Well Hall Pleasaunce * (Greenwich)
Brief Description
* on The National Heritage List for England, Parks & Gardens
Well Hall is known to have been occupied from the C13th and in 1495 there was a moated manor house here owned by William Roper, whose C16th barn remains, now in use as a venue. In the C18th the medieval house was demolished and a new one built to the east, later the home of children's author E Nesbit. As the surrounding area was being built up, Well Hall estate was sold to Woolwich Borough Council in 1930 for a public park to cater for the new residents, the barn converted as a library and museum. The gardens were laid out by 1936 with a series of linked garden areas with ornamental planting and more informal areas, although the first part of the park opened in 1933, named Well Hall Pleasaunce. Much of the 1930s layout remains as well as historic features such as medieval walls, moat and bee-boles. The Tudor Barn is leased as a restaurant and venue.
Practical Information
- Site location:
- Well Hall Road
- Postcode:
- SE9 6SZ
- What 3 Words:
- teeth.fire.device
- Type of site:
- Public Park
- Borough:
- Greenwich
- Open to public?
- Yes
- Opening times:
- 9am - dusk
- Special conditions:
- Dog-free Area
- Facilities:
- Bowling green, toilets. Tudor Barn: Heritage Centre and licensed café 10am-6pm and 1568@Tudor Barn bar and brasserie Thurs-Sun 6pm-10.30pm
- Events:
- Various events. Historical guided walks by Park Ranger Service on 1st Wednesday of month at 10.30am, and 2nd Sunday of month at 2pm.
- Public transport:
- Rail: Eltham. Bus: 160, 161, 286, 122, 132, 233, 314
- Research updated:
- 01/12/2006
- Last minor changes:
- 19/07/2023
Please check with the site owner or manager for latest news. www.royalgreenwich.gov.uk; www.wellhall.org.uk; www.tudorbarneltham.com
Full Site Description
Site on The National Heritage List for England, Parks & Gardens, for Register Entry see https://www.historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list
Occupation of the site of Well Hall is known to date back to 1253 when it belonged to Mathew de Hegham, and among its later owners John De Pulteney, Lord Mayor of London, who was here in 1346. In Tudor times Well Hall was a moated manor house owned by William Roper, the son-in-law and biographer of Sir Thomas More, who lived here from 1495 to 1577. A 1960s garden named Roper's Gardens (q.v.) is located on the riverside in Chelsea, where Sir Thomas lived, created on land that he had once gifted to his daughter Margaret on her marriage to Roper. To the north of Well Hall, Roper's Tudor Barn, which still remains, was built c.1525 and was part of the enclosed farmyard of Well Hall Farm, although the medieval house was demolished in the C18th. The Roper family continued to live here until 1733, when the estate was purchased by Sir Gregory Page who pulled down the old house and built a new Well Hall between the moat and Well Hall Road. The Page family had the property until the C20th but it was largely let to tenants. John Arnold, watchmaker to George III, lived here from 1779 -1799, in 1880-90 it became a preparatory school run by R N Gilbert and from 1899 the last private owners were the children's author Edith Nesbit (1858-1924) and her husband Hubert Bland, journalist and one of the founders of the Fabian Society (d.1914). Edith Nesbit left in 1922, and the Well Hall property then became neglected.
From the C19th onwards the surrounding area had gradually been built over for new housing, with the Well Hall Estate, later known as Progress Estate (q.v.) built adjacent to Well Hall in 1915. By 1930 development was largely complete but the lack of recreational facilities for the new population had already been noted in a report of 1916. A Well Hall Restoration Committee had been formed to restore the old barn and largely in response to this in 1930 Woolwich Borough Council (WBC) purchased Well Hall estate and its then dilapidated buildings, which included the house, C18th stables, the barn and other farm buildings from the Page family. The Libraries Committee Minutes of 1933 record the intention of building a branch library and laying out the grounds as 'an old-world garden' for a public park. William Barefoot, a Labour councillor in the WBC and friend of E Nesbit, was a prime mover in planning the creation of the public park and the conversion of the then derelict Tudor Barn for community use.
The plans for the new park were drawn up by Woolwich Borough Engineers, J Sutcliffe followed by H W Tee and it was given the name Well Hall Pleasaunce; much of the work was carried out under the Council's scheme of relief works for the unemployed. The first part of the park was opened on 25 May 1933, after which further work was carried out and additional land acquired to the south and south-west. In 1934 the Kentish Independent described the new park as 'the jewel of the Council's open spaces' and in 1936 the Eltham Times referred to it as 'the Borough's most popular rendezvous'. Although a new library and museum were not built, the Tudor Barn and the completed park were opened on 23 May 1936, with the Barn in use as a library, art gallery and museum. The 1930s garden layout comprised a series of linked gardens, which included an Italian Garden with Pergola and Lily Pool, Sunken Garden, Rose Garden on the site of the C18th walled kitchen garden, a Heather Garden with rockery and large pond, Woodland Glen planted with spring bulbs through which ran a stream crossed by rustic bridges, and near the Barn was the Tudor Courtyard. Laid out over the former farmyard, the Courtyard had grass, paved paths and Irish yew trees planted in three corners. Here a seat and sundial were placed in memory of William Barefoot (d.1941), unveiled in September 1942 by Lord Snell of Plumstead. A plaque, restored in 2010, bears the inscription: 'He loved nature and his efforts to beautify Woolwich are reflected in the creation of this Pleasaunce'. To the south of the Barn, the remains of the C16th moat enclose Moat Island, which marks the site of the Tudor house and was later laid out as gardens for the C18th house. The island was used for entertainments and had a temporary bandstand that was replaced in 1948 by an outdoor theatre, which was enlarged in the 1960s but burnt down in c.1980. Of the two bridges that provide access to the Moat Island, one dates from the earlier garden and the other from the 1950s. In 1934 a nursery was established in the park supplying Well Hall Pleasaunce and other parks in the borough and once had extensive glasshouses. These were largely removed c.1990, the nurseries having lost land to road building. Alongside Well Hall Road an area of grass was used for seasonal displays, including a Floral Shield designed in 1935 to show the borough's coat of arms, the western edge of the shield later raised for better visibility. South of this was the Rockery, which was linked to the Sunken Garden, and planted with shrubs, Irish yews and contains a poplar tree that may date from the earlier Well Hall garden. Recreational facilities included the Bowling Green, which opened in 1935 and originally had a thatched pavilion, which was damaged by a VI bomb in 1944 and replaced after WWII by a brick pavilion, and a Putting Green that opened in 1936, now grassed and used as an events and picnic area. North of the Tudor Courtyard and to the east of the moat was an area planted with specimen trees, the wooded area extending further south into the main garden; this was once part of the old garden and some of the trees date from at least the C19th. Much of the 1930s layout remains although some changes occurred over the decades, particularly in the 1950s and 1980s. The Swannery of 1936, which had peacocks, ducks and swans, was taken out in the 1950s, and in the 1970s the new Rochester Relief Road took land that was tennis courts in the 1970s. The Barn was later converted into a public house.
In 2000-2002/3 Well Hall Pleasaunce was restored through an award from the Heritage Lottery Fund with Oxford Archaeology Unit undertaking the work, which included restoring C16th wells, moat, boundary railings, water features, hard and soft landscaping and bowling green. The park today has some 240 species of trees including elm, ginkgo, black poplar and Indian horse chestnut, and a fine wisteria arch. The Tudor Barn is leased to Tudor Barn Eltham as a restaurant and venue.
The Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England was established in 1984 and was commonly called English Heritage. In April 2015 it split into 2 separate entities, Historic England (HE), which continues to champion and protect the historic environment, and the English Heritage Trust, whose role is to look after the 400+ historic sites and monuments owned by the state. HE manages the National Heritage List for England (NHLE) that includes over 400,000 items ranging from prehistoric monuments to office blocks, battlefields and parks, which benefit from legal protection.
Sources consulted:
NHLE Register 2000 and bibliography: E G Culpin, 'A Park is Wanted', c.1916; Scott Wilson Consultants, 'Well Hall Pleasaunce, Greenwich' Draft Report, 1999; East: Architecture Planning and Design, 'Well Hall Pleasaunce, Greenwich' Draft Report, 1999; Eltham Times, 2 June 1933, Kentish Independent, 21 May 1934. Bridget Cherry & Nikolaus Pevsner, The Buildings of England: London 2: South (Penguin) 1999 p305; Ben Weinreb & Christopher Hibbert, 'The London Encyclopaedia' (Macmillan, revised ed. 1993); LB Greenwich 'Well Hall Pleasaunce Management Plan 2007-2012'
Further Information (Planning and Conservation)
- Grid ref:
- TQ424750 (542512,175087)
- Size in hectares:
- 5.1
- Site ownership:
- RB Greenwich (Tudor Barn leased to Tudor Barn Eltham)
- Site management:
- Parks and Open Spaces Department; Friends of Well Hall Pleasaunce; Tudor Barn Eltham
- Date(s):
- C16th on; 1930s; 2001/2
- Designer(s):
- 1930s: J Sutcliffe and H W Tee (Woolwich Borough Engineers)
- Listed structures:
- LBII*: The Tudor Barn, moat and bridge to south of Tudor Barn, garden walls to south of moat.
- On National Heritage List for England (NHLE), Parks & Gardens:
Yes- NHLE grade:
- Grade II
- 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:
- Not known
- Nature Conservation Area:
- No
- Green Belt:
- No
- Metropolitan Open Land:
- No
- Special Policy Area:
- Yes - Area of Special Character of Local Significance; Area of Archaeological Potential
- Other LA designation:
- Community Open Space. Historic Landscape (east part); Green Chain
Photos
Well Hall Pleasaunce - Tudor Barn - Photo: Colin Wing
Date taken: 22/08/19 10:53Click a photo to enlarge.
Please note the Inventory and its content are provided for your general information only and are subject to change. It is your responsibility to check the accuracy.