It lies south of Chislehurst, west of St Paul's Cray and Poverest, north of Orpington and Crofton, and east of Southborough and Bromley Common.

[3] Most of the modern suburb of Petts Wood was built in the late 1920s by the Harlow-based developer Basil Scruby together with architect Leonard Culliford who designed the layout of the roads.

[3] The area between Petts Wood and Bickley sustained heavy bombing during the Second World War because of its proximity to an important railway junction.

"[5] In 2009, the local Woolworths store gained media attention when its manager, realising his was the last of the chain to close, gathered the remains of the pick and mix section and auctioned the bag of sweets for £14,500.

[3] This asset expanded when the neighbouring Hawkwood Estate and Edlmann Wood, comprising a further 250 acres (100 hectares), were donated to the Trust by landowners Robert and Francesca Hall in 1957.