Orpington Priory Gardens and Outbuildings, Photos, History, Maps

Описание: Priory Gardens, Orpington
A Grade II listed public park, with ponds, water features, ducks in a conservation area.

Priory Gardens consists of the old grounds of the Priory, a Grade II* listed building, with medieval origins and some parts dating back to 1285.

1895 map shows the ponds. These natural springs give rise to the River Cray. The map shows there used to be more, some across the road with a mill. The ponds were enlarged in the nineteenth century and had a boat house. A waterfall between two of the ponds still survives.

Brick shelters.
The cafe, near Carlton Parade, used to be a public toilet.

Between 1919 and the 1930s the garden was laid out in the Arts and Crafts style.
Two grade II listed walls to the north of late 17th and early 16th century. Also benches, steps, stone lantern, Victorian gate towers, metal gates from High Elms.

Orpington Priory Outbuildings on Church Hill - also Grade II listed.
Restored in 1970s and mainly converted for business use. They were mainly built in the 17th century, however the earliest part of the two-storey buildings, is the central gateway, dating back to1471

Also photos from the drought of 1976 and the woodyard that backed onto the gardens.

Sources:
Bromley Historic Collections - Bromley Library
The Black and White photos are all from Bromley Historic Collections and can be accessed at Bromley Library. The pictures used are all prefixed with P8. P8/0031, 0030, 0026, 0029, 0027, 0025, 0694, 0677, 0697, 0698,

London Borough of Bromley website
Historic England website - https://historicengland.org.uk/
National Libraries of Scotland website for old Ordnance Survey maps - https://maps.nls.uk/
Book - Around Orpington Through Time by Phil Waller
The Book of Orpington by Dorothy Cox
Orpington and District Archaeological Society - https://www.odas.org.uk/