The brickwork in the centre of
the moat is all that remains of a house built in the
15th and 16th centuries for the Walsingham family.
Queen Elizabeth I visited Scadbury in 1597 when she
knighted Thomas Walsingham, nephew of her Secretary of
State. At that time Scadbury was a hunting park
and some oaks that would have been saplings then still
survive. In 1738 the house was demolished,
possibly because it was unsafe, and the owners moved to
Frognall.
The Tudor barn was demolished by the last V1 flying bomb to cause damage in the UK on 28 March 1945.
The estate was bought by Bromley Council in 1982. There is a long-term archaeological investigation in progress, undertaken by Orpington and District Archaeological Society.
The bears are part of a 7.5 mile Bear Trail which starts at Elmstead Woods station and finishes at Chislehurst station, passing around 25 bears on the way. Most of the bears are funded by the Chislehurst Society.
Nearby roads including St Paul's Cray Road, St Paul's Wood Hill and Perry Street are well served by numerous buses from Orpington and Chislehurst.
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