IMAGES TAKEN NEAR TO
Well Hall Road, LONDON, SE9 6SS

The whole of the ground floor of this building on Well Hall Road is used by the Co-Operative movement: foodstore at the right hand end, funeral directors at the left. Viewed from the Pleasaunce.

One of the entrances into the Well Hall Pleasaunce as seen from Well Hall Road (i.e. the A205). The C14th word Pleasaunce is derived from the old French word plaisance and is also associated with the French verb plaisir = to please. It has become used as an English noun, meaning a secluded part of a garden laid out with trees, walks, etc, something that this particular pleasaunce is, in part.

This colourful display is one of the best-known features of Well Hall Pleasaunce as it is right next to Well Hall Road, from where the photograph was taken.

Whilst on the bus heading for a photography shoot at Eltham Palace, I got lucky and managed to grab a few of the classic cars participating in the annual London to Brighton Classic Car Run on Well Hall Road. This is a shot of a 1969 Rover P5B and a Porsche 911 passing the Well Hall Pleasaunce shortly before Eltham railway station on Well Hall Road, taken from the top deck of a 132 bus heading towards Bexleyheath Shopping Centre looking south-southeast.

A small hamlet on the road (track?) from Eltham to Woolwich was all that existed here during medieval times. "Kidbrooke layne" bisected the hamlet and at its southern corner stood Well Hall House plus its out-buildings. The outbuildings included this carefully preserved Tudor Barn. The manor house has long been demolished, although this moat also survives. The barn - now a restaurant, with a first floor function suite - was built c.1525 by William Roper, the son in law of Sir Thomas More. A brook enters the moat at a point near the bottom left hand corner of this picture, albeit not visible here. Several entrances into this public park lie behind the photographer on Well Hall Road (the A205).

Well Hall Pleasaunce dates back to the 13th century. It contained a Manor House at the time of Henry VIII and more recently was the home of the author of The Railway Children Edith Nesbit. The Manor House has gone, although the moat survives as does The Tudor Barn which was built around 1525 by William Roper, son in law of Sir Thomas More. Well Hall Pleasaunce has undergone an extensive makeover, and consists of a series of formal gardens, ponds and woodland, as well as the remains seen here which includes this medieval bridge.

A small hamlet on the road (track?) from Eltham to Woolwich was all that existed here during medieval times. "Kidbrooke layne" bisected the hamlet and at its southern corner stood Well Hall House plus its out-buildings. These outbuildings included this carefully preserved Tudor Barn. The manor house has long been demolished, although the moat also survives, as can be seen here too. This barn - now a restaurant, with a first floor function suite - was built c.1525 by William Roper, the son in law of Sir Thomas More. A brook enters the moat at the foot of this picture, at the side of the reeds. Several entrances into this public park lie behind the photographer.

The Floral Shield area of the gardens shown in Image and Image from a different angle.

For a view of the other end of the building, see Image The foreground shows how stagnant the water in the moat is, covered with a layer of duckweed or similar.