Inventory Site Record

Eastbury is an Elizabethan Manor House built as a country residence for a wealthy merchant. The Manor dates back to at least the C14th when it belonged to Barking Abbey. From the early C18th onwards the estate was divided and the house gradually became dilapidated, occupied by a succession of tenant farmers. In 1913/14 the estate was broken up for building development. The house and immediate grounds, now the focus of a residential square built in the 1920s, was purchased by the National Trust in 1918 and later leased to Barking Borough Council. In the C18th the gardens comprised a west walled garden and two small plots to north and west of the house, both probably once enclosed, and an orchard to the south. The garden to the east is enclosed by C18th and C19th brick walls. Many of the original features have been restored, including the walled garden, in which 'bee-boles' can be seen in the walls.

Site location:

Eastbury Square, Sisley Road, Barking

Postcode:

IG11 9SN

What 3 Words:

host.fact.depend

Type of site:

Public Gardens

Borough:

Barking & Dagenham

Open to public?

Yes

Opening times:

10am-4pm Mon, Tues and 1st & 2nd Sat of ea month. Closed BH Mon, 28 & 29 Dec
Has taken part in Open Garden Squares Weekend 9 times, most recently in 2018.

Special conditions:

Admission charge (free to NT members). Dogs on leads

Facilities:

Old Buttery Gift Shop, Garden Tearoom, Arts and Crafts Area. From Nov 2009: Permanent exhibition of Eastbury Manor history

Events:

Regular Heritage Days, guided tours, family days and other events; historical re-enactments; schools programme. Has participated in OGSW

Public transport:

Tube: Upney (District; Hammersmith & City). London Overground/Rail/Tube (Hammersmith & City, District): Barking then bus. Bus 287, 368.

Citymapper    
Google Map    
streetmap.co.uk

Research updated:

09/04/2009

Last minor changes:

19/07/2023

Please check with the site owner or manager for latest news. www.barking-dagenham.gov.uk/eastbury; www.nationaltrust.org.uk

Eastbury Manor House is a fine Elizabethan manor house built in the shape of an H, the curtilage of which was formed into a 'square' in the 1920s with the erection of neighbouring housing. Earliest surviving reference to the Manor of Eastbury dates from 1331/2 when it belonged to Barking Abbey until the Dissolution of the Monasteries; the present Eastbury House was built by the early 1570s - the date 1572 is on a rainwater head - as the country residence of a wealthy merchant (probably Clement Sysley), and was until C18th known as Eastbury Hall. From the early C18th it was occupied by a succession of tenant farmers and the estate was broken up in 1913/14 for building purposes. Acquired in 1916 by Percy Bayman, the site was then purchased by the National Trust in 1918, who leased the property to Barking Borough Council in 1934 who restored it and re-opened it as Barking Museum in 1935. The Museum closed in 1941 and the house has since been used as a cultural centre with arts, community, educational and heritage activities.

The first mention of the gardens dates from the early C18th: in 1736 the garden comprised 3 discrete areas, the west walled garden, and two small plots to the north and west of the house both probably at one time also enclosed, and small orchard to the south. The walled garden to the east is enclosed by C18th and C19th brick walls, with an iron palisade around the perimeter of the site. The east and south walls of the restored walled garden to the east of the house have a number of niches, probably 'bee boles' for keeping bees.

Many of the original features have been restored recently by Richard Griffiths Architects, as a result of a Heritage Lottery Fund grant. This also enabled the creation of a new gift shop and tea room, as well as an access lift to all floors together with restoration of parts of the historic gardens.

Sources consulted:

Add Candidate for Register bibliography. Maryla Hunt ‘Eastbury Manor House Grounds’, The London Gardener, vol.VIII, 2002/03 pp78-96.

Grid ref:

TQ457838 (545716,183817)

Size in hectares:

0.6

Site ownership:

National Trust, leased to LB Barking & Dagenham

Site management:

LB Barking & Dagenham

Date(s):

C16th; 1935/6

Designer(s):

Listed structures:

LBI: Eastbury Manor House & Garden Walls

On National Heritage List for England (NHLE), Parks & Gardens:

No

Registered common or village green on Commons Registration Act 1965:

No

Protected under London Squares Preservation Act 1931:

No

Local Authority Data

The information below is taken from the relevant Local Authority's planning legislation, which was correct at the time of research but may have been amended in the interim. Please check with the Local Authority for latest planning information.

On Local List:

No

In Conservation Area:

No

Tree Preservation Order:

No

Nature Conservation Area:

No

Green Belt:

No

Metropolitan Open Land:

No

Special Policy Area:

No

Other LA designation:

None

Eastbury Manor, view of east elevation of house from Walled Garden, May 2006. Photo: S Williams

Click a photo to enlarge.

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