Tripes
Farm
once
formed
part
of
the
Manor
of
Mayfield
which
in
1080
belonged
to
Bishop
Odo
-
half
brother
to
William
the
Conqueror
-
who
was
Archbishop
of
Canterbury,
Earl
of
Kent,
Bishop
of
Bayeaux
and
the
instigator
of
the
Bayeux
Tapestry.
A
very
consequential
person
indeed
and
any
property
belonging
to
him
would
have
its
own
importance!
There
are
reminders
of
this
significant
time
in
Orpington
history
i.e.
Mayfield
Nursery,
Mayfield
Avenue
Mayfield
Manor
(demolished
in
the
early
1930's)
and
Norman Close.
The
earliest
remaining
buildings
on
Tripes
Farm
date
from
1540
(Tudor).
It
is
the
only
remaining
farm in the Parish of Orpington.
Tripes
Farm
was
a
very
large
working
livestock
farm
in
the
early
part
of
this
century
and
it
represented
a
very
important
part
of
local
and
regional
history.
It
has
been
worked
by
the
George
family
since
1911
and
once
boasted
the
largest
outdoor
pig
production
enterprise
in
the
UK.
It
provided
fresh
pork
and
amongst
the
farm's
most
famous
products
were
'George's
Famous
Farm
Pork Sausages'.
It's
neighbour,
Cooke's
Farm,
was
an
award
winning
chicken
farm
which
had
the
largest
production
of
chickens
in
the
UK
(where
the
Buff
Orpington
originated).
Cooke's
Farm
and
Tripes
Farm
had
a
very
healthy
economy
and
were
suitably
placed
as
Orpington,
at
the
beginning
of
the
Century,
was
very
accessible
to
London.
London
was
not
only
the
Capital
but
also
the
heart
of
the
British
Empire.
Tripes
Farm
is
surrounded
to
the
north
and
west
by
the
ever
increasing
town
of
Orpington.
The
Farm
is
well
known
today
for
its
Commercial
Centre
and
its
very
popular
car
boot
sales
held
fourteen
times
each
year.
It
is
still
a
big
part
of
the
community
and
retains
the
'country
feeling'
as
it
is
part
of
the
Bromley
Borough
Council's
"Green
Belt".
Hopefully,
Tripes
Farm
will
continue
to
prosper and remain with the George family for years to come........
Tripes Farm Produce Marketing Draft - 1935c
Mr Charles George Snr was a very clever business man. He not only established a fully working farm he commissioned many of the
original 1930’s houses in Chelsfield Lane. Big on marketing, these images are ‘mock-up’s to promote the farm’s produce. These would
be sent to a printer and flyers created for distribution all over the country.
Tripes Farm - Approximately 1930c
This is Chelsfield Lane and Tripes Farm. You can see how big it was. It was famous for it's sausages and poultry. The original farm
buildings are approx 400 years old. You will notice that Ramsden Estate is still Ramsden Farm (at the very bottom of the picture) and
Tripes Farm is located on what is now Alma Rd, Loxwood Close, Moyser Dr and Gload Crescent. Avalon Road is also still fields. Mr C
George Snr, of Tripes, built the houses and widened Chelsfield Lane in the 1920s and those houses or villas (as they were called) are
still there today. He also built all the houses in Craven Road, then called Craven Estate.