104 BOROUGH OF LEWISHAM. 
elm tree, which was removed in 1906, when the electric tramways 
were laid. 
The two houses Nos. 240 and 242, formerity known as 
Magnolia House from the fine specimen of that tree which 
partly covered the front walls, are among the few remaining 
portions of Lewisham of the early part of the 18th century. The 
gateways and lamp stand are not inelegant examples of iron work 
of the period. 
Camden House, No. 246, is a very good specimen of the 
suburban house of the 18th century—it may, indeed, date from the 
time of William and Mary. It was tenanted in the 19th century 
by General Mann, Miss Finch, Mr. John Wood, Mr. James Jay, 
Mr. Page and others, and is at present held by Messrs. Antill, 
builders. It was originally only two stories high, the portion 
above the cornice which runs along the front having been added 
probably in the time of George II. 
Between Camden House and the house now occupied by 
the Conservative Club were three small houses, which were 
removed when the Sevenoaks and Tonbridge Railway was made in 
1865. One of these was tenanted by a greengrocer and fruiterer, 
and as an illustration of the rural character of the place at the 
time we are told that as late as 1840 he kept his ducks in the little 
stream which then ran in front of the house, wire netting being 
placed to prevent them from wandering up and down! Opposite 
this, on the site of the railway, was a small farm house called 
Yew Tree House. 
The Conservative Club House on the south side of the railway 
bridge was for many years the residence of Dr. John Brown, one 
of the village physicians. It is a good red brick house, probably 
of the early part of the 18th century, but the character of the front 
has been completely obscured by being cemented—there is scarcely 
a house of this date in the place which has escaped this fate. The 
general appearance of this part of the street in or about 1860 will 
be seen in Plate 44. 
Nos. 262 to 266 are built on the site of the stables of 
Brooklands House. This last, No. 272, now the Liberal and 
Radical Club House, was built about 1820, and was for many 
years the residence of the Hadley family, to whom there is a large 
monument in the churchyard eastward of the chancel. It was 
tenanted by Mr. Henry Wood from 1859 until his death in 1894 in 
his ggth year. The property was subsequently sold by the Hadleys, 
and Rhyme Road and Whitburn Road were built on the gardens 
and meadows. On the eastern side of the High Street was a 
four-gabled house, apparently of Elizabethan date, which occupied 
the site of the Congregational Church, and was pulled down 
in 1847 (Plate 45). ‘ 
The surrounding ground was for many years at the opening of 
the 19th century the once famous nursery garden of Messrs. 
Russell and Willmott, afterwards Willmott and Chaundy. Court 
” 
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