Built in 1859 on land formerly known as Temple Croft Field, it was acquired in 1874 by ink magnate and philanthropistHenry Charles Stephens ("Inky") who later enlarged and improved the house and grounds with advice from well-known landscape gardener Robert Marnock (1800–89).
On his death in 1918 Stephens bequeathed the estate in his will to "the Urban District Council of Finchley, subject to the condition that the same shall be open for the use and enjoyment always of the public under such reasonable regulations as may be made by the said Council from time to time for the care and upkeep thereof[1]..." and ownership passed to Finchley Urban District Council; its freehold is now owned by a registered Charity, 'The Avenue House Estate' Charity number 210345, of which the principal trustee is the London Borough of Barnet.
The house and ten acres of grounds have been leased to the Avenue House Estate Trust, registered charity 1093908, for a period of 125 years from 2002. It is also home to the Finchley Society and their archive. Since January 2014 the estate and its commercial activities have been promoted as Stephens House and Gardens.
History of the House
Avenue House Grounds
The first house on the site was built in 1859 by the Rev. Edward Cooper, a relative of the Allen family (Lords of the manor of Finchley) who had owned the land since the 1730s. The house takes its name from The Avenue which runs behind the house, and was originally the route between Bibbesworth manor and the church of St Mary's Finchley.
In 1874 the house was bought by the famous ink manufacturer Henry Charles Stephens. During Stephens' time in the house he purchased the adjoining ten-acre Temple Croft Field and the gardens were laid out, to designs by Robert Marnock. Stephens added a collection of rare trees which were included in the planting and form the basis of today's arboretum.
The house and grounds were left to Finchley Urban District Council by Stephens in his will in 1918, with a condition that they be always open for the use and enjoyment of the public, subject to reasonable regulation. However, the Estate was used between 1919 and 1925 by the RAF as a military hospital before the grounds were opened to the public on 3 May 1928. In 1933 the House was the location for the presenting of a charter by which the UDC became a Borough. The house was used for many years as a public library and as the offices of Finchley Borough Council after Council Offices in nearby Hendon Lane were destroyed by enemy action in the Second World War. The basement was used as an air-raid shelter.
In 1989 the east wing of the house was gutted by fire, but has been restored to its former condition. The house is now a meetings and events venue, while the gardens and arboretum remain open to the public free of charge. The house and gardens are now managed by an independent charitable body, the Avenue House Estate Trust which leased the Estate for 125 years in 2002.
Hertford Lodge, also a Grade II listed building and adjacent to Avenue House, was built in the 1860s. It was a girls' school for many years before becoming Finchley council offices. In 2001 the owners (London Borough of Barnet) decided to sell the building. Late in 2004 it was damaged by fire but was refurbished and redeveloped (2006-7) into private luxury flats and apartments.
The grounds of the estate, originally called the Avenue House Estate, but now trading as Stephens House and Gardens, were developed as a public park during the twentieth century. They cover ten acres and include a number of rare and unusual trees and shrubs. Amenities include a children's playground, a pond, a walled garden within a structure known as The Bothy, and a café.
In 2011, AHET approached the Heritage Lottery Fund and the Big Lottery about the possibility of seeking grant aid to restore the gardens under their joint 'Parks for People' programme. After preliminary approval late in 2011, a Phase 1 application in the summer of 2012 was not successful, but a further application submitted early in 2013 resulted in a grant of just over £200,000 to enable AHET to develop a full scheme towards the restoration.
AHET submitted a Phase 2 application in early 2014, and in July of that year was awarded a grant of £2.1 million towards the £3.1 million scheme. The scheme included work to improve the catering and play area, provide a new education centre and accommodation for volunteers and gardens staff, as well as restoring the gardens back towards their original condition.
Work started in the spring of 2015 and was substantially completed by late 2017. The remaining funding came from the London Borough of Barnet, AHET itself (both in a financial contribution and by means of voluntary labour), and support from various individuals and other Trusts, notably several Livery Companies.
In the arboretum, diseased and damaged trees have been removed and a programme of replanting is underway. The pond has been cleaned and rejuvenated; new drainage systems have improved water management. The children's playground has been improved and enlarged and the old stable and garage blocks have been modernised to contain a visitor centre, public toilets and a cafe. The Stephens Collection's museum and artefacts are now located in the visitor centre.
The Bothy
The Bothy in 2007 before restoration
The Bothy was built as a large walled garden in the shape of a small rectangular castle sometime in the late 1870s. It is one of the earliest non-Roman concrete structures in England.
A project to restore the Bothy structure and turn it into an arts centre and garden began in 1997 by the Finchley Arts Centre Trust (FACT). This was funded by local people, with money raised matched by the Heritage Lottery Fund and totalling £418,000.
The project was allegedly within weeks of completion in 2007 when an acrimonious dispute between Finchley Arts Centre Trust and Avenue House Estate Trust (AHET) broke out which prevented the building being opened to public use. Subsequently, it remained closed for about a decade.[2] FACT was evicted and subsequently disbanded. AHET subsequently leased the Bothy to psychotherapy charity Terapia, which has converted it as a training centre, which opened partially in October 2017. The cost of completing the overhaul was some £2,000,000, which Terapia funded by a further HLF grant, and a large charitable donation. Terapia now sub-lets the Bothy from AHET on a 75-year lease.
The Bothy's walled garden is separately maintained by volunteers and has remained open to visitors every Friday and on the first Sunday of the month. In summer there are occasional arts events and play readings.
The Stephens Collection
Avenue House's visitors centre is home to The Stephens Collection, a small display museum and archive of material relating to the Stephens Ink company and Stephens family and relevant local history; admission is free.
Spike Milligan Statue
The Spike Milligan memorial bench in the garden of Avenue House in Finchley.
Spike Milligan lived locally for many years up to his death in 2002. He was the first President of the Finchley Society. For a decade after his death the Society, led by Barbara Warren, raised funds - the Spike Milligan Statue Fund - to commission a statue of Spike. This was cast in bronze to a design of local sculptor John Somerville and erected by the stables block in the grounds of Avenue House.
Finchley is a large district of north London, England, in the London Borough of Barnet. Finchley is on high ground, 11 km (6.8 mi) north of Charing Cross.
The London Borough of Barnet is a suburban London borough in North London. The borough was formed in 1965 from parts of the ceremonial counties of Middlesex and Hertfordshire. It forms part of Outer London and is the second largest London borough by population with 389,344 inhabitants, also making it the 17th largest district in England. The borough covers an area of 86.74 square kilometres (33 sq mi), the fourth highest of the 32 London boroughs, and has a population density of 45.8 people per hectare, which ranks it 25th.
North Finchley is a suburb of London in the London Borough of Barnet, situated 7 miles (11 km) north-west of Charing Cross.
Hampstead Garden Suburb is an elevated suburb of London, north of Hampstead, west of Highgate and east of Golders Green. It is known for its intellectual, liberal, artistic, musical and literary associations. It is an example of early twentieth-century domestic architecture and town planning in the London Borough of Barnet, northwest London.
Danson House is a Palladian mansion and a Grade I listed building at the centre of Danson Park, in Welling in the London Borough of Bexley, south-east London.
Church End is a locality within Finchley in the London Borough of Barnet in London, England. Aside from its church it centres on Finchley Central Underground station. Church End is an old village, now a suburban development, centred 7 miles (11 km) north-northwest of Charing Cross.
College Farm is the only farm site in Finchley, in the London Borough of Barnet. It currently trades as an equestrian and pet store. It is located in Regents Park Road, close to Henlys Corner on the North Circular Road. It has two residential roads running alongside it; Allandale Avenue and Fitzalan Road.
The London Borough of Barnet, located on the northern periphery of London and having much of the area within its boundaries in the Metropolitan Green Belt, has many parks and open spaces. In addition there are large areas taken over by cemeteries and golf courses, and part of Hampstead Heath.
Hartlebury Castle, a Grade I listed building, near Hartlebury in Worcestershire, central England, was built in the mid-13th century as a fortified manor house, on manorial land earlier given to the Bishop of Worcester by King Burgred of Mercia. It lies near Stourport-on-Severn in an area with several large manors and country houses, including Witley Court, Astley Hall, Pool House, Areley Hall and Hartlebury and Abberley Hall. It became the bishop's principal residence in later periods.
Dyffryn Gardens is a collection of botanical gardens located near the villages of Dyffryn and St. Nicholas in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales. The gardens were selected by the British Tourist Authority as one of the Top 100 gardens in the UK and are in the care of the National Trust.
Robert Marnock (1800–1889) was one of the outstanding English horticulturalists and garden designers of the 19th century. He was considered by his contemporaries to be the best exponent of the Gardenesque school of landscape gardening.
Dunorlan Park is a park and grounds in Royal Tunbridge Wells, UK.
The artsdepot is a multi-purpose cultural centre located in North Finchley, in the London borough of Barnet. It was officially opened on 23 October 2004 for the enjoyment and development of the arts in North London.
Henry Charles "Inky" Stephens was an English businessman and Conservative Party politician. He sat in the House of Commons from 1887 to 1900 as the Member of Parliament (MP) for the Hornsey division of Middlesex.
Hendon and District Archaeological Society (HADAS) is an amateur archaeological society based in the London Borough of Barnet, England, and is registered as a charity with the UK Charity Commission.
Insole Court is a Grade II* Listed Victorian Gothic mansion in Llandaff, Cardiff, Wales, built for wealthy businessman James Harvey Insole and dating back to 1855.
Avenue House Grounds is a ten-acre Site of Local Importance for Nature Conservation on East End Road in Church End, Finchley in the London Borough of Barnet. The estate is now known as Stephens House and Gardens.
John Somerville, attended Woodhouse Grammar School and Barnet College in north London. He studied Fine Art Bronze Casting under David Reid and opened his first bronze studio in 1979.
The Strawberry Vale Estate is a housing estate in East Finchley in the London Borough of Barnet, built in the 1980s.
Sydney Simmons was an English entrepreneur and philanthropist in Okehampton, Devon, and Friern Barnet, Middlesex. Born in Devon, he was first apprenticed to a drapery company before travelling to London in 1862 where he became the North American representative of a carpet company. He acquired the rights to a new carpet cleaning process, the exploitation of which in Britain made him wealthy. He lived in Friern Barnet and funded a number of philanthropic projects there and in his native Okehampton where he was buried.
References
↑ Will of Henry Charles Stephens,Clause 14, dated 4 July 1918
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