two estates were held by Robert Wolley. After being sold out of Gobions Manor, the ownership was in the hands of various London merchants until 1771 when it was sold by Nathaniel Houlton to a Mr John Heaton. During this time there is no evidence of the owners living in either manor. Bedford Park's mansion John Heaton rebuilt the house at Bedfords as a two-storey brick mansion rendered with cement, and resided there until his death in 1818. Upper Bedfords (previously Earls) was also rebuilt during this time in a crenelated style, including a tower which has often caused it to be mistaken for a church. It was at this time (c. 1777) that the lane which had run from Broxhill Road to Lower Bedfords Road and going past Bedfords was closed by the owner. This is also the point at which today's park is recognisable as Chapman and Andre's survey of that time depicts the northern tree line, approach avenue, and park boundaries as they occur today. The property passed down two generations in the Heaton family, although it was let to tenants between 1826 and 1834. At this point the property again changed hands several times and was even listed in the Chelmsford Chronicle on 21 June 1867 (on page 4): It was purchased 3 years later from the mortgagee of the previous owner by Henry R. Stone in 1870. His son Henry J. Stone was the last lord of the manor, and although in parts, Bedfords was sold to Romford Urban District Council by his widow in 1933. Romford UDC opened the park to the public in 1934, and instituted a museum in the house which locals seem to have referred to as Bedfords Mansion, this focussing on natural history and containing stuffed birds and animals from the local area. It was also around this time that a captive herd of red deer were introduced. During World War II Bedfords House was used by the Auxiliary Fire Service and afterwards was used as the council archive but was gradually allowed to fall into disrepair until it was demolished in 1959. In the 1960s a cafe was built on the site of the house until this also fell out of use in the 1980s. Today the route of the public lane closed around 1777 can still be traced along the entrance drive, past the old stable block (the