Pengeist is sponsored by the Penge Tourist Board.
The Penge Tourist Board is a community-led group created to promote and improve culture, commerce and the environment for residents, visitors and businesses of SE20. PTB is a not-for-profit, nonpolitical, voluntary organisation.
We established the organisation in 2014 primarily to enhance Penge's reputation, to counterbalance the tired jokes based on the town's unusual name (which is most likely derived from penceat, an old Celtic word) and its reputation as an archetypal suburb of London, but also to help develop a more vibrant local scene.
We utilise social media heavily, engaging with not only long term existing residents but also to reach out and welcome the hundreds of recently arrived newcomers, mainly young professionals, to the area.
Penge has long had a great community spirit, unsurprising for a town that had to recover from reputedly being the most bombed place in Britain, but for too long it was too content to exist in the shadows of others. To its north west lies Crystal Palace, a bohemian mecca of vintage shops, bars and restaurants, and to the south east, Beckenham, a more old fashioned family area, proudly part of Kent.
While both these areas have their merits, it was odd to us that Penge wasn't bellowing loudly about its own: the beautiful almshouses, the fact that much of Crystal Palace Park, including the world famous heritage dinosaurs, lies in SE20, and our great transport links (Victoria or Docklands in less than 20 minutes).
Penge has changed a lot in the last few years and the postcode is less of a taboo to estate agents. It now boasts a theatre, two gastropubs, a craft brewery, award winning restaurants and cafes and thriving art, craft and music scenes. The recently launched Penge Food Assembly even broke national records for the size of its first order.
We like to think we've assisted in developing this active community, helping to put like-minded individuals in touch with each other and giving them the medium to promote their events via our nearly 4,000 member strong Facebook group and close to 2,000 Twitter following. We've also arranged events for the community, such as the Halloween and Easter trails for children and seasonal socials for adults. We really believe it's a great time to live in Penge.
You can find out more about the PTB on our website.
