Place Name
Originally Brockley Road. The name is most likely a reference to the fact that it crosses underneath the railway line rather than for any religious significance. In reference to the local area Brockle. This name was first recorded in the 12thCentury as Brocele in 1182. Over the next couple of hundred years it mutated to Brocleg, recorded in 1226, Brokele in 1270, Brokle in 1278, Brockele in 1328 and Brockley in 1690. Interpretations of the name have been mixed, the most common being that it comes from two Old English word brocc and lēah meaning a woodland clearing frequented by badgers. Another suggestion is that it means a woodland clearing by a brook. A third suggestion, that it was named after the owner, Broca or Beora (thought to be nicknames meaning the bear) is decidedly uncertain.
