Cudham


Cudham is a village in Greater London, England, located within the London Borough of Bromley and beyond London urban sprawl. It is located on the Greater London border with Kent bordering the Sevenoaks District. It lies south of Orpington and north west of Sevenoaks. It located south-southeast of Charing Cross.

History

Cudham church, dedicated to St Peter & St Paul, is mentioned in the Domesday Book. The Blacksmith's Arms, originally a 17th-century farmhouse, has memorabilia of the music hall artiste known as "Little Tich". Cudham was part of Bromley Rural District from 1894 and Orpington Urban District from 1934 to 1965. The village was therefore part of Kent until the creation of Greater London on 1 April 1965. Cudham Recreation Ground, behind the church and pub, is home to Cudham Wyse Cricket Club, which was formed in 1965.

Transport

Cudham, being in the county of Greater London, is still under Transport for London remit despite being outside London and is served by a London Buses bus service, with the R5/R10 connecting the area with Orpington via Green Street Green and also to Knockholt in Kent. The closest rail links to the area are Chelsfield station and Knockholt station, in Travelcard Zone 6.

Events

Cudham hosts one of the oldest village shows and fetes dating back to Victorian times, annually on the August Bank Holiday Monday.
Cudham also hosts the famous annual Cudham Craic music festival, a popular 2 day music event in Cudham's recreation ground promoted by KentBand.com.

Local politics

Since 2010, the local Member of Parliament has been Jo Johnson of the Conservatives who is brother of the Prime Minister, Boris Johnson. Johnson served as Minister for Transport and Minister for London up until his resignation in November 2018. He did so in order to support a People's Vote on the final Brexit deal. In July 2019, he was subsequently reinstated in his ministerial role as Minister for Universities before resigning in September 2019 and announced that he would stand down as an MP at the next United Kingdom general election.
By a numerical majority of 19,453 votes, Orpington is the safest Conservative Parliamentary seat in London.
One councillor is elected every four years to Bromley London Borough Council. To date, the Darwin ward has only been represented by representatives from the Conservative Party.