114 BOROUGH OF LEWISHAM. 
Ladywell Village consisted of a cluster of small cottages at the 
foot of the hill, on the ground now occupied by the shops between 
Ladywell Road and Gillian Street. They were built on land 
enclosed from the waste, and probably dated from about 1810. 
They were removed in 1885. Mercy Terrace and the houses, etc., 
round the Railway Station, followed the opening of the line in 1857. 
The remainder of Ladywell Village on the south side of the road 
consists of small cottages of a date about 1830-40. 
A word should here be said concerning the Ladywell Recreation 
Ground, which is some 51 acres in extent, and consists of several 
meadows by the side of the river Ravensbourne, between Ladywell 
and Catford. A movement was started about 1888 for a recreation 
ground for Lewisham, owing to the extensive building which had 
taken place, and this site was finally chosen in preference to that of 
the Rosenthal Estate then in the market. The ground was 
purchased in 1889 by the London County Council, and cost 
421,880, of which Lewisham contributed half. The fields which 
make up the first portion of the ground, from Ladywell to Medusa 
Road, were purchased from the Lord of the Manor,-and are the 
‘meadows of the lordship,” which also comprised the land where 
Malyons Road is built, and that on the other bank of the river 
behind the Workhouse and Infirmary. These fields, there is little 
doubt, are the ‘‘ 30 acres of meadow’”’ mentioned in Domesday. 
The Hilly Fields Recreation Ground of 45 acres on the 
summit of Vicar’s Hill, was acquired in 1896, at a cost of £44,872, 
towards which Greenwich contributed £7,000, Lewisham £2,800, 
the Lewisham Parochial Charities £2,500, and £9,000 was 
collected in the surrounding district, the balance being met by the 
London County Council. This neighbourhood is therefore well 
provided with open space for recreation. 
On the left or southern side of the Ladywell Road was an 
estate named Slagrave Farm, consisting of some 35 acres (the 
fields were named Dissington, Foxborough Hill, etc.) The farm 
was sold in 1894 to the Guardians of the Poor of the Parish of 
Bermondsey, who have built thereon a ‘‘ Home of Rest” for their 
aged poor. 
Further along the road, and on the same side of the way, was 
the Bridge House Farm, another of the estates of that Corporation. 
It has belonged to them from medieval times. The old farm house 
and buildings were demolished in 1895, and the whole estate laid 
out for building small houses. The area is roughly indicated by 
Chudleigh Road. 
At the top of Ladywell Road is the Lewisham Cemetery, 
formed in 1856 and opened in 1858, the parish churchyard being 
full. On Rocque’s map, 1745, part of the site is marked as 
** Brockley Wood,” whilst on the Tithe Map, 1845, the whole area 
of 30 acres (which then belonged to the Earl of Dartmouth) is 
styled ‘‘Great Field.” Its earlier name appears to have been 
Strodes or Shrouds, and it was Lammas or half-year land. 
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