Sir Coles Child, 1st Baronet (1862–1929)

** Sir Coles Child, 1st Baronet (1862–1929) *’… *was Lord of the Manors of Bromley, East Farleigh and East Peckham…’

‘… When it was decided to expand or build a new _[homeopathic] hospital, Coles Child, Lord of the Manor, presented Bromley with The White Hart Field in 1897, a section of which was given for the new hospital…’_

From http://www.londongardensonline.org.uk/gardens-online-record.asp?ID=BRO061  (See also http://www.ideal-homes.org.uk/bromley/assets/galleries/bromley/hospital) Queen’s Gardens are set in the shade of The Glades Shopping Centre that opened in 1991 in the centre of Bromley, with Kentish Way a major thoroughfare to the east. By the C19th the site was known as The White Hart Field and shown as such on the 1st edition OS map of 1871; it was used for public recreation and sports, and was named after the Inn of that name that stood to the side of the site. County cricket was played here until 1847.

In 1865 the ground floor of the White Hart Inn was opened as a homeopathic dispensary by Edward Gould, providing medical care to Bromley residents. The popularity of homeopathy led Dr Robert Phillips to open another practice in 1874 in 19 Widmore Road; he soon began collecting funds for building a much-needed hospital and in 1889 Bromley’s first homeopathic hospital opened. When it was decided to expand or build a new hospital, Coles Child, Lord of the Manor, presented Bromley with The White Hart Field in 1897, a section of which was given for the new hospital. The rest of the field remained in use for public recreation and was laid out with paths and planting, renamed Victoria Gardens in celebration of Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee. The gardens have since become known as the Queen’s Garden or Queen’s Gardens.

The original main entrance to the gardens in the north west corner was at the apex of a triangle adjacent to Market Square where there were fine ornamental iron gates, donated by Lord Kinnaird (George William Fox Kinnaird 9th Lord Kinnaird 1807 – 1878), a close friend of Coles Child. The gates, which Kinnaird had purchased at auction, date from the 1850s and had stood in front of his residence, Plaistow Lodge, on London Lane. In 1990, when The Glades Shopping Centre was constructed, the gates were moved to their present position in the southern part of the gardens.

Phillips Homeopathic Hospital had opened in 1900, was enlarged further in 1907, but it was bombed in WWII by a direct hit and although it temporarily became a home for homeless people, escalating costs meant that it was eventually demolished in 1951. From the outset patients had used the adjacent recreation ground during convalescence. When The Glades Shopping Centre was built, the site was reduced somewhat in size. The naming of The Glades, chosen through a competition in which local residents participated, reflected the leafy, green image of the borough in which Queen’s Gardens plays a part. Today the gardens have formal beds of annual bedding plants, tarmac paths, seats and a number of mature and semi-mature ornamental trees. The copper beech are especially fine…’

From http://www.thepeerage.com/p21887.htm ‘… was the son of Coles William John Child and Elizabeth Letitia Jones. He married Eliza Caroline Barton, daughter of Richard Bolton Barton, on 5 August 1885. He died on 29 January 1929 at age 66. He was Lord of the Manors of Bromley, East Farleigh and East Peckham. He gained the rank of Honorary Colonel in the service of the 3rd Volunteer Battalion, Royal West Kent Regiment. He held the office of Deputy Lieutenant (D.L.) of Kent. He held the office of Justice of the Peace (J.P.) for Kent. He was created 1st Baronet Child, of Bromley Palace, Bromley, Kent [U.K.] on 16 September 1919.

Children of Sir Coles Child, 1st Bt. and Eliza Caroline Barton

• Marjorie Isabel Knox Child b. 28 Apr 1886, d. 19 Dec 1969

• Dorothy Child b. 28 Apr 1886, d. 2 May 1886

• Audrey Eleanor Mary Child b. 17 May 1887

• Norah Phyllis Amy Child b. 17 May 1889

• Kathleen Ida Rachael Child b. 4 Jan 1893, d. 8 Mar 1934

• Sir Coles John Child, 2nd Bt. b. 11 Feb 1906, d. 26 May 1971…’