This Palladian villa was built by John Boyd, an East India Company director, in 1766. Saved from demolition in 1995, the house was painstakingly renovated based on mid-19th-century watercolours by Sarah Johnston. The house now serves as the official Register Office for the London Borough of Bexley and is only open on Sunday. The English-style garden and surrounding park are a delight and the tearoom (open daily 9am to 5pm) in the one-time breakfast room serves wholesome food. It's a 20-minute walk southwest from the Bexleyheath train station.
Highlights include the dining room’s reliefs and 17 wall paintings celebrating love and romance; the chinoiserie salon; the library, with a fair few 'decorative' books; the music room, with its functioning organ; the dizzying spiral staircase; and the original Victorian kitchens.
