| Bromley Palace | |
|---|---|
 The south face of Bromley Palace | |
| Location | Bromley, England |
| Coordinates | 51°24′12″N0°01′17″E / 51.4034°N 0.0215°E |
| Built | 1100 |
Listed Building – Grade II | |
| Designated | 10 January 1955 |
| Reference no. | 1281268 |
  Shown in Bromley | |
Bromley Palace (also known as the Bishop's Palace) is a manor house at Bromley in the London Borough of Bromley. The building, which was the bishop's palace of the Bishops of Rochester from the 12th century to 1845, is a Grade II listed building. [1]
In the 8th century, Æthelbert II of Kent granted six "sulings" [2] of land, which came to be known as the Manor of Bromley, to Eardwulf, Bishop of Rochester. [3] In 862 King Æthelberht of Wessex and Kent, granted 10 sulings in Bromley to his minister Dryhtwald. [4] In 967, Edgar, King of England again granted 10 sulings of land to Bishop Ælfstan in return for a large sum in gold and silver. [5]
In the year 987, a dispute between Æthelred the Unready and the Bishop of Rochester led to the land being seized and given to one of the King's ministers (Æthelsine) though a royal act of contrition led to its return in 998. [6] After the conquest, another expropriation was attempted by Bishop Odo of Bayeux (half-brother of William the Conqueror himself) and Archbishop Lanfranc (of Canterbury) had to intervene to restore the land to the diocese. [7] [8]
The Manor of Bromley was described as "poor....neither pasture nor arable land being worth much". [9] It is thought that a manor house was first built here around the year 1100. One source claims that the architect was Bishop Gundulph but this seems unlikely because he had a reputation for commissioning buildings of "massive and enduring character" and records show that Bromley Palace had fallen into dilapidation by the time of Bishop Waleran, who died in 1184. [10] As a result, Waleran's successor, Gilbert Glanvill, ordered the manor house to be rebuilt – "in a more commodious manner". A historian had this to say about the original manor house:
The grounds of the palace contained a Holy Well and Oratory dedicated to Saint Blaise and the site became a place of pilgrimage for centuries. [12]
In 1648, during the English Civil War – and due to an Act of Parliament which ordered the disposal of certain church property – the manor of Bromley was sold to Augustine Skinner. [13] The manor house was again returned to the Diocese of Rochester (and its rightful incumbent, Bishop John Warner) in 1660, on the restoration of Charles II. [14]
In 1669, Bishop Sprat had the existing chapel (which was "wainscotted eight foote high with oake") pulled down and rebuilt (the new chapel was consecrated in 1701), and improvements were made to the grounds of the palace. Further additions and improvements were made to the manor by Bishops Francis Atterbury (served 1713–1723) and Joseph Wilcocks (served 1731–1756). But by 1774 the palace had fallen into disrepair and Bishop John Thomas ordered it to be pulled down and rebuilt – see illustration. [15] [16]
In 1845 the palace passed out of the hands of the bishops of Rochester when it was sold to Coles Child, a wealthy local businessman. [1] He had the house remodelled in 1863 (reputedly by Richard Norman Shaw) and 1903/1920s (reputedly by Ernest Newton). [17]
The 107th edition of Burkes Peerage, (2003), states the Coles were Lords of the Manor of Bromley, and lived in the palace. The actor Sir Coles John Jeremy Child, (1944-2022), was a member of the family. [18]
In the 1920s it became a girls' finishing school and in 1935 Stockwell College of Education, a teacher training college when extensions were added. During the Second World War (from 1940 to 1945) members of the Stockwell College of Education were temporarily relocated to Watcombe Park, Devon. While the Stockwell College were away, the Bishop Otter College, Chichester whose own buildings were requisitioned by the Air Ministry, temporarily moved into Bromley Palace until 1944. [19] [20]
More extensions were added in 1960 when Kent County Council – then the county authority - took control. It became a grade II listed building in 1973. [1] The college closed in 1980 and, as part of a wider regeneration scheme to create a Civic Centre, the London Borough of Bromley acquired the building in the early 1980s and built a large extension, moving from their town hall into the enlarged complex in 1982. [21] The council moved again, relocating to a new Civic Centre at Churchill Court in December 2024. [22] [23]
A small area of the original parkland survives immediately around the palace. It comprises lawns, a lake, belts of mature trees, a boat house, pulhamite rockeries, an ice house (building) and a folly. [24]
Beckenham is a town in Greater London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley. Prior to 1965, it was part of Kent. It is situated north of Elmers End and Eden Park, east of Penge, south of Lower Sydenham and Bellingham, and west of Bromley and Shortlands, and 8.4 miles (13.5 km) south-east of Charing Cross. Its population at the 2011 Census was 46,844.
Mottingham is a district of south-east London, England, which straddles the border of both the London Borough of Bromley and the Royal Borough of Greenwich. It is located south west of Eltham, 1.5 miles. It was historically within the county of Kent.
Plumstead is an area in southeast London, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich, England. It is located east of Woolwich.
Thomas Sprat, FRS was an English churchman and writer, Bishop of Rochester from 1684.
Bromley is a large town in Greater London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley. It is 9+1⁄2 miles southeast of Charing Cross, and had an estimated population of 88,000 as of 2023.
Strood is a town in the unitary authority of Medway in Kent, South East England. The town forms a conurbation with neighbouring towns Chatham, Rochester, Gillingham and Rainham. It lies on the northwest bank of the River Medway at its lowest bridging point.
Edward Hasted was an English antiquarian and pioneering historian of his ancestral home county of Kent. As such, he was the author of a major county history, The History and Topographical Survey of the County of Kent (1778–99).
Bobbing is a village and civil parish in the Swale district of Kent, England, about a mile north-west of Sittingbourne, and forming part of its urban area. The hamlet of Howt Green and village of Keycol are included within the parish. According to the 2011 census Bobbing parish had a population of 1,969.
Cliffe Woods is a small estate on the Hoo Peninsula in the unitary authority of Medway in South East England. It was, until 1998, part of Kent and is still ceremonially associated via the Lieutenancies Act. It forms part of the parish of Cliffe and Cliffe Woods.
Halling is a village on the North Downs in the northern part of Kent, England. Consisting of Lower Halling, Upper Halling and North Halling, it is scattered over some 3 miles (5 km) along the River Medway parallel to the Pilgrims' Way which runs through Kent.
Ospringe is a village and area of Faversham in the English county of Kent. It is also the name of a civil parish, which since 1935 has not included the village of Ospringe.
St Blaise's Well is a holy well located in the grounds of the old Bishop's Palace, now part of Bromley Civic Centre in Bromley, London.
Sir Thomas Browne was a Member of Parliament and Chancellor of the Exchequer. Browne's tenure as Chancellor occurred during the Great Bullion Famine and the Great Slump in England. He was executed for treason on 20 July 1460.
Simpson's Manor, or Simpson's Place, was a moated medieval manor house in Bromley, Kent, England, with evidence of habitation going back to the reign of Edward I. It was demolished around 1870 but survives in the name of a (minor) local road – Simpson's Place.
All Saints, Frindsbury, is a parish church serving the combined parish of Frindsbury with Upnor and Chattenden. The church dates from 1075 and lies in the north-west corner of the Medway Towns, historically part of Kent, England. It is a Grade II* listed building, National Heritage List number 1107886.
Norton, Buckland and Stone is a small rural civil parish 1 mile (1.6 km) east of Teynham and 3 miles (4.8 km) west of the centre of Faversham in the borough of Swale, Kent, England. It is bypassed by the M2 to the south and traverses the historic A2, on the route of the Roman road of Watling Street. In 2011 the parish had a population of 467.
Well Hall is a place to the north of Eltham in the Royal Borough of Greenwich in southeast London, England, with no present formal boundaries and located 13.5 km (8.4 mi) east-southeast of Charing Cross. In the past Well Hall was the grounds of a manor house, and then a hamlet. Today it is a largely residential suburb and housing estate absorbed by the development of Eltham and London. It is centred on the main road between Eltham and Woolwich, on which many shops and businesses are located. Several major A roads including the South Circular Road and A2 road pass through the area, as does a railway line, serving Eltham station which is located in Well Hall. The Postcode that covers Well Hall and most of the Eltham area is SE9, and the 020 dialing covers the entire Royal Borough of Greenwich. Well Hall is split across two electoral wards, Eltham West on the west side of Well Hall Road, and Eltham North on the east side of Well Hall Road. In 2015 the population of these two wards combined was recorded as 24,621, although the wards cover a larger area than just Well Hall.
Stockwell College of Education was a teacher-training college based in South London, England. It was located in Stockwell, South London from 1860 to 1935 and then relocated to the grounds of Bromley Palace, Bromley until its closure in 1980.
The title Baron Cobham has been created numerous times in the Peerage of England; often multiple creations have been extant simultaneously, especially in the fourteenth century.
St Botolph's Church is a church building in Ruxley, in the London Borough of Bromley, southeast London, England. It was constructed in the thirteenth century and dedicated to Botwulf of Thorney. St Botolph's was used as a church for around 300 years but was deconsecrated in 1557. The church was then used a farm building for over 400 years and the remains of an oast house are still adjacent to it. In the 1960s archaeological work was carried out on the site and found evidence of an older wooden building, suggesting there may have been an older Saxon church in the same location. Today the church is a Grade II listed building and a scheduled ancient monument on the grounds of Ruxley Manor Garden Centre, although many features are still intact, the church is in disrepair and English Heritage have agreed to pay a grant to help preserve the building.
