The earliest known settlement in the area was an
Iron Agehillfort at Toots Wood, where traces of a
Roman Camp and
pottery has also been found.[3][4][5] Dr Peter D. Moore has performed a pollen analysis at the site which suggest that the site was abandoned before the beginning of the Roman occupation.[3]
Historically, Shortlands was known as Clay Hill.[6][5] In medieval times the areas consisted of sets of long and short fields, called Longelonds and Shortelonds, the latter ultimately giving its name to Shortlands House (later converted into a hotel, and now a part of Bishop Challoner School) which was built at the start of the 18th century.[5] The house with its extensive farmland was acquired in 1848 by a railway magnate William Wilkinson, who also built several cottages for his farm labourers.[7][5] Housing development began in the 1860s with the sale of the Shortlands House estate, spurred by the opening of Shortlands railway station in 1858.[5] The housing along Westmoreland Road largely dates to the 1880s, with further development occurring in the 20th century.[5]
Pearson & Cox was a British automobile manufacturer in Shortlands, trading from 1908 to 1916. In 1913 they manufactured both steam-powered vehicles (cars and bicycles) and petrol powered cyclecars.[8][9]
In 1921, a war memorial, designed by
W. D. Caroe in the form of a
Celtic cross, was unveiled in the village, in the middle of a road junction. On 8 July 2016, a
Mini car collided with the memorial, breaking it into pieces.[10] The memorial was restored in October 2017 and re-positioned on its site.[11]
Shortlands is today a quiet, prosperous suburb. There is a library on Shortlands Road and a small row of shops by the railway station.
Route 162, and the N3 night bus between
Oxford Circus and
Bromley North serve Shortlands via Hayes Lane at the Scotts Lane, Den Close and Hayes Lane/Kingswood Road bus stops.
The main schools in Shortlands are
Valley Primary School, Highfield Infant and Junior Schools, Harris Academy Shortlands, Clare House Primary School and
Bishop Challoner School.
Sports and leisure
Beccehamians RFC, a Rugby Union Club founded in 1933, plays competitive rugby at Sparrows Den at the bottom of Corkscrew Hill near West Wickham.[12]
Notable people
Enid Blyton (1897–1968), children's author, commemorated by a blue plaque on 83 Shortlands Road where she lived part of her life.[13]
Harold Bride (1890-1956), the wireless operator aboard
RMS Titanic, lived at 58 Ravensbourne Avenue from 1903–1922, commemorated by a blue plaque on the property.[14]
Sir John Brown (1816–1896), Victorian-era industrialist, died at Shortlands House.[15]
Grahame Clark (1907–1995), archaeologist who specialised in Mesolithic Europe and palaeoeconomics, grew up in Shortlands.[16]
Brian Murphy (born 1932), actor, known for playing George Roper in the sitcom George and Mildred, lived in Shortlands with his wife Linda Regan (see below).[25]
Linda Regan (born 1949), actress and author, lived in Shortlands with her husband Brian Murphy (see above).[25]
Peter Ricketts, Baron Ricketts GCMG, GCVO (born 1952), former Permanent Secretary to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, created Baron Ricketts, of Shortlands in 2017.[26][27]
Lord Stamp of Shortlands (1880–1941), the first Chartered Mayor of Beckenham and Chairman of the
London, Midland and Scottish Railway. lived and died here when his house on Park Hill Road was bombed in 1941.[28]
John Veale (1922–2006), English classical composer, born here.[29]
Charles Paget Wade (1883–1956), English architect, artist-craftsman and poet, was born in Shortlands.[30]