Hall Place
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 in the London Borough of Bexley in south-east London.
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.
History
Early History
The house dates back to 1537 when wealthy merchant Sir John Champneys, Lord Mayor of the City of London in 1534, used stone recycled from a nearby former monastery, Lesnes Abbey, to build himself a country house on a site where a manor house was recorded some 300 years earlier in 1241.
Alterations to Champneys' house were made in 1560. 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 but without trying to harmonise the two halves built in highly contrasting architectural styles. He was created 1st Baronet, of Hall Place in Bexley, on 10 July 1660 and briefly held the office of High Sheriff of Kent.
Dashwood Tenants
The house remained in the Austen family until the mid 18th century when Robert Austen (1697–1743), the 4th baronet (Sheriff of Kent in 1724 and MP for New Romney from April 1728 to 1734), died and the estate was eventually purchased (c. 1772) by his brother-in-law Sir Francis Dashwood, a member of the notorious Hellfire Club. It remained in the Dashwood family until 1926, but was used as a boarding school for much of the 19th century.
In about 1870, Maitland Dashwood returned to Hall Place, restored the building and leased it to various tenants. These included, in the early 20th century, Lord Churston and his wife music hall singer and actress Denise Orme, and, from 1917, the Countess of Limerick. A major figure in early 20th century social society, Lady Limerick's social gatherings included the future King George VI.
Council Ownership
Although the Municipal Borough of Bexley took ownership of the Hall Place house and grounds in 1935, Lady Limerick remained a tenant until her death in 1943, making alterations and beginning the house’s topiary garden of traditional heraldic figures, the Queen's Beasts — later completed and made open to the public by the Council to mark the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II.
The house was used as an American army communications centre in World War II (intercepting German signals for later decoding at Bletchley Park). Post-war, after again being used as an annex to the local technical school for girls, the building was restored in 1968 to became the headquarters of Bexley’s Libraries and Museums service, until 1995.
Today
Due to the work of Bexley Heritage Trust (the charitable organistion which now runs Hall Place as well as the nearby Danson House) Hall Place has been restored to its original Tudor and later 17th century designs. Its architectural styles and expansive history make it one of Bexley's best known tourist attractions. Predominant in terms of visitor popularity amongst the rooms of Hall Place are the Great Hall (where Medieval visitors to the house would have dined while being serenaded with the sound of lyres from the Minstrels' Gallery above) and the Tudor Kitchen where great haunches of venison would have been spit-roasted on the hearth (although the fireplace which stands there today is a later day replica having been istalled by Lady Limerick in the 1920s). The Lady Limerick Gallery,with its unique combination of different styles of interior decoration (ranging from the very ornate and ostentatious 18th century floral motifs on the ceilings to the plain stone mock-Mediveal fireplace)and its views of the rose gardens and the Queen's Beast Topiary Display, is also very popualar as is the Long Gallery which uses objects from the Bexley Museum Collection, such as a wooly mammoth tooth unearthed in Erith, to trace the history of the borough from pre-hitoric times right up until the Blitz. The Chapel Gallery also houses a series of interactive displays for the benefit of children.
Recently 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 the new Riverside Cafe which provides hot and cold snacks as well as a variety of beverages to visitors who can also enjoy scenic views of the wildlife on the nearby River Cray. The grant alo facilitated the construction of a new visitor centre which today houses various objects associated with the history of Hall Place. Attached to this visitor centre is the Stables Gallery, yet another building to have been spawned by the grant, which regularly displays pieces of local artwork by budding artists in the district.
With regards to opening times and admission fees the house, visitor centre and cafe are open everyday (save for Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year's Day) from 10:00am until 5:00pm. The last admission is 30 minutes before closing. The admission fee for the house is £7 per adult with a concessional charge of £5 per under 16 year old. A family ticket for 2 adults and up to 3 children can also be bought for £20. Admission is free for those with a National Art Pass and National Trust members enjoy half admission price with individual tickets although not with group bookings. Guided tours of the house can also be pre-booked for a minimum of 12 people with the price being £6.50 per person. The Stables Gallery, Visitor Centre and Riverside Café can also be accessed free of charge. There is full disabled access to the house and there are wheelchairs available for free hire although the use of these needs to be pre-booked.
In addition to its historic rooms, Hall Place also boasts 65 hectares of award-winning sprawling grounds which are tended to by a team of four full-time members of staff. The grounds incorporate a topiary lawn, herb garden, tropical garden,long herbaceous cottage garden-styled borders and the aforementioned Queen's Beasts Topiary Display. The former walled gardens include a tropical house (housing plants such as bananas)and a large vegetable garden. Model gardens have been created to show visitors how to make use of space in small urban gardens.
The gardens and glasshouses are free and are open everyday from 9:00am till dusk and from 10:00am till 5:00pm respectively.
The Hall Place playing fields are home of Old St Marys FC and Kingfisher J.F.C./Colts.
Hall Place can be hired for weddings, birthdays, conferences and other private events and both the house and gardens play host to a number of different exhibitions and events throughout the year, details of which can be located on the institution's website.
