Survey of London: Volume 1, Bromley-By-Bow. Originally published by London County Council, London, 1900.
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'The Manor House, Brunswick Road', in Survey of London: Volume 1, Bromley-By-Bow, ed. C R Ashbee( London, 1900), British History Online https://prod.british-history.ac.uk/survey-london/vol1/pp19-20 [accessed 4 November 2024].
'The Manor House, Brunswick Road', in Survey of London: Volume 1, Bromley-By-Bow. Edited by C R Ashbee( London, 1900), British History Online, accessed November 4, 2024, https://prod.british-history.ac.uk/survey-london/vol1/pp19-20.
"The Manor House, Brunswick Road". Survey of London: Volume 1, Bromley-By-Bow. Ed. C R Ashbee(London, 1900), , British History Online. Web. 4 November 2024. https://prod.british-history.ac.uk/survey-london/vol1/pp19-20.
In this section
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).