The Monks Orchard mansion with its grounds did not sell immediately and it was 1924 before a sale was made to the Governors of the Bethlem Royal Hospital. Complications over the Southwark lease led to the property being conveyed to the Corporation of London. It was then leased back to Bethlem for the remainder of the 999-year term.

When the Bethlem Royal Hospital governors first acquired the property in 1924, the farmer Philip Edward Headington was the sitting tenant of Park farm that he had leased from 1921. He continued to hold the lease until 1927 while the governors advertised their acquisition. Mr Headington leased two of the lakes to the West Wickham fly fishing club in 1925 and the remaining lake to a Mr G Youngman.

As a young man Philip had played table tennis for the Windsor Constitutional Club in a six a side team. In 1901, the homely game of ping-pong on the dining room or kitchen table turned into a national sport and was played everywhere. It was only a passing phase and by 1904 the enthusiasm had waned. It did not resume until the 1930s. Cippenham in Slough from where Philip and Louise Headington moved to come to Park farm restarted its table tennis club in 1973 and is now in the top British League. It is of interest that some of the cards of the “cat” artist Louis Wain who spent much of his later life at Bethlem showed cats playing ping-pong.

Louis William Wain was born 5 August 1860 of a father, traveler in textiles and a French mother, designer of church embroidery and carpets. He studied at the West London School of Art and became an art journalist famed for his cat drawings.

H G Wells said of him that he invented a cat style, a cat society, a whole cat world. His cats inhabit a comfortable domain, which closely resembles the ease, flamboyance and lifestyle of the Edwardian society. They wear top hats and monocles, play tennis, give tea parties, make after dinner speeches and divert themselves at the seaside.

An eccentric, mild mannered man, Louis became violent towards his sisters and was certified insane in June 1924. He went from Springfield at Tooting to Bethlem but never came to Beckenham, because in 1930 he was transferred to Napsbury where he died on 4 July 1939. In “Louis Wain’s Cats” by Michael Parkin the following poem describes the kittens playing ping pong.

Soon cats demure and kittens small
Were learning how to place the ball
And with what strength to deftly smack it
All pusstown then was on the racket
The craze spread to the nursery room
The children there each afternoon
Discarding corals, bibs and rattles
Gave bottles up for ping-pong battles.

There are many examples of Louis Wain’s cats in the Bethlem museum archives although not the one of the ping pong kittens. In addition to some thirty pictures there are the annuals for 1907, 1908, 1910/11, 1914 and 1915.