This was the next place of interest. The grounds, nearly twelve acres in
extent, were enclosed in a high brick wall, which went all round. The
lodge stood at the corner of what is now Pembury-road, and through the
gates one could catch a glimpse of the beautiful hydrangeas, and other
flowers bordering the carriage drive, leading to the mansion, which stood
not far from Lordship-lane. It was a good old house, with a fine
entrance hall; it struck me as being very gloomy upstairs, the bedroom
doors all being painted black. There were many pretty, shady walks in
the gardens and fields; in one part was a nut walk.
When the hall was pulled down in 1867 a portion of the ground was thrown
out to widen Lordship-lane, which was at that time very narrow.
There was a row of pretty, small cottages on the right-hand side of the
lane, several of them built of wood. The tenants took great pains with
their gardens and grape vines, which were covered with bunches of white
grapes. The houses that came next, called Bruce-terrace, were built by
Mr. Thomas Finney, an ironfounder. They have one peculiarity—each house
has an iron step at the gateway in lieu of stone. From this point to
Bruce Castle grounds there were fields on both sides. On the left-hand
side there was a row of majestic elm trees. The white house in the
middle of the field was the residence of Mr. Francis Fox.