Start with Red House: the sights of Bexley
Among the places to visit in and near Bexley are 15 museums, 4 historic houses and 2 abbeys or priories. Mapped inside Bexley’s built-up area are 6 places to visit, and within 5 km of its edge another 23. 5 of them are cared for: 4 by the National Trust and 1 by English Heritage. For a full day, there is British Museum, 19 km away.
Most famous in Bexley
Next to Red House, the best known are 2 historic houses, 2 museums and a garden.
Museum · National TrustRed Housein town
Historic houseHall Place and Gardensin town
Historic houseDanson Housein townMuseumMuseumMetropolitan Police Museumin townGardenGarden · National TrustWalled Garden/Rose Gardenin townMuseumMuseumCrossness Pumping Stationin townEach has a page of its own: what it is, who runs it, the weather month by month and what else is near it.
Where to find them
Out at 10 km is Crofton Roman villa, the farthest.
The dashed line is Bexley’s built-up area; orange marks its middle (where most people live). Numbers match the list below. © OpenStreetMap contributors · ONS built-up area 2022
What they are
Most are museums or galleries, 15 in all, ahead of castles or historic places (7).
Green: inside Bexley. Grey: within 5 km of its edge.
5 places are cared for: 4 by the National Trust and 1 by English Heritage (Red House, Walled Garden/Rose Garden, Eltham Palace and Rainham Hall, and 1 more).
The full list
The town has 6; within 5 km of its edge, the list finds 23 more.
Hall Place and Gardens
Grade I listed house and museum in Bexley, Greater London, England, United Kingdom.
Danson House
Grade I listed historic house museum in London Borough of Bexley, United Kingdom.
Metropolitan Police Museum
Law enforcement museum in London, England.
7
8
9Royal Artillery Museum
Closed military museum in London, United Kingdom.
10
11
12Eastbury Manor House
Grade I listed historic house museum in London Borough of Barking and Dagenham, United Kingdom.
13Lesnes Abbey
Former abbey, now ruined, in Abbey Wood, London Borough of Bexley, England, UK.
East End Women's Museum
Women's Museum in London Barking, United Kingdom.
15Dartford Borough Museum and Library
Public library and museum in Dartford, Kent, England, UK.
16Crofton Roman villa
Roman villa in Orpington, in the London Borough of Bromley.
17
18The 6 inside Bexley come first, best known first; then the places within 5 km, close and well known first. Churches and listed buildings are on the History page, not here.
108 listed buildings and 1 scheduled monument are on Bexley’s History page → · Parks, footpaths and green space in Bexley →
For a day out
Day trips number 12; the best known is British Museum, 19 km off.
Big drawMuseumBritish Museum19 km west · 5.8M visitors a year (2023)
Big drawCastleTower of London16 km west · 2.7M visitors a year (2016)MuseumMuseumRoyal Observatory Greenwich9.6 km west
Cathedral · English HeritageWestminster Abbey19 km west
Historic houseBuckingham Palace20 km west
AttractionElizabeth Tower19 km west
AttractionLondon Eye18 km west
Big drawArt galleryNational Gallery19 km west · 709K visitors a year (2021)
CathedralSt Paul's Cathedral17 km west
Big drawArt galleryTate Modern17 km west · 1.2M visitors a year (2021)
Big drawMuseumNational Maritime Museum10 km west · 2.4M visitors a year
MuseumMadame Tussauds21 km westPlaces well known beyond Bexley (Wikipedia articles in several languages, published visitor counts, or a National Trust, English Heritage or Cadw property), close and famous first. Distances are straight lines from the middle of the town.
Seeing Bexley: questions
What are the main attractions in Bexley?
The best known inside Bexley’s built-up area are Red House, Hall Place and Gardens, Danson House and Metropolitan Police Museum. In all, 6 places to visit are mapped inside the town, and 23 more within 5 km.
Does Bexley have a museum?
15 museums and galleries are in or within 5 km of Bexley: Red House, Metropolitan Police Museum, Crossness Pumping Station and Royal Artillery Museum.
Is there a National Trust or English Heritage property near Bexley?
Yes. In or within 5 km of Bexley, 5 places are cared for: 4 by the National Trust and 1 by English Heritage (Red House, Walled Garden/Rose Garden, Eltham Palace and Rainham Hall).
What are the best-known days out near Bexley?
Within 40 km: British Museum (19 km), Tower of London (16 km), Royal Observatory Greenwich (9.6 km), Westminster Abbey (19 km).
Where are Bexley’s historic buildings listed?
Bexley has 108 listed buildings, 5 of them Grade I. They are on its History page, from Historic England’s list, not repeated here.
How is this list made?
From OpenStreetMap (museums, galleries, zoos, theme parks and attractions, castles, forts and abbeys, and historic houses and gardens that are open to visitors) and Wikidata (what each place is, who runs it, its website and visitor counts). A place counts for Bexley when it is inside the ONS 2022 built-up area, and as nearby within 5 km of its edge. Opening times and prices are not shown: check the official site.
Places: OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, Open Database Licence) and Wikidata (CC0), placed in the ONS 2022 built-up area (Open Government Licence v3.0). Visitor counts are the latest Wikidata gives, with their year.
Photos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Photo credits (25)
- Red House: Velela, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Hall Place and Gardens: Wellingwebsite at English Wikipedia Later versions were uploaded by P Ingerson at en.wikipedia., Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Danson House: Stacey Harris, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Eltham Palace: Tilman2007, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Barking Abbey: MRSC at English Wikipedia, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Royal Artillery Museum: Glyn Baker, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Rainham Hall: JRennocks, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Chislehurst Caves: The original uploader was Secretlondon at English Wikipedia., CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Eastbury Manor House: Gordon Joly, CC BY 2.5, Wikimedia Commons
- Lesnes Abbey: Ethan Doyle White, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Dartford Borough Museum and Library: Clem Rutter, Rochester Kent, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Crofton Roman villa: Ian Capper, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Woolwich Arsenal Pier: Oxyman, CC BY 2.5, Wikimedia Commons
- Barrier Gardens Pier: Peter Trimming, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- British Museum: Ham, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Tower of London: Bob Collowan, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Westminster Abbey: Σπάρτακος, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Buckingham Palace: Diliff, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Elizabeth Tower: Christian David, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- London Eye: Christian David, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- National Gallery: Diego Delso, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- St Paul's Cathedral: Mark Fosh, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Tate Modern: Christine Matthews, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- National Maritime Museum: Katie Chan, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Madame Tussauds: Citizen59, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
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