Beckenham Place Park

Beckenham Place Park Visit - Wednesday 14th June 2017

and Sunday 22nd August 2022

Disappointingly very few members joined us for this interesting guided tour under the knowledgeable eye of Mal Mitchell, a Friend of Beckenham Place Park.

Surprisingly, although it has a Bromley post code and from a quick look at the map would seem to form a natural boundary for the Borough, the Park is actually in Lewisham and is managed by that council. It is about to be transformed by £4.7m of National Lottery funding which aims to “regenerate the park for local people” and to take it back to the time of the great landowners who created it in the 18th century, the Cators.

The first four pictures were taken on 21st August 2022 when Mal organised another guided tour to which BBLHS members as well as the general public were invited. The effects of the very hot summer and the drought can be seen in the brown grass and green pond!

Click on an image below to see a larger version - you can then move forward or back using the arrows on either side.

The imposing, and out of scale, portico added many years after the original building was constructed.
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A view of the original mansion from the south east. The cafe at the rear was open and loud music playing.
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This slightly mysterious pond almos at the top of Stumps Hill (on which the house is built) is possibly fed by a small spring. The very hot weather resulted in the normally clear water turning green with algae.
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Behind the stable block is a partly walled garden on several terraces.
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An early picture of the house before the portico was added.
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The building today with the portico which came from the old house at Wricklemarsh estate in Blackheath in 1784. John Cator who was creating Beckenham Place as his country retreat was also developing housing on the old estate in Blackheath.

The car park at the front of the house is to be returned to gardens.
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The front entrance: the portico and front entrance are imposing but heavy and do not reflect the very beautifully proportioned and light rooms inside the house.
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The rear of the house seen from the open grounds. This rolling green sward was, until recently, part of the golf course.
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No funding is being provided for the mansion itself.
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These pictures show some interior scenes ...
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and the views which can be seen at present.
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The visitor centre run by the Friends of Beckenham Place Park has displays on the history and ecology of the park.
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A short distance from the mansion are the remains of the stable block, burnt down in 2011 and sadly destroying the 300 year old clock which had been moved there from Clock House in 1896.
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A view of the ruined buildings from the sensory garden created with HLF funding and maintained by volunteers.
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The squirrel statue was added to the park in the 1970s by art students and has proved popular with children.
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Our guide, Mal Mitchell, seen here on the left, was a mine of information about the gardens. This old Black Mulberry Tree was one of many planted by the Cators which they had intended for the fruit to feed silk worms. Unfortunately the worms only like the white mulberry!
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This was an excellent opportunity to record the park and mansion before "restoration" work begins. Not all local residents are happy with the changes which have been drawn up by Lewisham Council which says “the 18th-century pleasure grounds will be reinstated with contemporary design.”

The public golf course closed in October 2016 and now extensive planting of trees is beginning which will alter the current landscape and ecology. Later the original man-made pleasure lake will be re-instated but some fear that because of changes to the water course and the water table the lake will become a large muddy puddle. We shall see!

Our thanks to Mal (and all the Friends of Beckenham Place Park) for their time and effort.

To find out more about the park, its history and ecology go here while details of the HLF funding project can be found here.