The land towards the north of the hospital was turned into playing fields leased to various sports clubs such as the London Scottish and the Evening Standard for football and cricket from 1928. The A. B. Sports Club from Eden Park Hall in Croydon Rd had a 14-year lease from 1927 to 1941 and in 1928 the Ruskin (Croydon) FC paid a pitch rent of £20 p.a.
The Parkhouse Rugby FC moved from their ground on Baston farm in 1931 with Sir Henry McAuliffe supporting their application. The Kenilworth Association FC had a lease from 1938. The land became the unofficial playground for the children in Eden Way and the developing housing estates.
The Bethlem Royal Hospital building was erected in the middle of fields and woodland with no access roads other than the three approaches to the Monks Orchard mansion. Efforts were made to preserve the mansion but it was considered that dry rot was too advanced. It was decided to use a branch-line from Eden Park station to bring the materials required.
The two and a quarter miles of 4ft 8.5in track was for a steam locomotive but the three miles of 2ft temporary track were used by five petrol locos and many tip wagons. As the building progressed the temporary track was moved to suit. A 20HP petrol tractor was used for excavations at the “quiet unit. ”
The clerk of the works was laid up with sciatica 31 December 1928. This was followed by severe weather in the next three months when 16,598 hours were lost by all trades. There were three complete weeks when it was impossible to lay stone or bricks. By June systematic overtime was started and good progress was being made with the superstructure of the nurses home and the “excited patients. ” The severe winter was followed by a hot dry summer. By the end of September 1929 the demolition of the old Dower house was virtually complete and a new one put in its place retaining some of the high wall that was probably originally round the 1822 manor house, Wickham Park.
The hospital was officially opened by Queen Mary on 9 July 1930. It is based on a villa system and had four houses, Tyson, Gresham, Fitzmary and Witley. The joint architects were John Cheston (hence the renaming of Cheston Avenue) and Charles Elcock.
By 1995 the villas had increased in number with Alexandra House, Longfield Houe, Wickham Park House, Larkbarrow, the Wakefield unit and Incise (one time home of Mr Ablewhite).
In 2003, an action brought by Bromley Council failed to stop further development spreading westwards through the grounds with the loss of historical structures associated with the Loyd’s habitation and the potential loss progressively of the Metropolitan open land to the northwest.
REFERENCE. The History Of Monks Orchard And Eden Park. Published by Halsgrove ISBN 1 84114338 3. For sales please ring 01823 653777. www.halsgrove.com
3 responses
I was always playing over in The Bethlem Grounds when I was a kid, in the summer there were bales of hay. There was a river that ran through the grounds.
The map we found in the British Library circa 1780 has annotation ‘Monks Orchard belonging to Trecothick Esq.’
this is http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1754-1790/member/trecothick-barlow-1718-75
Barlow Trecothick, one time alderman and lord mayor of London. TRECOTHICK, Barlow (?1718-75), of Addington, Surr. His will leaves property to his wife. Excerpt from HOPonline…..In January 1768 Trecothick purchased for £38,500 the Addington estate of about 5,000 acres. He owned together with the Thomlinson family a plantation in Grenada; and according to a writer in the Gazetteer of 19 Mar. 1768, friendly to him, ‘a considerable estate in Jamaica’, but only property ‘let at £70 or 80 p.a.’ in North America.
The Burrell estate maps of 1809 shows land west of Monks Orchard as belonging to Croydon Hospital. Substantial parts may be in the hands of Peter Burrell/Lord Gwydyr
Very interesting and well researched. Thank you.