A couple of weekends ago just after the season turned to spring, I visited Rainham Hall and enjoyed some slightly warmer and sunny weather to signal that spring has finally arrived. Rainham Hall is a property managed by the National Trust, and it is located on the edge of east London in Havering. The property also has a garden, and I visited the home and garden.
Before my visit to the estate, I did have some time to spend. I had a walk to Ingrebourne park and had a look at a little lake and a climb up to the hill to the viewpoint. This is part of Hornchurch county park, and there was a former air strip here.
From the hill viewpoint, I could see Canary Wharf's towering buildings in the distance. Afterwards, I walked back and had a look at the High Street with its small shops before heading back to Rainham Hall.
I walked through the cemetary from the back endtrance where the High Street is, and I caught some pleasant views of the house and the church. The church is a very old one dating from the 1000s, and Rainham is considered a conservation area.
Rainham Hall is a Queen Anne's style of home and built in 1729 by Harle. Harle was a captain who purchased the land due to its proximity to a river into the Thames, which is also nearby. He opened a wharf, and coal from the north and other goods were shipped from here. After Harle, the property was tenanted. The next people to live here included a priest, collector of English furniture, a photographer who worked for "Vogue" magazine, and children who resided here during World War II.
The stables of the site now contain a second hand bookshop and tearoom.
The rooms had different exhibitions from those who lived here or who owned the property. I was told the history of the house through the (nearly) three-hundred years.
The views into the garden were lovely, and I enjoyed seeing the sun and the trees in blossom.
The bath was put in by one of the tenants, and I was told that it is unusual. There isn't another one like it. It has a sink area as part of it.
One of the other tenants who lived here was Sturges, and the upstairs room was laid out for this time period in the 1920s.
There was another room that covered the years when the home was a nursery during the 1940s.
There was also a small kitchen to see before heading out the back and into the garden.
The blossoms and the tulips were in bloom. There were also daffodils at their prime.
The garden had an upper bit where the house is and a lower recessed bit below.
After a wander around the garden, I headed to the stables and had a slice of cake and a can of wine and sat at the peaceful garden area to enjoy the sun.
I enjoyed the visit to Rainham Hall and this different part of London which I had never visited before.
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