Glebe House
Built 1890
Demolished after Second World War
Glebe House was built on land purchased from the Norman family in April 1890 by the banker Everard Hambro for his son Charles Eric. He paid £5232. The grounds covered 15 acres. However, Eric preferred to live at Pickhurst Mead and in 1895 the property was leased for 14 years to Charles Frederick Wood, a merchant banker, who moved to the house soon after his marriage to Ellinor Appert Hoskier. By 1901 they had a son Charles, daughter Ellinor and four servants. Three more daughters were born by 1908 and they employed additional domestic staff including a nurse and nursery assistant. The older daughters had a governess and their son was educated at Winchester.
In 1912 the house was described as ‘a detached house situated in main road [Baston Road] standing well back & screened therefrom by ornamental timber and shrubbery approached by a long carriage drive. The grounds are well timbered and nicely laid out with lawns etc. The house has recently been added to and the whole is now roughcast and tiled, in good structural and decorative repair, cesspool drainage. Gas.’
It comprised 23 rooms. On the 2nd floor there were 6 attic bedrooms and a box room. On the 1st floor were 5 bedrooms, two dressing rooms, a day and night nursery, wc. The ground floor included a lounge, dining room, drawing room, library and study as well as the kitchen and servants hall.
In addition there was ‘ Stabling roughcast and tiles, good covered coaching space. 2 stalls and harness room. 2 bay coach house with kitchen scullery 2 beds and loft over.’ There were also heated greenhouses, potting shed and a Lodge in good order containing kitchen, scullery, 2 bedrooms and WC, main water and cesspool drainage. Glebe House and its land was valued at £8200
Charles Wood was very involved with village life. He was a churchwarden, an accomplished musician with an excellent voice and a good cellist. He was president of the Glee Club, producer of the village pantomimes and on the committee which ran the Gymnasium which acted as a community hall. A keen sportsman, when a billiard table was provided for the use of the men of the village, he presented a cue for a competition, entered himself and won it by beating all opposition. Hayes Cricket Club greatly benefitted from his appointment as Captain in 1896 and his contribution for over twenty years as a batsman, bowler and organiser. Each year he arranged a concert in aid of the cricket club funds. He was also president of the Rifle Club which was opened by Field Marshall Lord Roberts in 1910.
Tragedy struck his family in 1916 when their only son, Charles Harald, a second lieutenant, died from wounds received during the battle of the Somme in an attack on Delville Wood. A memorial was erected in Hayes Church. He was 21 years old.
Their oldest daughter Ellinor worked as an orderly at Oakley VAD Hospital, Bromley Common, from March 1917 until December 1918.
Before leaving Hayes in 1919 Charles Wood was largely instrumental in collecting money for the Lady Chapel in Hayes Church, which was erected as a memorial for the rector, Canon Clowes, who died in November 1918. In May 1919 Charles and Ellinor held a farewell tea at Glebe House.
James John and Ellen Katherine Frost became the next occupants of Glebe House which they leased from Everard Hambro and later bought from Hambro’s heir Eric in 1925. They moved from Epping, a place which had too many memories of their two eldest sons, Arthur Colin and Jack, who were killed in action in the First World War.
James Frost was a director of Frost Brothers, rope makers, whose factory moved from Commercial Road, London to Charlton in 1914. He was an active church member and his house was lent on a number of occasions for church events. A keen sportsman, in 1926 he arranged an exhibition tennis match at Glebe House in aid of funds for the building of the Village Hall. The players included Mr. and Mrs. Godfree, the winners of the Wimbledon mixed doubles championship.
According to their son David Richard (known as Dick) Frost, who was five at the time of the move, Glebe House had a large dining room, drawing room, music room, lounge, library and 12 bedrooms. The grounds consisted of 17 acres with rose gardens, shrubberies, woodland, a boat-house and lake. There were four tennis courts.
The entrance drive from the lodge was lined with yews and was about a ¼ mile to the house. It then continued to the garage (formerly the stables) at the northern boundary of the property.
John Frost died in March 1930 and his wife soon sold the house for £6500. It was almost immediately resold and within eight months changed hands twice more, eventually selling for £24,000.
In June 1931 it was announced that the builders, the Morrell Brothers planned to develop the site and build 120 houses. There were problems with the access as the site had no road frontage and could only be entered via the former carriageway to Glebe House from Baston Road. Eventually, Burwood Avenue was cut through providing an easier route.
Meanwhile there were various plans for Glebe House, including its conversion into six flats in 1933 and its possible use as a Church school in 1937. During the Second World War it was used for various ARP training exercises and in the 1950s the Kent Education Committee recommended its use as a Youth Club and Scout Centre. Eventually it was pulled down.
Isard House, an old people’s home was built in its place in 1961. It closed in 2011 but the building remained until 2014 when approval was given for it demolition and replacement with 21 dwellings.
Thanks to Mr D R Frost for his memories and to his son James for loan of the family photograph albums.