Wanstead weekend photo LXXXIX


Geoff Wilkinson writes on Wanstead Daily Photo: “Now here’s a mystery that I would like to solve. If you go to the High Street end of Nightingale Lane, stand against the wall of the United Reformed Church and look straight along the Lane what do you see? Well if you look very carefully, in the distance several miles I’m guessing, you will see the rather grand house in the centre of the picture above. It doesn’t look like a modern building more of a small old mansion. I have no idea where it is, Chigwell perhaps, or a bit further, any suggestions welcome.”

13 thoughts on “Wanstead weekend photo LXXXIX”

  5. James Hatch built the present Claybury Hall around 1790. The property, on a south facing hill, enjoyed magnificent views toward Kent and London. The estate was landscaped by Humphry Repton, though the works he advised were relatively modest.

    In the late nineteenth century, Claybury became the site of a huge hospital for “pauper lunatics”, and its name became synonymous in east London with “lunatic asylum”. The old Claybury Hall was utilised for patients whose families could afford to pay for them to be kept in more genteel surroundings. After the hospital was closed in the 1990s, the buildings were redeveloped as the Repton Park Estate, and the grounds – much of which had survived – were handed over to Redbridge Council for use as a public park.

  6. Lovely picture. I think it maybe the tall tower at Repton Park which is now part of the entrance of a health club & the chapel is converted to a swimming pool & has wonderful stained glass windows.

  9. If only there was some form of world-wide electronic information network that we could all access from our home computers (and maybe, one day, even our phones) that could give us access to this form of information. If it included maps (and maybe, one day, even satellite images) that would be even better.

  10. George, there is – the internet. I bought mine a few years ago from Curry’s. Not sure about maps but you can get music and loads of stuff. My neighbour even has a telephone that can tell the time in Australia.

    Great photo though (although the tree looks a little bit out of focus)

  11. Wow, thank you everyone. To be honest I though this might be a bit of a teaser. Thats great information, I had no idea this house was there, can you still get to it I wonder through Repton Park or another route?

  12. Geoff, Claybury Hall is off limits to anyone as it has it’s own drive via the Repton Park gate, totally fenced off and it’s own private gate, so unless you know someone or fancy climbing over a fence ( or buy one ) you’ll have to admire it from a distance.

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