Leesons

Crofton Roman villa

Orpington · 1.9 miles

Evidence of Roman domestic architecture can be examined at a museum-type archaeological site on the edge of Orpington, within the London Borough of Bromley. The remains belong to a villa that was occupied from roughly AD 140 until the end of the fourth century, forming the hub of a farming estate that covered about 500 acres of fields, meadows and woodland. At its peak the residence may have comprised no fewer than twenty rooms, although today the foundations of ten rooms are visible to the public. Among the preserved spaces are two with fragments of opus signinum flooring and three where tessellated, or tiled, surfaces have been identified. A portion of the underfloor heating system survives, displaying both channelled and pillared hypocaust arrangements, and assorted small artefacts have been recovered from the layers. The villa was first uncovered in 1926 when workmen preparing a driveway for new council offices stumbled upon Roman material. While initial investigations confirmed the site's existence, a comprehensive excavation was not undertaken until 1988 by the Kent Archaeological Rescue Unit, with the results later published in 1996. The archaeological remains are now housed within a modern protective building. The museum is situated close to Orpington railway station, making it readily accessible by public transport. As a designated historic feature, the site is listed on OpenStreetMap and forms part of the local heritage trail that also includes the nearby Lullingstone Roman Villa in Kent.

The Tarn

Well Hall · 3.1 miles

A wooded lakeside site on the eastern side of Court Road, opposite Mottingham railway station, offers a mixture of open garden, water and protected wildlife. Covering nine acres in the Royal Borough of Greenwich (postcode SE9 5AQ), the area was once the southern part of the Great Park attached to Eltham Palace, used for royal deer hunting until the English Civil War. After the Metropolitan Borough of Woolwich bought the land from the neighbouring Royal Blackheath Golf Club, the public garden opened in 1935 and has remained largely as laid out in the 1930s. The central part of the site surrounds a two-acre lake, historically called Starbuck’s Pond, and provides a circular walk that follows the shoreline, crosses a wooden footbridge and links the two gated entrances. Along the route visitors find a range of benches, a gazebo, a public-toilet block with a veranda shelter and an 18th-century brick ice well that is Grade II listed and viewable through a fenced opening. The park is wheelchair-accessible on most routes, although a few steps remain near the north-west and south-west entrances. Dogs are not permitted to protect the resident birds. Half of the nine-acre area is fenced off as a bird-sanctuary nature reserve, where species such as mallard, Canada goose, rose-ringed parakeet and swan are regularly observed, alongside foxes, squirrels, frogs and bats. The lake supports a small stickleback population and is fed by the Little Quaggy stream. Access is via Court Road; the nearest town is Well Hall, and entry is free.

Red House

Upton · 4.3 miles

The house stands as an early illustration of the Arts and Crafts movement, designed in 1859 by architect Philip Webb together with the designer William Morris. Built between 1859 and 1860 in what was then the village of Upton, now part of Bexleyheath in south-east London, it was intended as a family home for Morris and his wife Jane. Its architecture reflects Morris’s fascination with medievalism, employing neo-Gothic elements that he described as “very medieval in spirit” and embodying the craftsmanship ethos that underpinned his later work. During the five years Morris lived there, the house welcomed several of his Pre-Raphaelite friends, notably Edward Burne-Jones and Dante Gabriel Rossetti, who contributed to its interior decoration; Burne-Jones’s wall murals still survive. It was within these walls that Morris founded his design company, began his first wallpaper experiments, and saw the births of his daughters Jenny and May. After Morris moved out, the property remained a private residence until 2002, receiving a Grade I listing from English Heritage in 1950. The National Trust acquired the house in 2003, undertaking conservation work and opening it to the public as a museum. Managed by the National Trust, the Red House operates as a museum with an admission charge. The nearest town is Upton, and visitors can reach the site via local transport links serving the Bexleyheath area. As a historic house preserved by the Trust, it offers insight into Morris’s domestic life and the early development of Arts and Crafts design.

Woodlands Farm

Shooter's Hill · 4.3 miles

The 89-acre Woodlands urban farm lies on the east side of Shooter’s Hill in the Royal Borough of Greenwich, southeast London, just north of the A207. It sits roughly two kilometres south of Plumstead and one and a half kilometres west of Welling, forming part of a protected green corridor that links Eltham, Plumstead and Welling. A small watercourse, the Wogebourne, runs northward across the fields and is fed by several tributaries, adding a natural feature to the landscape. The site borders the Greenwich Equestrian Skills Centre, a legacy of the London Olympic Games, and is managed by the Woodlands Farm Trust, a registered charity. Originally laid out in the early nineteenth century as a 122-acre farm under the Baldock family, the land was bought in 1919 by the Royal Arsenal Co-operative Society and later operated as a model pig farm. During the Second World War it served briefly as a prisoner-of-war camp. Threatened in the 1980s by a proposed East London River Crossing, the farm was saved after a European-wide campaign and, in 1997, the Co-operative Group granted the Trust a 999-year lease at a peppercorn rent. Today the farm concentrates on conservation, sustainable agriculture and educational activities, hosting regular farm shows and an education centre that welcomes school groups and other visitors. Entry is free and opening times are published on the farm’s listing.

Shrewsbury Park

Plumstead · 5 miles

A public green space on Shooter’s Hill provides a mix of meadow, woodland and historic landmarks on the southern edge of Woolwich, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich. The area lies east of Plum Lane and north of the Shooter’s Hill golf course, and its proximity to Plumstead is noted in local mapping. Its name derives from the earls of Shrewsbury; the land once formed part of the Shrewsbury estates, and the nearby Shrewsbury House – a library and community centre erected in 1923 after an earlier mansion built by the 15th Earl – reflects that heritage. From 1908 the house’s grounds hosted a London County Council open-air school, and in 1928 the council purchased a portion of the grounds to create the present park. Within the park, a Bronze Age burial mound known as Shrewsbury Barrow stands just outside the boundary, while remnants of a World War II barrage balloon installation remain, having been operated by the 901 County of London Barrage Balloon Squadron as part of the Air Ministry’s Field Scheme Nosecap during the Battle of Britain. Designated conservation areas intersect the site, and the Green Chain Walk traverses its pathways. The park is frequented by dog walkers and joggers, and the Friends of Shrewsbury Park – formed in 2006 – organise events and volunteer maintenance, including the installation of a drinking-water fountain. To the north, Dot Hill has reverted from former allotments to grassland and emergent woodland, and a small stream runs along the eastern edge, adding further natural interest to the area.

Plumstead Common

Plumstead · 5.6 miles

Plumstead Common provides a sizeable green space within the Royal Borough of Greenwich, positioned just south of the town of Plumstead. The park is bounded to the north by Old Mill Road, to the south by Plumstead Common Road and abuts Winn’s Common on its eastern side. Within its grounds, deposits of puddingstone – a conglomerate rock formed around 60 million years ago during a warm period – can be observed, a geological feature otherwise more typical of Hertfordshire. The site also incorporates the remains of an old mill, now part of a public house that bears the same name, and the former Prince of Wales pub stands on the south-west corner, while Plumstead Manor School lies nearby. First recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 as “Plumstede”, the area originally referred to a place where plums grew. Throughout the nineteenth century, increasing pressure from housing development linked to the Royal Arsenal led to the sale of common land, prompting local protests in 1876 that culminated in the Plumstead Common Act of 1878, which secured one hundred acres as permanent public open space. The common also hosted the early matches of Royal Arsenal Football Club. Today, it serves as the venue for community events such as the Plumstead Make Merry festival – noted as the longest-running local festival in the borough – and the popular Asian Mela, often likened to an “Asian Notting Hill Carnival”. Access is via the surrounding roads, and as a public park it remains freely available for recreation and sport.