Kelsey Park
Encyclopedia
Kelsey Park is a public park in Beckenham
in the BR3 postcode area in the borough of Bromley
, South London. It historically formed the landscaped park of the Kelsey Manor Estate.
The last mansion on the Estate was a rambling Gothic Revival house with a matching chapel built in 1869. By the late 19th century the manor house no longer functioned as a private manor and instead became first a convent
and then a school for girls. The land adjoining Wickham Road was sold in the 1890s and laid out with large Arts and Crafts movement
houses designed by Francis Hooper (1859–1938). In 1908 after the death of the owner Charles A R Hoare the Estate was sold.
By 1912, Beckenham Urban District Council had purchased the ornamental gardens, but not the mansion or the farm land. The gardens were opened as a public park in 1912. Both the gate lodge and the gates to Manor Way date from 1912. Kelsey Park was officially opened by Right Hon. John Burns M P, President of the Local Government Board on 31 May 1913. The park was subsequently enlarged towards Wickham Road in the 1930s.
Within the park itself the ornamental lake, much of the planting and the icehouse survive from its period as a private estate. The mansion itself was demolished in the early 1920s. The houses and gate lodge at Kelsey Square and the gate lodge at 88 Wickham Road are survivors from the historic estate.
Kelsey Park Sports College which was opened in 1968 takes its name from the fact it was built on the historic Kelsey Park Estate, however following Academy conversion in September 2011 it was renamed to Harris Academy Beckenham.
Beckenham
Beckenham is a town in the London Borough of Bromley, England. It is located 8.4 miles south east of Charing Cross and 1.75 miles west of Bromley town...
in the BR3 postcode area in the borough of Bromley
Bromley
Bromley is a large suburban town in south east London, England and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Bromley. It was historically a market town, and prior to 1963 was in the county of Kent and formed the administrative centre of the Municipal Borough of Bromley...
, South London. It historically formed the landscaped park of the Kelsey Manor Estate.
The last mansion on the Estate was a rambling Gothic Revival house with a matching chapel built in 1869. By the late 19th century the manor house no longer functioned as a private manor and instead became first a convent
Convent
A convent is either a community of priests, religious brothers, religious sisters, or nuns, or the building used by the community, particularly in the Roman Catholic Church and in the Anglican Communion...
and then a school for girls. The land adjoining Wickham Road was sold in the 1890s and laid out with large Arts and Crafts movement
Arts and Crafts movement
Arts and Crafts was an international design philosophy that originated in England and flourished between 1860 and 1910 , continuing its influence until the 1930s...
houses designed by Francis Hooper (1859–1938). In 1908 after the death of the owner Charles A R Hoare the Estate was sold.
By 1912, Beckenham Urban District Council had purchased the ornamental gardens, but not the mansion or the farm land. The gardens were opened as a public park in 1912. Both the gate lodge and the gates to Manor Way date from 1912. Kelsey Park was officially opened by Right Hon. John Burns M P, President of the Local Government Board on 31 May 1913. The park was subsequently enlarged towards Wickham Road in the 1930s.
Within the park itself the ornamental lake, much of the planting and the icehouse survive from its period as a private estate. The mansion itself was demolished in the early 1920s. The houses and gate lodge at Kelsey Square and the gate lodge at 88 Wickham Road are survivors from the historic estate.
Kelsey Park Sports College which was opened in 1968 takes its name from the fact it was built on the historic Kelsey Park Estate, however following Academy conversion in September 2011 it was renamed to Harris Academy Beckenham.