Hayes Court cremation urn
Roman to 410 AD
No Roman villas have yet been discovered in Hayes but the Romans have left their mark. When the north aisle of the church was built in 1856 pieces of Roman building material were found but the site was not further excavated. The Hayes items that have been found range over almost the four centuries that the Romans remained in Britain.
Read More
The Great War 1901 - 1921
In 1901 the villagers in Hayes could not have imagined the horror of the war that would unfold in 1914. In the years before the outbreak of the Great War life continued its similar pattern. More villas were built in Hayes Road where 40 were occupied in 1911 and accounted for 197 people out of the total population in Hayes of 925. It was the wealthy in their large houses who had the most impact on the village and determined the main employment opportunities on their estates and farms.
The Great War was a catalyst for enormous change as volunteers rushed to sign up, with over half of the eligible men enlisting by Christmas 1914. By the time the war ended in 1918 few families had been unaffected by the loss of loved ones. Plans were made to commemorate the casualties and people hoped for a better time. Few anticipated the changes that took place by 1921 in the owners and occupiers of eleven of the ‘big houses’, in employment and in the population which in 1921 was 1010 in 222 households.
Read More
Between Wars 1920s & 1930s
The 1920s and 1930s were the decades which witnessed the transformation of Hayes from a small rural village with a few substantial houses to a fast growing community with a tenfold increase in the number of dwellings by 1939. Developers became interested as landowners started to sell some of their land in the 1920s but the major trigger for change was the decision by Sir Charles Eric Hambro to sell Hayes Place, its land and the properties in Hayes he inherited after his father Everard’s death in 1924. The turning point was 1931. A new shopping area developed near the railway station in the 1930s, shops were built in Hayes Street opposite the Church and there were more places of worship, additional schools, a cinema and two garages. Hayes Street Farm continued to be important with its prize winning dairy herd.
The Parish Council ceased to exist as responsibility for Hayes was transferred to Bromley Borough Council and the first of many changes to the physical boundary of the parish occurred. The Hayes Village Association was set up in 1933 to fill the gap in local government and to ensure the community’s views were heard.
By 1939 many of the fields of old Hayes, some of the big houses and the nucleus of the village had been swept aside in the name of progress to be replaced by smart new homes that form today’s village.
Read More
Second World War 1939 - 1945
The announcement of war on 3 September 1939 was almost immediately followed by a false air raid warning siren. Conscription began, volunteers increased for local defence services, schools temporarily closed, families made difficult decisions about evacuating their children and plans were made in the event of invasion. It was a frantic time but the real horror was not felt in Hayes until the air raids started in earnest in July 1940, with damage to buildings and the first casualties occurring in Hayes in September. Raids continued almost every day reaching a climax with 19 separate incidents on 16 April 1941. The Anti-Aircraft guns on the Common, manned by the Royal Artillery, were in action. Units of the Ist Canadian Division, who were part of the Defence forces to repel invaders, also were deployed from 1940. Fire watching continued daily but it was not until June 1944 that a different threat was faced with the first of the flying bombs (V1) falling in Constance Crescent. The last attack was by a V2 on 9 February 1945. It fell on Hayes Gardens Nursery killing Mr & Mrs Grandfield, their son Stanley Jack and Charles Pinhorn. Hayes men and women became used to coping with rationing, making do, fundraising, organising dances and social events and running a United Services Canteen at Ivy Cottage for the many service personnel stationed on the Common. There was great rejoicing when the war finally ended in 1945 but by then there had been 106 civilian and military casualties, 50 houses destroyed and over 1000 houses damaged with shops, inns and the railway station all affected.
Read More