Description
The Ironmongers' Company or Sir Robert Geffrye Almshouses moved from Shoreditch to Mottingham in 1912. The almshouses built here were probably modelled on Morden College in Blackheath, set back behind an area of lawn. The almshouse residents transferred to Hampshire in 1972 and they are now affordable housing run by Affinity Sutton, the estate now known as the Geffrye's Estate.
Practical Information
| Previously known as | Ironmongers Almshouses; Geffrye's Estate |
|---|---|
| Site location | Mottingham Road |
| Postcode | SE9 |
| What3Words | ///agents.festivity.shelf |
| Type of Site | Housing/Estate Landscaping |
| Borough | Bromley |
| Open to Public | No |
| Opening Times | private |
| Public Transport | Rail: Mottingham |
| Research Updated | 1 June 2007 |
| Last Updated | 18 October 2026 |
Full description
The Ironmongers' Company Almshouses were originally established in Shoreditch in 1715 following a bequest of Sir Robert Geffrye (d.1703), whose almshouses remain there as the Geffrye Museum (q.v.). The Company moved from Shoreditch to Mottingham in 1912, where these almshouses were built to designs of George Hubbard, probably modelled on Morden College in Blackheath (q.v.). Hubbard was the Ironmongers' Company Surveyor and also a resident of West Park. He also designed Mottingham's War Memorial, which was unveiled in 1920. The statue of Geffrye designed by John Nost in 1723 was erected on the garden side of the new almshouses, and Geffrye's monument with Baroque cartouche is also sited here. The almshouses housed 'ladies of restricted means', often retired governesses. In 1972 the residents were moved to Hook in Hampshire and the building passed to the GLC and later LB Bromley. The Council transferred all its housing stock, including the former almshouses, to the newly formed Broomleigh Housing Association in 1992, which is now part of Affinity Sutton.
Further Information
| Grid Reference | TQ424724 |
|---|---|
| Site Ownership | Affinity Sutton |
| Site Management | Affinity Sutton |
| Dates | 1912 |
| Designers | George Hubbard |
| 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 | No |
| Tree Preservation Order | Not known |
| Nature Conservation Area | No |
| Green Belt | No |
| Metropolitan Open Land | No |
| Special Policy Area | No |
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
This is a large area of open space divided into sports fields, part of which has been Mottingham Sports Ground since before the 1950s. It has a woodland edge, and some mature trees. Eltham College Junior School and Eltham College are situated within the boundaries, as is Mottingham Hall.
Queen's Gardens is a small area of open grass, which was created to serve the adjacent Coldharbour Estate that was built by the local authority from 1948. The gardens were named after HRH the Queen Mother, who opened the estate in the mid-1950s.
The Tarn takes its name from the lake that dominates the small park, a remnant of the late C17th grounds of Eltham Lodge that was once within the Great Park of Eltham Palace, a royal palace dating from the C14th. Eltham Lodge was built in 1664 when Sir John Shaw leased the estate. When the area was being developed for housing, The Tarn was acquired by the Metropolitan Borough of Woolwich in 1935 and laid out with paths and shelters around the existing lake. Near the entrance is a mid C18th brick ice-well built to supply Eltham Lodge with ice.
