Lamorbey Park is a park in
Lamorbey
Lamorbey is a district of South East London in the London Borough of Bexley, located north of Sidcup. It borders the Royal Borough of Greenwich. Significant buildings in the area are Holy Trinity Church, Lamorbey House and some of the original su ...
, in the
London Borough of Bexley
The London Borough of Bexley () is a London boroughs, London borough in south-east London, forming part of Outer London. It has a population of 248,287. The main settlements are Sidcup, Erith, Bexleyheath, Crayford, Welling and Old Bexley. The ...
,
set around a Grade II listed mansion, Lamorbey House.
The original 17th century estate consisted of 119 hectares, but over time sections of the estate have been separated for other uses, including two secondary schools (
Chislehurst and Sidcup Grammar School and
Hurstmere School
Hurstmere School (formerly Hurstmere Foundation School for Boys, formerly Hurstmere Secondary Modern School for Boys) is an all-boys secondary school with Academy (English school), academy status, located on Hurst Road in Sidcup, a suburb of Lon ...
),
Rose Bruford College
Rose Bruford College (formerly Rose Bruford College of Theatre & Performance) is a drama school in the south London suburb of Sidcup. The college has degree programmes in acting, actor musicianship, directing, theatre arts and various discipli ...
, and Sidcup Golf Club.
The area of the park still in public ownership includes The Glade, a area of historic landscape laid in the 1920s with a large lake.
The park was added to the
Register of Historic Parks and Gardens of special historic interest in 1988.
History
The earliest recorded owner of the estate was Thomas Sparrow, a
reeve, in 1495.
He died in 1513, and his daughter Agnes and her husband James Goldwell built the first house there, probably a timber house with later brick wings added.
The Goldwell family sold the estate in the late 17th century, and the house and estate had several different owners, including
Charles FitzRoy, the son of
Charles II.
The Lamorbey (or Lamaby) Estate was bought by William Steele, a director of the
East India Company
The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Southea ...
, in 1744.
He had the 17th century mansion rebuilt, and formally laid out the estate's land to the north, east and south as a park.
When he died in 1748 the property was split between his daughters, and in 1761 it was divided into two parts when sold to different owners.
In 1783 the property was reunited when both parts were bought by David Orme, a Scottish doctor.
Orme made a number of alterations to the property, including re-routing the driveway.
Orme died in 1812 and the property passed into another branch of his family, the Malcolms, who had made their money from sugar plantations in
Jamaica
Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...
.
In the 1830s Orme's grandson, Neil Malcolm, commissioned
John Shaw to redesign aspects of the mansion, including a Jacobean facade and the removal of several interior walls,
and he also added an orangery. The house subsequently passed to his brother, John Neil Malcolm, in 1840. From the 1860s the property was tenanted, and in 1910 the private residence was converted into a hotel, initially known as the Lamorbey Park Residential Hotel.
Around this time Sidcup Golf Club leased part of the grounds for a golf course, possibly designed by
James Braid.
In 1926 a consortium, led by
Greenwich
Greenwich ( , ,) is a town in south-east London, England, within the ceremonial county of Greater London. It is situated east-southeast of Charing Cross.
Greenwich is notable for its maritime history and for giving its name to the Greenwich ...
businessman H J Sheppard, took over the hotel, and Sheppard oversaw the establishment of pleasure grounds within the estate, including a bowling green, tennis courts, and substantial new areas of plantation known as The Glade and Pine Tree Walk, as well as a new entrance to the grounds from the western side. Bathing in the lakes was also encouraged.
In 1933, during the rapid development of the area, the north-east part of the park was sold to
New Ideal Homesteads as residential land,
and became part of the Penhill Park Estate.
In 1946 the Kent Education Centre bought the mansion, opening an adult education centre the following year.
From 1950 use of the mansion and surrounding gardens was shared with
Rose Bruford College
Rose Bruford College (formerly Rose Bruford College of Theatre & Performance) is a drama school in the south London suburb of Sidcup. The college has degree programmes in acting, actor musicianship, directing, theatre arts and various discipli ...
, a
drama school
A drama school, stage school or theatre school is an undergraduate and/or graduate school or department at a college or university; or a free-standing institution (such as the Drama section at the Juilliard School); which specializes in the pr ...
, which has used the premises ever since.
The golf course was reduced from 18 to 9 holes, and two secondary schools were built,
one to house the relocated
Chislehurst and Sidcup Grammar School (from 1954) and one the newly-established
Hurstmere School
Hurstmere School (formerly Hurstmere Foundation School for Boys, formerly Hurstmere Secondary Modern School for Boys) is an all-boys secondary school with Academy (English school), academy status, located on Hurst Road in Sidcup, a suburb of Lon ...
. The remainder of the grounds, consisting of The Glade, The Dell, and Pine Tree Walk, continued as a public park.
The Glade, a area of historic landscape laid in the 1920s, features a large lake that houses the Lamorbey Angling Society.
Historic parks register
The park was added to the
Register of Historic Parks and Gardens of special historic interest on 7 December 1988, listed Grade II.
References
Parks and open spaces in the London Borough of Bexley
Grade II listed parks and gardens in London
Grade II listed buildings in the London Borough of Bexley
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