Biggin Hill: the high town on London’s edge where aviation history still resonates

Biggin Hill is a town in the London Borough of Bromley, standing on one of the highest points of Greater London and separated from the main urban mass by the Metropolitan Green Belt. Before 1965 it formed part of Kent, and for much of its earlier history the settlement was known as Aperfield. Its modern identity is inseparable from aviation. Biggin Hill Airport occupies land formerly used by RAF Biggin Hill, one of the principal fighter bases defending London during the Battle of Britain and the Blitz. The airfield also played a role in Operation Crossbow, the defence against V-1 flying bombs. Beyond aviation, the town retains a distinct edge-of-London character, with St Mark’s Church and a built environment shaped by both wartime memory and later suburban growth.
Population: 10,817 inhabitants (current article infobox), with 9,951 recorded in the 2011 census ward data.
Distance: about 15 miles south-southeast of Charing Cross.
Traditions and culture: Biggin Hill’s cultural identity is deeply tied to RAF memory, aviation heritage and life on the high rural edge of Greater London.
Highlights: London Biggin Hill Airport, the RAF and Battle of Britain heritage, St Mark’s Church and the elevated views and open landscape around the town.