46-512: Hall Place is a stately home in the London Borough of Bexley in south-east London, built in 1537 for Sir John Champneys, a wealthy merchant and former Lord Mayor of London. The house was extended in 1649 by Sir Robert Austen, a merchant from Tenterden in Kent. The house is a Grade I listed building and Scheduled Ancient Monument, and surrounded by a 65-hectare award-winning garden. It is situated on
92-516: A 1922 edition of County Life Magazine. In January 1944 the U.S Army's Signal Corps 6811th Signal Service Detachment arrived at Hall Place to operate an intercept station, code named Santa Fe. This Y Station was set up in a new spirit of co-operation between British and American intelligence services. The Signal Corps were to participate in the Enigma code breaking operation, Ultra . The Santa Fe Y station intercepted encoded Morse signals mostly from
138-471: A London average of 42.6% and 8.6%, respectively. Residents were predominantly owner-occupiers, with 31.7% owning their house outright, and a further 46.5% owning with a mortgage. Only 2.2% were in local authority housing , with a further 11.5% renting from a housing association , or other registered social landlord. The greater part of the population are nominal Anglicans , but there are a number of Roman Catholic churches and nonconformist congregations. In
184-453: A country house. In 1649, the house was sold to another wealthy City merchant, Sir Robert Austen (1587–1666), who added a second wing built of red bricks, doubling the size of the house. Currently, the building houses a museum of local artefacts, and a history and tourist information centre. In the gardens there is a topiary lawn, herb garden, tropical garden and long herbaceous cottage garden-styled borders. The former walled gardens include
230-568: A report from Transport for London, Bexley has the lowest overall active, efficient and sustainable mode shares of all the London Boroughs. The following Pie chart shows the religious affiliation of residents residing in Bexley. Religion in Bexley (2021 census) Buildings with Grade II listings (buildings of special interest warranting preservation) are marked with an asterisk * The London Borough of Bexley has three fire stations controlled by
276-430: A service wing and at the other by high status family accommodation including a parlour and great chamber. The outer walls are a distinctive checkerboard pattern made of flint and rubble, a beautiful example of the masonry style popular in the late 15th and 16th century. In 1649, the house was sold to another wealthy City merchant, Sir Robert Austen (1587–1666), who added a second wing built of red bricks, doubling
322-415: A suburb of Sydney , Australia bears the name of Bexley and a suburb of Christchurch , New Zealand is also called Bexley . These places outside England are named after the ancient village of Bexley. 51°27′N 0°08′E / 51.450°N 0.133°E / 51.450; 0.133 ( L. Borough of Bexley ) Heritage Lottery Fund The National Lottery Heritage Fund , formerly
368-686: A terminus at Abbey Wood , the entrance to which is in Bexley (due to the borough boundary passing through the site, the station's platforms sit within the Royal Borough of Greenwich ). There are various proposals to extend either the DLR or London Overground to Thamesmead. There are currently no plans to extend the London Underground into the borough, with the nearest current station being in North Greenwich . There are three suburban railway lines crossing
414-404: A tropical house housing plants and a large vegetable garden. Model gardens have been created to show visitors how to make use of space in small urban gardens. Hall Place also has three galleries inside the house, presenting art exhibitions and museum displays. In 1801, the civil parishes that form the modern borough had a total population of 4,165. This rose slowly throughout the 19th century, as
460-460: Is a London borough in south-east London , forming part of Outer London . It has a population of 248,287. The main settlements are Sidcup , Erith , Bexleyheath , Crayford , Welling and Old Bexley . The London Borough of Bexley is within the Thames Gateway , an area designated as a national priority for urban regeneration . The local authority is Bexley London Borough Council . Prior to
506-533: Is the result of the gradual extension of the London influence. Until the 19th century it was an area with a few isolated buildings such as the Georgian Danson House . With the coming of the railways building began apace, although the area is still composed of many disconnected settlements, interspersed with area of open ground and parks. A local government district called Bexley was created in 1880, covering
SECTION 10
#1732875735011552-656: The Heritage Lottery Fund ( HLF ), distributes a share of National Lottery funding, supporting a wide range of heritage projects across the United Kingdom. The fund's predecessor bodies were the National Land Fund , established in 1946, and the National Heritage Memorial Fund , established in 1980. The current body was established as the "Heritage Lottery Fund" in 1994. It was re-branded as
598-722: The London Assembly , the borough forms part of the Bexley and Bromley constituency. Bexley, lying as it does on the outer fringe of London, has many relatively large areas of open space. The ridge of higher ground in South London crosses the Borough from its high point of Shooters Hill , on the boundary with the Royal Borough of Greenwich, to end above the River Thames at Belvedere , where
644-652: The London Borough of Bromley ). The area was transferred from Kent to Greater London, to become one of the 32 London boroughs. The coat of arms of the borough depicts symbols for the main rivers in the area, the Bexley Charter Oak, the industry and the Kent boundary . The local authority is Bexley Council, which has its headquarters at the Bexley Civic Offices in Bexleyheath . Since 2000, for elections to
690-493: The London Fire Brigade within its boundary: those at Erith, Sidcup and Bexley. Bexley fire station's ground is the largest of the three; covering 23.7 km . The Borough has several Non-League football clubs: Bexley RFC The town of Bexley, Ohio , a suburb of the state capital, Columbus , was named at the suggestion of an early resident, James Kilbourne, whose family's roots were in Bexley, England. In addition,
736-512: The Queen's Diamond Jubilee in 2012 by the local Mayor and the Deputy Lieutenant of Bexley. The site achieved a Green Flag Award for excellence in a public park or garden for 20 consecutive years 1996–2016, in recognition of the high standard of maintenance and cultivation at the site. London Borough of Bexley The London Borough of Bexley ( / ˈ b ɛ k s l i / )
782-513: The Royal Borough of Greenwich to the west; across the River Thames to the north it borders the London Borough of Havering and London Borough of Barking and Dagenham ; there is a short boundary with the unitary authority of Thurrock in Essex to the northeast. There are boundaries with the Borough of Dartford to the east and Sevenoaks district to the southeast, both in the county of Kent . Despite
828-633: The "new town" built on what was the Erith Marshes, extends into the Borough: both Thamesmead North and South are located here. Crayford was mentioned in the Domesday Book , and its parish later included the hamlets of North End and Slade Green . Other settlements include Welling , which has a higher population than Bexleyheath, a staging post on the Dover Road, which was at one time of less importance than
874-477: The 19th century the area now forming the borough was sparsely populated: very few of the present settlements were mentioned in the Domesday Book , although the village of Bexley has a charter dated 814 AD . Erith was a port on the River Thames until the 17th century; the opening of the sewage works at nearby Crossness in the late 19th century turned it into an industrial town. Today's settlement pattern
920-485: The 2001 Census, 22.7% of the area's population described themselves as non-religious or chose not to state their faith. Baptists , Plymouth Brethren , and Methodists are among the other congregations. In 2008 the former Crayford Methodist Church was purchased by the North West Kent Muslim Association to become a mosque serving Bexley and Dartford boroughs. In 2011, 58.1% of Bexley's population
966-637: The A223, Bourne Road, south of Watling Street (A207) and north of the Black Prince interchange of the A2 dual carriageway and two lesser roads. Building started on Hall Place in 1537 for wealthy merchant Sir John Champneys , Lord Mayor of the City of London . Building materials included stone recycled from a nearby former monastery , Lesnes Abbey . Sir John's house consisted of a splendid central Great Hall crossed at one end by
SECTION 20
#17328757350111012-582: The Borough which converge at Dartford . The most northerly is the North Kent Line , then the Bexleyheath Line which runs through the centre of the borough and then finally the Dartford Loop Line which runs furthest south. Abbey Wood and Slade Green are also served by Thameslink trains. The National Rail stations are: In 2019, the mode share in Bexley was reported as follows According to
1058-590: The Borough: among them the Thames Path and the London Outer Orbital Path . Bexley Borough has joined with three other adjoining boroughs to for the South East London Green Chain linking green spaces. Bexley is not served by any London Underground , Tramlink , Docklands Light Railway or London Overground services. However, since 2022, Elizabeth line services have started to utilise
1104-572: The Digital Skills for Heritage Fund, a £3.5m fund for grants to support digital volunteering in the heritage sector, launched in November 2021. The chair of the trustees is appointed by the Prime Minister ; René Olivieri served as interim chair from January 2020 following Sir Peter Luff 's retirement at the end of 2019. Dr Simon Thurley CBE , former Chief Executive of English Heritage , became
1150-565: The German Air Force and the Luftwaffe . Radio aerial wires were strung over the rooftops and the Tudor Kitchen and Great Hall were converted into ‘set rooms’ with banks of Hallicrafters radio receivers lined up on wood-plank tables. The Great Parlour became the soldier's dormitory. Post-war Hall Place was used as an annex to the local technical school for girls. From 1968 to 1995 the building
1196-641: The National Lottery Heritage Fund in January 2019. The fund's income comes from the National Lottery , which was managed until 2024 by Camelot Group . Its objectives are "to conserve the UK's diverse heritage, to encourage people to be involved in heritage and to widen access and learning". As of 2019, it had awarded £7.9 billion to 43,000 projects. In 2006, the National Lottery Heritage Fund launched
1242-582: The Parks for People program with the aim to revitalize historic parks and cemeteries. From 2006 to 2021, the Fund had granted £254 million to 135 projects. In January 2019 it simplified its funding schemes under one banner – National Lottery Grants for Heritage – with awards from £3,000 to £5 million. Funding requests for projects over £5 million will be considered as part of two time-limited national competitions to be held in 2020–21 and 2022–23. Its funding routes include
1288-580: The Riverside Cafe alongside the River Cray, a new visitor centre and an education suite. A 17th-century stable block was also converted into an art gallery, which displays works by local artists. The house itself is used as an exhibition space. The Hall Place estate includes 65 hectares of landscaped gardens and grounds, a topiary lawn, herb garden, tropical garden and long herbaceous cottage garden-styled borders. The gardens at Hall Place were first opened to
1334-402: The aristocratic and the fashionable. The tenants during this period reflected a new glamorous pre-war elite and included Baron Emile D’Erlanger and his American wife Matilda, a former Gaiety girl. The last tenant of Hall Place was Lady Limerick who lived here alone from 1917 – 1943, she added a number of mock-Tudor features including beams and fireplaces. Lady Limerick and the house appeared in
1380-439: The district became built up; reaching 10,963 in the middle of the century. When the railways arrived the rate of population growth increased. The population peaked in the 1970s, when industry began to relocate from London. In the 2001 census , the borough had a population of 218,307; of whom 105,148 were male, and 113,159 female. Of the population, 44.3% were in full-time employment and 11.6% in part-time employment – compared to
1426-647: The ethnic group of respondents in the 2001 and 2011 census in Bexley. The principal roads through the Borough include the A2 trunk road ; the A20 (Sidcup By-pass) which generally marks its southern boundary; the A207 , which is the route of the erstwhile Watling Street ; the A206 which takes traffic from Woolwich and Dartford ; and the latter's newer counterpart, the A2016 through Thamesmead . There are also some long-distance footpaths in
Hall Place - Misplaced Pages Continue
1472-458: The land drops down to the old port of Erith . This high land, whose geology is the sand and pebbles of the Blackheath beds , and which results in heathland , provided a natural course for the old Roman road of Watling Street , which ran between Crayford and Welling . The land falls away to the north of the high ground, across the Erith Marshes to the River Thames , which here makes a loop to
1518-516: The nearby East Wickham (also an ancient village), was absorbed in Bexley UDC. Barnes Cray and North Cray were two hamlets in the Cray Valley; and Belvedere was the location of a medieval monastery. The map of Bexley shows that a large proportion of its area comprises suburbia . Some named places, like Albany Park and Barnehurst , are names given to developments engendered by the building of
1564-410: The next set of significant changes to the fabric of Hall Place beginning in the 1870s. Maitland and his architect Robert William Edis added the lodge, linked the house to the water mains and altered the interior by adding much of the fine wood panelling and parquet flooring. These improvements were made to prepare the house for lease. The 19th and early 20th century saw a series of short-term leases to
1610-647: The north at Crossness . There is a further ridge of less higher ground from the west terminating at Sidcup . Apart from the River Thames the other rivers within the Borough are the River Darent , which, with its tributary the River Cray and the smaller Stanham River , all form part of its north-eastern boundary; and the River Shuttle , a tributary of the Cray. The major centres of settlement can be considered in two parts:
1656-478: The older established erstwhile villages; and the infill areas of suburban houses and centres. Among the former are Erith , in the 17th century a port on the Thames, and an industrial town in the later 19th century; Bexleyheath , created at the same time on the London to Dover road. By the earlier 20th century, both were created Urban District Councils (UDC), as was Foots Cray (an ancient village site). Thamesmead ,
1702-519: The parish of Bexley , which included both Bexley village and Bexleyheath. Another local government district had been created covering the neighbouring parish of Erith in 1876. Such districts were converted into urban districts under the Local Government Act 1894 . Bexley Urban District absorbed the neighbouring parish of East Wickham in 1902; Welling had previously straddled the boundary between Bexley and East Wickham, but after 1902
1748-500: The public in 1952 by the Duchess of Kent . The famous topiary at Hall Place, the Queen's Beasts , were planted in 1953 in celebration of the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II . The former walled gardens include a tropical butterfly house and owl sanctuary. Specimen trees in the grounds include an Indian Bean Tree ( Catalpa bignonioides ), a Redwood ( Sequoia sempervirens ), and a Black Poplar ( Populus nigra ) – planted to commemorate
1794-401: The railways. Some came into being when large estates and farmland were broken up for the sole purpose of suburban building: these include Blackfen , Lamorbey and part of Falconwood . Others simply reflect the nature of area: Lessness Heath ; Longlands (part of Sidcup); Northumberland Heath and West Heath . The borough has boundaries with the London Borough of Bromley to the south and
1840-507: The size of the house. Little attempt was made to harmonise the two halves, which were built in highly contrasting architectural styles. Austen was created 1st Baronet , of Hall Place in Bexley, on 10 July 1660 and briefly held the office of High Sheriff of Kent . The house remained in the Austen family until the mid 18th century when Robert Austen died and the estate was purchased by a distant relative Sir Francis Dashwood . Sir Francis Dashwood
1886-601: The suburbia mentioned above, there are still open spaces among the borough's streets and avenues. The Borough owns and maintains over one hundred parks and open spaces, large and small; and there is still a part of the Erith Marshes bordering the River Thames. The Crayford Marshes lie to the east of that river, as do Foots Cray Meadows further south. The largest of the open spaces are Foots Cray Meadows , Lesnes Abbey Woods , Danson Park and Hall Place Gardens. There are also many golf courses and sports fields, particularly to
Hall Place - Misplaced Pages Continue
1932-631: The west of Crayford. Hall Place is a former stately home, today a Grade I listed building and Scheduled Ancient Monument, beside the River Cray on the outskirts of Crayford, south-east of Bexleyheath and north-east of Old Bexley. It is situated just off the A223, Bourne Road, south of Watling Street (A207) and north of the Black Prince interchange of the A2 Rochester Way with the A220. The house dates back to around 1540 when wealthy merchant Sir John Champneys , Lord Mayor of London in 1534, built himself
1978-597: Was a politician and Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1762 to 1763, but he was also a known rake and founder of the secret and immoral Hellfire Club . Hall Place was one of a number of properties owned and managed by the Dashwood family, whose principal home was West Wycombe Park in Buckinghamshire. From 1795 Hall Place was leased as a school for young gentlemen. It was Maitland Dashwood, grandson of Sir Francis, who made
2024-513: Was between 20 and 64 years old, the lowest percentage in London. 16% of the population was over 65, the third highest behind Bromley and Havering . The average household size is 2.49, up from 2.43 in 2001. The number of households increased by 3.52% to 92,600 between 2001 and 2011, one of the lowest increases in the capital. In 2011, 62.5% of the borough's population identified themselves as Christian, with 24.1% having no religion. Both figures are above London's average. The following table shows
2070-669: Was therefore wholly in Bexley. Crayford was made an urban district in 1920. Bexley was made a municipal borough in 1935, as was Erith in 1938. The modern borough was created in 1965 under the London Government Act 1963 , covering the combined area of the former boroughs of Bexley and Erith , the Crayford Urban District and the Sidcup area from the Chislehurst and Sidcup Urban District (the Chislehurst area went to
2116-416: Was used as the headquarters of Bexley's Libraries and Museums service. Today Hall Place is restored to its original Tudor and later 17th-century designs. The property is managed by the charity Bexley Heritage Trust. In June 2005 Bexley Heritage Trust received a £2 million grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund to develop and improve the site for the benefit of visitors. This grant enabled the construction of
#10989