Q. I am currently researching my family tree and I have learnt that my great grandfather was a gardener at the Homewood estate in about 1916. His address is listed as the farm, Homewood, Perry Street. I believe that Homewood was one a number of estates on Perry Street.

I have looked through your excellent website and see reference to Homewood, but was wondering if you had any more details please, or perhaps a picture?

A. I can highly recommend Edwardian Chislehurst by Arthur Battle.  This charming book contains a photograph of Homewood and a description of Perry Street, (pg 64 onwards) it will give you an excellent insight into the farm and its environs.  We can send you a copy or if you live locally it is currently available from Wrattens and Go Travel at a discounted price.  All the photos we have are on our image galleries (About Chislehurst section) and can be ordered for £5. 

The Homewood Estate was incorporated into the Foxbury Estate, owned by the Tiarks family, around 1920. It is now open playing fields, after plans to build houses on the land were rejected when the land was incorporated into the Green Belt after the last war. The house was demolished, but some of the outbuildings still exist.

The picture above is of Homewood House, taken around 1920, and the image below is taken from a watercolour, at an earlier time than the photograph.

Homewood House – a watercolour