The Mansion House is a historic building that dates back to the mid-eighteenth century, with later extensions made in the mid-nineteenth century, the late nineteenth century and the 1920s. The building is constructed from red brick with a tiled roof, and features a distinctive design that incorporates angled projecting towers or ‘bastions’, which were consciously designed to resemble a fort. The current property also includes stables and C20 brick ranges that were built when the building was used as a school.
The south-east front of the Mansion House features a two-storey, three-window range that is flanked by two-storey angled bastions, with a tall, three-flue stack. To the right of this is a mid-nineteenth century addition that features a two-storey, three-window range with a dentilled cornice and brick parapet above. The ground storey of the addition features an open arcade leading to a square tower that has three storeys with a single arched window in each stage, and a tiled pitched roof. The entrance porch is located at the base of the tower. To the right of the north elevation is a two-storey range with a gable that features three arched windows with blind tympana, as well as a panel above showing the coat-of-arms. There is also a smaller gable to the right.
The interior of the Mansion House is variable in quality and interest, but there are several features that are of particular note. Two mid-Georgian rooms are separated by a stack at the south-west end of the house, with timber moulded archways that have carved woodwork in the spandrels, moulded cornices and panelling. There is also a polygonal wooden panelled niche. In one of the rooms, an early nineteenth-century fire surround has been installed that was evidently made up from separate carved marble panels, dating back to approximately 1823. Above this is a late nineteenth-century painted scheme depicting a north European Romantic landscape. An eighteenth-century staircase has also been removed from its original place and now leads from the first-floor service area to the attic. The large stair hall in the north-eastern part of the house dates back to 1853 and features a staircase in the Jacobean style with heavy wooden balusters and newels. There is also a Rococo-style fireplace in the hall, and the stained glass in the large windows lighting the hall date back to 1923.
The Mansion House has a long and varied history that is traced in documentary sources dating back to 1780, but it is thought to have been built in 1743. The building has been occupied by many owners over the years, including Henry Berens, a Dutch barrister who lived there from 1822 until he died in 1852. After his death, his nephew Henry Hulse Berens purchased the house and lived there until 1883, extending the building during his tenure. His daughter and her husband continued to carry out enlargements into the early years of the twentieth century. The building was then used as a school before becoming council offices for the Borough of Sidcup and Chislehurst in the 1920s. Today, the London Borough of Bexley owns and occupies the building, which is listed primarily for its early Georgian fort plan and interior features. The listing also includes the ha-ha that is located to the east of the house, which is constructed of flint, measuring approximately 1 metre high and 90 metres long. 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 19:31:28