Coordinates: 51°24′25″N 0°01′16″E / 51.4070°N 0.0210°E / 51.4070; 0.0210

Bromley is a large suburban town, the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Bromley in Greater London, England. It was historically a market town chartered since 1158 and an ancient parish in the county of Kent. Its location on a coaching route and the opening of a railway station in 1858 were key to its development, and the economic history of Bromley is underpinned by a shift from an agrarian village to commerce and retail. As part of the suburban growth of London in the 20th century, Bromley significantly increased in population and was incorporated as a municipal borough in 1903. It has developed into one of a handful of regionally significant commercial and retail districts outside central London and has formed part of Greater London since 1965. Most of Bromley including the town centre falls under the BR1 postcode district, whereas areas to the west towards Shortlands are part of BR2 instead. The population of the town, consisting of the Bromley Town ward, was 16,826 in the 2011 census.

The South Suburban Co-operative Society (SSCS) was a cooperative retailer in south London, Surrey and Kent, England. It became part of the Co-operative Wholesale Society, now the Co-operative Group.

The SSCS came into existence in 1918 with the amalgamation of the Croydon (formed 1887), Bromley and Crays (formed 1882 and 1870) and Penge and Beckenham (formed 1879) Societies. In 1930, SSCS merged with the Reigate Industrial and Provident Society, followed by the Tonbridge Industrial Society in 1938.

In May 1947, a 13-acre (53,000 m²) sports centre was opened at Beckenham and in May 1949 employees were accorded full membership rights.

The SSCS registered office was at 99 London Road, Croydon, Surrey, where it remained until it merged with the Co-operative Wholesale Society on 28 July 1984. Following the merger of the Royal Arsenal Co-operative Society (RACS) with CWS in February 1985, administration of both the SSCS and RACS was moved to Woolwich on 6 May 1985. The London Road offices closed on 17 May 1985 and moved to 18 Blackhorse Lane, Addiscombe until later that year.

Bromley is a former borough constituency in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elected one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election. Its best-known MP was Harold Macmillan (Prime Minister 1957-1963).

Boundaries

This constituency covered the area based on the town of Bromley. It is part of the northern section of the historic county of Kent, which was included in Greater London after 1965.

The constituency, created in 1918, included the Municipal Borough of Bromley and the Urban Districts of Beckenham and Penge. There were some boundary changes in Kent in 1945, when an interim redistribution took place to divide constituencies with over 100,000 voters. This area was altered to include parts of the Municipal Boroughs of Beckenham and Bromley and the whole Penge Urban District.

From 1950 the constituency comprised the whole of the Municipal Borough of Bromley. The constituency was abolished in the redistribution which took effect in 1974. The London Borough of Bromley (a larger area than the previous Municipal Borough) was split into four seats.