Sherlies Avenue

Image: © Ian Capper Taken: 17 Apr 2009

Sherlies was the name of a country house built in 1870, one of 5 large houses on the north side of Tubbenden Lane to the south of Orpington Station, the others being (from east to west) Northolme, The Alchornes, Fernbank and Sunnyside. All these other four are shown in the 1881 census with the name "Sherlies" next to the house name, suggesting that they were all part of the same original plot, subdivided for building purposes. Sherlies itself was set in extensive grounds, on rising land with views over (what was then) farmland to the south east. In Spring 1915 it was used briefly by VAD (Voluntary Aid Detachment - an organisation formed jointly by the Red Cross with the Order of St John of Jerusalem) patients. In 1920 it became a hotel, in which guise it served its final years. All the houses have since been demolished, at different times, with their sites developed for housing. The style of housing suggests that Sherlies was the first of the houses to be demolished, with the site and grounds being used to build Sherlies Avenue, Telscombe Close and Thorpe Close. This photo shows part of Sherlies Avenue. A footpath is shown on the 1910 6 inch map running between Sherlies and its neighbour, Northolme. The footpath remains, running between the bungalow on the left of the photo and the house beyond, and then continues up to Newstead Avenue. The abrupt change in style of housing, both in Sherlies Avenue as seen here and the parallel Woodhead Drive, suggests that this was the original limit of Sherlies Avenue, with the development of the site of Northolme following later. With thanks to local resident Calvin Wickham for help with the research into the history of Sherlies and its neighbours.

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