Located just next to The Glades in Kentish Way, Queens Gardens have been part of Bromley’s townscape for well over a century.
But the land it stands on has been part of Bromley for much longer.
Dating back to 1897, when it was formally laid out as a public garden to mark Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee, the gardens went by the former name “Victoria Gardens”.
The gardens were established on donated land from the Lord of the Manor, Coles Child.
Historically, the land on which the gardens now stand formed part of the farmland attached to Bromley Palace, the former residence of the bishops of Rochester, which later became Bromley’s Civic Centre.
By the 18th century, the area was known as White Hart Field, named after the nearby White Hart Inn that was located in Bromley High Street, where the M&S store now stands.
The open field was used for grazing coaching horses and became an important social space for the town, hosting cricket matches and other gatherings.
It was later, in the 1870s, that the gardens were established to commemorate Queen Victoria, with the donated land set aside as a public garden, providing green space for the growing and thriving suburban town as it expanded with the arrival of the railway.
The resulting Victoria Gardens were initially simple, with lightly landscaped paths offering a place for locals to walk and take some air.
Much of the garden’s character dates from the early 20th century, when council landscape gardeners introduced more structured planting and trees.
Today, the gardens are used as an outdoor space and also host regular events, from outdoor cinema screenings to activities during public holidays.
Standing just inside the Kentish Way entrance are the garden’s Grade II-listed ornamental iron gates, which were formerly located on Market Square before being relocated.
Formerly, Queens Gardens extended much further towards Market Square before construction of The Glades Shopping Centre in the 1980s altered its boundaries.
In September 2022, following the death of Queen Elizabeth II, an area of the garden was set aside for residents to lay floral tributes and gather in remembrance, with the Mayor of Bromley also marking the occasion there.
Today, the gardens stand as a reminder of the green space that once would have dominated Bromley’s town centre.
