OTHER ESTATES.
In 1271 Thorney abbey
(Cambs.) acquired from Walter atte Hatch an
estate called the chamberlain's fee, (fn. 7) which possibly
took its name from Richard the chamberlain, whose
widow held land in Enfield in 1268. (fn. 8) In 1275 the
abbey bought land from St. Bartholomew's priory,
Smithfield. (fn. 9) A house was built by Abbot William of
Yaxley and enlarged by his successor William
Clopton, who rebuilt its ruined chapel. (fn. 10) Rights of
pasture in Enfield Chase were confirmed to Thorney
by Humphrey de Bohun, earl of Hereford and
Essex, in 1348. (fn. 11) The abbots' house was leased out
at the Dissolution, together with a grove to its south
and Rough, Chapel, and Mores Hatch groves. (fn. 12) The
house was granted in 1540 to Thomas Wroth (fn. 13) and
in 1635 some of the former abbey's lands, called
Cranes, were held by John Wroth of Durants, while
44 a. near Mores Hatch gate were held by William
Pennefather. (fn. 14) Crane's farm remained part of the
Durants estate and in 1795 was held by Newell
Connop. (fn. 15)
St. Bartholomew's priory, having sold its arable in
Enfield to Thorney in 1275, was left with small
scattered pieces of pasture, some of which in 1306
lay in Wild marsh. (fn. 16) In 1547 a meadow and garden
belonging to the priory were granted to the Corporation of London (fn. 17) and in 1705 a house and
garden in the parish were held by the governors of
St. Bartholomew's hospital. (fn. 18)
In 1274 the hospital of St. Mary without Bishopsgate held land in the parish of Adam Durant. (fn. 19) In
1338 John Banbury of Hackney gave 33 a. in
Hackney and Enfield to the hospital, (fn. 20) which in 1538
held 10 a. in Enfield. (fn. 21)
William the treasurer (bursarius) and others gave
land to the priory of Haliwell, Shoreditch, in 1282. (fn. 22)
Sir Robert Wroth leased 9 a. in Mill marsh from
the priory in 1532 (fn. 23) and John Wroth was granted
the land in 1544. (fn. 24)
The priory of St. John of Jerusalem held property
in the parish c. 1324. (fn. 25) In 1536 it consisted of 7 a. in
Littlefordsey, (fn. 26) which were granted in 1544 to John
Wroth of Durants. (fn. 27)
The Old Park, called the inner park or Frith in
1324, (fn. 28) descended with the Chase but was in a
neglected state in 1635 (fn. 29) and was granted c. 1650 to
Parliamentarian soldiers in lieu of pay. (fn. 30) In 1650 it
covered 553 a., of which 74 a. were in Edmonton,
and contained a brick lodge and an inclosure called
the hop garden. (fn. 31) The estate was still described as a
park in 1661, when it was granted by the duchy to
George Monck, duke of Albemarle, (fn. 32) but it had been
converted to farm-land by 1686. (fn. 33) After the death of
Christopher Monck, duke of Albemarle (d. 1688),
it was granted in 1689 to William Bentinck, earl of
Portland (d. 1709), (fn. 34) but in 1709 it was held by
Christopher Monck's widow Elizabeth, dowager
duchess of Montagu (d. 1734), (fn. 35) and in 1736, when
it had been reduced to 230 a., by Grace, Countess
Granville, a kinswoman of the Moncks, who sold it
to Samuel Clayton. (fn. 36) The estate was augmented in
1779 by 30 a. allotted for loss of common rights in
the Chase. (fn. 37) In 1823 Old Park was held by Samuel
Clayton, nephew of John Clayton, (fn. 38) and in 1825 it
was bought by Mrs. Winchester Lewis, who had
sold a large part by 1834 when she retained Old Park
House and 59 a., most of it in Edmonton. (fn. 39) In 1873
the estate belonged to Edward Ford, son-in-law of
Mrs. Lewis and co-author of a history of Enfield, (fn. 40)
from whom it passed to his son John Walker Ford,
who sold it before 1910. (fn. 41) In 1921 (fn. 42) the house and
125 a. were held by Bush Hill Park golf club.
Old Park House, in 1973 the club-house of Bush
Hill Park golf club, was said in 1873 to be comparatively modern and to include only a small part
of the lodge mentioned in 1650. (fn. 43) The oldest part of
the house is a red-brick block of the late 18th
century. On the east side are additions in a Tudor
style of c. 1850 and on the north further additions of
the late 19th century, probably replacing the last
fragments of the 17th-century house. The grounds
contain the remains of a Grecian temple, which
stood there in 1910, (fn. 44) and an earthwork. (fn. 45)
Chase Park estate originated in 34 a. on the eastern
side of Old Park near Enfield Town, which were
bought from Samuel Clayton by Thomas Cotton in
1811. The land was sold in 1822 to a Mr. Browning,
who conveyed it in 1832 to his son-in-law William
Carr, the purchaser of a further 56 a. of Old Park
from Mrs. Lewis in 1832. His estate was sold in 1859
to Francis Adams, (fn. 46) whose devisees offered it for
sale in 1879. (fn. 47) Some of the land was later absorbed
in Town park, created in 1902, and much of the rest
became part of Bush Hill golf course. Chase Park,
a plain stuccoed house built by Browning, (fn. 48) stood
empty in 1908 (fn. 49) and was demolished soon afterwards.
A new tenement at Whitewebbs was acquired by
Agnes and Stephen Wilford in 1543. (fn. 50) Robert
Huicke the physician, (fn. 51) who held land in Enfield by
1555, (fn. 52) in 1570 was granted a conduit in the Chase
to supply water to his mansion called Whitewebbs. (fn. 53)
The house was associated with the Gunpowder
Plot (fn. 54) and was held in 1635, with 10 a. called
Colleges, by Dr. Samuel Ward, the divine. (fn. 55) It was
claimed by a Dr. Bockenham in 1653 and afterwards
acquired by Michel Garnault. When Daniel Garnault
died in 1809 the estate, some 31 a., passed to his
sister Ann, who married Henry Bowles of Myddelton
House, Bull's Cross, the owner in 1823. The house,
which had stood near Myddelton House, was
demolished c. 1790. (fn. 56)
An estate of 134 a. called Whitewebbs farm
belonged to Eliab Breton of Forty Hall, after whose
death it was bought by Dr. Abraham Wilkinson,
who received 68 a. in the former Chase under the
Act of 1801. (fn. 57) In 1873 it belonged to Wilkinson's
grandson, Henry Wilkinson (d. 1887), (fn. 58) owner of a
notable collection of paintings and objets d'art. (fn. 59)
The estate was later purchased by Enfield U.D.C.
as a public park, which in 1955 totalled 232 a. (fn. 60) The
core of the existing house called White Webbs was
built by Abraham Wilkinson in 1791; it was
lengthened and greatly enlarged in the mid 19th
century and was again altered in the 1870s to the
designs of Charles Stuart Robertson, who gave it its
French Renaissance exterior. (fn. 61) The house, in 1973
an old people's home, is a large two-storeyed
building with a low tower over the entrance and
one-storeyed wings.
The first estates formed out of Enfield Chase were
those leased out with the three lodges. Two of the
dwellings, Bull's Lodge and Augustine's Lodge,
were recorded in 1593. (fn. 62) There were three lodges in
1635, occupied by the under-keepers of the north,
south, and east bailiwicks of the Chase, (fn. 63) and in 1650
the inclosed land around them totalled 181 a. (fn. 64) In
1686 88 a. were attached to West Lodge, 66 a. to
South Lodge, and 38 a. to East Lodge. (fn. 65) The West
Lodge estate remained the largest: it was augmented
in 1742 by 98 a. on the east and south sides, leased
separately by James Brydges, duke of Chandos, (fn. 66)
and in 1889 it amounted to 189 a. (fn. 67) The South
Lodge estate was enlarged in the 18th century and
contained 115 a. in 1841, when 34 a. formed a park
around the house, (fn. 68) while the East Lodge estate
contained 114 a. in 1845. (fn. 69) All three estates continued to be leased out by the duchy after the
inclosure of the rest of the Chase in 1779. South
Lodge was sold to John Laing & Son, building
contractors, in 1935 and the other two to the county
council in 1937 as part of the Green Belt. (fn. 70)
In 1650 the lodges were named after the underkeepers who lived there. Potter's Lodge, in the
middle of the Chase and evidently the largest and
newest, was a three-storeyed brick building, worth
thrice as much as either of the other two; Norris's
and Dighton's lodges were one-storeyed buildings
of timber and 'Flemish walls', with attic rooms. (fn. 71)
During the Interregnum the lodges were occupied
by army officers (fn. 72) and after the Restoration they
were leased to high officers of the Chase or to
outsiders as country retreats. West Lodge was
occupied from c. 1680 by Henry Coventry, Lord
Coventry (1619-86), a former secretary of state and
chief ranger of the Chase. (fn. 73) John Evelyn in 1676
thought it very pretty and commodious, with fine
gardens and artificial ponds. (fn. 74) It was later leased by
James Brydges, duke of Chandos (d. 1744), another
chief ranger and lessee of Enfield manor, who
employed Edward Shepherd to refront the house
between 1730 and 1732 and later sub-let it. (fn. 75) At the
end of the 18th century West Lodge was a plain
three-storeyed brick building with a seven-bay front
and rusticated quoins, apparently unaltered since
1732. (fn. 76) The house was leased to a farmer in 1808,
when the gardens were overgrown, (fn. 77) and in 1832 it
was demolished by a new lessee, Archibald Paris. (fn. 78)
It was replaced by a plain stuccoed building, used
as a hotel in 1973.
The lease of South Lodge was bought by William
Pitt, later earl of Chatham, in 1747. In 1748
the house was rebuilt and the surrounding fields
were made into a park with ornamental lakes, a
temple to Pan, a pyramid, and a bridge. Pitt sold the
lease in 1755, claiming that he had never stayed at
South Lodge for more than a week. (fn. 79) After a period
of neglect the estate was restored at the end of the
18th century by Thomas Skinner, alderman of
London. (fn. 80) The house was then a three-storeyed
stuccoed building, with a canted bay window at the
centre of the garden front. (fn. 81) It was demolished after
the sale of the surrounding land in 1935.
East Lodge, said to have been a hunting seat of
Charles I, (fn. 82) was rebuilt in 1668 by the lessee Charles,
Lord Gerard, later earl of Macclesfield (d. 1694). (fn. 83)
The lodge or its successor was afterwards leased by
Alexander Wedderburn, Lord Chancellor and later
earl of Rosslyn (d. 1805), and known as the Red
Lodge, to distinguish it from the near-by White
Lodge, a two-storeyed stuccoed house, built in the
late 18th century and leased with the Red Lodge. (fn. 84)
In 1808 the Red Lodge was in very poor repair after
long disuse (fn. 85) and before 1823 it was demolished. (fn. 86)
The White Lodge was demolished by G. J. Graham
before 1873 and was replaced by the modern East
Lodge. (fn. 87)
When the Chase was divided, 3,219 a., together
with the lands around the three lodges, remained
with the duchy of Lancaster. (fn. 88) The duchy was
empowered to sell up to 250 a. (fn. 89) and in 1777 152 a.
north of Cockfosters were bought by Francis Russell,
secretary of the duchy court, who built a house
called Beech Hill Park south of Camlet Way. (fn. 90) In
1781 the estate was enlarged by 106 a. on its west
and south sides (fn. 91) but in 1790 it was sold to William
Franks of Mount Pleasant, Cockfosters, whose
executors sold it in 1800 to Archibald Paris. (fn. 92) The
land was sold c. 1858 to Charles Jack (d. 1896),
whose sons offered it for sale in 1901. (fn. 93) It was
purchased in 1920 by the Economic Insurance Co.,
which leased the greater part of it to Hadley Wood
golf club. (fn. 94) Beech Hill Park, in 1973 the club-house
of Hadley Wood golf club, was built before 1786; (fn. 95)
it is a plain stuccoed building of two storeys, with a
main front of seven bays, the central three of which
are flanked by giant Doric pilasters. Wings were
added in the 19th century. The landscaped grounds
were described in 1796 as truly picturesque. (fn. 96)
Archibald Paris of Beech Hill held many lands of
the duchy of Lancaster. In 1799 he took over the
leases of Suits Hill and Greenwood, west of Beech
Hill, and of Monkey mead, to the north, and in 1829
he leased 1,338 a. of duchy land. The leases were
assigned in 1833 and 1838 to Sir Edward Barnes,
a former governor of Ceylon, who lived at
Greenwood, west of Beech Hill Park. (fn. 97) Greenwood
House, with 107 a., was sold by the duchy in 1925
and the house was demolished in 1967. (fn. 98) Monkey
Mead farm was leased in 1857 by Charles Jack, who
later began to build on the Hadley Wood estate. (fn. 99)
The estate's trustees ceased to hold the lease in 1941
and the freeholds were later sold off piecemeal by
the duchy. (fn. 1)
The Trent Place estate originated in 250 a. north
of West Lodge, which were leased in 1779 (fn. 2) to Sir
Richard Jebb, Bt. (1729-87), the physician. (fn. 3) Jebb
built a villa called Trent Place after the Italian town
where he had cured the duke of Gloucester of a
serious illness. (fn. 4) In 1787 the estate contained 385 a.,
of which 300 a. were park land. (fn. 5) After passing
through several hands (fn. 6) the lease was assigned in
1833 to David Bevan of Mount Pleasant, Cockfosters,
who assigned it in 1837 to his son Robert Cooper
Lee Bevan (d. 1890). (fn. 7) In 1857 the Trent Place estate
contained 475 a., while Bevan leased another 93 a.
called Clay Pit Hill farm to the north-west and 114 a.
at Cockfosters to the south. (fn. 8) His son Francis
Augustus Bevan bought 57 a. south of the main
estate from the duchy of Lancaster in 1892. (fn. 9) From
1909 most of the property was leased by Sir Edward
Sassoon, Bt., (fn. 10) whose son Philip (1888-1939), later
Under-Secretary for Air and First Commissioner of
Works, purchased it from the duchy in 1922, (fn. 11) when
it totalled 570 a. Sir Philip Sassoon devised the land
to a cousin, Mrs. David Gubbay, who sold it soon
after the Second World War as part of the Green
Belt. (fn. 12)
The first Trent Place was a 'compact villa' of
brick, with a portico and a curved central portion. (fn. 13)
Sir William Chambers carried out unspecified
alterations for Sir Richard Jebb (fn. 14) and Francis
Repton was said to have beautified the house and its
grounds, which contained a lake, for John Cumming,
the occupier in 1816. (fn. 15) The house was enlarged by
Robert Bevan before 1873 (fn. 16) and again by his son in
1894. (fn. 17) In 1926 Sir Philip Sassoon began extensive
changes, seemingly to his own designs, refacing the
outside with red brick and stone dressings from the
demolished Devonshire House in Piccadilly, removing a 19th-century north tower, building terraces,
and redecorating the interiors. The result was a
dignified mansion in the early-18th-century manner,
with the roof hidden behind a balustraded cornice.
The orangery, completed shortly before 1931, was
designed by Col. Reginald Cooper. (fn. 18) In the 1930s
Trent Place was noted for its exotic furnishings and
for Sassoon's lavish entertainments, patronized by
royalty. (fn. 19) The house later became a teachers' training
college and the grounds a park. (fn. 20)
North Lodge was built on duchy land after the
inclosure of the Chase and in 1791 was occupied by
Thomas James. (fn. 21) In 1857 the estate contained
328 a. and was leased to Charles King, who was also
tenant of the adjoining New Cottage farm. (fn. 22) North
Lodge was included in the sale of land for the Green
Belt in 1937. (fn. 23) The house is two-storeyed, of brick,
with a front of five bays and a pedimented centrepiece. It has been used by the county council as a
remand home since 1941 and has been renamed
Kilvinton Hall. (fn. 24)
The remaining duchy land in Enfield was split up
and leased out at the inclosure of the Chase. In 1867
the largest farms were New Cottage (209 a.), Holly
Hill (373 a.), Sloper's Pond (100 a.), Plumridge
(301 a.), North Lodge (382 a.), and Monkey Mead
(222 a.). (fn. 25) In 1937 2,002 a., including most of the
farms, were sold by the duchy to Middlesex C.C. as
part of the Green Belt. (fn. 26)
The eastern part of the Chase, 1,733 a., was
allotted to the parish of Enfield under the Act of
1777 and was divided and inclosed in 1803, when
the largest portion went to Trinity College. (fn. 27) Other
allotments included 98 a. south of Cattle gate to
William Mellish, who was also awarded 314 a. from
lands lying east of the former Chase, between
Ponders End and Enfield Town. (fn. 28)