Pylons: they might not be particularly attractive, but they are part of our environment, and part of our local history. According to the National Grid, the word pylon comes from the Greek word ‘pyle’ for ‘gateway’. There was a competition run by the Central Electricity Board in 1927 to design the basic structure, and this ‘lattice’ design was considered to be more delicate than the structures used in Europe and USA.

Electrical cables carried by pylons sweep across Blackfen from Penhill Park to Lyndon Avenue and beyond. There was some dismantling of pylons in the 1980s, including the one in Sherwood Park Avenue. A Lamorbey & Sidcup Local History Society newsletter from 1988 commented “the one in Sherwood Park Avenue was useful as a break to the rat run. If another does not take its place it is to be hoped that the site will be retained as a mini roundabout.” And indeed the site is still there today.