Located in what is now today known as Scadbury Park in Chislehurst in London’s south-east, Scadbury Manor originally dated from at least the 13th century.

Originally the home of the de Scathbury family, it was purchased by London merchant  Thomas Walsingham in 1424.

It was passed down through the family which had some rather famous members including Sir Francis Walsingham, who was principal secretary to Queen Elizabeth I (who it has been suggested visited the property), and another Thomas Walsingham who in the late 16th century was an MP and the patron of Sir Christopher Marlowe (he is known to have visited the estate just before his death in 1593).

In the 1730s, the moated manor passed into the hands of the Townshend family (the son of the Thomas Townshend who first inherited the property was also named Thomas and become 1st Viscount Sydney and is the person after whom the city of Sydney, Australia, was named).

The old manor house was demolished after passing to the Townshend in 1738, possibly due to falling into disrepair. It’s believed there may have had plans to rebuild but the site was left a ruin and the family moved into nearby Frognal House.

The estate passed through the family to Robert Marsham-Townshend, who in 1914 moved back to Scadbury from Frognal, taking over the farm bailiff’s house and extending it into a substantial family home. He also carried out excavations and repairs on the original manor.

During World War II – on 28th March, 1945 – the last V-1 flying bomb to cause damage landed on the Scadbury farmyard and demolished the medieval barn and surrounding buildings. The country house itself was eventually destroyed in a fire in 1976.

The estate – now 300 acres – was purchased by the London Borough of Bromley in 1983 and opened to the public as a nature reserve.

Some remains of the original manor are still present including the foundations of a brick detached kitchen, with the bases of two ovens, cellars and an undercroft. There are also the remains of a reconstructed manor house Hugh Marsham-Townshend built on the site of the original manor in the early 20th century using medieval timbers from nearby manor house.

The site of the manor house is not normally open to the public but can be seen from a nearby public footpath as well as on open days run by the Orpington and District Archaeological Society (ODAS).

Where: Scadbury Park, Old Perry Street, Chislehurst; WHEN: Opens at 7:30am on weekdays, 9am on weekends; closing times vary depending on the month; COST: Free; WEBSITE: https://www.scadbury-park.org.uk