Home > West Wickham

West Wickham: Our house at 56 The Crescent

To locate the house on Google maps, click this link:

(The Crescent Google satellite view 2023.jpg):

Full address: 56 The Crescent, West Wickham, BR4 0HF

It was sold in 2000 for £236,000, then in 2012 for £474,000. Its current value in 2023 is around £874,000.

It has been altered a lot since we lived there in the 1940's and 50's.

It appears that there was a gap, probably caused by bomb damage in WWII, as can be seen in this aerial photo taken by the RAF on 29th March, 1946:

(The Crescent 29 March 1946.jpg):

Mum and Dad got married on 14th September, 1946:

At that time, they were living at 4 Hilldown Court, Streatham High Road, London, with Dad's mum, Daisy (65) and grandmother Emily Hitch (90). They were still there in June 1947, when Richard was born, although the bungalow at 56 The Crescent was being built and they seem to have been camping in the back garden while the house was built - they may have been making a start on taming the garden, as there are signs of change in this aerial photo taken on 28th May, 1947 (12 days before Richard was born).

(The Crescent 28 May 1947.jpg):

Can you see how many rooms there are? The Floor plan for 1947 is almost the same as in 2012, except not having the newer left hand front bedroom.

(Floor plan 1952.jpg):

(Not sure if I put the door into the Reception room in the correct position - there aren't any room plans from 1946).
The OS map from 1947 also shows the outline of the new bungalow as it was when first built:

(map 1947.jpg):

They soon found the bungalow was a bit small, when the second baby, Chris, arrived in April 1951 (note the nappies on the line in the next photo), so the house began its series of upgrades. First an extra bedroom was added in the loft:

(Loft extension Oct 1951.jpg):

Originally, as shown in the plan view above, there was one bedroom extending at the right side of the front of the house, leaving space for a lawn on the left:

(Front in the 50s.jpg):

Also seen when Uncle John visited in the summer of 1952:

(c June 1952.jpg):

Then, at some point, with a later owner, a ground-floor extension was added to bring the left-hand side of the front forward, to match the right-hand side.This is what it looked like when I visited in 2006:

(IMG_1444.jpg):

It was sold in 2012 for £475,000. It was then described as: Detached bungalow, Three bedrooms, Two reception rooms, Two bathrooms, Garage & OSP, 155 ft approx Garden.

The following are pictures from the online listing in 2012:

(56 The Crescent 2012 front.jpg):