This week sees four significant milestones in our borough.
Danson Park celebrates its centenary and local resident Joanne Taylor has written a children’s story to help raise awareness of this anniversary. Titled ‘100 years of time travel with Daniel the Danson Oak’, the story is narrated by ‘Daniel’, the magnificent Charter Oak in the centre of Danson Park, who recounts the people and events he’s witnessed over the past 100 years. Leader of the Council, Cllr Baroness O’Neill of Bexley OBE, met with Joanne in front of the Charter Oak on Tuesday (1 April).
On the same day, the Mayor of Bexley, Cllr Sue Gower MBE, and the Bishop of Rochester, Reverend Doctor Jonathan Gibbs, unveiled a plaque at Lesnes Abbey to mark 500 years since the Abbey’s dissolution. They unveiled a newly reinstated plaque honouring Frank Elliston-Erwood (1883-1968), whose archaeological excavations from 1909 helped uncover Lesnes Abbey’s past.
It’s also 60 years since the London Borough of Bexley began – and the Council’s Archives Team have been sharing a range of historical artefacts with staff and local residents. In the picture below, our archivist Penny Duggan discusses some of the exhibits with Council staff members Lisa Saunders and Peter Davies.
And Crossness Pumping Station celebrates 160 years since it opened. Widely regarded as a masterpiece of engineering, the station is open to the public this weekend (5-6 April) offering music, food and drink with a special Victorian theme.
These events are all part of our #CelebratingBexley programme.