The Italian Garden
The Italian Garden
The Well Hall Pleasuance is in Eltham, off Well Hall Road, SE9, and adjoining the A2 Rochester Way. The garden was created in the early 20th century, though the site's history goes back a lot further. Following a restoration, it is still maintained in its former styles, with lots of floral plantings. It is often called just 'the pleasaunce'.
The gardens are well developed, with a number of distinct areas and themes, mostly of formal gardens. It includes many water features, including a formal moat-like pond beside the barn building, streams, and fountains. .
On looking in from Well Hall Road, visitors will see a display of carpet bedding, in a raised shield shaped bed. This is one of the few such remaining in London, and in 2007 it showed a display on the centenary of the Scouts movement.To the south of it is an incongruously place rock garden, overshadowed by a large poplar tree. On the south perimeter of the garden, there is a long formal Italian style garden, organised round a pool, lined with upright cedars. It is crowned with a sunken display of formal bedding.
The centerpiece of the garden is a quartered walled garden, entered through a gate behind the shield bed. It has rose-beds in lawns. Herbaceous and mixed borders line the walls.On the east side, there are wild meadow areas, and a collection of trees and shrubs.
The 'Tudor Barn' is the only surviving building of the ancient house, and it has been dated to the 16th century. It now houses a pub cum restaurant, and an art gallery. It is partially surrounded by moats. A number of historical features and artefacts can be seen in the walls of the barn.
There are two old bridges within the grounds. A distinctive fountain forms the centerpiece of the walled garden, and the old walls remain, some having been recently repaired.There is a bowling green and pavilion to the west of the squared garden. Public toilets can be found near the Well Hall Road entrance.
The park was originally the grounds of Well Hall House, home of several well known figures in the past. The best known of these are probably Margaret Roper, the daughter of St. Thomas More, in the 16th century. Much later at the start of the 20th century, Edith Nesbitt of 'The Railway Children' also lived there. The house stood alongside Well Hall Road.
In 1936, the grounds were purchased by the local council, the house was demolished and the present gardens were created. It is not clear that there is much historical connection with past layouts. In 2003, a refurbishment of the gardens was carried out by Greenwich Council with the aid of a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund.The garden is managed by the London Borough of Greenwich. There is an active Friends group, who maintain an informative website, particularly good on wildlife to be found in the gardens.