The history of Well Hall Tudor Barn Part 1

The location of Tudor Barn

The Tudor Barn at Well Hall in Eltham, now in the royal Borough of Greenwich was built in 16th Century. But buildings existed on the site for many more hundreds of years. The reason we know this is because of the position of the site next to one of the most important roads in history. the London to Canterbury road. Originally made famous by Chaucer's Canterbury's Tales where he depicts a group of pilgrims that meet up in Southwark, South London and make their way to the shrine of Saint Thomas Becket in Canterbury Cathedral. Therefore, this busy thoroughfare is the ideal location to build property and it is no coincidence that Eltham Palace is a mile away on the same road.

But what kind of property existed at Well Hall? We can only speculate now the structures that existed on this ancient site. But with London half a day's walk or 30 mins by Horse, Well Hall offered a good place to take a break, perhaps to have lunch and check that footwear for man and beast were up to the job of a further 50 Miles. Another clue comes from the name itself Well Hall; previous versions of the name include Welhaw, Welhawe or even Wellhalle. What they all suggest is that this was an ideal place to rest and recuperate (be well) and a location of a natural spring (Well) somewhere to drink and wash very tired feet. Indeed the Moat that still exists to this day has it's origins from medieval times. Thus, we can speculate that on the main road to Canterbury at Well Hall there may have been some kind of Tavern, Stables perhaps a Blacksmith and other tradesmen or market traders selling their wares to travellers preparing for a long journey.

The first recorded owner of Well Hall Mathew De Hegham. He was followed a half century later by Sir John de Pulteney, a wealthy London merchant and financier and four times elected Lord Mayor of London, who owned other property in Kent including Penhurst Place near Tunbridge Wells.