A wing of Bromley Musuem with the then "integrated" public library visible on the right. This part of the building is late 15th century but nearly all the windows were replaced in the 19th century because the owner didn't think they looked old enough! However this insensitive management of the building was nothing to that wrought by Orpington UDC after WWII when the former servants quarters were demolished to make way for the concrete and glass library which does however utilise some of the former manor house.

A view of the building from the gardens, now a public park. Although known as The Priory, it was in fact only ever a manor house and rectory belonging to the priors of Christ Church in Canterbury. It acquired its modern name under private ownership in the 19th century. 

Adjacent to the car park and Church Hill are these delightful 17th century cottages once used by the farm's labourers and now, after threatened demolition, used as offices.

Another view of the gardens from the house.

Not normally open to the public, this heavily repaired spiral staircase was used by servants to travel between floors without bumping into the owners. Whilst not fully useable, an intrepid BBLHS committee member is seen ascending the stairs during the visit.

A view of the side windows in the Events Room which shows some of the few remaining older windows and 17th century plaster work. The orange lamp is probably more recent! The room itself shows signs of water damage after thieves stole the lead off the roof some years ago.

The upstairs gallery charting the long history of the Borough through artifacts and displays. The display is particularly geared towards school-age children who are frequent visitors to the site. Part of the 15th century ceiling can be seen in the picture.

Although a little tucked away from  general view, this old hand pump was once wheeled to fires and, by means of men rocking the arms on either side, used to pump water from the nearest pond onto a conflagration. Just one of the more unusual exhibits which can be seen by visitors.

A collection of objects which school children are asked to identify as part of their activities when visiting "Your Place". Behind the display case can be seen an archway which leads to the spiral staircase seen previously. The wall on the left was originally the outside of the building and this room was added in the 15th century and retains its original fireplace, just visible on the right.

This Victorian drinking fountain was originally sited in Opington High Street and can now be found in the Main Hall of the Museum. Built in the 13th century,  the pointed arch, made from Kentish Ragstone, is original.

Also upstairs is the Avebury Room. Once used as an overnight lodging by the Prior when travelling to his widely spread properties (including Harrow and Ripon), the room now holds part of the wide-ranging collection made by Sir John Lubbock, 1st Baron Avebury. A keen antiquarian, he was instrumental in saving Avebury Stone Circle from destruction, by buying the site.

A portrait of Lord Avebury, PC, FRS (30 April 1834 – 28 May 1913) hangs in the room. Apart from his wide interests in ethnology and anthropology, he also founded the Electoral Reform Society and introduced the bill which created Bank Holidays.

A few minutes walk from the Museum towards St. Mary Cray is Poverest Road. A short distance down the road you come across a small green area surrounded by fencing. Only by examing the small notices do you discover you are on one of the many Roman sites in the Borough, most of them unexplored and virtually unknown. 

After the collapse of Roman Britain, around 400 AD, the site appears to have been used as an Anglo-Saxon burial site.

Inside a blue metal shelter are the foundations of a Roman Bath House, used for public bathing during the Roman occupation. The original bath house consisted of two rooms, the hot and warm baths; a third room with a cold bath and changing area was added later. 

Some of the BBLHS visitors listen to Bromley Museum's Curator, Marie-Louise Kerr, describing the site and displaying some artefacts found there during the original excavations carried out by one of her predecessors in the 1970s. 

Part of the under floor heating system, the hypocaust, can be seen, as well as a gap in the brickwork where a Victorian drain was dug through the site! Further damage to the site was caused by the adjacent road and roots from a tree 50 yards away. The road is so close that the retaining wall at the back has had to be further reinforced. In addition, recent visitors have had to contend with orchard mason bees which are occupying the many holes in the bricks and mortar.

Unlike many Roman remains, Crofton Roman Villa house is easily located, right next to Orpington Station and the former Town Hall. However its suburban location means it too has suffered, first at the hands of the South Eastern Railway as it dug out the station goods yard, and later the local council who in the 1920s dug driveways through the site. How this affected what remans is illustrated on the diagram below.

Commemorative plaque. Although not as extensive as Lullingstone, and because the adjacent buildings which must have existed have disappeared under suburban housing and development, the volunteers who run the site have provided an engrossing and useful collection which is well worth a visit.

Some of the remaining floor and plan of the original villa.

A general view of the villa house floor with some modern reconstructions added to show how the hypocaust operated. From the fire pit in the foreground the air circulated under the arch and up the red pillars into the walls. Original red pilae tiles which supported the floor can also be seen.

Part of the original decorative plaster work found during excavation.