Place Name
Recalling the medieval area of Benchesham, the former name of the manor that covered modern day Norbury and Thornton Heath. This road led from the original gate to the former manor house at Benchescham, but there are no records of feudal courts or other privileges. The name itself is of Anglo-Saxon origin and is thought to mean Bynic’s homestead, after an ancient landowner. However, it was not recorded until shortly after the Norman Conquest when the property was passed to the Rochester Monastery. A dispute over the manor in the early 12thCentury saw it mentioned in a charter of 1145. It was recorded again as Bennechisham in 1372 and Bensom in 1721.
