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FROM BLACKH. ATH TO THE CLOCK TOWER. 7 
green. Inthe garden was a famous chestnut tree, shown in the 
drawing in Plate 26. This is said, according to local tradition, to 
have been planted in 1683, and to have been the parent tree of 
those in Bushey Park. The stream, which ran through the village, 
passed the ‘‘ Roebuck,” and joined the Ravensbourne at Lewisham 
Bridge, which at this spot yielded many a good fish to the angler. 
Lewisham Bridge is marked in Rocque’s map of 1745 as 
‘*Stone Bridge,” see Plate 7. If this is to be taken literally, it 
would indicate that one of the medieval high-backed stone bridges 
existed at that date, which is not unlikely. 
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PLATE 26.—THE ‘‘ ROEBUCK"™ INN, ABOUT 1830. 
In the will of Christian Sprigg, widow, dated 17th August, 1473, 
is a bequest of tos. ‘‘to the making of the bridge at the north end 
of the town of Lewisham.” 
The bridge which occupied this position for the first half of the 
tgth century was a red brick bridge, probably of 18th century 
date, narrow and sufficiently high to allow of boats going under it. 
It had three arches, the centre being the largest, and on either side 
were V-shaped refuges. These can be seen in the sketch (Plate 27). 
The foot traffic increased considerably with the removal of 
Lewisham railway station to its present position from that at the 
foot of Granville Park, on the opening of the Mid-Kent Line in 
January, 1857, and a wooden plank addition was made to the 
southern side of the bridge for the accommodation of foot 
