Bromley is a large town in South East London, England, and the principal town of the London Borough of Bromley. Its location is 9.3 miles (15.0 km) south-east of Charing Cross,Historically a market town, chartered in 1158, Bromley was 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 shift from an agrarian village to commerce and retail.