Things you didn't know about Grove Park

The health club in Grove Park is in Marvels Lane
Isn't that marvellous? Better than, say, Cemetery Road. In fact, there's a cemetery in Marvels Road, too.

Part of Grove Park is called Burnt Ash
The reason? Timber from the woodland that stretched across most of the area until the 18th century was cut down and burnt to make charcoal.

Grove Park had a "luxurious" workhouse
Not an adjective we associate much with workhouses! According to a commentator of the day, the Grove Park Workhouse, which opened in 1902, had "mosaic flooring, beautiful panelling and a dining hall fit for royalty". The building was later used as a hospital and is now a housing development.

Desmond Tutu lived in Grove Park
The South African archbishop was honorary curate of St Augustine's church in Grove Park in the 1970s. He was working for the World Council of Churches in Bromley at the time. He was made a Freeman of the Borough of Lewisham in 1990.

Edith Nesbit... another famous Grove Park resident
The author of The Railway Children lived in Grove Park. Nesbit and her husband, Hubert Bland, played a major role in the intellectual Fabian Society. The Fabians were instrumental in the foundation of the Labour Party.

Keeley Hazell and Grove Park
Pin-up girl Keeley grew up in Grove Park. The Conservative Party praised Keeley's ecological work in 2006 after she had advocated saving energy by turning out the lights during sex.

WG Grace's last match was in (and against) Grove Park
In 1914, at the age of 66, the legendary cricketer made his last ever innings, playing for Eltham. He scored 69 not out. The match was drawn. Grace lived near Grove Park and a community centre there is named after him.

Grove Park goes electric
The train line from Grove Park to central London was electrified in 1926, making the area an attractive suburb for commuters.

Gripfix was invented in Grove Park
According to a Grove Park website, the famous adhesive was made in a big house in Baring Road, Grove Park. Is this an urban legend? If so, it seems to have stuck.