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A Lord Mayor's house of 1537 in chequered flint and stone robbed from Lesnes Abbey, a red-brick wing of 1649 stuck on beside it, and gardens of topiary beasts along the Cray, free.
Free
Sir John Champneys, Lord Mayor of London, began it in 1537 with stone carted from the dissolved abbey at Lesnes, a great hall between a service wing and his family's rooms, the walls in a chequerboard of flint and rubble; Sir Robert Austen doubled it in 1649 with a red-brick wing in the newest style and made no attempt to match the two. The Dashwoods of West Wycombe owned it for a century, a school rented it, and in the Second World War American signals units listened to German radio traffic from the house. Bexley has had it since the 1930s. The gardens are the reason most people come: the Queen's Beasts clipped in yew for the coronation of 1953, a rose garden, a herb garden, glasshouses and sixty-five hectares running down to the river; the house itself, with the borough's collections inside, is opened on guided tours.
Step-free access
| Monday | 09:00 – 17:15 |
|---|---|
| Tuesday | 09:00 – 17:15 |
| Wednesday | 09:00 – 17:15 |
| Thursday | 09:00 – 17:15 |
| Friday | 09:00 – 17:15 |
| Saturday | 09:00 – 17:15 |
| Sunday | 09:00 – 17:15 |
Hours from the page that lists them, checked 8 September 2026.
The gardens, free, stay open until 21:30 from April to September; the house is seen only on pre-booked guided tours on set dates.
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Data is compiled from public sources including OpenStreetMap, under the ODbL. Hours change often, so check before making a journey.