August 16, 2015 by blackfenpastandpresent

Pickpockets at the Club

The Morning Chronicle of 14 June 1854 reported on page 12 that George Gettins and William Stephens were charged with attempting to pick the pocket of Sir John Kirkland, of No. 10 Portman Square. Sir John Kirkland said he was near the Carlton Club yesterday afternoon when he felt a hand in his pocket. He turned round, and seeing his handkerchief nearly out of his pocket, and the prisoner Stephens close to him, he seized him by the collar, and held him till the police came up. The prisoner begged to be let off that time. The prisoner Gettins was close to the other prisoner.

Police Constable Keech, 102 C said he saw the prisoners and two other well-known thieves in company together in Charles Street. He saw Gettins try a gentleman’s pockets, and Stephens, who carried a bag, tried to rob a lady, who beat him off with her parasol.

Mr Bingham committed both prisoners as rogues and vagabonds to hard labour for two months.

[Sir John Kirkland bought the Blackfen Farm in 1861 and renamed it Queens Wood].

August 9, 2015 by blackfenpastandpresent

Sir John Kirkland at Beckenham Place

Sir John Kirkland, a wealthy army agent who purchased the Blackfen Farm in 1861, lived in some very grand houses. His London homes had included 10 Portman Square and 80-82 Pall Mall, while his country homes had included The Priory in Roehampton, Surrey (now the Grade II listed Priory Hospital) and Dulany House in Patching, Sussex (destroyed by fire in 1945).

From 1869 he was a tenant of Beckenham Place. This mansion had been built by John Cator, MP around 1763. The layout and design is strikingly similar to that of Danson House, Bexley, built around the same time. A portico with four Ionic columns was added to the frontage in the 1780s, and this element is a reminder of Foots Cray Place in Bexley which Sir John Kirkland had rented previously. (The only homes he actually owned were Avoch in Ross-shire and Queens Wood in Blackfen.) Not many people were wealthy enough to pay the rent on such properties, and Beckenham Place lay empty for some years after his death in 1871.

Front of Beckenham Place, 2015

Beckenham Place facing its splendid grounds

In the early 1900s Beckenham Place was used as a boys’ school and then as a sanatorium, while the grounds became a golf course. The whole estate was acquired by London County Council in 1927 and has been managed by the London Borough of Lewisham since 1971. The stable block was destroyed by fire but the formal gardens are still glorious.

Beckenham Place stable block and formal gardens

Today, Beckenham Place Park is an area of over 200 acres of beautiful open space, ancient woodland, meadow areas and a public golf course. There is a nature trail, a sensory garden and a children’s playground. The visitor centre (open Sundays 1.30-3.30pm) is run by volunteers and contains a fantastic collection of history on the park and mansion, information leaflets and books, plus the chance to see some of the 18th century-style interior.

Beckenham Place golf course

I thoroughly enjoyed my day at Beckenham Place Park. But it appears to be under a degree of threat, as a lottery bid for ‘improvements’ to the park by Lewisham Council includes the closure of the golf course and there is a campaign against it. I just hope that future generations will be able to enjoy the beautiful open space that I saw today and that Sir John Kirkland enjoyed until his death in 1871.

January 1, 2015 by blackfenpastandpresent

Sir John Kirkland of Queens Wood, Black Fen

Sir John Kirkland (1796-1871) was an army agent, providing a banking service to soldiers and their families, and was also military agent to Prince Albert. He was knighted at the coronation of Queen Victoria in 1838. He lived in some very grand homes in London, Surrey, Sussex and Scotland, and also at Foots Cray Place and Beckenham Place in Kent.

In August 1861 Sir John Kirkland purchased the Black Fen Farm, a substantial residence and farm, surrounded by arable and meadow land, on the west side of Days Lane. He named the estate Queen’s Wood (presumably after the reigning monarch and perhaps inspired by the nearby Crown Woods). At the same time he purchased adjoining farmland towards Avery Hill and Days Lane Farm to the south, near Halfway Street.

Items specified in Sir John Kirkland’s will of 1866 include:
• gold inkstand and pair of gold candlesticks, a gift from Queen Victoria in 1852
• portraits of Her Majesty and the Prince Consort sent to Sir John from Osborne on 18 January 1862
• onyx pin containing a portrait of the Prince with a personal inscription from Queen Victoria sent from Balmoral on 19 May 1862.