Finding the Villas....Part 3

Fairwood

Of all the villas along Sydenham Hill, Fairwood has left the best-known relic, the folly and its accompanying cascade. However, there are other clues as to its existance. Just inside the fence along Sydenham Hill, there is a gate-post complete with ironwork, there are footings for greenhouses and, against the wall separating it from Beechgrove, there is lead flashing suggesting a hot house of some sort. There are also the remains of the main terrace and its cellars.

 

 

Remains of Fairwood.

 

Gate post for Fairwood's drive.

Fairwood's cellar wall, in the background, a chute, perhaps for coal deliveries?

Steps leading down from the terrace to the garden.

The wall between Fairwood and Beechgrove. What was once a lean-to greenhouse, note remnants of a plaster coating and eyes in the brickwork for training vines. 

O.S. maps show terraces in Fairwood's garden. The sudden change in level suggests this is one of them.

Half way down from the house was a range of greenhouses and these are their remains.

Next to the greenhouses is this octagonal opening, maybe a well as it seems quite ornate to be a drain.

The folly.

Pulham's catalogue mentions the folly and a cascade.

Fernbank

 Fernbank had a complex garden layout, as shown on this 1870 map

Very little remains of this house, except for some footings of garden buildings which can be seen next to the path from the folly up to the Cedar of Lebanon. However, hidden in the upper wood is a ridge which marks the boundary between the gardens of Fairwood and Fernbank, and along this bank mature specimens of hedging holly can be found. 

 

The Hoo

 

For such a large house which had an extensive garden and associated buildings, very little remains. The most obvious remnant is the Cedar of Lebanon. Higher up the slope is a stand of bamboo and in the impact crater down from the cedar, an ornamental corbel with integral drain can be seen. Up-slope from the cedar is a large area of relatively flat ground which marks the site of the house and on the edge of this is a large piece of masonry with an internal drain pipe. Otherwise nothing else can be found of The Hoo.

A stand of bamboo which would have been in the Hoo's garden.

A gothic style corbel with integral drainage.

The Cedar of Lebanon.

Bardowie

To the south of The Hoo was Bardowie, the most significant remains of which is a flight of brick steps down from the site of the house into what is now called the tennis court glade. The 1951 shows this whereas earlier maps do not. The 1870 and 1916 surveys show terraced gardens giving onto woodland. This suggests that the tennis court could well have been installed between the wars.

Looking down the flight of steps towards the tennis court glade.

View up the steps with retaining wall of terrace seen on the left.

The site of the tennis court.

Oakover.

The final villa along Sydenham Hill and, along with Bardowie, shown as still extant on the 1:10,000 scale O.S. map published in 1968. However nothing remains of this house. The monkey puzzle tree which can be see to the right of the path down from Crescent Wood to the tunnel is likely to have been in its garden.