V.—THE MANOR HOUSE (BRUNSWICK-ROAD).
Ground Landlord, Leaseholders, &c.
The property and ground belong to Mrs. MacIntosh, and form part of the
MacIntosh estate in South Bromley. The present leaseholder, who has held the
lease for eight years, is Mr. Alfred William Hammond.
General description and date of the structure.
The house is square in plan, with additions at the north-west corner; the
main entrance faces east. It adjoins Bromley Hall on the south side, and is known
as 240, Brunswick-road.
The exterior, and in fact the whole of the house, appears to be not earlier in
date than the end of the 18th century. The windows and door on the ground floor
are square headed, but have semi-circular yellow brick arches above them in the
manner common to the houses of this period.
Inside there is very little that is native to the house of any interest. The great
charm lies in the additions made at different times by various inhabitants. All over
the house in many rooms is a variety of old oak carving, grotesques, &c., mainly
"Early Renaissance" in style, which were obtained at great expense by a former
tenant, Mr. Woodin. He was an actor and clown, and had a mania for old carved
oak work. In the library is a carved wooden chimney piece, of 17th century date, with
panels filled with festoons, drums, musical instruments, &c. The staircase is a curious
piece of work; it is all of oak, and the handrail was made by Mr. Woodin with various
lengths of moulding pieced together; the balusters are of carved oak of perhaps
French design, and at the bottom there is an immense newel with a wooden lion,
well carved, seated on top. The ceiling of the staircase part of the hall, and the
soffit of the stairs, are covered with paintings on canvas, with groups of allegorical
figures, which were painted by the actor tenant and his friend Telbin, the scene
painter at Drury-lane Theatre some forty years ago. The library fireplace has a dog
stove, and the sides and hearth are covered entirely with old Dutch tiles, some very
good in design.
Mr. Hammond has followed partly on the same lines, and has substituted one
or more dog stoves and open fireplaces for the old stoves.
The garden is quaint and was probably laid out by the eccentric actor. It is
composed mainly of a series of zig-zag mounds, covered with trees and shrubs of all
kinds, and paths running along the tops of these mounds, connected with each other
by bridges.
Condition of repair.
The house is in good condition structurally, and is kept in excellent condition by the present
tenant.
Historical notes.
The house has been called the "Manor House" for a period extending beyond the memory of the
oldest inhabitant hereabouts; but there is no doubt that Bromley Hall is the original manor house
of the Lower Manor of Bromley. Previous tenants were the Stockwells (the ship builders), and
after them Mr. Woodin, whose lease the present tenant continued.
Bibliographical references.
There does not appear to be any mention of this house in Dunstan's History of Bromley or any of
the surveys of London.
In the Committee's MS. collection are—
(1.) A view from the north-west (colour drawing).