 |
 |
| Avery Hill Park |
|
A public park formed from parkland of Colonel John North's Victorian mansion, Avery Hill. Colonel North, born in Leeds in 1842, went to Peru and made his fortune buting and selling coal, nitrates, water, cement, steel, railways and gold. Later he became dubbed 'The Nitrate King'. He came to Eltham in 1882 and initially rented Avery Hill and 20 acres of land. By 1891 his estate stretched from Shooters Hill to New Eltham taking in large tracts of open land now collectively known as Shooter Hill Woodlands including Oxleas Wood, Shepherdleas Wood, Eltham Park and Eltham Warren. His Avery Hill parkland was used partly for shooting and some was let for farming. On his death in 1896 the estate was auctioned. Much of it was eventually purchased by the local authority, London County Council. Some land was let out for farming or other private usage, and Avery Hill Park was opened to the public in 1903/04 and includes remains of the gardens close to the house. Some old hedgerows may be around.600 years old. To the far west, behind Holy Trinity Church/off Southend Crescent, is a medieval brick conduit which controlled the supply of water to the moat at Eltham Palace, and was later used to provide water to the Palace. |
