Description
Camden Park Golf Course was established for the newly formed Chislehurst Golf Club in 1894 on part of the former C18th landscape park of Camden Place. The old mansion was converted as the golf clubhouse and there are vestiges of parkland planting although it was largely altered when the golf course was laid out.
Practical Information
| Previously known as | Camden Place; Chislehurst Golf Club |
|---|---|
| Site location | Camden Park Road, Chislehurst |
| Postcode | BR7 5HJ |
| What3Words | ///bubble.places.fonts |
| Type of Site | Private Open Land |
| Borough | Bromley |
| Open to Public | Occasionally |
| Opening Times | Golf Club members only. Only access is along the public footpath off Camden Park Rd |
| Events | Has opened for London Open House. |
| Public Transport | Rail: Chislehurst. Bus: 61,160, 161, 162, 273, 269, 429 |
| Research Updated | 4 January 2023 |
| Last Updated | 18 October 2026 |
Full description
The site was once part of the C18th landscape park of Camden Place, much altered for golf course use. It was named after William Camden, a noted antiquary and historian, who lived here from c.1609 until his death in 1623. A new mansion was built shortly before 1717 by Robert Weston, and there were later additions to the house in the 1780s to designs by George Dance the Younger. It was owned from c.1760 by Charles Pratt (1714-94), Attorney General and later Lord Chancellor, who became Baron Camden of Camden Place and then Earl Camden in 1786. In the C19th it was the home of the exiled French Emperor Napoleon III from 1870-73, and his widow the Empress Eugenie remained here until 1885.
In 1890 the Camden Place Estate was purchased by builder William Willett Jun. who proposed to develop it as housing, an attractive proposition given that the areas was now well-served by good railway links. He developed two groups of high class medium-sized commuter residences mainly using Ernest Newton as the architect, one group of houses built on the Wilderness. The mansion and central area became Chislehurst Golf Club, which was established by a group of distinguished local residents at a meeting at Camden Place in May 1894. The golf course was opened by the Rt Hon A J Balfour on 21 July 1894 and the mansion was used as the club house. The golf course layout has been attributed to Harry S Colt.
The remains of a C19th lime avenue survives to the south of the house and there are several cedars around the house. There are vestiges of parkland planting, principally oak surviving, but the parkland was largely altered to make the golf course. There is a public footpath at the west end off Camden Park Road.
In 1890 the Camden Place Estate was purchased by builder William Willett Jun. who proposed to develop it as housing, an attractive proposition given that the areas was now well-served by good railway links. He developed two groups of high class medium-sized commuter residences mainly using Ernest Newton as the architect, one group of houses built on the Wilderness. The mansion and central area became Chislehurst Golf Club, which was established by a group of distinguished local residents at a meeting at Camden Place in May 1894. The golf course was opened by the Rt Hon A J Balfour on 21 July 1894 and the mansion was used as the club house. The golf course layout has been attributed to Harry S Colt.
The remains of a C19th lime avenue survives to the south of the house and there are several cedars around the house. There are vestiges of parkland planting, principally oak surviving, but the parkland was largely altered to make the golf course. There is a public footpath at the west end off Camden Park Road.
Further Information
| Grid Reference | TQ437700 |
|---|---|
| Site Ownership | Chislehurst Golf Club |
| Site Management | Chislehurst Golf Club |
| Dates | C18th; 1894 |
| Listed Structures | LBII: Camden Place; Folly in grounds |
| On National Heritage List for England (NHLE), Parks & Gardens | No |
| Registered common or village green on Commons Registration Act 1965 | No |
| Protected under London Squares Preservation Act 1931 | No |
| Local Authority | Bromley |
| In Conservation Area | Yes |
| Conservation Area Name | Chislehurst |
| Tree Preservation Order | No |
| Nature Conservation Area | Yes - Borough Importance II |
| Green Belt | Yes |
| Metropolitan Open Land | No |
| Special Policy Area | No |
Gallery
Please note the Inventory and its content are provided for your general information only and are subject to change. It is your responsibility to check the accuracy.
Nearby parks and gardens
The site comprises Chislehurst and Walden Recreation Grounds and Whyte's Woodland. The Chislehurst Tithe Map of 1844 shows the site of Chislehurst Recreation Ground as a field owned by Lord Sydney, Lord of Chislehurst Manor and a principal landowner at the time. At some time between 1908 and 1928 the land was acquired by Chislehurst and Sidcup UDC for use as a recreation ground. Walden Recreation Ground (to the north?) was named after Viscount Walden, 9th Marquess of Tweeddale who was born in Edinburgh but came to live in the area. In 1938 Miss Agnes Whyte conveyed by way of a gift the adjacent wooded area to the UDC, now known as Whyte's Woodland after its donor. This and the extension to the Recreation Ground opened in 1948.
The Commons comprise grassland, heath, ponds and woodland that were once grazing land for Chislehurst and St Paul's Cray. In the mid-C19th encroachment threatened the commonland in order to extract gravel and develop the land for housing, which was opposed by a group of local residents. Their successful challenge led to the Metropolitan Commons (Chislehurst and St Paul's Cray) Supplemental Act passed in 1888, which set up a voluntary Board of Conservators to protect and preserve the land for the benefit of the community. Woodland now covers much of the former scrub and grassland although ancient acid grassland remains in parts. Former gravel pits form the 2 largest ponds now found on the commons and there is also a well-preserved cockpit. Numerous paths cross the commons and a number of recreational facilities are located here, such as the West Kent Cricket Club Ground. The Imperial Memorial is found adjacent to Prince Imperial Road.
St Mary's Catholic Church was built in 1853 to serve the Catholic community in Chislehurst. The land it was built on was given by Captain Henry Bowden, who also endowed the church, set in a rural environment near Chislehurst and St Paul's Cray Commons. In 1870 the exiled Imperial French family, Napoleon III, the Empress Eugenie and their son, the Prince Imperial, took residence in Camden Place, Chislehurst, then owned by Nathaniel Strode, a firm francophile. The Imperial family brought Chislehurst and St Mary's into greater prominence; after the Emperor's death a Mortuary Chapel was erected at the behest of the Empress on the south side of the church to house his sarcophagus. St Mary's churchyard is the burial place for many people of note, including Captain Bowden, past parish priests and French names are found on a number of the tombstones.
