By special decree the public were allowed into the Kelsey Estate to celebrate the coronation of King George V.

In 1908 Tom William Thornton (1857 – 1933) secured most of the land against housing development (yes we had developers even then) and lobbied the local council to create a park which officially opened on 31^st May 1913. Thanks to his vision we have today a park of outstanding beauty adorned by lakes, waterfalls, wildlife and other attractions cared for by experts and volunteers for the enjoyment of the public.

To commemorate his gift and great achievement a small plaque dedicated to T W Thornton can be found just inside the Court Downs Road/ Kelsey Park Road entrance gates.

The Friends of Kelsey Park will be hosting celebrations during May and June to mark this Centenary. Information about these events will be posted on notice boards in the Park and in the newly opened Information Centre which is open between 14:00 and 16:00 hours at weekends. It will be a good time to look back and remember the efforts of people behind the scenes

Since 1945, West Beckenham Residents’ Association (WBRA) has represented the interests of residents in local matters.

WBRA covers an area of about five square miles in the Beckenham addresses in the wards of Clock House,  Penge and Cator, and Kelsey and Eden Park. Each of these wards is represented by three councillors.

We are not affiliated to any political party. Our committee is currently made up of ten volunteers. We meet every few months, but most of our day-to-day business is mostly conducted by email between us.

For more information, or contributions for the Review, email   info@westbeckenhamra.org

Also see the notice board outside the Odeon cinema near the war memorial

AGM

WBRA and CCARA have beenunable to hold public meetings since March 2020, so our AGMs have been put on hold. We will consider whether public meetings can begin again in the autumn.

 We will be keeping in touch with members through the website and our joint newsletter – the Express Review. Any enquiries should be sent to the email address above.