Wayne Manor

**Wayne Manor** is the home and personal residence of Bruce Wayne; located in the Crest Hill community in the Bristol Township, twelve miles from Gotham City. Wayne Manor also houses the Batcave, located deep below Wayne Manor that Bruce found when he was a young boy.

It was most famously known as the residents of the Wayne Family-line. However, the manor also stands and served as a public façade that hid amongst hills that are honeycombed with many caverns and tunnels that were collectively known as "the Catacombs" (also the location of the Batcave). The Waynes have secretly used these caverns through the years for various purposes, and was directly underneath its foundations.

"*I will march to Wayne Manor, I will drag your faithful butler onto the streets of Gotham and I will make him tell the world how you failed.*"

—Hugo Strange.

## Interior

Although there is a vast network of limestone caverns running beneath the manor, Martha Wayne filled the house with warm furnishings and flowers from the greenhouse. Many of the antiques in the estate have been passed down through multiple generations, such as mahogany furniture.

## Known residents

* Wayne Family
	+ Bruce Wayne
	+ Damian Wayne
* Alfred Pennyworth
* Teen Titans
	+ Dick Grayson
* Outsiders
	+ Jason Todd
* Tim Drake
* Harold Allnut
* Jean-Paul Valley
* Leslie Thompkins
* Ace the Bat-Hound

## Family

The current members of the Wayne family at the time of Batman's time are Thomas Wayne, his wife Martha, and their son, Bruce. Alfred Pennyworth is the family's butler, and Rachel Dawes lives on the estate with her mother, the housekeeper.

## Ancient Times

Wayne Manor began as the simple home of railroad financier Jerome K. Van Derm in 1855. Soon after, Van Derm had to give up the property to the brothers Solomon and Zebediah Wayne in 1858. Solomon, a judge, worked hard to preserve equality in Gotham, saying that the city should be a "fortress against vice and iniquity". Solomon expanded Wayne Manor to its present size, acting as the first Wayne to turn it into a manor. They later used it as part of the Underground Railroad, sheltering escaped slaves who fled north to Canada. According to Alfred, Wayne Manor has been home to six generations of Waynes.

## History

One day, while playing in the Manor's garden with Rachel Dawes, Bruce fell down the old well into the caverns below. There, he faced what would become his most valuable ally: a bat. Frightened out of his wits at the time, Bruce was comforted by his father being lowered on a rope anchored by Alfred, the two adults having been alerted to Bruce's fall by Rachel. That night, Bruce had a nightmare about the bats, causing his father to come soothe him, explaining to Bruce, "They attacked you because they were afraid of you. All creatures feel fear, especially the scary ones." It would be the last time that Thomas and Martha Wayne left the house alive.

After the murder of his parents at the hands of Joe Chill, Bruce felt guilty beyond imagination. As he remorsefully told Alfred, "It was my fault, I made them leave the theater. If I hadn't gotten scared..." Alfred, however, comforted Bruce, telling him, "It was him, and him alone".

## Synopsis

When Bruce returned to Gotham after training, Alfred told him he had prepared the master bedroom, but Bruce replied that he'd rather stay in his own room. When Alfred tried explaining that this was his home, the subject was changed when a bat appeared flying in the corner near the ceiling. It was at that moment that Bruce realized that being afraid of a bat was like being afraid of a ghost, a wraith. Gathering the proper equipment, Bruce cleared the weeds blocking the well he had fallen down as a child, and ventured into the caverns. There, he was swarmed by bats, but this time, Bruce realized there was nothing to be afraid of. Thus, the caverns below became the Batcave.

## External Links

* Wayne Manor *Wikipedia*
* Wayne Manor *DC Database*

## Notes & Trivia

* Wayne Manor first appeared in *Detective Comics #28 (June, 1939)*
* The address of Wayne Manor is 1313 Mockingbird Lane, Bristol County, Gotham City.
* The secret routes behind two bookshelves couldn't be used with Catwoman. This may be because she was not part of the Batman Family, unlike Batman, Robin, and Nightwing.
* In Wayne Manor's Main Hall, there was a painting with Thomas and Martha Wayne, and their son, Bruce Wayne. In Cold, Cold, Heart, many paintings of the Wayne Family could be found, such as Judge Solomon Wayne, and Thomas and Martha Wayne.