The first written account of Beckenham is a record in the Domesday Book, which was an extensive record of the ownership, value and extent of land in England, our country's earliest public record, put together by order of William I.
Belonging to Bishop Odo of Bayeux, the area comprised 34 households - 22 villagers, 8 smallholders and 4 slaves and the land consisted of 8 ploughlands and 12 acres of meadow.
Over time the settlements grew into bigger farms in and around Bishop Odo's land. By 1340 Beckenham's population was big enough to start construction of a church - St George's.
Building of the medieval church began in 1340. There are registers of baptisms, marriages, and burials from 1538, many of which are held at the county records office.
In 1618 two transepts and a gallery were added to the building, but unfortunately in 1791 a violent storm destroyed much of it.
By 1883, a decision was made to build a much bigger church on the site, a reflection of the growing population of what had started out as a small hamlet.
Around the time of the building of the church, the manor lands were divided which created the estates of Kelsey and Langley.
Beckenham remained a small village until the 19th century.
In WW2 Beckenham was badly damaged by repeated V1 and V2 attacks and a substantial amount of rebuilding was required in the post-war years.
In the 1960s and 70s, a burgeoning music scene erupted with David Bowie, Peter Frampton, Steve Jansen, Ivor Moreton David Syvian and Bill Wyman born in the 50s or living there in the 60s and early 70s.
On 16 August 1969, David Bowie, as part of his then Arts Lab, organised the Beckenham Free Festival, a small festival which turned out to be fairly significant in the growth of popular music in the UK.
The festival's focal point was the bandstand, originally built in 1905. It is the last surviving example built by the Victorian Glasgow foundry, McCallum & Hope, and a particularly fine example of its type. The Beckenham Bandstand hosted many national and civic celebrations over the decades.
It has recently been refurbished in the Croydon Road Recreation Ground and renamed the Bowie Bandstand.
Today, Beckenham and Penge remain very music-centred, with pubs holding open mics, jams and live music gigs.
