-staunton-penge-murder-jenkins |title=The Penge Mystery: the terrible story of Harriet Staunton |newspaper=The Observer |date=15 April 2012 |access-date=2014-03-08}}</ref> whilst Forbes Road was renamed to Mosslea Road because of its connection with the murders.


==Governance==
Penge formed a part of the parish of [[Battersea]], with the historic county boundary between [[Kent]] and [[Surrey]] forming its eastern boundary.<ref>[http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.asp?compid=43025 British History Online] – Battersea with Penge Hamlet</ref> In 1855 both parts of the parish were included in the area of the [[Metropolitan Board of Works]], with Penge Hamlet Vestry electing six members to the Lewisham District Board of Works.<ref>''Kelly's Directory of Surrey'', 1891</ref> The [[Local Government Act 1888]] abolished the Metropolitan Board, with its area becoming the [[County of London]]. However, the [[London Government Act 1899]] subsequently made provision for Penge to be removed from the County of London and annexed to either Surrey or Kent. Accordingly, an [[Order in Council]] transferred the hamlet to Kent in 1900, constituting it as [[Penge Urban District]].<ref>''Hamlet of Penge'', The Times, 27 February 1900</ref> The urban district was abolished in 1965 by the [[London Government Act 1963]], and its former area merged with that of other districts to form the London Borough of Bromley. With the creation of the Penge Urban District, Penge New Road (formerly the part of Beckenham Road north of Kent House Road) was renamed Penge High Street.
[[File:1857-handel-festival.jpg|thumb|right|Inside the Crystal Palace concert hall 1857]]
The urban district comprised three sub-districts: Anerley, Penge and Upper Norwood.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/surrey/vol4/pp8-17|title=Parishes: Battersea with Penge &#124; British History Online|website=www.british-history.ac.uk}}</ref> It incorporated the whole of Crystal Palace Park except for part of the eastern side running along Crystal Palace Park Road which was then administered by [[Beckenham Urban District]].<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UMjvGwAACAAJ|title=Around Crystal Palace and Penge|first=David R.|last=Johnson|date=17 June 2004|publisher=History Press Limited|isbn=9780750931243|via=Google Books}}</ref> 
From 1885, the Hamlet of Penge was part of the [[Dulwich (UK Parliament constituency)|Dulwich parliamentary constituency]], which was then in Surrey, and remained in that seat until 1918, when it was transferred to the new [[Bromley (UK Parliament constituency)|Bromley constituency]]. From 1950, it was part of the [[Beckenham (UK Parliament constituency)|Beckenham constituency]]. At the [[2010 United Kingdom general election|2010 general election]], Penge formed part of the [[Lewisham West and Penge (UK Parliament constituency)|Lewisham West and Penge constituency]]. In 2024 it again changed to become part of the new [[Beckenham and Penge (UK Parliament constituency)|Beckenham and Penge constituency]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=UK Parliamentary Constituencies - Beckenham and Penge |url=https://members.parliament.uk/constituency/3898/location |access-date= |website=UK Parliament Members}}</ref> In local government, Penge is contained in the [[Penge and Cator (ward)|Penge and Cator ward]], which had a population of 17,326 in 2011.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Penge & Cator (Ward, United Kingdom) - Population Statistics, Charts, Map and Location |url=https://www.citypopulation.de/en/uk/london/wards/bromley/E05014002__penge_cator/ |access-date=2025-09-18 |website=www.citypopulation.de}}</ref>

==Geography==
===Nearby areas===
* [[Crystal Palace, London|Crystal Palace]]
* [[Sydenham, London|Sydenham]]
* [[Anerley]]
* [[Beckenham]]
* [[Upper Norwood]]
* [[South Norwood]]
* [[Dulwich]]
* [[Catford]]

==Culture and community==
*Penge is home to a number of taverns and public houses; indeed it was noted in Victorian times for its '25 pubs to the square mile'.<ref name="Abbott, Peter, p114">Abbott, Peter, p114</ref> The Crooked Billet is by far the oldest.
*The Pawleyne Arms is currently the terminus for the 176 bus service. It was previously an intermediate turning point for short-running buses on the [[London Buses route 12|12]], 75 and 194 bus services, becoming the southern terminus for route 12 between 1986 and 1988, when the route was again shortened.
*The public houses in Maple Road have nearly all changed their names. The Dew Drop Inn was known as The Market Tavern (and featured in the television series ''[[The Bill]]'' as the Market Tavern in Canley Market) before its closure. The London Tavern became The Hop Exchange and then The Hop House. It was closed by 2006, and in 2009 it was undergoing conversion into residential accommodation. The Lord Palmerston has been delicensed and is now a pizza outlet. The King William IV became The Crown and is now The Maple Tree. Only The Golden Lion (now closed) retained its name, although it extended its premises substantially; it was listed in every edition of the ''[[Good Beer Guide]]'' from 1976 to 1987.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ucl.ac.uk/~ccaajpa/pubs-listed.html#SE20|title=The listed pubs of London|website=www.ucl.ac.uk|access-date=6 April 2018}}</ref>
Closed pubs include The Golden Lion, Kent House Tavern, Robin Hood (closed, subsequently destroyed by fire in 2006 and demolished), Royal Oak (closed 2011), Queen Adelaide Arms (closed 2010), The Mitre (closed 2018), The Goat House (destroyed by fire and now demolished), The Waterman's Arms (now Superdrug), The Anchor (closed circa 1910), The General Simpson, The General Jackson, The Retreat, The Cornish Arms, The Railway Bell, The Thicket Tavern, The Paxton and Hollywood East (closed 2017) (formerly The Park Tavern). The last-named was the venue for the 1877 inquest into the murder of Harriet Staunton.
*Penge also has several clubs, including a Conservative Club, The Penge & District Trade Union & Labour Social Club ([[Working Men's Club and Institute Union|CIU]]), built by local tradesmen in 1922, and the former Liberal Club, which closed in 2005.
*Penge has a contemporary fine art gallery called Tension, which opened in April 2019 at 135 Maple Road.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.tensionfineart.co.uk/|title=Gallery|website=Tension Fine Art}}</ref>
*Brewery and taproom Southey Brewing Co takes its name from the street it resides, Southey Street.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Instagram |url=https://www.instagram.com/southeybrewingco/p/C-kGZdWv3WN/?img_index=3 |access-date=2025-05-06 |website=www.instagram.com}}</ref> The street in turn, takes its name from poet [[Robert Southey]], one of many roads nearby named after poets including Wordsworth Road and Tennyson Road, though none ever resided locally. 

===Community facilities===
Fragments of the original [[Penge Common]] still survive in [[Betts Park]]. Winsford Gardens<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pengegreengym.org.uk|title=Penge Green Gym - Community Gardening Volunteers - Friends of Winsford Gardens|website=www.pengegreengym.org.uk|access-date=6 April 2018}}</ref> formed part of the grounds of Chesham Park and later Winsford House.

==Landmarks==
*There are several Victorian [[almshouse]]s in Penge, the oldest being the [[Free Watermen and Lightermen's Almshouses]] (also known as the Royal Watermen's Almshouses),<ref>[http://www.ideal-homes.org.uk/bromley/penge/royal-watermans.htm http://www.ideal-homes.org.uk/bromley/penge/royal-watermans.htm] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090421113607/http://www.ideal-homes.org.uk/bromley/penge/royal-watermans.htm |date=21 April 2009 }} ''ideal-homes.org.uk''</ref> built in 1840–1841 on Beckenham Road, to designs by [[George Porter (architect)|George Porter]] by the [[Company of Watermen and Lightermen]] of the [[City of London]], for retired company freemen and their widows.<ref name=WKent433>John Newman. ''West Kent and the Weald.'' The "Buildings of England" Series, First Edition, Sir [[Nikolaus Pevsner]] and Judy Nairn, eds. (London: Penguin, 1969), p.433.</ref> The residents were moved in 1973 to a new site in Hastings and the original buildings were converted into private homes.
*The Queen Adelaide Almshouses, also known as the King William Naval Asylum, St. John's Road, founded in 1847 and built in 1848 to designs by [[Philip Hardwick]] at the request and expense of Queen [[Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen]], the widow of [[William IV of the United Kingdom|King William IV]], to provide shelter for twelve widows or orphan daughters of naval officers. Again, the almshouses are now private residences.<ref name=WKent433/>
*St. John's Cottages on Maple Road were built as almshouses in 1863, designed by the architect Edwin Nash. As with their predecessors, the cottages are now privately owned homes. On New Year's Day 1959, No.8 was destroyed by a gas explosion, killing one person.<ref>Housewife dies in Maple Road blast, ''''Beckenham and Penge Advertiser'''', 8 January 1959, p1.</ref> The cottage was rebuilt to closely resemble the original.
*The police station at the corner of the High Street and Green Lane is believed to have been London's oldest working police station<ref>[http://www.ideal-homes.org.uk/bromley/penge/police-station.htm http://www.ideal-homes.org.uk/bromley/penge/police-station.htm] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20031019124257/http://www.ideal-homes.org.uk/bromley/penge/police-station.htm |date=19 October 2003 }} ''ideal-homes.org.uk''</ref> when it was closed in 2010.
*When completed in 1956 the [[Crystal Palace Transmitter]] was the tallest structure in the UK, a record it lost to the [[Anglia Television]] transmitter at Belmont, Lincolnshire in 1959. It remained the tallest structure in the London area until 1991.

===Gallery===
<gallery>
Royal Waterman`s Almhouses, Penge.jpg|Waterman's Square Almhouses in 1890
Waterman's Square Penge.jpg|Waterman's Square Almshouses in 2017
Penge former Police Station.jpg|Former Police Station in Penge
</gallery>

==Transport==

===Rail===
[[Penge West railway station|Penge West station]] is served by [[London Overground]] services to [[Dalston Junction railway station|Dalston Junction]], [[Highbury and Islington railway station|Highbury & Islington]] and [[West Croydon railway station|West Croydon]].  The former [[National Rail]] services to [[London Bridge railway station|London Bridge]], [[East Croydon railway station|East Croydon]] and points south have been discontinued post Covid-19, although there is a campaign to have them reinstated.

[[Penge East railway station|Penge East]] and [[Kent House railway station|Kent House]] also serve the area with National Rail services to [[London Victoria railway station|London Victoria]], [[Bromley South railway station|Bromley South]] and [[Orpington railway station|Orpington]]. Services may occasionally be extended beyond [[Orpington railway station|Orpington]] to [[Sevenoaks railway station|Sevenoaks]].

===Buses===
Penge is served by [[London Buses]] routes [[London Buses route 75|75]], [[London Buses route 176|176]], [[London Buses route 194|194]], [[London Buses route 197|197]], [[London Buses route 227|227]], [[London Buses route 354|354]], [[London Buses route 356|356]], [[London Buses route 358|358]] and [[London Buses route N3|N3]]. These connect it with areas including [[Beckenham]], [[Bromley]], [[Camberwell]], [[Catford]], [[Central London]], [[Croydon]], [[Crystal Palace, London|Crystal Palace]], [[Dulwich]], [[Elephant & Castle]], [[Elmers End]], [[Farnborough, London|Farnborough]], [[Forest Hill, London|Forest Hill]], [[Lewisham]], [[Orpington]], [[Peckham]], [[Shirley, London|Shirley]], [[South Norwood]], [[Sydenham, London|Sydenham]] and [[West Wickham]].

===Road===
Three [[Great Britain road numbering scheme#A roads|A road]]s, the [[A213 road|A213]], [[A214 road|A214]] and [[A234 road|A234]] pass through the area. The A213 intersects with the A234 at the Pawleyne Arms and the A214 at the Robin Hood.

===Trams===
[[Avenue Road tram stop|Avenue Road ]] is located on the southern tip of Penge and provides transport links to [[Wimbledon station|Wimbledon]], [[Beckenham Junction station|Beckenham]] and [[East Croydon station|Croydon]].

==Education==
St Johns C.E. Primary School was originally part of the Old Penge Chapel, which opened in 1837. Early in the 1850s, following the completion of St John the Evangelist, the school took over the entire old chapel building. The school's site was extended in 1977, and a new school building was opened in September 1978.<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.st-johnsprimary.co.uk/about-us| url-status = dead| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090404143554/http://www.st-johnsprimary.co.uk/about-us| archive-date = 2009-04-04| title = About Us — St Johns School}} </ref>

The [[Langley Park School for Boys|Beckenham and Penge County Grammar School for boys]], formerly the Beckenham Technical Institute which opened in 1901, moved to a new site on Penge High Street between Kent House Road and Kingsdale Road in 1931. It moved from Penge to its present location in [[Eden Park, London|Eden Park]], [[Beckenham]], in January 1969.

==Religious sites==
[[File:Penge Parish Church (St John's).jpg|thumb|St John's Church, the parish church of Penge]]
[[St John the Evangelist's Church, Penge]] (pictured right) in Beckenham Road, was built in 1850 to designs by [[Edwin Nash]] & [[J. N. Round]].<ref name=WKent433/> [[Penge Congregational Church]] was built in 1912 to designs by P. Morley Horder with passage aisles and clerestory, shafts on large, excellently carved corbels,<ref name=WKent433/> and a stained glass window by William Morris.

==Sport==
[[Crystal Palace Park]] contains the [[Crystal Palace National Sports Centre|National Sports Centre]], which includes an international-class athletic stadium, and a former [[Crystal Palace circuit|motorsport circuit]] that was used in the 1969 film ''[[The Italian Job]]''.<ref>The [[Crystal Palace transmitting station|television transmitter]] is visible in the scene where they try to blow the doors off an armoured truck.</ref> The Crystal Palace Park once housed a football ground, which hosted the FA Cup final from 1895<ref name=cadillMapOfCrystalPark>{{cite web|title=Map of Crystal Palace Park|url=http://www.cocgb.dircon.co.uk/cry_pal_park.htm|work=Crystal Palace Park, Penge, South London|publisher=Cadillac Owners Club of Great Britain|access-date=29 May 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160924024003/http://www.cocgb.dircon.co.uk/cry_pal_park.htm|archive-date=24 September 2016|df=dmy-all}}</ref> to 1914, as well as [[London County Cricket Club]] games [[Crystal Palace Park Cricket Ground|from 1900 to 1908]], when the club folded, and [[Crystal Palace FC]]'s matches from [[History of Crystal Palace F.C.|their formation in 1905]] until the club was forced to relocate during the [[World War I|First World War]]. Other facilities include Alexandra Recreation Ground, Penge Recreation Ground and Royston Playing Fields.

==Cultural references==
After the Crystal Palace was moved to Penge Place, a fashionable day out was to visit the Crystal Palace during the day and to take the tram down the hill to one of the 'twenty-five pubs to the square mile'<ref name="Abbott, Peter, p114"/> or two Music Halls.

*[[Horace Rumpole]], a barrister known as "[[Rumpole of the Bailey]]", frequently tells others of his greatest triumph, winning an acquittal in the Penge Bungalow Murders "alone and without a leader." Author [[John Mortimer]]'s original chronology was incorrect, as the Penge bungalows were prefabricated houses which replaced homes destroyed during the Second World War, long after the date of Rumpole's claimed triumph. When the details of the trial were later documented by Mortimer in the novel ''Rumpole and the Penge Bungalow Murders'' in 2002, he moved the events to the early 1950s.
*The [[sitcom]] [[Pulling (TV series)|Pulling]] is set in Penge.
*The [['S Up|''<nowiki/>'s Up'']] episode of ''[[Bottom (TV series)|Bottom]]'' has a plot point that their landlord has to be in Penge very soon, forcing him to leave his shop under their supervision.
*Richard 'Dick' Remmington, the narrator of the novel ''[[The New Machiavelli]]'' by [[H. G. Wells]], is born in 'Bromstead' ([[Bromley]]) but significant episodes of his early life occur in Penge.
*The band [[Public Image Ltd]] have a song called "Penge" on their ''End of the World'' album.<ref name="PiL">{{Cite web | url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GZspHQfNciw | title=Public Image Ltd. - Penge | publisher = [[Public Image Ltd|PiL Official ]] | date=2023-04-23}}</ref>
*The [[David Bowie]] song 'Did You Ever Have a Dream? (1967) contains the lyric 'You can walk around in New York while you sleep in Penge'.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Pegg |first1=Nicholas |title=The Complete David Bowie |date=2016 |publisher=Titan Books |edition=Revised and Updated 2016 }}</ref>

==Notable residents==
*[[Thomas Crapper]] (1836&ndash;1910), the famous Victorian manufacturing plumber, retired to live at 12 Thornsett Road (c. 1897–1910). He is commonly, but erroneously, credited with inventing the [[flush toilet]].<ref name="Abbott, Peter 2002, p93">Abbott, Peter (2002), p93.</ref> He did however develop the ''[[Trap (plumbing)|U-bend]]'', a significant improvement on the S-bend, which the BBC has nominated as one of the ''50 Things That (have) Made the Modern Economy''.<ref name=fifty>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w3csv3gp|title=S-Bend, 50 Things That Made the Modern Economy - BBC World Service|website=BBC|access-date=6 April 2018}}</ref>
*[[Barbara Strang]] (1925&ndash;1982), an English language scholar was born here in 1925.
*[[Joseph Petrus Hendrik Crowe]] (1826&ndash;1876), [[Victoria Cross]] recipient, died at Penge in 1876.
*[[Walter de la Mare]] (1873&ndash;1956), famous poet and author of ghost stories, resided at 195 Mackenzie Road, Beckenham (1899–1908) then moved to 5 Worbeck Road (1908–1912) and 14 Thornsett Road (1912–1925).<ref name="Abbott, Peter 2002, p94">Abbott, Peter (2002), p94.</ref>
*[[John Freeman (Georgian poet)|John Freeman]] (1880&ndash;1929), Georgian poet and essayist. He was a friend of Walter de la Mare.<ref>Pullen, Doris E. (1990) ''Penge.'' self-published. {{ISBN|0-9504171-3-0}}, p72</ref>
*[[Camille Pissarro]] (1830&ndash;1903), French [[impressionist]] painter, lived in Penge in the 1870s.<ref name="Abbott, Peter 2002, p93"/>
*[[H. T. Muggeridge]] (1864&ndash;1942), British politician, father of Malcolm Muggeridge
*[[Malcolm Muggeridge]] (1903&ndash;1990), British journalist, author, satirist, media personality, soldier-spy and latterly Christian apologist.<ref name="Pullen, Doris E. 1990, p72">Pullen, Doris E. (1990), p. 72</ref>
*[[Andrew Bonar Law]] (1858&ndash;1923), [[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom|prime minister]], who was the member of parliament for [[Dulwich (UK Parliament constituency)|Dulwich]] and lived in Oakfield Road in Penge.<ref name="Pullen, Doris E. 1990, p72"/>
*[[Clunies-Ross family|John Clunies-Ross]] (1786&ndash;1854), first [[King of the Cocos Islands]]<ref name="Pullen, Doris E. 1990, p72"/>
*[[Tom Hood]] (1835–1874), author, playwright and editor of ''[[Fun (magazine)|Fun]]'' magazine lived at 12 Queen Adelaide Road.<ref name="Pullen, Doris E. 1990, p72"/>
* [[Helena Normanton]] (1882–1957), was the first woman to practise as a [[Barristers in England and Wales|barrister]] in the UK.<ref name="Pullen, Doris E. 1990, p72"/>
*[[Herbert Strudwick]] (1880&ndash;1970), Surrey and England wicket-keeper, lived at 4 Worbeck Road.<ref name="Pullen, Doris E. 1990, p72"/>
*[[Bill Wyman]] (born 1936), bassist with [[The Rolling Stones]], lived in Penge as a child.<ref>Abbott, Peter (2002), p. 95</ref> 
*[[Peggy Spencer]] MBE (1920&ndash;2016), choreographer and regular contributor to the BBC TV show ''[[Come Dancing]]'' in the 1960s and 1970s, and lived at 12 Percy Road.
*[[George Daniels (watchmaker)|George Daniels]], CBE (1926–2010), watchmaker and inventor of the [[Coaxial escapement]] as used by [[Omega SA|Omega watches]], lived in Thornsett Road and is commemorated by a [[blue plaque]].<ref>Famous watchmaker remembered with blue plaque, [[News Shopper]] (Bromley), 27 August 2014, p. 5.</ref>
*[[Monica Furlong]] (1930–2003), celebrated religious affairs correspondent, journalist and novelist lived in Station Road and once edited ''Spire'', the magazine of Holy Trinity Church, Lennard Road.
*[[Dadabhai Naoroji]], prominent Indian independence campaigner, author and [[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|MP]] for [[Finsbury Central]] 1892&ndash;1895 lived at 72 Anerley Park from August 1897&ndash;1904/5.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/international/london-home-of-dadabhai-naoroji-gets-blue-plaque-honour/article65756809.ece | title=London home of Dadabhai Naoroji gets Blue Plaque honour | newspaper=The Hindu | date=11 August 2022 }}</ref>
*[[Rutland Barrington]] (1853–1922) was a renowned musical comedy actor and gained fame as a star of [[Gilbert and Sullivan]] productions. He was also a prominent forward for the [[Crystal Palace F.C. (1861)|first Crystal Palace FC]] and resided at Headley Lodge, Croydon Road.<ref>{{cite book | title=Palace Pioneers: How the first Crystal Palace FC helped create the modern game|last= Law|first= Gordon |year=2021| isbn=979-8772662892|page=143 |publisher= Independently Published}}</ref><ref>{{cite book | title=The first Crystal Palace Football Club 1861-1876|last= Hibberd|first= Stuart |year=2021| isbn=978-1-9163095-0-0|page=77 }}</ref>
*[[Margaret Elwyn Sparshott]] (1870–1940) was a World War I [[matron]], in charge of 22 hospitals in the [[Manchester]] area. She retired to Penge, and lived there between 1929 and 1940.<ref name="Brockbank 1970" >{{cite book |last1=Brockbank |first1=William |title=The History of Nursing at the M.R.I |date=1970 |publisher=Manchester University Press |location=Manchester, UK |isbn=0719012481 |chapter=Miss Sparshott 1907-1929}}</ref><ref name="Ladys Whos Who 1939" >{{cite book |title=The Lady's Who's Who for British Women, 1938/39 |date=1939 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=D06eYgEACAAJ |access-date=19 August 2023 |chapter=Miss M. E. Sparshott, C.B.E., R.R.C. |last1=Who |first1=Lady's Who's }}</ref>
*[[Matthew Smith (games programmer)|Matthew Smith]] (born 1966), developer of Manic Miner and Jet Set Willy for the ZX Spectrum
* [[Ted Dillon]] (1881–1941) captained [[Kent County Cricket Club|Kent CCC]] to three [[County Championship]] victories and played [[rugby union]] for [[England national rugby union team|England]] and [[Blackheath F.C.]]<ref>{{cite web |title=Ted Dillon |url=https://www.espncricinfo.com/cricketers/ted-dillon-12174 |website=ESPNcricinfo |access-date=24 July 2025}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}} 

==External links==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20160304120844/http://www.london-footprints.co.uk/wkpengeroute.htm A Penge walk]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20081120125803/http://www.virtualpenge.com/ Virtual Penge]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20160929115959/http://www.beckenhamhistory.co.uk/flashNifties/gallery3.html Penge Historical Images]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20190124131624/http://pengetouristboard.co.uk/ Penge Tourist Board]
* [https://www.pengeheritagetrail.org.uk/ Penge Heritage Trail]

{{LB Bromley}}
{{London Districts}}

[[Category:Areas of London]]
[[Category:Districts of the London Borough of Bromley]]
[[Category:District centres of London]]
[[Category:Surrey places with etymologically Brittonic names]]