Q.I am trying to find the whereabouts of an Iron Room in Chislehurst West/Prickend used as a Plymouth Brethren meeting hall from 1873-85 (it might be a year or two outside of these dates too).  Can you help me where it might have been?

A. We were delighted to be able to find references for this answer from access to the School Logs of St Nicholas Primary School, kindly loaned to us by the headmaster, Mr Paddington.

The precise location is unclear.  In March 1884 the Trustees of the National Schools were agonising over a new site for Prickend School.  Various local landowners had refused to sell including Lord Sydney.  It was ‘understood that the ground upon which the Plymouth Brethren Meeting House was erected was for sale’. Solicitors were instructed to see if this was the case.  They ascertained that some of the land on the Camden Park Estate was to be sold by public auction in June.  The Hon Sec of the committee was delegated to see Mr Owen Edwards (local landowner) and ascertain whether he was going to bid for the plot.  Edwards agreed to sell the committee either a plot of ground on the Estate or a plot opposite the Annunciation Church.  The committee agreed to take a half acre plot for £500. 

In October 1884 Mr Edwards reneged on the plot because a Mr Willis had objected to a school being built so near his home, but Mr Edwards had then offered the Plymouth Brethren site, but not until 30th Sept 1885 when the PB lease was up. This seems to have been land to the rear of St Mary Hall, which is now Sainsburies.