Exploring Kent's Past

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Monument details

Summary

Former Parkland and Gardens to the north of the London Road and East of Greenhithe, associated with the estate of Ingress Abbey, dating to the late seventeenth century if not earlier. The Park was embellished until the early twentieth century when the current house and grounds became a Naval College.

Monument Types

• FLOWER BED (Post Medieval - 1690 AD? to 1750 AD? (at some time))
• STRUCTURE (Post Medieval - 1690 AD? to 1750 AD? (at some time))
• GARDEN BUILDING (Post Medieval - 1700 AD? to 1800 AD? (at some time))
• GARDEN FEATURE (Post Medieval - 1700 AD? to 1900 AD?)
• LANDSCAPE PARK (Post Medieval - 1700 AD? to 1900 AD?)
• TUNNEL (Post Medieval to Modern - 1750 AD? to 2004 AD? (between))
• FURNACE (Post Medieval - 1760 AD? to 1833 AD? (between))
• GLASSHOUSE (Post Medieval - 1760 AD? to 1833 AD? (at some time))
• STRUCTURE (Post Medieval - 1760 AD? to 1833 AD? (between))
• STRUCTURE (Post Medieval - 1800 AD? to 1900 AD?)
• BOILER HOUSE (Post Medieval to Modern - 1833 AD? to 1933 AD? (between))
• GARDEN FEATURE (Post Medieval to Modern - 1833 AD? to 1933 AD?)
• GARDEN WALL (Post Medieval to Modern - 1833 AD? to 1933 AD? (between))
• GLASSHOUSE (Post Medieval to Modern - 1833 AD? to 1933 AD? (between))
• HOTHOUSE (Post Medieval to Modern - 1833 AD? to 1933 AD? (between))
• STRUCTURE (Post Medieval to Modern - 1833 AD? to 1933 AD? (between))
• WELL (Post Medieval to Modern - 1833 AD? to 1933 AD? (between))
• WALL (Post Medieval to Modern - 1840 AD? to 1940 AD?)
• WELL (Post Medieval to Modern - 1870 AD? to 1920 AD? (at some time))

Associated Finds

• ANIMAL REMAINS (Post Medieval - 1540 AD? to 1900 AD?)
• BOTTLE (Post Medieval - 1540 AD? to 1900 AD?)
• BRICK (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)
• ROOF TILE (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1800 AD?)
• TILE (Post Medieval - 1540 AD? to 1900 AD?)
• WINDOW GLASS (Post Medieval - 1540 AD? to 1900 AD?)
• SEAL (Post Medieval - 1600 AD? to 1800 AD?)
• POTTERY ASSEMBLAGE (Post Medieval to Modern - 1650 AD? to 1999 AD?)
• CLAY PIPE (SMOKING) (Post Medieval - 1700 AD? to 1900 AD?)
• DRESS HOOK (Post Medieval - 1700 AD? to 1800 AD?)
• GATE (Post Medieval - 1800 AD? to 1900 AD?)
• PANTILE (Post Medieval to Modern - 1800 AD to 2004 AD)
• BUTTON (Post Medieval to Modern - 1900 AD? to 2000 AD?)

Full description

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Former Park and Gardens associated with the estate known as Ingress and latterly Ingress Abbey [See TQ 57 NE 93]. The park and gardens date to the late seventeenth century and survived into the twentieth century. The Debois Landscape survey suggests that the site may have been valued as gardens for at least 150 years before this time [1].

See also:
Ingress Abbey, An Archaeological Impact Assessment [2].
Greenhithe Waterfront, Planning report to accompany Ingress Park historic Landscape survey [3].
Ingress Abbey, Analysis of the Development of the Designed Historic Landscape [4].
Results of Archaeological excavation and recording at Ingress Abbey [5].
An Archaeological evaluation at Ingress Abbey [6].

Elements of the formal park and gardens are discussed elsewhere in detail, in the following monument records:

The Flint cave or grotto [TQ 57 SE 171]
The Cave of the Seven Heads [TQ 57 SE 179]
The Eastern Mound and Grotto [TQ 57 NE 99]
The Rose Garden [TQ 57 NE 100]
The Coach House [TQ 57 NE 101]
The Flower Garden [TQ 57 NE 102]
The Western Mound [TQ 57 NE 103]
The 'Model Farm' [TQ 57 NE 104] including the Model Farm building [TQ 57 NE 98].
Parch Marks [TQ 57 NE 1003]

Other elements of the park and gardens and are mentioned in the sources, but did not require archaeological recording or repairs monitoring. Some of these elements such as the Grange (including associated tunnels and garden arch), the various tunnels, the terrace wall on the north front of the abbey, the Park walls, the Monks well, and the Lovers Arch are Grade II listed.
The Grange was built as a billiard room in c1833, while the eastern tunnel linked Harmer's model farm with his kitchen gardens. This tunnel is flint lined and brick barrel vaulted. The south tunnel was replaced by the Grange as an access [1and 2].

Other fieldwork results:

Two separate walls were recorded and drawn to the west and south of the Eastern Mound. The western wall formed the eastern side of a late 19th century walled garden, while also retaining the western side of the mound. It was largely composed of flint, bult in a 'basic' fashion, with brick piers. The southern wall was also built largely of flint and well made, although part of it had been rebuilt. The wall was concave and within the curve created there was some structural evidence of probable 19th century date. This consisted of an upper and lower platform of levelled chalk into which beam slots and wall footings had been cut. These footings may be associated with buildings of the Model Farm [TQ 57 NE 104] and have been dated through artefacts recovered to the 19th century.

Archaeological recording and observation work were carried out during the backfilling of a well near the gatehouse at London Road. This well was dated to the later 19th century and appeared to have been in use for a relatively short time. The brickwork would appear to be consistent with a mid 19th century date, capped by a concrete slab in the 1920's or 1930's. The well was a circular brick shaft, with a total depth of 26m. The removal of the early twentieth century capping revealed this void, within which were a number of horizontal timber crossbeams. It is thought that the well may have served the gatehouse, or the cottages to the east, which are now demolished [5].

The Evaluation and Excavation of the south western part of the site:

Various garden features were recorded in the evaluation in the south west corner of the site. The area evaluated formed a plateau of ground, unaffected by chalk quarrying to the east [TQ 57 NE 94] and west and extensive landscaping and terracing to the north. Some of the features identified were interpreted as horticultural planting rows and beds, others as tree planting pits. Two dumps of graded chalk material were also recorded. [6].

In the open area excavation that followed, the majority of archaeological features encountered were of later post-medieval and modern date. These overlay pleistocene deposits [TQ 57 SE 176] and two parallel Roman ditches which have been interpreted as the western side of an early Roman military encampment [TQ 57 SE 175].

The Early Ornamental Garden features (late 17th century/early 18th century):
-The robbed foundation of a late 17th century/early 18th century structure associated with the early gardens. The only example of activity from this date recorded.
-Narrow linear features, interpreted as ornamental planting beds and dated through pottery to the early to mid 18th century.

From the mid 18th to mid 19th centuries the plateau hosted the working kitchen garden. Early structures were superseded by larger greenhouses in the mid 19th century, as part of the changes brought in by James Harmer, who funded the current Abbey building in 1833. The features recorded were as follows:

The Early Working Garden (Mid 18th-early 19th century):
-An 18th century hot air furnace, demolished in the early 19th century, leaving only below ground remains. A square pit at its southern end, which would have held another brick structure, was removed when the furnace was dismantled. The furnace was probably built to supply a small greenhouse, superseded by the later large greenhouses.
-A Brick Tank, again semi-demolished, probably part of another early greenhouse.
-The foundations of an early greenhouse, superseded by the later greenhouses that date to 1850-1900.
-A large backfilled pit, probably the site of a garden building that had been comprehensively robbed in the 19th century. It has also been interpreted as the possible site of a previously unknown 18th century folly that was dismantled or moved in the 19th century, due to the requirements of the new kitchen garden.
-Two large patches containing building material. One was a brick dump in hollow. The other was a backfilled feature, which may originally have been another element of the 18th century working garden, that did not survive the 19th century changes.
-A large backfilled feature on the eastern edge of site was interpreted as another feature from the 18th century garden, which was backfilled after becoming redundant, during the development of the later working garden. The backfill contained a tile that may have formed part of a decorative panel in the old manor, demolished in the 1820's.

The 19th century Working Garden:
These were the most substantial remains encountered during the excavation, relating to the 19th century kitchen gardens, the origins of which may date back to the late 18th century. By the early 1930's all the structures had been demolished and the ground levelled to create a cricket pitch. The following features were recorded:
-The footings of the boiler house. Once a substantial brick and stone built sunken floor building incorporating a large furnace on the lower floor with coal storage above. The demolition had removed everything above ground, the boiler and its pipes. Only the firebox and grate survived from the furnace, but it would have incorporated a chimney at the rear. The boiler was probably of the saddle type, heating water which in turn was used to heat the air in the adjacent greenhouses through enclosed flues.
-The Greenhouses. The working garden contained three greenhouses. The northern greenhouse, built of brick and chalk blocks, has been interpreted as a nursery. It was constructed just north of and at the same time as the boiler house, with the heating system incorporated into its construction. Its external appearance would have been an expanse of glass facing south. At either end of the greenhouse was a sump, necessitated by the humidification process in the greenhouse. At the western end, this greenhouse also had its own reservoir; water was needed to prevent the plants drying out in the dry heat created by the boiler house. This reservoir had been backfilled when the rest of the building was levelled and the backfill contained part of the gates of the park. The southern greenhouse, just below the boiler room was also heated by the central furnace. It was a similar size to the northern greenhouse, but less well built and had been more heavily robbed out. It had undergone several alterations in its lifetime, the main one being the installation of a concrete floor, perhaps acting as a waterproof in base in lieu of the humidity system in place in the northern greenhouse. Soils present in the greenhouse may suggest plants growing in the ground, rather than in pots, the greenhouse covering certain types of crop that needed protection. A third greenhouse was built on the site in the late 19th century. This building was even less well preserved than the others and covered in demolition deposits. It had a concrete floor, while the surviving insubstantial foundations may have only supported a cold frame.
-The perimeter wall. Only the foundations survived, but they suggest that the wall separated the garden into north and south areas with a possible door east of the greenhouses. The southern greenhouse was built onto or as part of this wall, which may also have been buttressed. The wall's purpose has been interpreted as either defining the area of the working garden, or providing a screen from the road to the pleasure gardens to the north.
-A Hotbed. A small, sunken, brick built structure, interpreted as a manure pit, with a central brick built partition wall. Manure would have been kept in one side, resulting in heat transfering to the other, sufficient for the growth of salad vegetables in winter, or for tropical fruits.
-The Well house. Situated further north on the plateau. The report states that mechanical horsepower was probably used to draw water for the garden from the well, given the quantity of machinery discarded in the other demolished buildings on the site. A stone built, slate capped drain lead off from the well, before dividing into a number of channels. Two of these channels fed cisterns near the southern greenhouse, providing easy access to water. This water system also included a silt trap. The cisterns were backfilled in the early 1930's when the working gardens were demolished and redeveloped.
-Planting beds. Parallel rectangular planting beds recorded in the south of the site were interpreted as evidence of the later working gardens.

The twentieth century:
From 1905/6 onwards the Ingress Abbey Paper Mills (latterly the Empire Paper Mills TQ 57 NE 95) occupied the north eastern corner of Ingress Park. Its outbuildings slowly spread across the eastern side of the Park.

By the 1920's the parkland was part of the Naval College, HMS Worcester. The former working gardens had been levelled and infilled to create a cricket pitch, by which a pavilion was erected. The lack of significant quantities of glass in the demolition deposits suggests that the greenhouses had been carefully dismantled [5].

<01> Debois Landscape Survey Group, 1999, Ingress Abbey, Greenhithe, Kent A record of the landscape. (Unpublished document). SKE12236.

<02> AOC Archaeology Group, 1998, Ingress Abbey Greenhithe Kent. An Archaeological Impact Assessment. (Unpublished document). SKE12234.

<03> Tibbalds Monro, 1999, Greenhithe Waterfront. Planning Report to Accompany Ingress Park Historic Landscape Survey. (Unpublished document). SKE12240.

<04> Land Use Consultants, 2001, Ingress Abbey, Greenhithe, Kent. Analysis of the Development of the Designed Historic Landscape. (Unpublished document). SKE12241.

<05> AOC Archaeology Group, 2004, Results Of Archaeological Excavation And Recording At Ingress Abbey, Greenhithe, Kent (Unpublished document). SKE12239.

<06> AOC Archaeology Group, 1999, An Archaeological Evaluation at Ingress Abbey, London Road, Greenhithe, Kent (Unpublished document). SKE12252.

Sources and further reading

Related records