Coordinates: 51°24′25″N 0°01′16″E / 51.4070°N 0.0210°E / 51.4070; 0.0210

Bromley
Bromley  Bromley shown within Greater London
OS grid reference	TQ405695
- Charing Cross	9.3 mi (15.0 km)  NW
London borough	Bromley
Ceremonial county	Greater London
Region	London
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	BROMLEY
Postcode district	BR1
Dialling code	020
Police	Metropolitan
Fire	London
Ambulance	London
EU Parliament	London
UK Parliament	Bromley and Chislehurst
London Assembly	Bexley and Bromley
List of places: UK • England • London

Bromley is a large suburban district of south east London,^[1] England and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Bromley. It was historically a market town, and prior to 1963 was in the county of Kent and formed the administrative centre of the Municipal Borough of Bromley. Although technically in London, it is regarded by locals and Londoners alike as in the county of Kent. Its location on a coaching route and the opening of a railway station in 1858 were key to its development and the economic history of Bromley is underpinned by a shift from an agrarian village to commercial and retail hub. As part of the suburban growth of London in the 20th century, Bromley significantly increased in population and has formed part of Greater London since 1963. It has developed into one of a handful of regionally significant commercial and retail districts outside central London.^[2] It is located 9.3 miles (15 km) south east of Charing Cross and is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the London Plan. Bromley has a number of affluent areas and is regarded as being one of the richest London Boroughs. There are a number of gated communities within the borough, most noticeably Keston Park (in Keston, Orpington), Farnborough Park (Farnborough, Orpington) and Bickley Park (in the affluent areas of Bickley and Chislehurst)

History[link]

Bromley is first recorded in a charter of 862 as Bromleag and means 'woodland clearing where broom grows'.^[3] It shares this Old English etymology with Great Bromley in Essex, but not with the Bromley in Tower Hamlets.^[3]

The history of Bromley is closely connected with the See of Rochester. In AD 862 Ethelbert, the King of Kent, granted land to form the Manor of Bromley. It was held by the Bishops of Rochester until 1845, when Coles Child, a wealthy local merchant and philanthropist, purchased Bromley Palace (now the hub of the Bromley Civic Centre) and became lord of the manor. The town was an important coaching stop on the way to Hastings from London, and the now defunct Royal Bell Hotel (just off Market Square) is referred to in Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. It was a quiet rural village until the arrival of the railway in 1858 in Shortlands, which led to rapid growth, and outlying suburban districts such as Bickley (which later overflowed into Bromley Common) were developed to accommodate those wishing to live so conveniently close to London.^[4]

Bromley, also known as Bromley St Peter and St Paul, formed an ancient parish in the Bromley and Beckenham hundred and the Sutton-at-Hone lathe of Kent.^[5] In 1840 it became part of the expanded Metropolitan Police District. The parish adopted the Local Government Act 1858 and a local board was formed in 1867. The board was reconstituted as Bromley Urban District Council in 1894 and the parish became Bromley Urban District. It formed part of the London Traffic Area from 1924 and the London Passenger Transport Area from 1933.^[6] In 1934, as part of a county review order, the borough was expanded by taking in 1,894 acres (7.66 km²) from the disbanded Bromley Rural District; an area including parts of the parishes of Farnborough, Hayes, Keston and West Wickham. Bromley became part of the newly-created Greater London in 1965, in the new London Borough of Bromley.

Governance[link]

Bromley forms part of the Bromley and Chislehurst Parliament constituency and the London European Parliament constituency. The current MP is Bob Neill. James Cleverly is the London Assembly member for the Bexley and Bromley constituency, in which the town is located.

Bromley's most prominent MP was the former Conservative Prime Minister Harold Macmillan.

Geography[link]

Bromley is located 9.3 miles (15 km) south east of Charing Cross and is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the London Plan.^[2]

The historic heart of the town is Market Square, which sits at the junction of the High Street and Church Road.

Economy[link]

The town has a large shopping and retail area, including a pedestrianised High Street and The Glades shopping centre. Bromley is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the London Plan.^[7] The shopping area includes many upmarket retailers such as Gap, Oasis and Waterstones while the large concentration of restaurants includes Belgo.

Transport[link]

Bromley is served by two railway stations. Bromley South, the larger and more frequently served of the two, which is on the Chatham mainline. Long distance trains from Victoria to Medway, Thanet and south east Kent have their first stop at Bromley, providing a fast and frequent non-stop service to central London. Bromley South is also a stop on the southeast London suburban rail network, with local services for Orpington and Sevenoaks from Victoria and the central London Thameslink stations calling at the station. Bromley North station is served by a shuttle service to Grove Park, where there are onward connections to London Bridge, Charing Cross & Cannon Street in central London; as well as services to Kent.

Bromley is one of the few London boroughs not served by the London Underground, and with the exception of its night buses has no direct bus links to Central London. It does however have regular bus services operating from the town centre also serving urban hotspots in and around the borough including Orpington, Lewisham, Penge, Bexleyheath and Croydon. There are also buses in the town centre serving outer areas such as Biggin Hill, Westerham, Chartwell, Knockholt, Sevenoaks and Tunbridge Wells. From 2012 services to central London from all stations within the borough of Bromley will become more regular and there are even plans to include Bromley in the new 'South London Line', an equivalent to the London Overground's 'East London Line'. However this has neither been officially confirmed or denied.

Culture[link]

Bromley has a number of theatres, the most notable being the Churchill Theatre in the town centre and the Bromley Little Theatre close to Bromley North railway station. It also has a large Central Library in the same building as the Churchill Theatre with a large book stock, internet and wifi access, reference library and local studies department. Empire Cinemas own a 4-screen site in Bromley, with screen 1 being its biggest with a capacity of 392. Screens 2 and 3 have disabled access.

Sport and Leisure[link]

The town has four Non-League football clubs, two teams play their home games at the Courage Stadium on Hayes Lane Bromley F.C. and Cray Wanderers F.C., the other teams Holmesdale F.C. and Greenwich Borough F.C. play at Oakley Road. Bromley F.C. are in the Conference South, which is the highest level of regionalised football in England, two divisions below the Football League. Cray Wanderers F.C. are currently one division below Bromley F.C. in the Isthmian League Premier Division.

Beccehamians RFC is a Rugby Union Club founded in 1933 which plays competitive rugby at Sparrows Den at the bottom of Corkscrew Hill in nearby West Wickham.^[8]

Education[link]

Bromley has numerous schools, and is home to Bromley College of Further & Higher Education. There are two selective schools in nearby Orpington (within the London Borough of Bromley) with an 11+ exam. They are Newstead Wood School for Girls and St Olave's and St Saviour's Grammar School. There is also The Priory School, a specialist Sports School, which is in Orpington. There are two specialist Media Arts Schools, Hayes School and The Ravensbourne School. It also has the Ravens Wood and Darrick Wood Schools, which have been recognised by OFSTED for excellence (Ravens Wood) and Outstanding (Darrick Wood), being awarded almost top marks in an annual inspection in 2009 and Hayes School in 2011. Also Ravens Wood has been recognised by OFSTED for Outstanding In every criteria. There are many Independent Schools within the London Borough of Bromley, all of which provide exceptional education, however both Eltham College (in the nearby area of Mottingham - within the borough of Bromley and near the London Borough of Lewisham) and Bromley High (situated in the nearby, affluent area of Bickley- also within the borough of Bromley) have been regarded as institutes of educational excellence and have also been recognised by OFTSED for Outstanding in every criteria.

Landmarks[link]

The parish church of St Peter and St Paul stands on Church Road. It was largely destroyed by enemy action on 16 April 1941 and rebuilt in the 1950s incorporating the medieval tower and reusing much of the flint and fragments of the original stone building.^[9] The most noteworthy historic building is Bromley College, London Road. The mature and very well maintained central public open spaces are noteworthy: Queen's Gardens, Martin's Hill, Church House Gardens, Library Gardens and College Green.

Areas of Importance[link]

Bromley has a number of affluent areas and is regarded as being one of the richest London Boroughs. There are a number of gated communities within the borough, most noticeably Keston Park (in Keston, Orpington), Farnborough Park (Farnborough, Orpington) and Bickley Park (in the affluent areas of Bickley and Chislehurst)

Notable residents[link]

This article's list of residents may not follow Wikipedia's verifiability or notability policies. Please improve this article by removing names that do not have independent reliable sources cited within this article showing they are notable and residents or by incorporating the relevant publications into the body of the article through appropriate citations. (April 2011)

Owen Chadwick was born in Bromley in 1916. He was awarded the Order of Merit, was Vice Chancellor of University of Cambridge, Master of Selwyn Cambridge, Regius Professor of Modern History, Dixie Professor of Ecclesiastical History, Chancellor of University of Anglia, President of British Academy, and a Rugby Union International.

H. G. Wells, most famous for his novel The War of the Worlds, was born in Bromley in 1866.^[10] There is an 'H.G. Wells Centre' in Masons Hill near the southern end of the High Street which houses the Bromley Labour Club. In August 2005, the wall honouring H.G. Wells in Market Square was repainted. The current wall painting features a rich green background with the same H.G. Wells reference and the evolution sequence of Homo sapiens featured in Origin of Species by Charles Darwin, a former resident of nearby Downe Village.^[11]

Other famous people who lived in Bromley include Charles Darwin, David Bowie, Richmal Crompton, Pixie Lott, Starsmith, Christopher Tennant, Peter Frampton, Aleister Crowley, Siouxsie Sioux, Gary Rhodes, Billy Idol, Billy Jenkins, cricketer Jill Cruwys,^[12] the anarchist Peter Kropotkin,^[13] the former Clash drummer Topper Headon, historian Richard Jefferis, illustrator Charles Keeping, Formula 1 test driver Gary Paffett, children's writer Andrew Murray, actor Michael York who attended Bromley Grammar School for Boys,^[14] clarinetist Chris Craker, Don Perrin, Canadian author who attended Burnt Ash School in Bromley, and Sir Thomas James Harper, an officer decorated in the Crimean war. In the 20th century, the Parish Church of St Peter and St Paul produced, in quick succession, three Church of England Bishops: Henry David Halsey – Bishop of Carlisle, Philip Goodrich – Bishop of Worcester, David Bartleet – Bishop of Tonbridge. Steve Barnes, Educator and Mathematician, Sculptor Nicholas Cornwell and Maisy James the Big Brother 12 housemate.

The comedian Chris Addison^[15] currently lives in Bromley.

West Ham United F.C. midfielder Gary O'Neil, former Millwall FC and current Everton FC midfielder Tim Cahill and Reading FC (previously Blackburn Rovers) striker Jason Roberts lived in Bromley, English darts player Les Capewell was born in Bromley, Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand, Leicester City F.C. defender John Pantsil. Cricketer Matthew Featherstone was born in Bromley and played List A cricket for the Kent Cricket Board. He is the current captain of the Brazil national cricket team. Sir William Pitt former prime minister.

Popular culture[link]

In the famous Monty Python Spam sketch Bromley was stated to be the location of the fictional Green Midget Café, where every item on the menu was composed of spam in varying degrees. In another Monty Python sketch it was stated that all seven continents are visible from the top of the Kentish Times building in Bromley.

The Mall in Bromley appeared on the cover of the 1982 album Sounds Like Bromley by Bromley born Billy Jenkins. The picture is of the rear of what is now Poundland (Bromley Toy Fayre and Bramber Womenswear at the time) to the right and the car park above Argos (J Sainsbury at the time)

References[link]

v t e London Borough of Bromley Districts Anerley Beckenham Bickley Biggin Hill Bromley Bromley Common Chislehurst Downe Elmstead Farnborough Hayes Keston Leaves Green Mottingham Orpington Penge Petts Wood Pratt's Bottom Shortlands Southborough St Mary Cray St Paul's Cray West Wickham Attractions Bromley Museum Chislehurst Caves Churchill Theatre Crofton Roman Villa Crystal Palace Down House Betts Park Constituencies Beckenham Bromley and Chislehurst Lewisham West & Penge Orpington Other topics People Public art Schools Parks and open spaces in Bromley

Owen Columba Coyle (born 14 July 1966) is a Scottish-born^[3] Irish international former professional player and professional association football manager . He is currently the manager of Bolton Wanderers.

Paisley-born Coyle began his career at Dumbarton. He played for a number of Scottish teams as well as a spell at English club Bolton Wanderers. Upon retiring from playing, he managed Falkirk and St. Johnstone before heading to then Championship side Burnley. In his first full season in charge, Burnley won promotion to the Premier League. He then moved to Bolton halfway through his first season in the Premier League.

He has one cap for the Republic of Ireland, having qualified through Irish descent. He also played for the Republic of Ireland national under-21 football team.^[4]

Playing career[link]

Club[link]

Coyle began his senior career with Dumbarton in 1985, where he played alongside his brothers Joe and Tommy. In 1988 he joined Clydebank, then in March 1990 a £175,000 transfer took him to Airdrieonians. This move was instantly successful, Coyle scoring a hat-trick on his debut and going on to finish as the Scottish League's top scorer for 1989–90. Over the next two seasons his goals helped Airdrie to promotion, a Scottish Cup final appearance, and an appearance in the 1992–1993 European Cup Winners' Cup – as Scottish Cup winners Rangers, had won the Scottish Premier Division title and qualified for the European Cup.

In the summer of 1993, Bolton Wanderers paid £250,000 to sign Coyle, and his two year spell in England included promotion and a brief chance to play in the FA Premier League. He was a key part of their Division One promotion winning side in 1995, scoring a 75th minute goal against Reading in the playoff final which gave Bolton a lifeline to peg the scoreline back to 2–1. With 90 minutes on the clock, the score was 2–2 and Bolton won 4–3 in extra time to end their 15-year exile from the top flight.^[5]

However, in October 1995, a £400,000 transfer fee took him to Dundee United, where he was once again part of a promotion-winning side, scoring the winning goal in extra time in the second leg of the playoff against Partick Thistle.

Coyle's next moves were to Motherwell in January 1997, after a move to Hibernian fell through,^[6] and then on to Dunfermline Athletic in March 1999. After losing his place in the Dunfermline team, he went on loan to Ross County prior to rejoining Airdrie in 2001. When they went into liquidation in 2002, Coyle joined Falkirk, being promoted to co-player-manager alongside John Hughes in 2003. After leaving this post he returned to Dundee United, primarily in a coaching capacity but also registering as a player. A lack of first team opportunities, however, led to him being loaned out to Airdrieonians' successors, Airdrie United, and this move was subsequently made on a permanent basis. He also took up the post of assistant manager to Sandy Stewart, who now acts as his assistant at Bolton.

He played in an emergency for Burnley Reserves on 9 April 2009, scoring with a lob in a 2–0 win against Accrington Stanley, helping them win the Reserve League title.^[7] On 7 October, Coyle played again for Burnley Reserves in a 1–0 defeat to the Liverpool Reserves at Prenton Park.^[8]

On 15 November 2010, Coyle returned to playing action at the age of 44 when turning out for Bolton in their friendly match with Northern Ireland side Cliftonville. It was the first time in fifteen years that he had started a game for Bolton and he chipped in with a goal in a 2–0 Wanderers win.^[9]

International[link]

A former Republic of Ireland under-21 international, Coyle earned one full international cap, in a friendly match played against the Netherlands in Tilburg in April 1994. The match ended in a 1–0 victory for the Republic, with Coyle coming on to replace the goalscorer Tommy Coyne in the 83rd minute.^[10]

Managerial career[link]

Falkirk[link]

Coyle landed his first managerial job on 31 January 2003, when he and John Hughes were appointed co-managers of Falkirk. They continued as senior players with the club, creating an unusual situation of having co-managers who were both also player-managers.

The Coyle-Hughes management team took over when Falkirk were top of the league, and continued Falkirk's good form, winning the Scottish First Division.^[11]

At the end of 2003-04, after only half a season in charge, Coyle left Falkirk to join Ian McCall's coaching team at Dundee United, leaving Hughes in sole charge.

St. Johnstone[link]

In April 2005, Coyle was named as the new manager of St. Johnstone.^[12] In March 2006, he was awarded Manager of the Month for the Scottish First Division for his team's performance. Coyle led St. Johnstone to a 2–0 victory over Rangers at Ibrox to reach the semi-finals of the Scottish League Cup.^[13] It was their first win over the Glasgow club at Ibrox in 35 years. St. Johnstone lost 3–1 after extra time to Hibernian in that semi-final. Saints also reached the semi-finals of the Scottish Cup thanks to away wins against SPL clubs Falkirk and Motherwell, but lost 2–1 to Celtic at Hampden in the semi-final.^[14]

In the same season, Saints also competed for the First Division championship and promotion to the SPL. On 30 March 2007, Coyle was awarded his second Scottish First Division Manager of the Month award of the 2006–07 season.^[15] Saints took the title fight with Gretna to the final day of the season, and only a last minute goal by James Grady that gave Gretna victory at Ross County denied Saints promotion.

Coyle signed a one-year extension to his contract with St. Johnstone in July 2007, which would have kept him at the club until the end of the 2009–10 season.^[16] In the early part of the 2007–08 season, Coyle led Saints to the 2007 Scottish Challenge Cup Final. He accepted an offer from Burnley in the week before the final and left the club. Coyle's assistant Sandy Stewart took charge of the team for the final, which was won 3–2 against Dunfermline Athletic.

Burnley[link]

On 21 November 2007, Burnley were granted permission to discuss their managerial vacancy with Coyle after a compensation fee was agreed with St. Johnstone.^[17] He was appointed as Burnley's new manager the following day.^[18] Coyle was given a reference by then Scotland manager Alex McLeish to support his Burnley application, and was also recommended by Bolton chairman Phil Gartside after they appointed Gary Megson as their new manager, as Coyle was Gartside's 2nd choice for the Bolton job after Megson.^[19]

In September 2008, former England striker Andrew Cole credited Coyle as the reason he re-thought his decision to retire from playing at the end of the 2007–08 season. Cole spent three months on loan at Burnley that season, and Cole stated, "I went to Burnley and spoke to Owen and got a great vibe. He brought the best out of me and made me feel a lot younger than my age."^[20]

He won the September 2008 Championship Manager of the Month award after leading Burnley to 5 wins and a draw, which included a League Cup win over Premier League side Fulham. In November Burnley secured a victory over Premier League side Chelsea on penalties at Stamford Bridge to put them in the quarter-finals of the League Cup. In the quarter-final, Burnley defeated Arsenal 2–0. They were knocked out in the semi-finals in dramatic fashion, after overturning a 4–1 deficit by winning 3–0 at Turf Moor after 90minutes. Burnley were little more than three minutes away from a famous win and a trip to Wembley, when Roman Pavlyuchenko scored to win the tie in extra time for Tottenham Hotspur.

Burnley, under Coyle, won promotion to the Premier League by beating Sheffield United 1–0 in the Championship Play-off Final at Wembley Stadium on 25 May 2009.^[21] The 2009–10 season was the first time Burnley had played in top tier of English football for 33 years. Coyle has added to his squad by signing Tyrone Mears from Derby County for £500,000 & Steven Fletcher from Hibernian for a club record fee of £3,000,000 and also David Edgar signed on a free transfer from Newcastle United on 1 July 2009.

After speculation linking Coyle with the vacant manager's position at Celtic, on 18 June 2009, Coyle signed a contract extension at Turf Moor to stay with Burnley until the end of the 2012–13 season.^[22]

On 19 August 2009, Burnley defeated the defending Premier League champions Manchester United 1–0 at Turf Moor in their first top-flight match at home for 33 years.^[23] They went on to win their first four home games with wins against Everton 1–0 Birmingham 2–1 and Sunderland 3–1 and lose their first 5 away games.

Bolton Wanderers[link]

In January 2010, Bolton Wanderers expressed their interest in Coyle becoming their new manager to replace the recently sacked Gary Megson, with Coyle expressing a desire to leave Burnley and take up the position.^[24] On 5 January, Burnley's chairman announced that Coyle had left the club.^[25] On 8 January, Coyle was appointed as Bolton manager.^[26] His first game in charge was a 2–0 home defeat to Arsenal.^[27] He achieved his first win on 23 January 2010, 2–0 in the FA Cup 4th Round at home to Sheffield United and achieved his first league victory against former club Burnley, 1–0 on 26 January 2010.^[28] He achieved his first away victory at the club on 6 March, 2–1 at West Ham United. Coyle's first signings for the club were Stuart Holden from MLS side Houston Dynamo on a short-term contract and Manchester City winger Vladimir Weiss and Arsenal's Jack Wilshere on loan until the end of the season. Coyle achieved his goal of keeping Bolton in the Premier League by finishing 14th with 39 points, nine clear of relegated Burnley.

On 1 July, he signed Martin Petrov from Manchester City and Robbie Blake from Burnley on free transfers, making them his first summer signings. Coyle also later signed Marcos Alonso from Real Madrid for an undisclosed fee and also brought Ivan Klasnić back to the club on a free transfer after spending the previous season on loan at the Reebok. In January 2011, he made two further signings, buying David Wheater from Middlesbrough and signing Daniel Sturridge on loan from Chelsea until the end of the season.

On 13 May 2012, Bolton were relegated to The Championship, following a 2–2 at Stoke City on the final day of the season.

Statistics[link]

Manager[link]

As of 13 May 2012 (UTC)^[29]

Team	Nat	From	To	Record
				G	W	D	L	Win %
Falkirk		31 January 2003	20 May 2003	&1000000000000001900000019	&1000000000000001200000012	&100000000000000030000003	&100000000000000040000004	&1000000000000006315999963.16
St. Johnstone		15 April 2005	22 November 2007	&1000000000000007000000070	&1000000000000003600000036	&1000000000000002000000020	&1000000000000001400000014	&1000000000000005142999951.43
Burnley		22 November 2007	5 January 2010	&10000000000000116000000116	&1000000000000004900000049	&1000000000000002900000029	&1000000000000003800000038	&1000000000000004224000042.24
Bolton Wanderers		8 January 2010	present	&10000000000000115000000115	&1000000000000003900000039	&1000000000000002200000022	&1000000000000005400000054	&1000000000000003390999933.91
Total				&10000000000000320000000320	&10000000000000136000000136	&1000000000000007400000074	&10000000000000110000000110	&1000000000000004250000042.50

Honours[link]

As a player[link]

Falkirk

• Scottish Football League, First Division - Winner, 2002–03

As a manager[link]

Burnley

• The Championship Playoffs - Winner, 2008–09

Bolton Wanderers

• Premier League Manager of the Month November 2010, March 2012

Outside of football[link]

Coyle was born in the ‘Little Donegal’ area of Glasgow to parents from Ireland and is a frequent visitor to Gweedore, County Donegal.^[30] He made an appearance in the Scottish football film A Shot at Glory, in 2000, alongside The Godfather star Robert Duvall, Michael Keaton and Ally McCoist. He has been described as a committed Christian and teetotaller.^[31]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Owen Coyle career stats at Soccerbase
• Owen Coyle management career stats at Soccerbase
• Owen Coyle at the Internet Movie Database