Post War 1946 to Today
Post War Hayes In the immediate aftermath of the war, the main task was to remember the fallen, rebuild damaged houses and energise the community. Remembering the dead The task of organising the inscription of the names of the Hayes civilian and service casualties on the War Memorial was begun and completed in 1950. It was another ten years before there were sufficient funds to build an extension to the Village Hall which was also planned as a Memorial to those who had given their lives in the Second World War. Memorial Stone, Hayes Village Hall Housing Damaged houses needed to be repaired and new houses built for those whose homes had been totally destroyed, There was a shortage of raw material, strict restrictions on the size of properties and also limited licences for basic supplies such as bricks. To meet the immediate problem of the shortage of homes: Prefab houses were built in Meadway in 1946 and were not replaced by townhouses until about 1967. The Army Camp on Hayes Common was converted into temporary housing in 1948 and was occupied until 1955. Frances & Ken Clark outside their home, Unit 19 Hayes Common Camp around 1951-2 (BBLHS) Bromley Council took over the remainder of the Hayes Place Estate and planned to build 337 houses, 12 old people’s dwellings and six shops with maisonettes. The development took place between 1950-1955. In 1961 a Public House, The Beacon, opened on a vacant green space and survived until 2010 when it became part of a private redevelopment of the old people’s flats and the surrounding area. The Beacon (G Wright) In 1950 the construction of 66 flats in Kemsing and Larkfield Closes was finished. Kemsing Close (M. Lee) Change in use of major houses Hayes Court in 1946 was bought by the Electrical Trades Union. It ceased to be used as a Trades Union Headquarters in about 2010 and in 2012/13 was sold for development. Houses were built in the grounds and the first was occupied in 2015. The house was converted into flats and first occupied in 2017. Hayes Court Offices, 1987 Modern development at Hayes Court, 2019 Hayes Grove was purchased in 1951 by the King Edward VI Hospital Fund and became a home for retired nurses until 1980. Three years later it became Hayes Grove Priory Hospital. Hayes Grove Hayes Grove staff & supporters 1980 Hast Hill became used as offices by Patullo Higgs from 1957 until 1996 when it was bought by Honeygrove Development and converted into luxury apartments. The lodge and two cottages were also refurbished. Street House was converted into flats in the 1970s and part was also used as consulting rooms, now a dental surgery Baston Manor was made into flats in 1952 and the outbuildings became cottages. The Oast House in the 1950s was divided into two properties and later, in 1968, the outbuildings were converted into Webb’s Cottage. Ivy Cottage remained as a private dwelling but in 1954 some of its grounds were used to build six distinctive properties in Warren Road. Grandfield’s Nursery damaged by the V2 in February 1945 was not rebuilt but the site was acquired to build a Roman Catholic Church. The Village Store and the houses on the opposite side of the road could not be repaired. Eventually, approval was given for neo-Georgian houses, Nos 7 -11 West Common Road. Longcroft was already partly demolished at the outbreak of World War II. Pickhurst Primary School was opened on its grounds in the 1950s. Demolition and new housing Prickley Wood was pulled down and replaced with a close of 12 houses in 1955. The coach house was demolished in the 1970s and replaced with maisonettes. Hawthorndene was sold In 1962 by Basil Binyon. It was pulled down and houses were built in Hawthorndene Road and Hawthorndene Close, Holland Close and Holland Road. Hawthorndene site after the demolition of the house ( H King) Hawthorndene Close under construction (M Lee) Glebe House was replaced in 1963 by Isard House, an Old People’s Home, which survived until 2016. Isard House then became part of a housing development and was also demolished. Isard House 1974 ( G Wright) Barnhill ceased to be a school and was sold to A J Wait & Co in 1964. The main house was pulled down and private housing was built on the grounds. In Bourne Way two Victorian detached houses were replaced by blocks of flats, Meycroft in 1969/70 and later 12 flats were built at Woodgrange Court in place of Woodgrange. Forge House was built for Dr Jack Hopton at 3 Pickhurst Lane in 1934. Thirty years later a group of houses were built on the grounds creating Forge Close. In 1985 Forge House was replaced by a new doctor’s surgery and sheltered accommodation called Hopton Court. Demolition of Forge House (R Manning) The greatest change in the original village of Hayes perhaps occurred in George Lane with both the demolition of older properties and the creation of new homes. Georgian Close was created in the 1960s. The Rookery Estates, which owned the majority of the land, built four estate houses, Nos. 33-40 George Lane, in the 1950s They were sold in 1990 and an additional house was built behind them. Some of the very old cottages, such as Nos. 13-15, were replaced in the 1970s by detached properties. The neighbouring cottages (9-11) survived and in 1997 were sold and made into one property. Bath Cottages 9 – 15, George Lane, the furthest one demolished 13 – 15 George Lane Five of the 1920s’ Utility bungalows were replaced by a terrace of 16 houses between 1966 and 1971. Permission for the demolition of the last utility bungalow and the building of a pair of semi-detached houses and a detached house was given in 2011. A bungalow at 87 George Lane was demolished and replaced with two semi-detached houses. Earlier the land of Street House was sold to open up the access from Hayes
The Second World War
World War II 1939-1945 The fear was growing that Britain would again be involved in a war. As early as 1935 the Government had sent a circular to county councils setting out the need for local authorities to form a Civil Defence organisation. Bromley Borough Council began to implement plans as part of the London Civil Defence region. The HVA took an active interest and its small sub-committee set up to watch over the official arrangements for Hayes was absorbed into the Council’s Air Raid Precautions (ARP) Committee in 1938. In spite of complaints that it was all proceeding too slowly a great deal had been achieved by the time war was declared on 3 September 1939. The Old Rectory was designated as a damage and casualty centre and a sub-fire station. The fire appliance was kept in Hayes Garage which was across the road. The Old Church School was set up as a first-aid centre after the Borough Council in June 1939 approved the expenditure of £2000 to convert it. It would be manned 24 hours a day. The Clubroom was later fitted out with showers for a gas decontamination centre. Gadsden, which had been bought by the Kent County Council in 1928, had not yet become a school and it became the centre for ARP activities. Gas masks were assembled and distributed in 1938 from here and the Old Church Schools. It became the base for local ARP rescue units. Later, in May 1940, it was also used as a Reception Centre for a large number of refugees arriving from the Low Countries. Gadsden Preparing for War By October 1938, 240 had volunteered for training either in the Old Church Schools or the Village Hall.Drills were held and a major exercise took place at George Lane School in April 1939 to test the first aid and communication teams. Later, in June, there was a mock air raid in which the ambulance service was called to Gadsden where several people had been hit by fragments of anti-aircraft shells, there were injured people by the Station, incendiary bombs needed to be extinguished and in the open space at Pittsmead and Chatham Avenue, a high explosive bomb defused. Hayes Boy Scouts were amongst the casualties who, with a label tied to their coats giving details of their injuries, were sent to various parts of the village to await the rescue squads. Training continued and it was all useful practice for what was to come. A Metropolitan Police air raid siren was installed in March 1939 at the junction of Hayes Street and George Lane next to a blue police box. ARP arrangement instructions were issued in July 1938 to all householders. Shelters, both public and private, started to be organised. The Borough Council designated the basements of four shops in Station Approach, Nos. 42 to 48, as shelters. Slit trench shelters were constructed in the grounds of the Old Rectory and Knoll Park for 200 and 150 people respectively. Shelter sign in Station Approach ARP instructions side 1 ARP instructions side 2 The War Office requirements for Hayes Common Negotiations began in May 1939 with the War Office who wanted to use Hayes Common as part of the defence of London. The Army later clarified its needs as an anti-aircraft site for 4 heavy mobile guns near the SE corner of the junction of Baston and Croydon Roads, with 4/6 huts placed to its west. The guns would require concrete foundations and a prepared roadway. An agreement was reached and construction work began for the guns and 6 huts. Negotiations also took place to mount a searchlight battery on the Common near the junction of Croydon Road and Hartfield Crescent. By August it was in place. Interestingly the formal agreement was not signed until April 1941 by which time there had been some changes in the number of guns. The Civil Defence arrangements for the area were confirmed by the Bromley Borough Council on the outbreak of war. Hayes was District No. 5 and had five wardens posts situated at Socket Lane, Courtlands Avenue, Chatham Avenue, Knoll Park and Gadsden. On 3rd September the District Warden was William Melville and 86 men and women were listed as wardens, although the personnel changed as the war progressed. Bromley Control Centre (Miss D Timms) ARP & AFS Fire watch was an important ARP task. Considerable training was given to deal with fires caused by incendiary bombs which might fall and be trapped in roofs and gutters etc. In 1940 the training was put into action, the number of the fire watching parties increased to 40 by the end of the year and was organised in squads of ten or more so that three people could be on duty each night. Incendiary advice on Wills’ Cigarette cards Incendiary advice on Wills’ Cigarette cards In addition, there were volunteers for the AFS and the Light and Heavy Rescue sections of the ARP.Water supplies were augmented to cover any disruptions to mains supplies by building Emergency Water Supply tanks. One, which held about 100,000 gallons of water, was sited at the junction of The Green and Pittsmead Avenue and another at the junction of Station Approach and Pickhurst Lane. Outbreak of War There was an immediate increase in the preparations for the defence of Hayes as soon as the war was declared. Many householders had either Anderson or brick-built shelters installed. Shelters were set up in schools but some, like the one at Hayes Council School, were not completely finished by April 1940. Plans were put in place for the evacuation of some children and families to safer areas but the arrangements for children to go to Canada ceased after the torpedoing in September 1940 of the SS City of Benares on which ten-year-old Michael Brooker of Bourne Vale was one of the casualties. In 1941 indoor Morrison shelters could be purchased. Conscription was introduced and all men aged 18 – 41 had to register
The 1920s and 1930s
The inter-war years were a period that witnessed the increase in the population of Hayes to around 6,500 in 1939. It was the result of an almost tenfold increase in the number of houses from 222 in 1921 to approximately 2,150 in 1939. These changes were caused by the decision of many property owners to agree to sell their homes to building developers. Of the large houses only the Oast House, Baston Manor, Hast Hill and Hayes Grove remained in private ownership, although a small piece of the garden of Hayes Grove was sold to the builders Tyson & Harris Ltd to build Grove Close. A number of the major houses were used for a different purpose: Schools were set up at Hayes Court 1919 by Miss Katherine Cox Barnhill 1932 by Robert Hilary Smith Baston House 1933 by Marian & Margaret Stafford Smith The Metropolitan Police Sports Club’s official opening took place at the Warren in 1935. Coney Hill became a Home for Disabled Young People run by the Shaftesbury Society in 1935. Housing Development The Howard family who owned Pickhurst Manor were the first to sell pieces of land for development and within ten years the manor was demolished.1926 – part of the land was sold to Sidney Gilchrist Thompson for the building of the Hayes Hill Estate.1931 – George Spencer purchased the house and the rest of the land.1936 – Pickhurst Manor was demolished and by 1939 new houses had been built in Pickhurst Lane (Nos. 31-99 & 92-126) and in Hilldown Road, Courtlands Avenue, Hayes Hill (even Nos.), Hurstdene Avenue, Briar Gardens, Dene Close, Hurst Close. Development of Pickhurst Manor lands by 1931 Over 20 houses were also built in the 1920s at the northern end of Hayes Lane within the parish boundary. The death of Sir Everard Hambro in 1925 led to the sale of Hayes Place and its land to William E Agg-Large in 1930.1931 – part of the estate was sold to Henry Boot & Sons Ltd of Sheffield with plans for 901 houses and included a parade of shops, Premier Parade, opposite the church.1933 – The mansion was demolished. Development of Hayes Place Estate by 1935 1934 – development of the area to the south of Hayes Place was almost complete. It covered the Knoll, Ridgeway and Hayes Garden and four builders were involved: Bleach and Skipper, J C Derby, Keen & Sons and W.A.Jones. Hayes Place Estate Map showing the proposed development of the Knoll, Hayes Garden and Ridgeway 1936 – Boot sold to Williams & Phillips Ltd and T & H Estates Ltd the part intended as Stage 2 of the development. It became Bourne Vale (47-99), Trevor Close, Chatham Avenue, Constance Crescent and part of Mounthurst Road.1938 – W.I. Cook & Co of Beckenham bought land on the northern border of the estate and started to build houses in Mead Way, Hazelmere Way and Heath Rise but this was interrupted by the war.1939 – By this date ‘Boot’ houses were completed in Alexander Close, Everard Avenue, Cecil Way, Cherry Walk, Dartmouth Road, East Way, Hambro Avenue, Husseywell Crescent, Montcalm Close, Northbourne, Oakmead Avenue, Pittsmead Avenue, Sackville Avenue, South Way, Stanhope Avenue, Stuart Avenue, The Green, Wolfe Close and parts of Bourne Vale, Chatham Avenue, Hayes Lane, Hayes Street, Kechill Gardens, Mead Way, Pickhurst Lane and Southborne . Pickhurst Mead was included in the Hayes Place Estate sale in 1931. 1934 – The mansion was demolished in March.1933/34 – Bleach & Skipper built the Pickhurst Green houses and by 1936 had built houses in Pickhurst Lane. 1937/39 – the houses in Pickhurst Mead were built. Warren Wood was sold for development in 1934/5 to Durable Buildings Ltd who built 1-25 and 2-26 Holland Way, Abbotsbury Road, Sandiland Crescent and Westland Drive by 1939. The house was probably demolished by 1936. In 1930 James Frost, the owner of Glebe House, died and the house and land were put up for sale. In 1932 the land was sold separately to Morrell (Builders) Ltd. The house remained unoccupied. The following year Burwood Avenue, Glebe House Drive and Hayes Wood Avenue to its northern boundary with the grounds of Street House were developed. Glebe House Drive Sir Henry Payne lived in the Nest, which he renamed Redgates, from 1921 until his death in 1931. In 1936 it was bought by W W Courtenay Ltd, the house was demolished and Redgate Drive constructed. Five houses were built before the outbreak of the Second World War. Longcroft had been bought by John Thomas Hedley in 1892 but he did not live there after Phyllis Broughton, a Gaiety Girl, rejected his offer of marriage. After he died the house was sold. The demolition of the house started in 1938 but was not finished when war broke out. Twelve semi-detached houses fronting the east side of Pickhurst Lane were built by 1939. 1920s – Longcroft sale board Other new housing appeared in George Lane including six bungalows built under the Hayes Public Utility Society in 1925 and 12 houses known as Hookfield Cottages in 1927. Bromley Council bought land from the Norman family to build Nos 37-51 George Lane in 1936 and the following year Nos 53-83. Hawkswood, George Lane Land in Baston Road saw development on the west side where houses were built by L T Pryor in 1933/34 and the following year land, originally part of the gardens of Glebe House, was developed by Bleach & Skipper. In 1938 S G Gee built the houses adjacent to the Rectory Grounds. Shops Hayes Street 1930s – Premier Parade of shops was built by Henry Boot & Sons Ltd (Nos.18-38) Station Approach 1930s – Both the east and west side of Station Approach were developed by different builders and also the area around the railway station which extended into Bourne Way. By 1939 there was plenty of choice with larger stores such as the South Suburban Cooperative Society, Home & Colonial, David Grieg Ltd, and MacFisheries. There
1901 to 1921
Situated opposite the church Hayes Place remained at the centre of the village. Its owner Everard Hambro maintained his friendship with King Edward VII and in 1908 was made a Knight Commander of the Victorian Order. He supported the church, paying for the recasting of the three oldest bells in 1900 to complement the three new bells he had given in 1882. He liked to modernise, was one of the first to have electricity in his home and he enjoyed the luxury of the new form of transport – the motor car – which was replacing horse drawn carriages. Pickhurst Mead was leased to the motor racing driver Arthur Huntley-Walker. Unfortunately, a house fire in 1905 destroyed the library and another fire in 1909 saw substantial damage both to the house and to fourteen of Huntley Walker’s cars, which included a 90hp Darracq built for the 1909 Grand Prix. He left Hayes soon after this event. Baston & Pickhurst Manors both saw changes with the death of Captain Alfred Torrens at Baston in 1903 and of widow Leonora Devas of Pickhurst Manor in 1909. Henry Norman of Gadsden died in 1905 and the property was bought by James Railton. Hawthorndene also changed hands after the death of widow Mrs McLennan in 1896. George Reader, a solicitor, was followed by Sir Steyning William Edgerley KCVO and in 1913 John Lee-Warner was in residence with his wife Blanche, a son and two daughters. Henry Wellcome, co-founder of the pharmaceutical company Burroughs & Wellcome, came to the Oast House after his marriage to Syrie Barnardo in 1901. They moved into the Nest after the birth of their son in 1904 but separated in 1911 and moved away from the village. With the increase in the number of people in Hayes there were more facilities. A large shed was converted into a building called the Gymnasium in which a variety of social activities such as dances were held and the Hayes Brass Band practised. It stood in the yard adjacent to Harrod’s, a grocer’s and general store, which was almost opposite the site of the Rosary Church today. The Hayes Village Club and the Hayes Church Social Club organised entertainments. The Hayes Cottage Gardeners’ Association (started in 1891) remained active. A Rifle Club was formed in September 1908 and the Rifle Range was situated on the northern boundary of the cricket field at Barnet Wood Road. The school remained under the headship of William Plant but after the Education Act of 1902 was supervised by the Education Committee of the Kent Education Authority. A branch of the Union of London & Smiths Bank opened one morning a week for 1½ hours, there was a post office in Baston Road, two post boxes in Hayes and a telegram office at the Railway Station. Hayes in 1914 The Great War 1914 – 1918 The start of the war in August 1914 and the encouragement for young men to fight for their country resulted in a rush to join up. By Christmas 1914 over half of the eligible men in Hayes had enlisted, in addition to those already serving in the forces. The total number of men to serve who had a Hayes connection whether by birth, employment or because their family lived in Hayes came to 196. Of these 47 are known to have been casualties. Some moved elsewhere after the war and their details have not yet been uncovered but in the front of the Great Bible in Hayes Church the names of 103 men are written who served during ‘the Great War and by God’s Providence returned home.’ Men who returned home safely from First World War (front of Hayes Church Great Bible) Gallantry awards were received by: Albert Batten MM Walter Batten DCM Geoffrey Charles Devas MC Harry Granville Lee-Warner DSO and MM William Mitchell DCM & MM Lionel Norman MC Arthur Valentine Taylor DCM Albert Batten MM Walter Batten DCM Some of the wounded from the battlefields were cared for in a number of local Red Cross hospitals: Hayes Grove had room for 20 patients Warren House provided 55 beds until the death of Sir Robert Laidlaw in 1916 Hast Hill made room for 7 patients and later it became an extension to the Canadian Convalescent Hospital at Bromley Park Hotel 88 Hayes Road offered 4 beds VADs at Hayes Grove (Miss M Fuller) Many Hayes women and some men joined one of three Voluntary Auxiliary Detachments: Kent 50, Bromley Common, Hayes and Keston Kent 52, Bromley Kent 82, West Wickham commanded by Gillian Lee-Warner who lived at Hawthorndene Other women such as Winifred Morris, Elsie and Elizabeth Trevor nursed in military hospitals in France near the front lIne. There were many different efforts in Hayes to help the war effort including: Fundraising, concerts and fetes Knitting socks, gloves, scarves, hats for the soldiers Food parcels Writing letters Empire Day Certificate 1915 In addition, women took over some of the men’s jobs on the land and in the shops and post office. Mary Harrod, Postwoman There were food shortages and rationing was introduced towards the end of the war. The schoolboys were encouraged to grow vegetables. In 1916 they harvested 280lb of potatoes and 200lb of onions. Village School headmaster, William Plant, and the gardening class Hayes became part of the East Sub-Command of the anti-aircraft defences set up to protect London. Only two bombs fell on Hayes, one in Station Road [Bourne Way] and another in woodland near Hartfield House. Major C.E. Prince, who was involved in the development of ground to air and air to air communications lived at Five Elms towards the end of the war. A telephone pole was set up near his home and assisted with his work at Biggin Hill in the Wireless Experimental Establishment. Finally, the war ended on 11 November 1918. Victory Cup given to Hayes school children in 1918 Beatty’s signal on Victory Cup given to Hayes school pupils 1918 Almost £464
Victorian 1837 to 1901
The last quarter of the nineteenth century witnessed major changes in the village of Hayes but life throughout the century was affected by the developments occurring elsewhere in the country. The gap between rich and poor was marked and there were periods of unrest. There was still no mains drainage but Hayes Place was one of the first homes to have electricity and a few gas lamps had been installed in the main village. Communications improved with the setting up of a village Post Office and in 1882 the railway from Hayes to West Wickham was opened. In 1841 there were 105 houses and the population had fallen to 490 from 504 in 1831, mainly as a result of an increase in the number of deaths in the village in 1840. There were 14 burials between October and December and six of the eight in November were children under nine. Most of the men were employed as labourers although there were also skilled craftsmen working in the village forge and carpenters’ workshops. William Ledger, for instance, was involved in the building of the greenhouses for Charles Darwin at Down House. Extract from the tithe map showing the Church, Rectory, Hayes Place and the upper and lower village The parish covered 1249 acres of which 281 were arable, 664 pasture, 120 wood, 44 ornamental, 50 gardens and 200 Common lands. Hayes was one of the first areas to register in 1868 a scheme of management under the Metropolitan Commons Act of 1866, although struggles between villagers asserting their rights still caused conflict. Although the owners of Baston Manor and the tenants at Pickhurst Manor continued to play a part in the community it was the arrival of the banker Everard Hambro at Hayes Place that significantly impacted the village. He became the owner of most of the land that formed the main village. The Sun Inn and Alma Arms which had emerged in the middle of the century were replaced with the New Inn close to the new Hayes Station. He developed his own mansion and built new lodges, improved the workers’ cottages pulling down the ones below the George Inn and replacing them with ‘Model Cottages’. Poplar Row to the south of the school was replaced with the terrace known as St Mary Cottages. Poplar Row (G W Smith) St Mary Cottages Three cottages on the edge of the Common were combined to create Ivy Cottage for two of his sisters-in-law, and Hayes Grove was extended. These properties all survive and are today nationally listed as is the church whose size almost doubled with the building of a north aisle in 1856 and a south aisle in 1878. The eastern part of the parish remained mainly farmland owned by the Norman family of Bromley Common, who let the various farms, Hayesford, Hayes Street and Baston, to different tenants over the century. Working on the land remained one of the main sources of employment for the villagers, but many also worked as domestic servants in the new large houses built in the last thirty years of the century. By the end of the century, 87 new homes had been built, two were under construction and the population had increased to 838. The new houses included: Gadsden (G W Smith) Glebe House (R. Frost) Main houses in 1880 Fifteen villas also appeared in Hayes Road, part of which was within the Hayes Parish at the time. A Parish Council was elected under the Local Government Act of 1894 and replaced the long-established role of the Vestry which now reverted to just an ecclesiastical function. Notable People: Lord Sackville Cecil of the Oast House, engineer, chairman of Exchange Telegraph Company Alexander and his son Alexander George Findlay of the White House, map & chart engravers, FGS Henry Hallam, Pickhurst, historian Sir Everard Hambro, banker, Hayes Place Thomas John Hussey, Rector of Hayes 1831-54, astronomer & theologian Anna Maria Hussey, mycologist Arthur Fitzgerald Kinnaird, Pickhurst, became President of the Football Association John F Mclennan at Hawthorndene from 1875, a Scottish lawyer and ethnologist John Everett Millais stayed at the George in 1852 while preparing sketches for his painting of ‘The Proscribed Royalist’ Frederick Henry Norman, banker of Hayes Court, and his sons Montagu (later Governor of the Bank of England) and Ronald (later chairman of the BBC) Henry John Norman of Gadsden, director of London & Westminster Bank Williamina B Traill of Hayes Place Charles Simpson RA, an artist, spent holidays at Pickhurst Manor with his grandparents Edward Wilson of Hayes Place, founder of Colonial Institute 1868 Charles Simpson’s painting of ‘The Cow Field at Pickhurst’ References: Major sources are the parish, local government and Hayes Common Conservators’ records, newspapers, directories, maps and other documents held in Bromley Historic Collections and in the records of St Mary the Virgin, Hayes. Also: London Metropolitan Archive 1017, Eliot Family Papers HMSO, Return of Owners of Land 1873-6 G.W. Norman, Autobiography, Bromley Historic Collections Charles Kadwell, History of Hayes, 1835 Edward Walford, The Environs of Greater London, 1884 Lavinia Smiley, The Frasers of Castle Fraser, 1998 Charles Simpson, The Fields of Home, 1948 T C Woodman, The Railway to Hayes, 1982 Other articles in this series
Georgian 1714 to 1837
The most significant arrival in Hayes in Georgian times was William Pitt the Elder who moved to Hayes Place after his marriage to Hester Grenville in November 1754. Five children were born between 1755 and 1761 including his second son William, born in 1759, who like his father was to become a Prime Minister. He was determined to create a lavish estate and did not hesitate to divert a road and buy up and demolish cottages and an Inn that was too close to his house. Andrews & Drury Map 1769 Today many of the houses that survive from the Georgian period are listed buildings. Hayes Grove was under construction in 1729 when its owner, Thomas Curtis, a brewer, died and the house was completed by George Wane, a merchant. He became bankrupt and the new owner in 1750, Gabriel Neve, was a member of the Inner Temple. Towards the end of the Georgian Period, the property was owned by Sir Vicary Gibbs, Lord Chief Justice of the Common Pleas and in 1823 was leased by Abel Moysey a Deputy Recorder of the Common Pleas until his death in 1831. Hayes Court dates from the 1770s and was bought as his main house by Vicary Gibbs in 1797. He greatly enlarged the estate by exchanging land for two acres of the Common and like William Pitt diverted a road that came too close to his property. Hayes Court The Nest (demolished in 1936) was originally built in the 1740s and owned by John Hinton, publisher of the Universal Magazine by 1755. It was also bought by Vicary Gibbs in 1797. The Nest (Kadwell Portfolio, Bromley Historic Collections) Bath House (54 Baston Road) stands almost opposite the site of the Nest. Parts of it probably date to the beginning of the 18th century but occupancy can be traced from the time of Edward Hall in 1741. After his death, it was owned by Andrew Bath, one of the largest ratepayers for farmland in Hayes. The Rectory, (Hayes Library today), was built in 1757 for Revd William Farquhar and caused considerable problems between the builders and the rector. Street House was developed on the site of an older house in the 1740s. Pickhurst Manor (demolished 1936) was bought in 1765 by Mariabella Eliot from William Cowley who had almost finished building a new brick house. Sadly she died soon afterwards and her brother John Eliot became the new owner. Hayes Street Farmhouse appears to be shown on the map of the land of William Pitt in 1766 and also the Walnut Tree, Dalton’s Bakery in the 1760s. Pickhurst Mead (demolished 1934) was described as a pretty residence in the Swiss style and was built for Miss Charlotte Moysey in 1833. She lived there until her death in 1846. Pickhurst Mead (Kadwell Portfolio, Bromley Historic Collections) Baston Manor is not a listed building but in 1823 it was sold to Samuel Ward who used the architect Decimus Burton to plan additions to the house. The building used by the Village School, set up in 1791 and Baston farmhouse, (now Baston House School) also survive. The development of the new houses led to the lessening of the importance of Baston and Pickhurst. Their owners with their London connections and visitors placed Hayes firmly on the ‘map’. They created employment for many servants, 48 in 1831 and brought new people into the village. During the century two new inns emerged, the Fox and Hounds at Pickhurst Green and the Red Cow situated between Hayes Street and Hayes Ford but both had disappeared by 1830. The George, which took its name from the inn demolished by William Pitt, was the only one to survive. Fox & Hounds 1820 (T Woodman) Many improvements were made to the church including flooring, windows, the tower and spire but the main one was the addition of a gallery erected on the west wall for use by the choir and school children. Children who attended the school also had to attend church on Sunday. St. Mary’s, Hayes Parish Church (Kadwell Portfolio, Bromley Historic Collections) About half of the villagers lived in the houses along the village street either to the north or south of the church and the rest were scattered around the parish. Almost two-thirds of the families were involved in agriculture or trade. Notable People Some of the more notable people who lived in Hayes in Georgian times John Bowdler at Pickhurst Manor 1791 – 1813 Revd Christopher Clark, Rector of Hayes, 1714 -1733 Revd Francis Fawkes, Rector of Hayes, 1774 -1777 Major General Alexander Mackenzie Fraser died at Hayes 1809 Charles Fraser lived at Hayes Court as a child in 1802. Vicary Gibbs of Hayes Court 1797-1820, Chief Justice of the Common Pleas Elizabeth Montague, ‘Queen of the Blue Stockings’, leased Hayes Place 1751 – 1754 Abel Moysey, Hayes Grove 1820 – 31, Deputy Recorder of the Court of Common Pleas William Pitt the Elder, Earl of Chatham, owned Hayes Place 1754 – 1778 William Pitt the Younger born in Hayes Place 1759, Youngest Prime Minister 1783 Thomas Worsdell born in Hayes 1788 made the tender for Stephenson’s Locomotive, The Rocket Drawing by T Woodman References: National Archives 30/8, The Pitt Papers Staffordshire Record Office D 1548 & 1778, Legge Family Paper Aberdeen University Historic Collections MS 3470, Fraser Papers Vere Birdwood ed., So Dearly loved, so much admired,1994 Emily Climenson, Queen of the Blue Stockings, Vols 1 & II 1906 Hester Wells, John Till of Hayes, Bromley Borough Local History No 3 Other articles in this series
Stuart 1603 to 1714
By the end of the Stuart period, the development of Asshleys had changed the social structure in Hayes. There were now three important houses and gradually Baston and Pickhurst Manors would become less significant. New houses like Benebroke in 1639 and Homefield were constructed although Mr Bradgate’s ‘very good house’ was demolished. The 1664 Hearth Tax recorded 48 households of different sizes which suggests a population of around 200. There were two inns, the Adam and Eve almost opposite the church and the Rose belonging to the Rudland family – where the George Inn stands today. A small Church House was given to the Parish by Robert Hall in 1606 and was used as the poor or workhouse during the century. In the 1620s Robert Hall’s main house [Asshelys] was bought by Stephen Scott and his brother Edmund, who died in 1639. Sir Stephen, described on his tombstone as a gentleman pensioner to King Charles I, had difficult decisions to make when the English Civil War between Parliament and the King broke out in 1642. The wealthier families with land in Hayes had to weigh up the situation. Some like Arnold King, a Royalist, who owned property in the north of the Parish lost their lands and had to wait until the 1660s to recover their property. Baston was bought by Cuthbert Burbage (Burbidge), better known for the building with his brother of the Globe Theatre in London and his connection with William Shakespeare. On his death at Baston in 1636 his daughter Elizabeth inherited. Cuthbert Burbage and his wife died in Hayes but were buried at Shoreditch in London. Cuthbert Burbage burial entry (Hayes Church Register) In the struggles in the 1640s, her husband George Bingley retained his position as a government auditor although in 1643 he was imprisoned for a short while for non-payment of £200 demanded that year by Parliament. At the end of January, he was ‘respited until he received money due by the State for his services. Taxation was heavy and a burden on the community. Several Hayes men asked for confirmation of their payments including the Rector, Christopher Monckton, who remained during the troublesome times until his death in 1652. 1644 Tax Receipt (TNA SP28/158/130) George Bingley died in 1652 and Baston descended through the family to Elizabeth Lloyd who on her death in 1693 left £3 a year from the rent of Redgate Farm to teach the poor children of the village to read. In the same year Matthias Walraven, a brewer from Rotherhithe bought Pickhurst from John Hall, who had purchased the land from Thomas Cooper. The Jackson family had ceased ownership in 1642. A Malthouse was developed there. After the execution of King Charles I in 1649 Sir Stephen Scott left Hayes for Cheshunt where he died in 1658 but he was buried in Hayes Church. His eldest son John inherited and the property remained in the hands of the family until 1697 when it was sold to John Harrison, a felt maker. The land of Sir Humphrey Style in the north of the parish became a subject of considerable controversy after his death in 1659 and its inheritance for her life by his widow Dame Hester Style. In a legal case in 1661 William Style claimed that she and John Scott were harming both the ancestral home in Langley Park and the estates in Beckenham, West Wickham and Hayes. William had to wait until her death ten years later before he could inherit. Various tenants farmed the land north of Pickhurst Green. Sir Humphrey Style (P Knowlden) Main houses in Hayes by 1714 References: Edward Hasted, The History and Topography of Kent, reprint 1981 Canon H.P. Thompson, History of Hayes, 1935 Livery Records, Worshipful Company of Grocers, Guildhall Patricia E Knowlden, The Town of Bromley in Kent and the Great Rebellion, BBLHS 2001 C Kadwell, History of Hayes, Bromley Historic Collections Eliot Family Papers, London Metropolitan Archives, Acc 1017 Other articles in this series
Tudor 1485 to 1603
Within the village, there were few changes in the number of houses until towards the end of Queen Elizabeth I’s reign. The population may have increased slightly but price rises, poor harvests and outbreaks of plague or ‘sweating sickness’ made life hard for the villagers. The number of beggars or wanderers seeking help increased. More of the woodland was managed and several men, including Robert & William Shott, John Hoare and John Humphrey, were described as ‘colliers’ [charcoal makers]. Baston Manor continued to be significant in the time of the Tudors. In 1499 a new hall was built and in renovations in 1813 fragments of some of the earliest paintings in oil on wood were discovered which may have lined the walls. (See illustration above. The panels are now in the Society of Antiquaries) John Heydon inherited Baston on his father’s death in 1504 and was knighted at the coronation of Henry VIII in 1509. He spent most of his time at Court or on his Norfolk estates. The dissolution of the monasteries by Henry VIII resulted in Sir Percival Harte being granted Orpington Manor with its sub manor of Baston in February 1541. It was to him and not the Prior of Christ Church Canterbury that Sir John Heydon paid his manorial dues. His great-grandson William in 1580 sold John and Samuel Lennard the manor but there were difficulties with the legal titles and a protracted dispute with the Calthorpe (Calthrop) family who also claimed it. Baston Manor subsequently descended through the Calthorpe family who recognised the Lennard’s right to the manorial dues. The ownership of Pickhurst was acquired by Sir Robert Rede, Chief Justice of the Common Pleas in 1506 and remained in his family until the end of the century when it was sold to William Jackson. At the end of the 16th century, an important change occurred when Robert Hall, a wealthy London grocer started to buy property in Hayes and had a new ‘double house’ built opposite the Church. It was this house, Asshleys, that would eventually become the most important one in Hayes. Main houses in Tudor Hayes Hayes Church also witnessed changes caused by the religious upheavals of the century which affected the traditional form of worship. Christopher Sharpearrowe complied with Henry VIII’s command in 1534 that the clergy obeyed him and not the Pope. His successor William Dryland did not survive the return to pre-Reformation worship under Queen Mary I but Robert Garrett, appointed in 1554, remained as minister of Hayes in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I until he died in 1566. His successor John Hoare, 1566-84, was also more traditional than the next minister, Samuel Darcknoll, the first married priest in Hayes, who recorded the names of his nine children in the register of baptisms. Register of baptisms, marriages and burials in Hayes Church started to be recorded in 1539. Revd John Hoare, Rector of Hayes 1566-1584 Burial Register 1539/1540 References Archbishops’ Registers, Lambeth Palace Library Bernard Davis, Notebooks Vol 2, Bromley Historic Collections Manorial Records U312 M13-M22, Centre for Kentish Studies Mother Mary Gregory: Wickham Court and The Heydons, Archaeologica Cantiana 1963 Mother Mary Gregory; The Purchase of Wickham Court by the Lennards, Archaeologica Cantiana 1964 Other articles in this series
Medieval to 1485AD
More written records are available in the medieval period and they reveal that Hayes developed as a small community. Both churches, manorial and legal records help us to find out about the early village. In 1301 a tax roll provides the names of 26 householders who had sufficient goods to be rated and it is estimated that the population numbered about 140. The wealthiest man was Master John de Bastane who farmed his land and paid manorial dues to his overlord. The feudal system of landholding meant that most of the land of Hayes was owned by the Monks of Christ Church Canterbury who established the Manor of Great Orpington with its subsidiary manors of Baston and Pickhurst. Baston Manor stood at the top of the steep scarp of the Blackheath beds overlooking the ‘Coney Hill’ Valley. It was isolated from the rest of the settlement and was probably originally a defensive position commanding a fine view to the west. Its owners managed the majority of the land in Hayes and by 1477 there were 17 tenants. Medieval Baston Feudal ownership The Manor of Baston passed from the Esthalle family of the Cray Valley to Otto Grandison, a valued friend and companion of King Edward I. After his widow Beatrice’s death the property was in the hands of Geoffrey Newenton who also owned Wickham Manor and he sold to another local family the Squerys. At the end of the medieval period, it was owned by Henry Heydon, a wealthy nobleman and lawyer with several large estates in Norfolk, including Baconsthorpe Castle. His wife Ann was the great aunt of Ann Boleyn, Henry VIII’s second wife. He lived for part of the year at Wickham Court, which he also owned. Pickhurst Manor in the north of the Parish had fewer tenants and in the early medieval period both Holy Trinity Priory, founded by Queen Matilda in 1141, and the Abbot of Holy Saviour, Bermondsey, in the 13th century, also owned some land in the north of Hayes for which tenants paid dues. The owners of Baston and Pickhurst Manor did not necessarily live in Hayes but relied on tenants to provide them with an income. The manorial courts record village activities, the appointment of the ale-taster, the settlement of disputes, and in 1450 provide the names of nine husbandmen pardoned by the king – William Robert, John Hever, Richard Shot, Richard Aleyn, Alan Nashe, John Aleyn, Hugh Kechyll, William Frenshe and Simon Kechyll who had taken part in Cade’s rebellion. The villagers were affected by some of the major changes of that time but chiefly by the Black Death in 1349, which seems to have reduced the population by half. Slowly the population recovered. By 1485 more land in Hayes had been cleared. A few houses had appeared along the track to Bromley and there were small groups clustered around Pickhurst Green, the edge of Baston Hethe and near the Church, which was situated midway between the manors of Baston and Pickhurst. The church was an important focus in the village. Gifts were left to it and brasses survive to two ministers in the late medieval period John Osteler (died 1461) and Sir John Andrew (minister 1462-1479). Early Medieval settlements in Hayes References: A descriptive catalogue of ancient deed in the Public Records Office, Vol 1, Vol V1 PRO 1894 Bernard Davis, Notebooks Vols 1 -10, Bromley Historic Collections Charles North, Calendar of Kentish Wills: 1384 to 1559, 1890 R A L Smith, Canterbury Cathedral Priory, 1943 Orpington Court Rolls, Canterbury Cathedral Archives, John Thorpe, Registrum Roffense, 1798 Rochester Priory Records, Centre for Kentish Studies Lewis Duncan Leland, Testamenta Cantiana, KAS 1906 Other articles in this series
Prehistoric to Saxon
Palaeolithic (to 8,000BC) The remains of reindeer, mammoth, woolly rhinoceros, horse, hand axes and flints were discovered in the 1880s in a deep pit in Hayes. It was located close to Tiepigs Lane and was a source for extracting gravel for use on roads and during the construction of the railway to Hayes which opened in 1882. It has now been filled in and is covered by housing. Flint blades, scrapers and hand axes have also been found on Hayes Common and flint tools in Hayes Lane and Alexander Close. Palaeolithic flint 1897 (C Kadwell History of Hayes) Palaeolithic flint (Bromley Historic Collections) Mesolithic (to 4000BC) An axe, core, flint blades and scrapers have been found on Hayes Common near Baston House School and a tranchet stone axe at Hayes Street Farm. Mesolithic flint Neolithic (to 2000BC) Numerous flints and pottery have been found on Hayes Common, in the Gravel Pits, in the Pickhurst area, in Hayes Lane and near Hayes Court. When a large and significant Neolithic settlement was excavated near Baston Manor by the West Kent Border Archaeological Group in 1964 the finds included flints, knives, blades, scrapers, axe and arrowheads. Amongst the 225 pottery sherds, it was possible to identify 50 different vessels. Excavating Neolithic site (B. Philp) Bronze Age (to 700BC) Evidence of human activity continues in the succeeding centuries when our ancestors started to use metal tools. Flints, pottery sherds, loom weights and fragments of quernstones exist from a farmstead excavated to the south of Hayes Court. It dates from between 1000 to 700 BC and suggests that late Bronze Age farmers were rearing sheep and growing corn in Hayes. A bronze socketed winged axe has also been discovered in the north of the parish on land formerly part of Fixted Farm. Iron Age (to 43AD) There are very few Iron Age finds but pottery was discovered during the building of Hayes Primary School, George Lane, in 1935 and near Barnet Wood when a gas pipe was installed in 1964. It has been claimed that the 500-metre linear earthwork to the east of Hayes Court may be from the late Iron Age period but no dateable finds have been recovered to confirm this suggestion. Roman (to 410AD) There are considerable signs in the areas around Hayes of settlement in Roman times but at present in Hayes evidence is limited to: a Roman Bathhouse near Baston Manor excavated in 1964 pottery found in Malling Way where excavations indicated a small farmstead in 1993 a cremation urn discovered at Hayes Court and a small cup and a bronze coin of the Emperor Antoninus Pius (AD 138-161) in 1923 300 coins from between AD 296 and AD 309 were found in a pottery vessel near Ravensbourne School in 1953 Roman tiles were inserted in the walls of Hayes Church. Hayes Court cremation urn (Kadwell Portfolio, Bromley Historic Collections) Roman bath house (B Philp) Roman tile in a wall of St. Mary’s Church Roman cremation urn and coin of Antonius Pius Saxon (to 1066AD) A bronze sword ring, part of a pommel, was found in Hayes Lane in 1934 and is the only Saxon artefact discovered to date in Hayes. By the 11th century, charters reveal that much of the land belonged to the monks of Christ Church Canterbury but no evidence has yet been found of whether Hayes was occupied at the time. References: Mark Newman, A survey of the Archaeology of the Parish of Hayes, Kent 1983 B J Philp, Excavations in West Kent, 1960 -1970 Brian Philp, The Discovery of Archaeological Sites at Hayes, Kent 1960 – 1997 M.C.Watts Anglo-Saxon Charters of Bromley, Kent, Bromley Local History Number 4, 1979 Other articles in this series