Coombe Lane, Heathfield House

Of all the private estates that have come into the ownership of Croydon Council, Heathfield is the only one that remains intact.  A Grade II Listed mansion built in the late 18th or early 19th century, it is an excellent example of a 'Ferme Ornée' (French for ornamental farm), a garden with a working farm included in the overall design and where the farm both contributes to the effect and is itself planted with ornamental hedgerows.

The name Heathfield first appears in an 1837 tithe assessment for the parish of Addington.  In the 1840s the estate was sold to Thomas Walters and in 1872 to Charles Goschen who added it to his Ballards estate and leased it to his brother Henry, one of the last serving members of the East India Comany.  By 1947 the mansion was occupied by Raymond Riesco who before his death in 1964, agreed with Croydon Council that they would purchase the estate and display his magnificent collection of pottery.

Heathfield House is currently used as a training centre, with the farm leased to a local farmer and the woodland managed by the London Wildlife Trust.  Since the storms of 1987 and 1990 which caused the loss of 200 trees in the 18-acre garden, the Council's Parks Department have been carrying out an extensive restoration programme.

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Friday, 25 July, 2008

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