HISTORY High Street BROMLEY, 1980s - PART 2

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A tour of the upper half of Bromley High Street back in the 1980s, great footage of many long gone but never quite forgotten shops and buildings. Much appreciation to the people who filmed this video way back when, although unfortunately their names are not known from records given. They truly captured the detail and spirit of the high street. Quite a few close ups on shoppers and workers too in this one, so see if you recognise anyone you know.

[@martynthomas7486]

The Bromley as I remember it growing up. The exotic aromas coming out from the Importers Coffee Shop. And the first McDonalds I ever visited. Upstairs was lovely with old style fans. Now it's the same bland interior as all the others. I had a birthday party there when I was 8 or 9 and they let us see the kitchens and we all got a Ronald McDonald paper hat. Ah, those were the days!

[@danieldorey8762]

Wow! Great video, thanks for posting, real lovely memories. Still miss alders and Kennedy!👍🏻

[@anemoiatrippin]

Kids today are going to be so lucky when they get older and want to find nostalgia triggers because everything's filmed in 4k and uploaded all over the internet....we have faded memories and faded vhs. I love it though. I just wish for more.

[@rselvanathan]

This is a major nostalgia trip watching these vids. I moved to the Bromley area in the 80s as a kid and haven't left... McDonalds and Barclays haven't left either 😁

[@ReganRobertson-o2r]

I remember walking down the high street and smelling the coffee from the coffee shop.I remember visiting the new Mc Donald's in market Square.Great memories I moved from there in 1981

[@bowler58.7]

I was a Police Officer stationed in Bromley from 1966 to 1977. Bromley in those days was a lovely market town but once it left Kent and became part of Greater London the decline started and it hasn’t stopped. A once lovely town ruined.

[@carolinekelly3415]

Hello Bromley, you are an interesting bustling town in Kent. Thanks for sharing your videos!!!

[@larry2569]

London

[@annother3350]

I remember going in the old habitat shop only a few years ago. Lovely art deco design.

[@mjlewis104]

Great videos. Who is the guy in the blazer and flannels???

[@gabriellaj.o.6180]

It's quite sad really as High Streets won't be like this again. Even with the Glades Bromley is not the same since Bluewater.

[@bobrouse6039]

About 3 minutes in my Red Triumph GT6 goes through the road works at the market sq this must be around 85 as I’d only just finished restoring it !

[@2000mk1]

Brilliant stuff !! Really takes me back. Worrying though the amount of business's no longer trading, Allders, Radio Rentals etc. Where Wallis is at 10:29, i remember that as International Food Market later becoming, i think, a Halfords ?

[@doc220d]

Pre internet High St. Lots of shops and not 1 charity shop. Bromley at its best. 👍👍👍👍👍

[@dbrn780]

This is amazing. The only shop that survived is Mothercare. I had no idea it used to be a street back in the day.

[@annother3350]

All high streets were.

[@madnlooney]

There's a few shops still there. WH Smith's too

[@gabriellaj.o.6180]

OMG Arcadia had so many separate shops it would have been called Burton Group then and at that time they used to trade in all separate shops with Burton having it's own store, Top Shop and Top Man trading separately and the same with Evans and DP and Miss Selfridge. I recognise the Army and Navy store now long gone.

[@clst1981]

Sad how much this place has changed. The HG Wells mural gone in favour of Darwin (why? They could have just given Darwin his own mural in Downe) And so many amazing shops gone including the Army and Navy, Allders and many more. I agree with someone on another of these videos that pedestrianisation has killed much of the high street. There's copious traffic in Bromley North near where the old police station once stood (diverting all the high street traffic there now creates a bottleneck at peak times), and the high street feels spooky and ghostly and therefore unpleasant to walk through as a woman alone after all the shops have shut and it's dark due to the lack of cars keeping the street alive at night.

[@russellpointer4731]

Very Different place now, to what it was only 30 odd years ago

[@SiAnon]

Yep, it wasn't full of scum.

[@SiAnon]

Try living there then. Full of people who shouldn't be here. Also. i am British so how else would i reply ? Urdu ?

[@SiAnon]

I was talking about criminals. I never even mentioned anybody in particular. Are you one of those people who spends the day looking for things to be offended by ?
I was born in Bromley in 1970 and have lived here all my life and even brought my kids up here. It was a lot better until the early 2000s when the scum from adjoining areas started to encroach, move in and ruin it.

[@gregtaylor6146]

Could you expand on that a little please Russell ...... or indeed anyone else?

[@russellpointer4731]

@@gregtaylor6146 all the different shops and the high street being changed from a road way to a pedestrian path

[@uktravel8341]

Hope that the ever-growing tide of mass chain-stores don't destroy these streets as they have so many others.

[@Peter-lm3ic]

Bromley High Street was a vibrant place to be before pedestrianisation and the Glades. Ii is where the so-called town planners got it very wrong! Doing what they did has completely wrecked Bromley High Street what it once was!