Scott’s Lodge
Scott’s Lodge, Bromley
A large house and – arguably – the name for its immediate vicinity in the far south-eastern corner of London, one-and-a-half miles south of Cudham
Known only (as a place name) to the cartographers at Philip’s, this is apparently the identity of a tiny settlement straddling the Bromley/Sevenoaks (London/Kent) border, perhaps extending as far north-east as the Tally Ho public house.
Like the pub, the house now called Scott’s Lodge lies outside Greater London in the Kentish parish of Knockholt. Originally called White Lodge, in reference to its finish, this is an undistinguished double-roofed property, much altered around 1900. An unsubstantiated story suggests that it was renamed in honour of a 14th-century predecessor on the site, built by Ralph Scot(t). Among the features of the house’s grounds are an outdoor swimming pool, tennis courts, various outbuildings and a paddock with mature trees and shrubs. In 2018 the Zoopla website valued Scott’s Lodge at almost £3 million. When this page was last updated (in November 2021) Zoopla’s valuation had risen to £3¾ million.
The more modest – and more aesthetically pleasing – weatherboarded Scott’s Lodge Cottages stand a short distance south of the main house. The cottages are shown on the left in the photograph above.
On the London side of the boundary, the closest property to Scott’s Lodge is Rosemary Farm. To its north is Fairmead, a large house with a self-catering cottage in its grounds.
To the south-west there’s a varied cluster of detached residences south of Cudham Frith Farm on Grays Road, graced by one of the Metropolitan Drinking Fountain and Cattle Trough Association’s fine installations, opposite the junction with Viewlands Avenue.
Realistically, it’s most likely that Scott’s Lodge has never actually existed as a recognised settlement but that a cartographer’s error resulted in the name of a house being typeset in the style used for localities. Nevertheless, this page has been created because Hidden London aims ultimately to include every Greater London locality shown on any map.