Austen additions to the house

Beginning in 1649 the Tudor porches were demolished and a bell tower and staircase erected, completed in 1653. To the south of the old hall a two storey building was erected in the centre of which stood a courtyard. Unlike in the Tudor house the rooms in this new building were connected by corridors and staircases. This reflected a growing desire for privacy, especially from servants, as families became much more nuclear, like those we know today, rather than the sprawling extended ones living in community with their dependents that had existed before. The new extension was built from brick. This industry, had grown up in England since about 1580 and there were clays suitable for brickmaking throughout the Bexley area, greatly reducing the cost of building. The fashion for views imported from Italy was satisfied with the laying of formal gardens, possibly including terraces, grottos and statuary. Yet even by 1701 the year of Sir Robert Austen's succession, the house then surely at its most splendid was already considered hopelessly out of date. As has been stated, the Austen family continued to own but never again occupied the house. The reasons for this are not known, but the family had incurred substantial debts. Even in 1666, Sir Robert, the first baronet stated in his will that his funeral expenses should be limited to £100 on account of his great debts. By 1738 when the fourth baronet married, the family's situation was critical. In the marriage settlement the Dashwoods provided a dowry of £9,000 to reduce the mortgage on the Austen estates, while Sir Robert undertook to sell certain lands to further reduce his debts. The marriage produced no heirs but nevertheless in Sir Robert's own will of 1743, after leaving his lands in turn to his various Austen relatives, he named his wife as ultimate heir to the estates. On his death the estates followed the baronetcy to Sir Robert's brother.

. In 1768 the principal land holdings of the estate were charted by John Bowra. His maps show three main farms, Hall Place Farm with 235 acres, 1 rod and 21 perches; Warren Farm with 167 acres, 1 rod and 11 perches, and Long Lane Farm with 47 acres, 1 rod and 4 perches.