Culture
Bexley enjoys a good variety of arts and entertainment facilities, with Bexleyheath providing a focus for several major attractions.
Edward Alderton Theatre
The Edward Alderton Theatre offers several full scale amateur productions per year. The forthcoming year will see shakespeare famous comedy “Much ado about nothing”, Wait until dark by Frederick Knott, Justifying War by Richard Norton Taylor and Abigails Party by Mike Leigh.
For further information, please visit www.edwardalderton.org
Erith Playhouse
The Erith Playhouse is the largest public theatre in the London Borough of Bexley. Currently, the playhouse produces some 13 shows per year. Performances in the past have included: I have been here before by JB Prestley, Double Vision by Eric Chappell., Absent Friends by Alan Ayckbourn and Journeys End by RC Sheriff.
For further information, please visit www.playhouse.org.uk
Hall Place Gardens
A fine grade I listed country house built in 1540 for Sir John Champney, a former Lord mayor of London, and extended in the 17th Century. Rooms include the magnificent panelled Great hall with Minstrel’s Gallery are open to the public throughout the year, with free admissions (special events and activities usually have a charge). The house is set in 62 hectares of beautiful award winning gardens on the banks of the River Cray, with rose gardens, topiary lawn and a working nursery.
Hall Place houses the Bexley Museum Collection, some of which is on display throughout the house, and presents a varied programme of exhibitions throughout the year. There is a shop stocking gifts, cards and handmade crafts. The house is also the venue for events such as concerts, lectures and private functions.
Red House
The Red House was built in 1860 for the Victorian artist, designer and poet William Morris. The architect, Philip Webb, designed the house in the Victorian Gothic style to reflect Morris love of things medical. Morris moved in the house after his marriage to Jane Burden and it was to become the couple’s home for five years. The Trust has opened the Red House soon after its acquisition in 2003 so that visitors can see the property as it was when it was first acquired, and follow its journey as research reveals the house and garden which Morris and Webb originally created. Inside, the house retains many of the original features and fixed items of furniture designed by Morris and Webb, as well as wall paintings and stained glass by Burne-Jones. Red House and its garden now provide an oasis in a suburban environment.