Bromley Local Studies Library
Bromley Local Studies Library
Bromley Central Library
High Street
Bromley
Kent
BR1 1EX
England
Website
www.bromley.gov.uk/libraries/librariesintheborough/local_studies_library.htm
localstudies.library@bromley.gov.uk
Telephone
020 8461 7170
Fax
020 8466 7860
The Local Studies Library in Bromley Central Library offers resources going back hundreds of years, on topics related to the London Borough of Bromley and its environs. It has specialist collections on The Crystal Palace, Walter de la Mare and H.G. Wells. It houses the archives for the borough. It also has extensive family history resources.
Venue Type:
Archive, Library
Collection details
Architecture, Archives, Literature, Personalities, Social History
Key artists and exhibits
- The Crystal Palace
- Walter de la Mare
- HG Wells
Travelling Communities
Bromley Local Studies Library only has a very small number of things relating to Gypsy and Traveller culture, but there is a strong history of Travellers in the area, and staff are very happy to help anyone who has a specific enquiry.
Whilst there have been Travellers in the Bromley area for as long as there's been a presence in England, it's probably only since the 19th century that Gypsies were present in large numbers. By the end of the 19th century, West Kent had become a significant Traveller base.
The collection at Bromley consists of the work of one or two families who have traced their own history in the area; some academic works about Gypsy life, as well as 6 - 10 photographs of Traveller life in the 1940s and 50s. Since the culture has traditionally been oral, the few things held at Bromley have tended to be generated by non-Travellers.
There are longer term plans for an oral history of Gypsy and Traveller culture to be collected in the area - if you are interested in knowing more about this, please get in touch with the archive.
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