Westbrook drive to lake

Image: © Hugh Craddock Taken: 18 Oct 2020

The ornamental arch formerly gave access from the formal gardens of Westbrook, the big house on the south side of Westbrook Hill, to the modest lake on the north side. The arch presumably dates from the 1930s, when Sir Albert Levy had the present William-and-Mary-style Westbrook House built. The land to the north, including the lake, appears to have fallen into separate hands, and more recent owners of the house commissioned a lake to be carved out of the hillside to the south of the house. Although there is now a high bank and fence on the south side of the road, opposite the arch, it may be assumed that, in the 1930s, there was a level passage from the house, across the road, to the lake, fit for a stroll on a summer evening, perhaps to take a boat on the lake from the former boathouse.

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