Anerley is a district inside the south east of London in the London Borough of Bromley. It is west of Bromley and is 7 miles south south-east of Charing Cross. It is the former site of the Crystal Palace.
Anerley hasn't ever been its own independent entity, but just a general area. Ahead of the closure and relocation of the Crystal Palace to Penge Place at the top of Sydenham Hill, Anerley was an empty part of Penge Common that didn't develop until the 19th century. In 1827, a Scottish silk manufacturer, William Sanderson, bought land around the former Penge Common, and built the very first property in the district. He named it 'Anerly', which is a Scottish word for 'solitary' or 'only', and also the road then became called Anerley Road and also the vicinity.
There are a lot of transport links in Anerley, which includes 9 bus routes, two A roads, two rail stations and one London Overground station and aTram station at Birkbeck station. Transport for London had proposed the extension of Tramlink services from Harrington Road tram stop to the bus station on Crystal Palace Parade via Anerley Road, but Mayor Boris Johnson cancelled the £170m extension in November 2008.
Notable persons that lived in Anerley include Thomas Crapper, who promoted the flush toilet, in his retirement; Walter de la Mare, renowned poet and author of ghost stories; and James Leavey, award winning Punch magazine columnist.