The Mansion House is a historic building located in the Borough of Sidcup and Chislehurst, now owned and occupied by the London Borough of Bexley. The house dates back to the mid-eighteenth century and was built with a unique fort-inspired design. The oldest part of the building sits at the south-east of the property and consists of a three-window range flanked by two angled projecting towers or ‘bastions.’ Only three of the four bastions survive today.
The house was extended twice in the nineteenth century, first in the 1850s and then again in the mid-1890s. The stable ranges and yard date back to the late eighteenth and nineteenth century, although these were rebuilt in the twentieth century. Towards the east of the property stands brick ranges that were also built in the twentieth century and are related to when the house was used as a school. Post-war additions to the house do not hold historical significance.
On the south-east a two-storey, three-window range is flanked by two-storey angled bastions. A tall three-flue stack is located at the front of the building, and a mid-nineteenth-century addition is to the right of it. The addition consists of a two-storey, three-window range with dentilled cornice and brick parapet. The ground storey features an open arcade leading to a square tower, which has three storeys, one arched window per stage, and a tiled pitched roof. The entrance porch is located at the base of the tower. To the right of the south elevation is a two-storey range with a gable and three arched windows with blind tympana. A panel above shows the Coat of Arms, and a smaller gable stands to the right.
The quality of the interior varies, but there are some notable features, including two mid-Georgian rooms separated by a stack at the southwest end of the house, with timber moulded archways with carved woodwork in the spandrels, moulded cornices, and panelling. A polygonal wooden panelled niche is also present. One room features an early nineteenth-century fire surround made up of separate carved marble panels from 1823. Above the fire surround, there is a late nineteenth-century painted scheme depicting a north European Romantic landscape. An eighteenth-century staircase has been removed from its original place and now leads from the first-floor service area to the attic. The stairway features an open-string, two turned balusters to a tread, and a fluted newel. The large stair hall in the northeastern part of the house dates back to 1853 and has a Jacobean-style staircase with heavy wooden balusters and newels. A Rococo-style fireplace is located in the hall, and the stained glass in the large windows lighting the hall dates back to 1923.
The house has been occupied by numerous owners since it was first documented in 1780. It is thought to have been built in 1743. Notably, Dutch barrister Henry Berens lived there from 1822 before his nephew Henry Hulse Berens purchased the property in 1852. Henry Hulse Berens owned the house until 1883 and extended the house. His daughter and her husband continued to make extensions to the property into the early twentieth century. The house became a school after the family sold it. In the 1920s, it became Council offices for the Borough of Sidcup and Chislehurst. Today, the London Borough of Bexley owns and occupies the property. The Mansion House has been listed for its early Georgian fort plan and interior features. Additionally, the ha-ha located to the east of the house and constructed with flint, approximately one metre high and 90 metres long, is also listed. However, the garden walls are not included in the listing as they have been largely rebuilt in recent years.
Posted by JOHN K THORNE on 2023-01-09 19:31:29