Sherlies Avenue

Image: © Ian Capper Taken: 29 Mar 2012

1960s housing off Tubbenden Lane. 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 1961 1:2,500 map shows 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 Sherlies Avenue at the point it leaves Tubbenden Lane. Comparison with the 1910 6 inch map shows that the route of the road follows the course of the original driveway to Sherlies, including a left hand bend half way along it (see Image). With thanks to local resident Calvin Wickham for help with the research into the history of Sherlies and its neighbours.

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