OTHER ESTATES.
Among the estates of Simon
Francis (d. 1357), merchant of London, was land
at Hornsey, of which 60 a. were held in dower by his
widow Maud (d. 1384). In 1368 her daughter Alice
and her husband Sir Thomas Travers conveyed the
reversion to feoffees to the use of the heirs of John
de Middleton. (fn. 28) The feoffees settled it on Sir
Thomas in 1373 (fn. 29) and by 1376 he had conveyed it
to Nicholas Brembre (d. 1388), later mayor of
London, (fn. 30) on whose forfeiture in 1388 it passed to
the Crown. (fn. 31) In 1394 the estate, 60 a. of land and 4 a.
of wood, was granted to Thomas Goodlake and
Joan his wife. (fn. 32)
William Horne (d. 1496), alderman of London,
built up an estate most of which was at Crouch
End. In 1482 he acquired Godfreys tenement and
20½ a. copyhold of Hornsey from William Halmer,
pouch-maker of London; (fn. 33) in 1484 other copyhold
from the guardian of Thomas, son of John Bury, a
London tailor; (fn. 34) in 1486 more copyhold of Topsfield
from Richard Spencer and Isabel his wife; (fn. 35) in
1487 a freehold estate from Cecily, wife of Thomas
Walker; (fn. 36) also in 1487 from the parents of Henry
Marshall, butcher of London (d. 1480), property
which may have been the Triangle estate; (fn. 37) and
at an unknown date Crouch End croft, late of Henry
Quarles. (fn. 38) Horne's lands constituted a substantial
block, which was sold by his executors in 1497
to John Meautis, the king's secretary. (fn. 39) From at least
1497 Meautis accumulated other lands, all of which
he quitclaimed c. 1503 to John Heron and his father
William. (fn. 40)
Most of the freehold land in Hornsey lay east of
Tottenham Lane and Crouch End near the manors
of Brownswood, Topsfield, Farnfields, and Ducketts
in Tottenham and sometimes disputed between
them. In 1287 William le Brun of Ebury in Westminster, heir of Master William le Brun, acquired
40 a. in Hornsey which the elder William had
settled on his sister Isabel and her husband Everard
the goldsmith and which they had apparently given
to the priory of St. Sepulchre, Warwick, before
dying childless. (fn. 41) In 1294 the priory unsuccessfully
sued the younger William for the lands, (fn. 42) which he
had conveyed in 1293 to Lawrence Duckett and
later formed part of Ducketts manor. (fn. 43)
The Brokhersts of Islington held land in Hornsey
by 1382, when Richard Brokherst occurred. (fn. 44) Land
in Downhills granted to Henry Brokherst in 1420
was sold to Thomas Edrich in 1422 (fn. 45) but in 1437
William Brokherst was granted lands including
Lightlond's croft by John Kingsdon, goldsmith of
London. (fn. 46) Part of William Brokherst's estate, a
house and 88 a. in Islington and Hornsey, was
alienated in 1464 by his daughter Joan and her
husband William Underhill, (fn. 47) but the residue descended to their daughter Cecily (d. 1497), wife of
Thomas Walker, grocer of London. Cecily sold
property to Alderman Horne in 1487 (fn. 48) and was succeeded by her son Richard, a ward of his brotherin-law Richard Rowlow, a London grocer. (fn. 49) In
1503 Richard Walker declared void all conveyances
of land in Hornsey and near-by parishes made by
himself as a minor to Sir Thomas Frowyk, (fn. 50) but
feoffees held 80 a. in a wood called Ushers to Sir
Thomas's use until his death in 1506. (fn. 51) Sir Thomas's
estates descended to his daughter Frideswide (d.
1528), first wife of Sir Thomas Cheyney, K. G.,
who later held them for life. The reversion was
divided between Cheyney's daughters Frances
Crisp, Catherine Kempe, and Anne Parrott.
Eighty acres of woodland were allotted to Catherine,
who had borne three daughters, Margaret, Anne,
and Alice, and predeceased her father. Margaret,
wife of William Cromer, had also died leaving a
daughter Anne before Sir Thomas Cheyney's death
in 1558, (fn. 52) when the wood was divided between the
three heirs. One share was apparently among the
third of a house and 84 a. in Hornsey, Hendon, and
Finchley which Richard Boyce and Margaret his
wife conveyed in 1568 to Thomas Sherley and
Anne his wife, with warranty against the heirs of
Sir Thomas Frowyk. (fn. 53) In 1570 the third share of
Boyce and by 1576 that of Christopher and Merlian
Rythe in two houses and 80 a. in Hornsey, Finchley,
and Hendon (including Ushers) had been acquired
by John Draper (d. 1576), brewer of London, (fn. 54)
lessee of the woods and chief copyholder of Brownswood. (fn. 55) The freehold in Hornsey was devised to his
son Jasper, (fn. 56) who in 1601 conveyed 39 a. to Richard
Welby, leatherseller of London. (fn. 57) He had also
acquired at least 6 a. copyhold from Nicholas (d.
1616) and William, coheirs of Sir William Rowe,
33 a. from Thomas Rotch, and 41 a. from Thomas
Sands.
In 1624 Welby sold a mansion, nine cottages, and
127 a. freehold and copyhold in Hornsey and
Clerkenwell detached to Cecily (d. 1634), widow of
Giles Duncombe, leatherseller of London, (fn. 58) who in
1629 surrendered them to her daughter Sarah,
wife of Sir Henry Rowe (d. 1662), lord mayor of
London, with remainder to their second son Thomas
(later Sir Thomas) Rowe (d. 1696). (fn. 59) Thomas, then
the eldest surviving son, was admitted in 1658 (fn. 60)
and left the estate, which had greatly increased in
value, to his son Thomas (d. c. 1705). (fn. 61) It then
passed to the younger Thomas's uncle Anthony
Rowe (d. c. 1707) and the latter's daughters Mary,
wife of Sir Edmund Denton, Bt., and Charlotte
Rowe. (fn. 62) In 1705 the estate was grossly encumbered (fn. 63)
and by 1711 it was to be sold under the will of
Henry Guy, who had acquired the rights of the
coheirs. (fn. 64) In 1726 Guy's surviving executors surrendered the estate to William Pulteney (d. 1764),
later earl of Bath, with remainder to his brother
Harry. (fn. 65) In 1767 Harry, by then a general, devised
it to his cousin Frances Pulteney (d. 1782), wife of
William Johnstone, later Sir William Pulteney,
Bt., from whom it descended to her daughter
Henrietta Laura Pulteney (later countess of Bath). (fn. 66)
On the death of the childless countess of Bath in
1808 (fn. 67) the estate devolved on William Harry Vane
(d. 1842), earl of Darlington and later duke of
Cleveland, (fn. 68) who sold it in seven lots in 1810. (fn. 69)
At his death in 1576 John Draper's copyhold
estate at Brownswood consisted of 73 a. between
Stroud Green Road and Brownswood and 32 a.
between the latter and Green Lanes. It was held
by his heirs, presumably his sons, in 1577, (fn. 70) by
his widow in 1594, (fn. 71) and by his eldest son Thomas
(d. 1612), descending to the latter's sons Thomas
(d. 1631), Robert (d. 1642), and Roger. In 1636 it
was held jointly by Lady (Sarah) Kemp, widow of
the younger Thomas, Robert, and Roger and in
1656 by Roger alone. (fn. 72) It was apparently among the
lands that he devised to his brother Robert's son
Thomas (d. 1703), later a baronet, (fn. 73) who apparently
alienated it. Sir William Paul of Bray (Berks.),
Bt. (d. 1686), held 110 a. The estate was held by his
widow, who married Sir Formedon Penystone, Bt.,
c. 1709, (fn. 74) and passed under Sir William's will to the
Paul family. It was presumably among the property
inherited from William Paul before 1727 by his
daughter Catherine, wife of Sir William Stapleton,
Bt. (d. 1740), which apparently descended to her
son Sir Thomas Stapleton, Bt. (d. 1781). (fn. 75) By
1796, however, the western portion of 81 a. was
held by a Mr. Lucas, who was succeeded in 1808
by John Lucas, the owner in 1822. (fn. 76) It belonged to
William Lucas in 1823 (fn. 77) and was enfranchised for
James Lucas in 1856. (fn. 78) It was owned by Joseph
Lucas (fn. 79) between 1861 and 1876 and was built over
by 1880.
A house mentioned in 1577 (fn. 80) was extended or
rebuilt in 1609, (fn. 81) apparently by Sir Thomas Stapleton whose initials appear on datestones and panelling. Known as Stapleton Hall, it stands near the
north-west end of Stapleton Hall Road and presumably was occupied by Stapleton as a tenant.
In 1765 it was licensed as the Stapleton Hall
tavern. (fn. 82) William Lucas is said to have divided the
house into two (fn. 83) and in his time it was surrounded
by farm-buildings. (fn. 84) Between 1856 and 1884 it
was occupied by Charles Turner (d. 1892), member
of a prominent farming family and later of Womersley House. (fn. 85) It was the Stroud Green Conservative club by 1888 (fn. 86) and in 1962 was bought by the
club, (fn. 87) which occupied it in 1978. Some early-17thcentury panelling has been reset in a short back
wing and parts of the building may be of that date.
The main range is probably 18th-century but was
refronted in the early or mid 19th century. More
recent alterations have included the demolition of an
annexe towards the street and the addition of a
modern clubroom at the rear.
In 1461 one Adam Turvey had settled copyhold
of Hornsey on his wife Alice and son Robert (fn. 88)
and in 1465 Adam's widow and son settled two
cottages and 8 a. on Robert's wife Margaret, with
remainder to his daughters Marion and Isabel.
Robert also surrendered land to Giles Eustace in
1465 and 1474 (fn. 89) and in 1474 with his mother to
John (later Sir John) Elrington, treasurer of the
king's household. (fn. 90) Robert Turvey had died by
1475, whereupon Isabel, who married Richard
Spencer, may have been admitted to her share but
Marion, a minor, was placed in the custody of her
mother, who married Thomas Corbrond. Marion
died by 1479, when Isabel and her husband were
admitted to the other purparty of her father's
lands, which were released by the Corbronds. (fn. 91)
Richard Spencer (d. 1509) was active in the local
land market before acquiring the manor of Topsfield. (fn. 92) Apart from Topsfield he left property at
Hornsey, Highgate, Crouch End, and Muswell
Hill to be divided among his sons Gregory, Hugh,
and Nicholas, with remainder in default of issue to
Nicholas as eldest son. The testator's residence by
the gate to the church, his houses in Hornsey,
and all his copyhold land at Crouch End were left
for life to his widow Isabel. Some was bought by
William Cholmley of Lincoln's Inn, probably before
1513: at William's death in 1546 it was divided
between his stepdaughters. (fn. 93) In 1513 Gregory and
Nicholas Spencer sold the reversion on their
mother's death and all their customary land in
Middlesex to Sir Richard Cholmley; Nicholas had
not surrendered it in 1519 and it was not paid for
at Sir Richard's death in 1521. (fn. 94) He devised it to
his illegitimate son Roger, later Sir Roger, Cholmley
(d. 1565) whose title was disputed by the testator's
brother Roger. Arbiters awarded only a third of the
land to the son, (fn. 95) who later seems to have held the
whole estate. Some was sold (fn. 96) and the rest was
divided between his daughters, the wives of
Christopher Kenn and John Russell, who surrendered some to Sir Roger's servant Jasper Cholmley
(d. 1588), whose sons held it in 1608. (fn. 97) Kempe's
house at Highgate left in 1509 to Nicholas Spencer
may be the house and 4 a. held there by his son
c. 1535. (fn. 98) Between 1578 and 1587 Richard's
sons John Spencer of the Middle Temple and
Roger Spencer alienated five houses, including one
at Crouch End then called the Green Lettuce but
later Old Crouch Hall; (fn. 99) in 1577 John Spencer also
held 20 a. copyhold of Brownswood. (fn. 1)
Land in the manor of Ducketts in Tottenham and
Hornsey, formerly of St. Bartholomew's hospital,
was acquired in 1554 by William Parker, draper of
London, (fn. 2) who conveyed it in 1556 to Ranulph
Cholmley, recorder of London. (fn. 3) The land was
probably Sistersfield, left to the hospital in 1563, (fn. 4)
when Ranulph's copyhold estate passed to his
brother Sir Hugh Cholmley (d. 1596), the military
commander, (fn. 5) who lived in Hornsey in 1574, (fn. 6)
perhaps at Brick Place or Tower Place, which he
surrendered in 1578 to Thomas Aglionby of
Hornsey together with ten houses and 58 a. (fn. 7)
Aglionby devised them in 1583 for life to his wife
Cecily (later Cecily Payne). (fn. 8) In 1603 she settled
14 a. on their son Ambrose, who held 26 a. by
1605, (fn. 9) mortgaged the estate in 1622, and sold the
house and 32 a. in 1631 to Richard Chambers the
younger, alderman of London, and Catherine his
wife. (fn. 10) Chambers also inherited lands acquired by
his parents Richard (d. 1632-3) the elder and
Susannah (d. 1641), and in 1645 settled Brick
Place, nine cottages, and 36 a. on himself and his
prospective second wife Judith. (fn. 11) At his death in
1658 he left five sons to share his encumbered
estate: eight houses and 15 a. were conveyed in
1662 to Christopher Joyner (d. 1690), merchant of
London. (fn. 12) On the death of Judith in 1668 the four
surviving brothers surrendered Brick Place and
21 a. to Sir John Musters (d. 1690), from whom they
descended to his four grandsons. (fn. 13) Brick Place
itself was damaged in a storm and demolished in
1703, (fn. 14) although the moat remained. In 1704 the
surviving coheirs surrendered the property to
Thomas Joyner, merchant of London, (fn. 15) Christopher's son and ultimately his sole heir, (fn. 16) who
also bought land from Thomas Priestly in 1711-12 (fn. 17)
and left the united estate to his sons Christopher and
Thomas, who sold some of it. (fn. 18) In 1721 Christopher
was admitted to his late brother's share (fn. 19) and by
will dated 1727 he left eleven houses and c. 40 a. to
his aunt Elizabeth Joyner, (fn. 20) who devised them in
1738 to John Bicknell of the Inner Temple. (fn. 21)
In 1740 Bicknell left the estate equally to his brothers
Charles (d. by 1762) and Robert and his sisters
Elizabeth Hay and Jane and Dorothea Bicknell. (fn. 22)
Robert acquired the whole estate, (fn. 23) which in 1763 he
surrendered to George Wright, (fn. 24) in whose family it
had descended to George Jasper Wright by 1836.
In 1839 it was said to belong to George Edward
Smythe, a lunatic, and c. 1847 was acquired by the
G.N.R. (fn. 25)
In 1592 John Cage acquired from William
Bromfield a freehold house and 37 a., (fn. 26) which he
conveyed in 1599 to Nicholas Cage, (fn. 27) who also
held 68 a. copyhold of Hornsey at his death in
1607. (fn. 28) He devised all his estates in Hornsey and
Tottenham for life to his widow Anne, (fn. 29) who
married Robert Barker. (fn. 30) In 1626 the freehold was
conveyed to Richard Springnell, later a baronet, (fn. 31)
to whom the copyhold was also surrendered in
1627. (fn. 32) In 1625 Richard had inherited c. 50 a. of
copyhold accumulated by his father Robert between
1605 and 1615, (fn. 33) in 1629 he bought 13 a. of freehold
from Thomas Wilson, (fn. 34) and in 1631 12 a. (probably
Sistersfield) from William Benning of Ducketts in
Tottenham. (fn. 35) Although he sold 35 a. of freehold
to Michael Johns in 1654 (fn. 36) he still possessed the
freehold closes of Downhills, Sisterfield, Highlands, and Farmersfield, amounting to 49 a. (fn. 37)
In 1651 he settled Cromwell House and 23 a.
jointly on his son Robert and Anne Livesey his
wife, (fn. 38) with whom nine other children disputed the
remaining four houses and 160 a. on Sir Richard's
death in 1659. (fn. 39) In 1663 the copyhold and the freehold estates were sold to Philip Jemmett (d. 1678),
alderman of London, (fn. 40) who devised the copyhold
to his daughter Anne and her husband Sir Jonathan
Raymond (d. 1711), also an alderman. Their second
son John Raymond succeeded to only eight cottages
and 10 a., which descended to his grandson and
namesake in 1796. (fn. 41) The main estate passed to the
elder son Sir Jemmett Raymond, who sold the
freehold in 1712 and the copyhold in 1718 to
David Mitchell of Westminster. (fn. 42) In 1719 Mitchell
alienated it to Thomas Bishop of West Drayton, (fn. 43)
who in 1724 conveyed it to William King of Clapham (Surr.). (fn. 44) In 1729 King conveyed the freehold
to his nephew William Cole of Magdalen Laver
(Essex) (fn. 45) and left the copyhold to William and his
heirs male, with remainder to his other nephew
Henry Cole. By 1731 King and William Cole had
died and the copyhold had passed to Henry Cole. (fn. 46)
It was inherited in 1765 by his cousin Thomas
Wilcox of Westminster, bookseller, (fn. 47) whose widow
surrendered it in 1800 to William Wilcox, (fn. 48) who in
1808 sold it to Edward Gray of Harringay House. (fn. 49)
The freehold estate passed to John Cozens, nephew
and devisee of William Cole, and in 1772 to his
eldest son John Cozens of Magdalen Laver. (fn. 50)
Sir John Skeffington (d. 1525), alderman of
London, left most of his freehold and copyhold
estate in Hornsey to his wife Elizabeth, who later
married Sir John Dauncy. (fn. 51) In 1552, after the death
of Skeffington's son William, William's eldest son
John Skeffington was heir to the freehold; (fn. 52) the
copyhold was divided between John and his brothers
George (d. 1581), merchant of the staple, Thomas
(d. 1592), Richard (d. 1597), who all died childless,
and James. (fn. 53) In 1607 James Skeffington (d. 1607-8)
surrendered a house and 24 a. to John's son William
Skeffington of Fisherwick (Leics.). (fn. 54) William apparently acquired the whole estate, which included
Sir John Skeffington's house, five cottages, and 91 a.
of copyhold land situated mainly between Park
Road, Middle Lane, and Hornsey High Street or by
Hornsey Lane. In 1619 he sold it to William Priestly
(d. 1620), (fn. 55) who already occupied land in the
parish. (fn. 56) Priestly's son William (d. 1664) left a
house, ten cottages, and 100 a. to his son Thomas, (fn. 57)
who settled them on himself and his wife Hester
in 1694. (fn. 58) On her death in 1720 they descended to
their son William Priestly (d. 1744) of Bloomsbury,
the lessee since 1694. (fn. 59) He sold a house and 22 a.
in 1736 (fn. 60) and his widow held the remainder in
1749. (fn. 61)
In 1789 Edward Gray, linen-draper of London,
acquired several fields in the east part of the
parish, where in 1792 he was erecting Harringay
House, (fn. 62) reputedly on the site of a Tudor mansion (fn. 63)
in a loop of the New River. He was rated for 55 a.
in 1796. (fn. 64) By 1801 he also possessed at least 85 a.
of the manor of Farnfields or Harringay (fn. 65) and in
1809 he acquired from Mary Wilcox and William
Stebbing 93 a. lying together in the north-west part
of the parish. (fn. 66) He was assessed on 192 a. in 1829 (fn. 67)
and at his death in 1838 ordered that the estate
should be sold. (fn. 68) Cockfields, 27 a. north of Turnpike Lane, was sold to William Bradshaw (fn. 69) but
in 1840 the house itself and 52 a. of freehold and
43 a. of copyhold in Hornsey and Tottenham were
sold to Edward Henry Chapman, (fn. 70) who had held
37 a. as copyhold of Brownswood since at least
1822. Following his death in 1869 the estate was
sold, (fn. 71) most if not all of it to W. C. Alexander, who
lived there in 1876 (fn. 72) and sold it to the British
Land Co. in 1880-1, when it consisted of 91 a.
bounded by Green Lanes, Turnpike Lane, the
G.N.R., and the T. & H.J.R. (fn. 73) The land was
rapidly built upon and Harringay House itself was
demolished in 1885. (fn. 74) Standing in extensive gardens
and a park laid out between 1800 and 1809, (fn. 75)
it was probably the largest house in Hornsey.