Place Name
Named after agricultural land which formed part of the Kent House estate, plaw is a Middle English word meaning play. Like nearby Barnmead, it was cut off from Elm Farm when the new railway line was laid out in 1858. As the population of Beckenham rapidly expanded to 13,000 residents during the latter part of the 19thCentury, three new stations were introduced on existing lines in the district. The first of these was Kent House Station in Plawsfield Road, which opened in 1884. This small development of 75 detached and semi-detached properties were erected in clusters by various house builders over a period of about a decade from 1883. Thomas W Jones, of Alexander Cottages, was the first builder onsite, working from his yard at the entrance from Beckenham Road.
