Sign in or 
Share this
Baldwyns Manor
Records as far back as the reign of King John (c 1200) show that some of the lands in the locality, including those of Baldwyns Manor (The site of where Bexley Hospital once stood) were possessed by the Abbots of Lesnes (Erith / Belvedere area). The name BALDWYNS appears to originate from one of it's early owners - Sir John BAUDE and the adoption of the name BAUDIWINS. However, little appears to be known of the man himself.
Taken from records in the Dartford Reference Library the below describes the early origins of Baldwyns by Hasted
"Baldwins" is a corruption of BAUDIWINS which names the estate received from its early possession Sir John BAUDE." . . . . . .was taken into the possession of the Abbott and Convent of Lesnes . . . . . . continued until the suppression of the Abbey in the 16th year of Henry VIII . . . . . . . was then granted to Cardinal WOLSEY for the endowment of his college of Oxford . . . "but in the Cardinal being cast in a praemuinure before the estates had been firmly settled on his college it became forfeited to the crown, and was soon again granted in exchange for other lands to Eton College to which it now belongs".
Records show that, some two hundred years later, BAUDIWINS was still owned by the Abbey in 1509 - the first year of the reign of King Henry VIII. In the 16th year of his reign he dissolved the Abbey and all revenues from it's lands etc.. including Baudiwins went to Cardinal WOLSEY (1525). Following disagreement 4 years later with the Church all revenues went to the crown. 3 years after that King HENRY VIII granted the lands in the name of the MANOR OF BALDWYNS ( in exchange for others near Windsor ) to ETON COLLEGE. I can find no reference at this stage to a Manor House or other such seat of Manorial power in the lands of Baldwyns.
The lands known as the 'Manor of Baldwyns' have been leased by that college to various owners including ADAMS, LOVELACE and Sir Edward HULSE. The latter became the Kings physician in 1739 and was married to Elizabeth, daughter of Sir Richard LEVETT, who was Lord Mayor in 1700. Records show that he retired to BALDWYNS in 1759 - "several years before his death "- indicating a reference to an actual constructed Manor House.HULSE was buried in Wilmington Churchyard. It appeared that he owned BALDWYNS, as his will shows that he bequeathed the lands to his second son Richard HULSE who also resided at the Manor. Richard served as SHERIFF in 1768. In 1783 he moved to Blackheath, London and sold his interest to Arnold NESBITT Esq. who then took up residence there. It is interesting to note that in 1791 the Manor was 'alienated' to Simon FRAZER Esq., who was a director of the EAST INDIA COMPANY. (See the chapter on the 'Toxophilites' re BOWMANS LODGE) The information above 13 showing the history between the time of Sir John BAUDE and the time of FRAZER was written contemporaneously to the life of the latter, as it showed him still in residence. FRAZERS' daughter married Alexander Lord SELTON who died at the Manor in 1793 - presumably whilst FRAZER was still alive. A map of Kent dated 1769 (HASTED) shows the Manor House of 'BALDINGS' as the family seat of Richard HULSE Esq. This is the first record that I have seen referring to an actual MANOR HOUSE. Isaac MINET became owner of BALDWYNS - probably about c1810. Records show that his four children were not born at Baldwyns. They were born between the years 1803 - 1807 and their registrations of birth showed an address of 13 Austin Friars. Isaac became High Sheriff of Kent in 1827 and died at Baldwyns on 14th March 1839 aged 72 years being buried at Westerham some 8 days later. This is a reference to an actual MANOR HOUSE.
Of Isaac's children, Charles was the eldest - being born on 27th June 1803. The Wilmington Tithe map of 1842 shows that the lands were in the possession of Thomas MINET. There is reference in the Dartford Reference Library to an incident that occurred in 1846 when a Mr Richard SALMON took issue with Susan MINET about her closing a pathway across her land that led from Wilmington to Bexley. Mrs MINET's pathway can be seen clearly on a map in the British Museum dated 1799. He calculated the extra distance to walk was now 257 rods. The original being 158. The path was opened up and is now called Tile Kiln Lane. Charles died at Baldwyns on 27th February 1874 - some 3 years after the death of his wife Leah. He was buried at Wilmington Churchyard - even though his wife was buried at St. Leonard's, where she died. There is a loose reference to the sale of Baldwyns by the MINET family to a consortium in about 1850 which may indicate financial problems for them - this information comes from a sketchy, and unqualified, brief history manually typed and produced by an unknown author for Bexley Hospital.
In 1874, just following his death, Charles MINET was hailed by the local press as the 'Champion of the People of Dartford'. At the time of his death he was in the middle of a Civil Court action whereby he challenged Lord TREDEGAR and his manorial rights to remove, at will, any amount of natural resources from the Heath. The land was being scarred and littered by such excavations. He won the case posthumously and, no doubt, was responsible for preserving much of the beauty of the heath for a further 40 years until its' dissection by the building of the A2 Rochester Way c.1926 and the eventual scarring made by the newer A2 (M) in 1970. The court case itself must have been expensive as the newspaper reports show many witnesses / affidavits (78 recorded in the cutting) were sworn. The pamphlet showing the auction of the Manor of Baldwyns indicates that it took place on Friday 26th May 1876 at ‘2 O'clock precisely’, at the Mart, Tokenhouse Yard, near the Bank of England. This auction occurred as the result of an order of the High Court of Chancery and with the approbation of the Judge in MINET v TUBBS 1874 M.70. It was as a direct result of the death of Charles. This could have been the result of a mixture of death duties, debts and/or contracts with the defendant TUBBS - see indented paragraph below. In this instance in 'MINET v TUBBS', TUBBS was the married name of one of Charles' daughters,. Fanny Celia MINET. She was born on 3rd April 1831. and married a Robert TUBBS on 26th September 1861. Robert came from St Leonards. It was 10 years later, and at St. leonards, on 5th November 1871 that Celias' mother, Leah, died and where she was buried. It seems strange that the only MINET buried at Wilmington churchyard was the last head of the Baldwyns Manor - Charles in 1874. He lies buried in a solitary and ( for his status in life ) a somewhat insignificant grave. Without confirmation, it would appear that there was some disharmony, or contract, perhaps, in the family. It may have been that there was a contract of financial status existing between Robert TUBBS and his father in law that had to be settled out of the estate upon the death of Charles or just as likely the probate of his will. As stated his wife lies buried in the home town of TUBBS - presumably the plaintiff (and son in law).
The pamphlet describes the Manor of Baldwyns as comprising three lots. These were headed 'BALDWYNS - MAYPOLE FARM and ROWHILL WOOD/ROWHILL FIELD'. It appears that the sale was not successful on this day due to the fact that not all three lots were sold on the day of Auction. The reserve price was £34,000 The manicured grounds of Baldwyns Manor finally fell from grace when the construction of the Asylum began c1896. In my memory, and certainly from the 1950s, this imposing Manor House has always been called 'The Mansion' and had for most of the time been used by the Occupational Therapy Unit of Bexley Hospital. The view from this house before the hospital was built must have been very gracious. The surrounding land of the Manor House was laid out as park land spilling away from the front, eastwards towards the direction of Wilmington and Rowhill. From its' pillared front door, the hill of Rowhill must have been very obvious to any visitor or resident of Baldwyns Manor at the time. There was a long drive from the current gates of the hospital sweeping round to the Manor House. The Manor House was adapted for hospital use after 1898. From an O.S. map of around this time it appears that the original house had an adjoining / closely situated additional building to the north - to the right as you view facing the front. Presumably this was the location of the 'Out Offices' referred to in the pamphlet. These 'Offices' comprised of a dairy, with a store room over, a wash house, with a laundry over, a brew house, a well house and a knife house. There were detached stables with five stalls, a harness room with hay and store rooms over and a coach house for three carriages.
Extract from the Dartford Express dated 25th July 1874
"In Chancery: MINET v. TUBBS-Kent-The beautiful Freehold Residential Estate, distinguished as Baldwyns, extending over about 841 acres in the parishes of Dartford, Wilmington and Bexley, a short distance only from the ancient and interesting market town of Dartford, about a mile away from Bexley and Crayford and only 14 by road from London, in a neighbourhood proverbially healthy and picturesque, and with excellent railway facilities by the North Kent Line, by which the City and West End are reached in little more than half an hour. It comprises a capital Mansion, with suitable attached and detached offices of every description, desirable for the occupation of a family of distinction, approached by a carriage drive, with ornamental entrance lodges, beautiful pleasure grounds, gardens, and orchards, surrounded by a richly timbered park, ornamental woods , plantations, and adjacent meadow land, through which are delightful walks of considerable extent and immediately adjoining is the farm known as Stonehill, farm buildings, and numerous enclosures of productive land, also several cottages for labourers. The woodland, which includes the well known Ruxley-Heath, Rowhill and Joydens Woods, is well adapted for the rearing of preservation game, and affords excellent shooting, and several packs of hounds hunt the district. The property presents unusual attractions as the site of the ancient city of Caswallon, and from the interesting remains of encampments and excavations made by our Celtic ancestors found thereon; while in addition to its present residential advantages, it possesses extensive frontages of Dartford Heath and the high road, immediately available for building purposes, and by a judicious widening of the intersecting road leading from Bexley to Wilmington, a further very extensive building element would be developed, and many sites for the erection of residences which, from the beauty of the situation, the close proximity to Bexley and Dartford, and the facility of railway access, must sooner or later be required".
The original gatehouse(s) presumably were on or near the site of the current (and enlarged with the new housing development)Lodges. The pair of gate houses that exist today are isometric and were most certainly built as part of the hospital and the original (s) demolished. There was still an outbuilding right up to c.1994 - detached from the East Lodge - that I suspect dated back to the original gatehouse to the manor. The Planning Application for Hiram Maxims Flying Machine rails, dated 1894, shows one gate house on the site of the current East Lodge with an outbuilding. This original outbuilding appeared to be constructed to a design that is not replicated in any other part of the hospital and to be made from older materials. (However there was a similar building in the original enclosed 'Gardens' area near the Manor House used as a potting shed.) This gatehouse outhouse was constructed mainly from timber with a central brick chimney. The brickwork appeared much older than any other within the hospital complex. It is possible then that this outbuilding dated back to the early 18th century and to the time of the original gatehouse. I can remember in the 1950s that the hospital still had the status of an Asylum and had very large, tall green iron gates that were closed when not in use.
c1940s
Baldwyns in state of dereliction 1996
photo taken from internet of Baldwyns during renovation.
The gatekeeper sat in the (now demolished) central, purpose built gatehouse. This building was made of a similar design and materials as the two lodge houses. All comings and goings were recorded there. The heath and other neighbouring lands had lain unchanged in appearance for centuries until Dartford Heath eventually became owned by Lord TREDEGAR. The heath occupied some 350 acres. The Law of Property Act 1925 (which allowed the public to use commons for air and recreation) resulted in Lord TREDEGAR finally selling it to Dartford Urban District Council in 1925 for the sum of £1000 on 1st April 1925. During ownership by the TREDEGAR family, and probably between the dates 1820 - 1874, the heath was extensively excavated for it's natural resources (gravel, sand and turf). The O.S. map dated 1869 shows smaller and older pits. There are still large excavations in evidence today. I believe that the family seat of Lord TREDEGAR (Family name of Morgan) was Wilmington Manor and originally situated at Barn End, Wilmington. The O.S. Map of 1897 shows a large Victorian House (Previously called Heathside) in Parsons Lane called ‘Wilmington Manor’. This newer ‘Wilmington Manor’ now forms part of the complex of the ‘Grammar school for Girls, Wilmington’.
Maypoleman |
Latest page update: made by Maypoleman
, Jan 14 2009, 12:23 PM EST
(about this update
About This Update
Edited by Maypoleman
1 image added 1 image deleted view changes - complete history) |
|
Keyword tags:
aeroplane
Baldwyns Manor
Bexley Cottage Hospital
Bexley Hospital
Dartford
flight
Hiram Maxim
history
Kim Button
Maypole
Minet
Wilmington
More Info: links to this page
|
There are no threads for this page.
Be the first to start a new thread.
