Edmonton: Other estates

OTHER ESTATES.

When Geoffrey de Mandeville, earl of Essex (d. 1144) founded Walden abbey (Essex) in 1136-43, he endowed it, inter alia, with the church of Edmonton and lands there. (fn. 1) Shortly afterwards, during the disorders of Stephen's reign, Westminster abbey briefly took possession of Walden's revenues and granted 3 marks from Edmonton church to William de Costentin. (fn. 2) The first earl's son, Geoffrey de Mandeville (d. 1166) seized part of the glebe, leaving Walden abbey with 14 a. of his father's endowment. (fn. 3) The rectory, in practice mainly consisting of tithes, was worth £33 6s. 8d. during the 13th century. (fn. 4) In 1340-1 the 14 a. of glebeland consisted of meadow worth £2 2s. (fn. 5) During the Middle Ages and especially in the mid 13th century Walden received small grants in free alms from inhabitants of Edmonton. (fn. 6) Rents from these lands totalled £2 4s. 2d. in 1291 (fn. 7) and £2 0s. 8d. in 1340-1. (fn. 8) By 1535 they had become indistinguishable from the glebe and the total value of the rectory was then £20 3s. (fn. 9)

In 1538 Walden abbey surrendered all its property, including Edmonton rectory, to the king, who granted it in the same year to Sir Thomas Audley. (fn. 10) He exchanged it with the king for other property in 1542 (fn. 11) and it was granted to the chapter of St. Paul's in 1544. (fn. 12) The rectory was sold to William Wakefield, merchant of London, during the Interregnum (fn. 13) and in 1650 consisted of a house and cottage, 28 a. mostly scattered in the open fields and common marsh, and tithes, the whole valued at £220 a year. (fn. 14)

The estate, which reverted to St. Paul's at the Restoration, was sold at inclosure in 1801 to Joseph Dorin. (fn. 15) Under the terms of the inclosure settlement, St. Paul's as rector received 276 a. in lieu of tithes from common-field and marsh-land, (fn. 16) as well as corn-rents in lieu of tithes from old inclosures, which then amounted to £434. (fn. 17) An allotment of 56 a. was made to Trinity College, Cambridge, as owners of the rectorial tithes due from the Edmonton portion of Enfield Chase. (fn. 18) St. Paul's sold 83 a. to Edmonton local board in 1890, another 40 a. to local authorities by 1925, and 34 a. to Edmonton Estates Ltd. between 1931 and 1934. (fn. 19) The corn-rents were redeemed between 1886 and 1940. (fn. 20)

Walden abbey's house and court (curia), mentioned in the 13th century, (fn. 21) were probably on the site of the later Rectory House, in 1606 a large moated house on the north side of Church Street, west of the church. (fn. 22) An engraving of 1798 shows a large brick house of c. 1600, with gabled roofs. Dr. John Tillotson (d. 1694) lived there while he was dean of St. Paul's. The house disappeared between 1816 and 1865. (fn. 23)

There were conflicts between Walden and other religious houses with interests in Edmonton. When Geoffrey de Mandeville (fl. 1086) founded Hurley priory (Berks.), a cell of Westminster abbey, he granted it tithes and pannage from all his manors. (fn. 24) The second Geoffrey (d. 1144) substituted a payment of £5 yearly in lieu of all tithes except tithes of pannage. (fn. 25) About 1156-7 Hurley's pannage rights were augmented by a grant by Westminster abbey, which claimed to have enjoyed pigs and pence in Edmonton since the days of the first Geoffrey. (fn. 26) Although not expressly mentioned, Edmonton was probably included in the agreement between Hurley and Walden in 1255, whereby Hurley relinquished its tithes in many parishes. (fn. 27) In 1233, Walden, in return for a 3s. yearly payment, conceded a claim by the knights of St. John of Jerusalem that the tithes of hay from their meadows in Edmonton belonged to them by papal indulgence. (fn. 28)

William de Mandeville gave land worth £5 in Edmonton in free alms to the Augustinian canonesses of St. Mary, Clerkenwell, c. 1179-89. (fn. 29) John Blund made grants in free alms after 1190 (fn. 30) and c. 1197 (fn. 31) and Gillian, daughter of William Renger and wife of John Bucointe, made a grant from the Heyrun fee to the priory c. 1220-24. (fn. 32) Gundred de Warenne granted in free alms c. 1223-4 the house and extensive property which she had received from John Bucointe. (fn. 33) Only rents were thereafter granted to Clerkenwell, by William Blund c. 1222-50 (fn. 34) and by John FitzJohn c. 1236-7. (fn. 35) In 1535 the priory had property in Edmonton worth £3 14s. 8d. in rent and 8 a. of woodland. (fn. 36)

When the priory was dissolved in 1539, the demesne lands in Edmonton were leased out (fn. 37) until 1547, when they were granted to Thomas Seymour, Lord Seymour of Sudeley (d. 1549). (fn. 38) After Seymour's attainder they were granted in 1550 to William Herbert, earl of Pembroke. (fn. 39) Herbert sold them to John Cock, whose son Sir Henry sold them in 1561 to Geoffrey Walkeden. (fn. 40) In 1574 Walkeden sold the estate to John Hudson, grocer of London, who conveyed it in the same year to William Cecil, Lord Burghley. (fn. 41)

In 1202 Ralph de Querendon granted a house and land to the leper hospital of St. Giles, Holborn, (fn. 42) which was granted a rent by John Bucointe at about the same time. (fn. 43) The most important part of St. Giles's holding in Edmonton, a wood of 35 a. in the south-west, had been acquired by the late 13th century and may have originated as part of the Querendon fee. (fn. 44) In 1412 the property of the hospital in Edmonton was worth £1 (fn. 45) and in 1535 rents there totalled 13s. 4d. a year. (fn. 46) The hospital was dissolved in 1539 and its possessions in Edmonton were granted to John Dudley, Viscount Lisle, in 1544. (fn. 47) By 1566 they had passed to John Isham, mercer of London, who conveyed them in that year to Geoffrey and Thomas Walkeden. (fn. 48) St. Giles wood was conveyed with other woods to Lord Burghley in 1574 (fn. 49) and was subsequently part of the Arnolds estate. (fn. 50)

Although the Benedictine nunnery of St. Helen, Bishopsgate, owned land in Edmonton c. 1274, (fn. 51) most of its later estate was probably granted out of Edmonton manor by Adam Francis, the priory's London benefactor. (fn. 52) In 1535 the nunnery owned woods in Southgate which were leased out at £1 8s. a year and quit-rents of 7s. 6d. (fn. 53) St. Helen's was dissolved in 1538, the quit-rents were cancelled, and the Crown continued to lease out the woods until 1547 when they were granted to Lord Seymour of Sudeley. Thereafter they descended with the former Clerkenwell estate. (fn. 54)

Ralph Heyrun granted to St. Bartholomew's priory a small parcel of meadow in free alms, worth 3s. a year by 1306. (fn. 55) Land in Edmonton and Tottenham was leased out by the priory in 1511 (fn. 56) but there is no later reference to it.

Christine Marsh and her husband William Carter made small grants of meadow in Edmonton marsh to the hospital of St. Bartholomew, Smithfield, c. 1210. (fn. 57) Although the estate was granted to the City of London in 1547, (fn. 58) it was returned to the hospital, which in 1804 was allotted 1 a. in the marsh at inclosure. (fn. 59)

The Knights Hospitallers of St. John of Jerusalem acquired meadow land in Edmonton before 1233 (fn. 60) and a rent from Hugh Peverel c. 1260. (fn. 61) By 1536 they had 24 a. in Edmonton marsh, which was leased out with meadow in adjoining parishes (3 a. in Tottenham and 7 a. in Enfield) and a 6d. quit-rent. (fn. 62) The priory was suppressed in 1540, re-endowed with its former lands by Mary in 1558, (fn. 63) and suppressed again by Elizabeth I, who granted the estate in 1560 to William Dodington. (fn. 64)

Part of the Pulteney estate in Edmonton marsh was granted by the bishop of Winchester and others to the Cistercian abbey of St. Mary Graces in 1396. (fn. 65) It was worth £1 in 1412. (fn. 66)

The Augustinian canonesses of Haliwell had land in Edmonton marsh, which was leased out in 1535 for £1 4s. a year. (fn. 67) In 1553 their meadow was sold by the Crown to Thomas and George Golding. (fn. 68) The hospital of St. Katharine by the Tower had meadow and quit-rents in Edmonton which it granted to Holy Trinity priory in 1222-48. (fn. 69) Sir John Elrington, who owned land in Edmonton, (fn. 70) probably granted it to the chantry which he founded in 1482 in the church of St. Leonard, Shoreditch. (fn. 71) At the suppression of the chantries St. Leonard's had 10 a. of woodland at Bush Hill and 2 a. in Enfield. (fn. 72) A small amount of woodland in Edmonton formed part of the Tottenham estate of the London Charterhouse. (fn. 73)

The largest secular estate in medieval Edmonton was built up between 1308 and 1349 by William Causton, mercer of London, who acquired more than 15 houses, 640 a. and £4 18s. 8d. quit rents from 54 people. (fn. 74) Most purchases were of small amounts, although those made from John atte Noke in 1338 (fn. 75) and from John le Venour in 1342 were more substantial. (fn. 76) The largest acquisitions, however, were from John and Maud de Chilterne in 1339 (fn. 77) and 1343. (fn. 78) John inherited from his uncle Adam de Chilterne (fn. 79) and Maud from her grandfather William Ford the elder. (fn. 80) The Ford estate had been held for 1/12 knight's fee in 1235-6 by Laurence Ford, (fn. 81) by John Bucointe c. 1220, (fn. 82) and by Fubert in the 12th century. (fn. 83) Most of the land from the fee was granted to Clerkenwell and Maud's inheritance may have consisted mainly of rents.

In 1354 William Causton granted all his property in Edmonton, Enfield, and Tottenham to feoffees (fn. 84) who in 1355 conveyed it to Adam Francis and Peter Favelore. (fn. 85) Caustons, though considerably reduced in area, descended with Edmonton manor until 1571 when it was granted to Lord Burghley. (fn. 86) In the 16th century the house and a small amount of land were separated from most of the estate, which was attached to Pymmes. (fn. 87) William Cecil, earl of Salisbury, sold the house to Arthur Morgan, barber surgeon of London, in 1613. (fn. 88) Thereafter the descent is obscure. William Causton apparently had a house in Edmonton, (fn. 89) which by the 16th century was a farm-house north of Pymmes green and west of Pymmes house. (fn. 90)

Pymmes took its name from the family of William Pymme, who in 1371 granted all the land that he and John Clavering had received from William Viker to Adam Francis. (fn. 91) By 1502 Pymmes was held by Reynold Manser, whose father Robert had probably acquired it, together with Fullers messuage, in 1482 from Sir Richard Charlton, who had inherited Adam Francis's estate. (fn. 92) In 1502 Manser conveyed Pymmes to feoffees to the use of Robert Couch, after whose death it passed to Couch's widow Joan and then, in spite of a dispute over title, to Joan's nephew William Fox. (fn. 93) Fox conveyed it in 1525 to Sir Christopher Askew, alderman of London, (fn. 94) whose family held it (fn. 95) until it was sold in 1560 by Francis Askew to Elizabeth Gilburn. (fn. 96) In 1561 Elizabeth and her second husband Oliver Dawbeney, tallow chandler of London, conveyed Pymmes to Bartholomew Brokesby, gentleman of London, (fn. 97) who in 1562 enfeoffed Anthony Hickman, mercer of London. (fn. 98) In 1568 Pymmes passed to William Jephson (fn. 99) and from him to William Calton, an Edmonton tanner, (fn. 100) and in 1570 to Anthony Calton of Saffron Walden (Essex). (fn. 101) Calton conveyed it in 1574 to Nicholas Roldsby, (fn. 102) who sold it in 1579 to Thomas Wilson (d. 1581), secretary of state. (fn. 103) Feoffees under Wilson's will sold it to Lord Burghley (fn. 104) in 1582, at about which date most of the lands belonging to Caustons was added. (fn. 105) The estate was still with the Cecil family in 1704 (fn. 106) but by 1804 it was held by Henry Barker. (fn. 107) On Barker's death in 1808 it passed to his niece Ann and her husband Robert Ray and thence in 1824 to Henry Belward Ray (fn. 108) and in 1856 to Herbert Reginald Ray, who was of unsound mind by 1897 when Edmonton U.D.C. purchased it from the receiver of his estates. (fn. 109)

Pymmes house, north of Pymmes green, (fn. 110) was in 1562 a 'great messuage'. (fn. 111) Plans which were made for Thomas Wilson in 1579 show a hall of 33 × 20 ft. with a buttery and kitchen to the west, a large parlour to the east, and a long wing containing six lodgings to the north. (fn. 112) Pymmes was altered or rebuilt c. 1593 (fn. 113) and it is not clear which building was the one described by Norden as 'a proper little house'. (fn. 114) It was again rebuilt in the early 18th century and a new south front, with a pediment and Ionic portico, was added later in the century. The building was of brick and timber-framing, with two storeys and attics, and the north front, which was plastered, had two projecting wings. The interior retained earlier panelling, staircases, and other features, possibly from Burghley's house. (fn. 115) Pymmes was burnt down in 1940. (fn. 116)

Robert de Plesington bought a house and lands from William Furneys, pepperer of London, in 1340, (fn. 117) and further houses and lands from Thomas Anesty in 1344, (fn. 118) and from Robert Anesty (fn. 119) and from John le Venour in 1346. (fn. 120) Robert de Plesington was dead by 1350 when his son Adam conveyed to Henry Walton, archdeacon of Richmond, property in Edmonton, Enfield, and East Barnet and the reversion of other property after the death of Adam's mother, Ellen. (fn. 121) Ellen and her second husband Gilbert Haydok conveyed their property in 1351 to Henry Walton, (fn. 122) who thereupon conveyed his lands to Roger de Depham, expressly including John le Venour's estate in which Depham already had an interest as creditor. (fn. 123)

In 1358 Roger de Depham granted all his property in Edmonton, Enfield, and Tottenham to feoffees, (fn. 124) who conveyed part of it to Adam Francis, (fn. 125) and in 1362 Richard, son of Adam de Plesington, granted all remaining interest in le Venour's estate to Francis. (fn. 126) Plesingtons descended with the capital manor until 1531 when Henry Courtenay, marquess of Exeter, sold it to John Grimston. (fn. 127) Thereafter it followed the same descent as Dephams manor. (fn. 128)

The main house on the Plesington estate, which, by the 18th century, was called Pleasantine Hall, (fn. 129) stood in a moated site west of Jeremy's Green Lane, at its junction with Town Road. (fn. 130) It may have originated in the enclosure containing a house, grange, other buildings and two gardens which William Furneys conveyed to Robert de Plesington in 1340. (fn. 131) About 1585 the mansion possessed a hall, parlour, and four chambers, as well as farmbuildings. (fn. 132) It was pulled down in 1906. (fn. 133)

Sayesbury or Bury farm was the demesne farm of Edmonton manor. In 1571 it was detached from the manor and granted by the Crown to Lord Burghley (fn. 134) whose grandson William, earl of Salisbury, sold it in 1614 to Roger Haughton of St. Martin-in-the-Fields. (fn. 135) In 1637 Eusebius Andrews sold it to Joshua Galliard, leather seller of London, (fn. 136) with whose descendants it remained until Pierce Galliard gave it to his daughter Mary and her husband Charles Bowles in 1787. (fn. 137) The Bowles family retained the estate until Arthur Humphrey Bowles sold it in 1893. (fn. 138) The house was purchased by W. C. Bowater. (fn. 139)

In 1272 the medieval manor-house possessed a garden, courtyard, and two dovecots. (fn. 140) By 1478, when it was leased out, it was a simple farmstead consisting of a dwelling, barns for corn and hay, two stables, and a long sheep-house. (fn. 141) A new house, probably Bury Hall, was built before c. 1627 on the south side of Bury Street, opposite the ancient farm-house. (fn. 142) Bury Hall was refronted c. 1750 and was the most important building in Bury Street until its demolition in 1920. (fn. 143) The presence of the Bradshaw arms over a fireplace gave rise to a story that the regicide John Bradshaw lived there. The only connexion was the marriage of a Galliard to a Bradshaw in the mid 18th century. (fn. 144) Bury Farm was pulled down about the same time as Bury Hall. (fn. 145)

Claverings, a freehold and copyhold estate first mentioned in 1486, (fn. 146) took its name from a 14thcentury Edmonton family and was probably included in the estate conveyed by William Pymme to Adam Francis in 1371. (fn. 147) Claverings descended with the capital manor at least until 1532 (fn. 148) and probably passed with it to the Crown before 1535. (fn. 149) It was granted to Edward Nowell the elder in 1563 (fn. 150) and passed to his son Edward the younger (d. 1650). (fn. 151) John Highlord of Mitcham (Surr.) sold it in 1671 to Joseph Dawson, draper of London, (fn. 152) who died in 1693 (fn. 153) and whose son Joseph, one of Edmonton's wealthiest men in 1694, (fn. 154) was dead by 1703. (fn. 155) Claverings passed to Peter Sykes and his wife Judith (fn. 156) and then to John Rowley (d. 1729), whose children in 1732 contested efforts by his executors to sell it. (fn. 157) By 1778 Claverings was held by Pierce Galliard, who sold it in that year to Thomas Woodham of Enfield. (fn. 158) Thomas's brother John Woodham succeeded him in 1783 (fn. 159) and sold Claverings in 1784 to Charles Bowles of Stepney, who had other estates in Edmonton. (fn. 160) By will proved 1795 Charles Bowles devised his estates to his widow Mary, the owner in 1804. (fn. 161) The Bowles family were still in possession in 1888, when the copyhold of 79 a. was enfranchised. Arthur Humphrey Bowles was the owner in 1893. (fn. 162)

The Claverings estate lay north of Dephams and stretched from the farm-house at the northern part of Jeremy's Green (later Montagu Road) eastward to the river Lea. (fn. 163) Together with Dephams it became part of Edmonton U.D.C. sewage works and after 1949 the farm-house was demolished and the site developed as Claverings industrial estate. (fn. 164)

Weir Hall, an estate centred upon a house at the western end of Silver Street, probably took its name from the Wylehale or Wyrhale family, whose holding in Edmonton included land held in 1235-6 for 1/40 knight's fee by Gilbert Prudhomme. (fn. 165) In 1349, when John Wyrhale and his son Richard both died, the estate consisted of a house and 100 a. John's widow Joan married Simon Bonde and, although she had as son another John Wyrhale, the Bondes granted the estate to John Golding, who was still in possession in 1371. (fn. 166) By 1397 the estate was in the hands of Richard Godestre. (fn. 167)

The Leake family, described as of Weir Hall in the early 16th century, (fn. 168) may have acquired the estate in 1491, when Thomas Fulnetby granted two houses and 122 a. to John Leake and others. (fn. 169) In 1605 Weir Hall formed part of 650 a. held by Jasper Leake. (fn. 170) In 1609 Sir John Leake sold Weir Hall to George Huxley, haberdasher of London, (fn. 171) and the estate thereafter descended in the direct male line until Thomas Huxley died in 1743. His estates were divided between his daughters Meliora Shaw (d. 1788) and Sarah Huxley (d. 1801), Sarah receiving the Weir Hall portion. In 1801 Sarah's estate was divided among five cousins but in 1814 four-fifths, including Weir Hall, were reunited by James George Tatem (d. 1854). (fn. 172) Tatem's son and namesake died in 1895, devising the estate by will to his nieces Ellen Anna and Elizabeth Margaret Harman, (fn. 173) who still possessed part of it in 1926. (fn. 174) The other fifth descended to the Parrotts, who sold it in 1852 to Richard Booth Smith. (fn. 175) On the death of his son John Smith in 1894 it passed to Edward C. Roberts, who was still in possession in 1900. (fn. 176)

In 1887 the estate, then referred to as the Huxley estate and consisting of 306 a., was put up for sale, but only about 57 a. were sold. (fn. 177) The Misses Harman for many years resisted the pressure of John Smith and later of Edward Roberts to sell but from 1898 they relinquished portions to builders, until the remnants were disposed of in 1930. (fn. 178)

The site of the house of 1349 (fn. 179) is not known, since no medieval material was found where the later house stood at the western end of Silver Street, north of its junction with Hedge Lane. The Leake family had a mansion house by c. 1600, (fn. 180) and may have built it in the early 16th century at the time of the marriage of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon since a rose and pomegranate (the device of Aragon) adorned it. In 1611 George Huxley made substantial alterations, probably amounting to a virtual rebuilding, (fn. 181) and in 1664 the hall was one of the largest houses in Edmonton, assessed for 20 hearths. (fn. 182) It was built of brick and described in 1816 as lofty and spacious. A central projecting turret formed the entrance and the large windows and Dutch gables suggest a 17th-century date. The Leakes and Huxleys were resident but under James George Tatem the building was dilapidated and used as a boarding house before its demolition in 1818. Musket shot found in the walls gave rise to a conjecture that the house was besieged during the Civil War. (fn. 183) Its site afterwards served as a marketgarden, where an old wall and outbuildings survived into the 20th century. (fn. 184) A new house in a French château style, (fn. 185) called Weir Hall, was erected on the south side of Silver Street. (fn. 186) It was leased out as 'a high class inebriates' home' and a boys' school and was demolished in 1934. (fn. 187)

The estate centred on Broomfield House may have derived its name from John Broomfield, currier of London, who sold land in Southgate to Geoffrey Walkeden in 1566. (fn. 188) Walkeden was apparently the owner of Broomfield in the late 16th century, (fn. 189) and Richard Skevington, who lived there in 1593, may have been only the lessee. (fn. 190) 'Bromehowse' was in the possession of Sir John Spencer, alderman of London, in 1599 and 1606 (fn. 191) and probably was acquired by the Jackson family (fn. 192) before 1624, when Joseph Jackson, merchant of London, was one of the principal inhabitants of South Street ward. (fn. 193) Broomfield House, a copyhold estate, remained with the Jacksons until 1773, when it passed to Mary Jackson and her husband William Tash. At inclosure in 1804 Tash had 582 a. mostly around Broomfield House and on the borders of Southgate and Tottenham, the second largest estate in Edmonton. (fn. 194) In 1816, when Tash died, (fn. 195) the estate was sold to Henry Philip Powys. Philip Lybbe Powys, who added the surname Lybbe to his name, sold the house and its 54-acre park to Southgate U.D.C. and the rest of the estate to builders in 1903. (fn. 196)

Although there was a house on the site in the 16th century, the structure of the southern part of the existing building is probably mid- to late-17thcentury. Alterations were made c. 1725, when the staircase hall was probably added and one of the older rooms was repanelled. The house may then have extended farther north but the existing wing in that direction is probably c. 1800. During the 19th century there were further additions to the east, which squared off the plan of the house. The external appearance was altered c. 1930 by the application of false half-timbering. (fn. 197) The main feature of the interior is a group of classical paintings of 1723 by Gerrard Lanscroon, which cover the walls and ceiling of the staircase. (fn. 198) There was a park with formal avenues and a line of ponds in front of the house in 1754, (fn. 199) much of which survives.

Arnos Grove, formerly Arnolds and Arno's Grove, originated in Armholt, a 14th-century wood on the western borders of Southgate which became part of the Charterhouse estate. (fn. 200) In 1551 the Charterhouse wood was granted to Sir Thomas and George Tresham. (fn. 201) Thomas Colte of Waltham Holy Cross (Essex) later held it and in 1584, after his death, his daughters and coheirs Catherine and Jane and their husbands, Thomas Cave of Baggrave (Leics.) and Nicholas Brookes of London, covenanted to convey Arnolds, then consisting of a house and 24 a., to Humphrey Weld, grocer of London. (fn. 202) Weld (d. 1611), who was later knighted, acquired 13 a. from Robert Cecil in 1610 (fn. 203) and his son, Sir John Weld (d. 1623), the founder of Weld chapel, bought 150 a. near by from William Cecil, earl of Salisbury, in 1614. (fn. 204) Sir John's widow Frances sold the property in 1645 to Sir William Acton, Bt. (d. 1651). Acton's daughter and heir married Sir Thomas Whitmore, Bt., whose son, Sir William Whitmore, Bt. (d.s.p.) devised his estates to William Whitmore, who was succeeded by his son, Thomas Whitmore, later knighted. (fn. 205) In 1747 Sir Thomas sold Arnolds to James Colebrook, (fn. 206) a London mercer who had been acquiring property in Southgate since 1716. (fn. 207) His son Sir George Colebrook, Bt., sold it in 1762 to Abraham Hume (fn. 208) who in 1763 exchanged some land with the Minchenden estate (fn. 209) and in 1766 sold Arnolds to Sir William Mayne, Bt., (fn. 210) later Lord Newhaven. Mayne conveyed the estate in 1775 to James Brown of Lombard Street (London) (fn. 211) whence it passed in 1777 to Isaac Walker of Cornhill (London). (fn. 212) In 1804 Walker was the owner and part occupier of 264 a. (fn. 213)

The Walkers retained the estate, which they increased to over 300 a. by buying Minchenden in 1853 and Beaver Hall in 1870, until Russell Donnithorne Walker, the last of the Walker brothers, sold it in 1918 to Andrew Weir, later Lord Inverforth, a shipowner. In 1928 Lord Inverforth sold the house to Northmet Electricity Co. (later the Eastern Electricity Board), 44 a. to Southgate U.D.C. as open space, and the rest to builders. (fn. 214)

Arnolds house, which existed by 1584 (fn. 215) and which was described by Sir John Weld in 1623 as very small, (fn. 216) was situated next to Waterfall Road where it turns south to form the Southgate boundary. (fn. 217) During the late 17th and early 18th centuries the house was occupied by lessees, (fn. 218) one of whom in 1719 replaced the old house with a red-brick house to the east, (fn. 219) seven bays wide across the main fronts and three storeys high. The entrance hall and staircase in the centre of the east front have wall and ceiling paitings by Gerrard Lanscroon, dated 1723 and depicting the apotheosis of Julius Caesar. Alterations from designs by Sir Robert Taylor were made to the principal rooms on the west front in 1788 and include a long drawing room with Adamstyle plasterwork. During the early 19th century low wings were added to both the north and south. Towards the end of the century the east front was largely rebuilt, a new staircase was installed, and there was some modernization of the interior. The Northmet Co. added large wings for offices in 1929 and 1935. (fn. 220) There was a large park to the south and west.

Minchenden in Southgate, adjoining Arnos Grove, derived its name from the nuns (myncen) of Clerkenwell who had land there. (fn. 221) It was subsequently part of the Cecil estates and was sold as a wood of 50 a. by the earl of Salisbury in 1614 to John Weld of Arnolds. (fn. 222) It subsequently passed to Sir Thomas Stringer (fn. 223) who sold it before 1672 to Sir Thomas Wolstenholme. (fn. 224) Sir David Hechstetter, who occupied the house as lessee in 1714, (fn. 225) bought the land from Sir Nicholas Wolstenholme in 1716. (fn. 226) By 1738 it was in the possession of John Nicholl, a rich London merchant, probably conveyed to him by Heckstetter's widow in 1736. (fn. 227) In 1753 Nicholl's daughter and heir, Margaret, married James Brydges, marquess of Carnarvon and later duke of Chandos, (fn. 228) whereupon Minchenden became part of the extensive Brydges estates in Middlesex, which included the manors of Great and Little Stanmore. At its greatest extent the Brydges estate in Southgate consisted of a mansion, 18 other houses, and 500 a. of freehold land. (fn. 229) When James Brydges, duke of Chandos died in 1789, his widow Anne Eliza (d. 1813) received Minchenden House and about 105 a., mostly consisting of the former Minchenden wood, (fn. 230) for life but the rest of the estate passed to the duke's daughter and heir. (fn. 231) In 1853 the estate was sold to Isaac Walker, who merged it with Arnos Grove. (fn. 232)

Minchenden House, a large building on the south side of Waterfall Road, was built after 1664 by Sir Thomas Wolstenholme, who in 1672 was assessed for 35 hearths, the largest amount in the parish. (fn. 233) In 1738 John Nicholl carried out considerable alterations, mostly to the front of the house and including the coping of a parapet, a smoking-room, library, and staircase. (fn. 234) In 1747 there were repairs to a portico. (fn. 235) George II visited Minchenden, (fn. 236) which, after the demolition of Canons (Little Stanmore), became the main seat of the Brydges family and in 1816 was described as a capacious brick mansion. (fn. 237) Eighteenth-century prints depict a large plain house with a main front of nine bays probably dating from the early 18th century. (fn. 238) It was pulled down by Isaac Walker in 1853. (fn. 239)

Grovelands or Southgate Grove, an estate between Southgate and Winchmore Hill, was first mentioned in the 15th century as Lord's Grove, woodland treated as demesne of Edmonton manor. (fn. 240) It descended with the manor until 1571 when the queen granted it to Lord Burghley, (fn. 241) whose grandson the earl of Salisbury sold it, as 230 a. of woodland, to John Clapham, one of the six clerks of Chancery, in 1615. (fn. 242) Clapham was succeeded in 1619 by his cousin of the same name, (fn. 243) who died c. 1631 leaving the property to his widow Mary for life, with remainder to his son Luke. (fn. 244) Robert Marsh, merchant tailor of London, had possession in 1665 (fn. 245) and sold it to Sir Thomas Wolstenholme (d. 1691), whereupon it became part of the Minchenden estate. (fn. 246)

Lord's Grove followed the descent of Minchenden until it was inherited by Anna Elizabeth, daughter and heir of the duke of Chandos (d. 1789) and after 1796 wife of Richard Nugent-Temple-Grenville, Earl Temple, later duke of Buckingham and Chandos. (fn. 247) In 1799 Temple sold it to Walker Gray, brandy merchant of London (fn. 248) and nephew of Isaac Walker of Arnos Grove. At inclosure Gray owned 231 a., almost precisely the area of the 17th-century Lord's Grove, although by c. 1804 the estate was entitled Southgate Grove and Winchmore Hill woods. (fn. 249) It descended in 1839 to Walker Gray's nephew John Donnithorne Taylor, a member of the brewing firm of Taylor Walker, who acquired other lands near by and died in 1885 possessed of over 600 a. in Southgate and Winchmore Hill. (fn. 250) The whole estate had been unsuccessfully put up for sale in 1834 (fn. 251) and was offered again in 1902 after the death of Major Robert Kirkpatrick Taylor, J. D. Taylor's son and heir. (fn. 252) All the property was sold except Grovelands, which failed to reach the reserve price and so remained with Robert Taylor's son Captain John Vickris Taylor, who sold 64 a. to Southgate U.D.C. as a public park in 1910 and the house and the rest of the land to the Middlesex Voluntary Aid Detachment in 1921. (fn. 253)

In 1799 Walker Gray built a house, which he called Southgate Grove. It stands on a small spur, originally dotted with trees, overlooking a lake and park which were landscaped by Humphry Repton, who is said to have chosen the site for the house. (fn. 254) John Nash, who was then just beginning a partnership with Repton, was the architect and designed an almost square block with three main elevations, each with a central feature of the Ionic order. (fn. 255) Inside the principal rooms are arranged round the central staircase and the decoration includes much scagliola in the hall, paintings in grisaille in the vestibule, and an octagonal breakfast room with walls and ceiling painted to represent the interior of a birdcage with, through the bars, the scenery of the park. (fn. 256) A feature of the basement is an ice-house between the two wine cellars. The house has suffered few structural alterations since it has been used as a hospital. (fn. 257) The dome lighting the staircase has been altered, there has been some subdivision of rooms, and the conservatory, which projected from the library at a corner of the main block, has been replaced by a link to a new ward. From 1840 until 1910 the park was stocked with fallow deer. (fn. 258)

Cullands or Cannons Grove was in the 16th century Gullands Grove, a triangular piece of woodland between Wrights Lane (later Alderman's Hill) and Barnfield Lane, which joined it from Clappers Green. (fn. 259) It belonged to the Cecils until the late 17th century (fn. 260) and was sold in the mid 18th century by Walter Henshaw and Henry Hadley to Stephen Peter Godin. Godin's estate, which included a house, was sold in 1787 by his daughters and devisees to William Curtis (d. 1829), (fn. 261) who, when granted a baronetcy in 1802, described himself as of Cullands Grove. (fn. 262) At inclosure c. 1804 Curtis owned 149 a. at Cullands Grove and in the southwest corner of Southgate. (fn. 263) The estate was put up for auction in 1832 and bought by John Donnithorne Taylor c. 1840 and added to his already extensive estates. (fn. 264) The 18th-century house, 'much improved' by Curtis, was a square, brick building with a pediment and pillared entrance. The interior, noted by J. N. Brewer for its 'unostentatious elegance', had been decorated by a painter called Kirke. George IV was a frequent visitor at Cullands Grove, where Curtis may have entertained the kings of France and Prussia and the Czar during their visit to England in 1814. (fn. 265) The house, which was set in gardens with a lake, was pulled down c. 1840. (fn. 266)

Bush Hill or Halliwick, the small estate centred on the house between the New River, Bush Hill, and Bush Hill Road, consisted c. 1600 of copyhold woodland which had been held by Robert Waleys (fl. 1523-60), (fn. 267) then by John Estry, and from 1588 by John's son Robert, who was still in possession in 1605. (fn. 268) Shortly afterwards Sir Hugh Myddelton, who is traditionally supposed to have built the house while he was constructing the New River, must have acquired the property. (fn. 269) By will proved 1631 he left the Bush Hill estate to his widow Elizabeth (d. 1643) for life, with remainder to his youngest son Simon. (fn. 270) Although Simon and his son Hezekiah (d. 1688) were buried in Edmonton, the Myddeltons seem to have sold the estate before 1650. (fn. 271)

John Bathurst, a London alderman, was in possession by 1664 (fn. 272) and by will proved 1695 disinherited his son Sir Henry. (fn. 273) In 1696 the property was sold by Bathurst's daughter Catherine and her husband Josias Ent to John Clarke (d. 1701), merchant of London. The estate passed to John's brother Samuel (d. 1742) and from him to William Clarke (d. 1783), who left two daughters Anna Clarke and Mary Forbes. It was auctioned in lots in 1784, when the house and 39 a. were purchased by John Blackburn (d. 1798) of London, who was building up an estate in the area. Blackburn's son John sold Bush Hill in 1812 to Isaac Currie, banker of Cornhill. (fn. 274) The Curries retained the estate, which was leased in the 1850s to Sir Samuel Cunard, the shipowner, until 1878 when it was sold to Horace Barry. Barry was dead by 1908 when the house and 90-acre park, by then called Halliwick, was occupied by the Misses Fenton. (fn. 275) In 1911 the house and some grounds were bought by the trustees of the Girls Cripples' Home. The southern part of the estate was sold to builders. (fn. 276)

Sir Hugh Myddelton probably erected the first house at Bush Hill c. 1613. (fn. 277) By 1664 it was the largest in the parish, assessed for 31 hearths. (fn. 278) Nothing remains which can with certainty be identified as part of Myddelton's house. The late18th-century house consisted of a main block three storeys high and nine bays long with two flanking wings each of three bays. A seven-bay portion remains of this building. (fn. 279) The main front on the south was modernized in the mid 19th century and additions were made to the east and west. After 1927 further additions were made to the north and west and the main front was largely rebuilt. More recently new classrooms have been added. (fn. 280) The house was set upon high wooded ground with commanding vistas over the winding New River, where John Blackburn laid out an elegant park. (fn. 281)

Bush Hill Park in north Edmonton originated in a small estate conveyed in 1671 by John Harvey to John Shale of London and in 1682 by Shale to Sir Jeremiah Sambrook (d. 1705). (fn. 282) It descended to Sir Samuel Vanacher Sambrook, Bt. (d. 1715), and then to Sir Jeremy Vanacher Sambrook, Bt. (d. 1740). Jeremy's sisters and coheirs, Judith, Elizabeth, and Susanna and the husbands of the last two, Sir Humphrey Monoux and John Crawley, sold the estate in 1745 to John Gore, who purchased about 37 a. near by from George Huxley in 1748. When Gore died in 1765, his trustees sold his lands to Joseph Mellish of Bishopsgate, London. (fn. 283) The estate reached its greatest extent under Mellish's great-grandson William Mellish (d. 1839), a merchant and M.P. for Middlesex. (fn. 284) At inclosure c. 1804 Mellish's estate was the third largest in the parish, consisting of 438 a., mostly at Bush Hill and Nightingale Hall farm in the north-east. (fn. 285) He also leased the Polehouse estate from St. Paul's from 1801 until 1822. (fn. 286) Nightingale Hall farm was conveyed to Robert Musket before 1828 (fn. 287) and Bush Hill Park was sold by Mellish's executors, some of it to the New River Co. The house and part of the estate was bought by Lewis Raphael of Hendon (d. 1851) and passed to his nephew John Samuel Moorat (d. 1869) and then to Moorat's sons Samuel and Edward. (fn. 288) In 1872 the Bush Hill Park Co. acquired the land for building. (fn. 289)

The 'commodious brick mansion' of Bush Hill Park, in existence by 1724, (fn. 290) was set in grounds laid out by Le Nôtre. The house contained a wooden panel by Grinling Gibbons representing the stoning of St. Stephen, (fn. 291) which had come from Canons (Little Stanmore), and a clock tower which was pulled down in 1875. (fn. 292) The house, though set in a much smaller estate, was still a residence in 1914. (fn. 293) It was pulled down in 1929. (fn. 294)