Ludgrove Hall is an historic manor house in the parish of Monken Hadley, [1] formerly within the county of Middlesex. Today the property has been overtaken by the suburbs of North London, and is situated on Games Road, Cockfosters, on the edge of Monken Hadley Common. It was originally a private home but then became Ludgrove School and has now been converted to flats. Additional buildings have since been constructed in the grounds.Following compulsory purchase it was used as residential accommodation for students at Trent Park College of Education in 1960s and 70s. This was later taken over by Middlesex University.
The Hall was built on land that was originally part of the Ludgrove (or Ludgraves) estate [2] and it was known as Ludgrove Farm before 1422, [3] in the original sense of the word "farm" denoting a form of tenure, not meaning an agricultural business. As the parish of Monken Hadley was a possession of Walden Abbey, [4] following the Dissolution of the Monasteries the parish and its constituent estates were transferred to the Crown in 1542. [3] Having been sold by the crown, the estate of Ludgrove was later owned by Sir Roger Wilbraham who in 1612 built almshouses in the village of Monken Hadley. [2] It was once known as the Blue House [5] and appears in that name on Francis Russell's 1776 map of Enfield Chase. [6]
The current house dates from the 1830s and was the home of Francis Bevan until 1890 when Bevan moved to Trent Park following his father's death. [7]
From 1892 the house was Ludgrove School, a boys preparatory school, until the school moved to Wokingham in 1937. [8] The school was founded in 1892 by Arthur Dunn in north London. Dunn, a footballer, recruited a number of sportsmen to assist him as masters and was succeeded, on his premature death, by two England international football captains, G.O. Smith and William Oakley, who became joint headmasters. According to Nancy Clark, it was a "famous preparatory school for Eton" attended by young Royals and sons of the aristocracy. [9] Pupils at Ludgrove Hall included Osbert Sitwell, John Dunville VC, and Prince Alexander of Yugoslavia. [10] Ex-pupil Alistair Horne wrote an unflattering account of his time at the school in the 1930s in which he described "humbug, snobbery and rampant, unchecked bullying" which he thought was intended to toughen the boys up. [11]
The house was built for redevelopment in 1939 but no action was taken due to the Second World War. It was compulsorily purchased in 1950. [5] In the 1980s and 90s the building was used as accommodation and a conference centre for Middlesex Polytechnic, later Middlesex University.
Around 1999, the building was converted into apartments by St James Homes and detached houses built in the grounds. [12]
New Barnet is a neighbourhood on the north east side of the London Borough of Barnet. It is a largely residential North London suburb located east of Chipping Barnet, west of Cockfosters, south of the village of Monken Hadley and north of Oakleigh Park.
Osidge is a district in the London Borough of Barnet, between Brunswick Park and Southgate, just west of the border with the London Borough of Enfield. It may be loosely defined as the part of postal district N14 that is in Barnet. Osidge has no formal border and is entirely enclosed within the electoral ward of Brunswick Park, East Barnet; however Oak Hill Park forms a natural boundary to the North and Pymmes Brook to the West, with the A111 to the East and the Piccadilly line to the South/East.
Barnet was a local government district in south Hertfordshire from 1863 to 1965 around the town of Barnet.
East Barnet Valley was a local government district from 1863 to 1965 around the town of East Barnet. It was partly in the counties of Hertfordshire and Middlesex until 1889, when the Middlesex part was transferred to Hertfordshire. It was renamed East Barnet in 1935.
Potters Bar Urban District was a local government district in England from 1894 to 1974, covering the town of Potters Bar and the village of South Mimms. The district was initially called the South Mimms Rural District, being renamed in 1934.
Monken Hadley is a place in the London Borough of Barnet. An ancient country village north of Barnet, it is now a suburban development on the very edge of Greater London 11 miles (18 km) north north-west of Charing Cross, while retaining much of its rural character.
Ludgrove School is an English independent boys preparatory boarding school. Ludgrove was founded in 1892 at Ludgrove Hall in Middlesex by the Old Etonian sportsman Arthur Dunn. Dunn had been employed as a master at Elstree School, which sent boys mainly to Harrow, and intended to nurture a school that focused on preparing boys to enter Eton. His educational philosophy was atypical by the standards of the time: discipline was applied with a lighter touch, masters were neither discouraged from mixing with pupils outside the classroom, or from being on familiar terms with the headmaster.
Hadley Wood is an affluent suburb in the north of Greater London, close to the border with Hertfordshire. It appears to be a stand-alone village surrounded by Green Belt land, however, under the Local Government Act 1972 it is part of the London Borough of Enfield, about 11 miles (17.7 km) north of Charing Cross.
Edmonton is one of six hundreds of the historic county of Middlesex, England. A rotated L-shape, its area has been in the south and east firmly part of the urban growth of London. Since the 1965 formation of London boroughs it mainly corresponds to the London Boroughs of Enfield, a negligible portion of Barnet and a narrow majority of Haringey. Its ancient parish of South Mimms has since 1965 been part of the Hertsmere district in Hertfordshire.
Arthur Tempest Blakiston Dunn was a noted amateur footballer who founded the English boarding school, Ludgrove, in 1892.
Ludgrove, or Ludgrave, or Ludgraves, was an estate and farm in Middlesex between Monken Hadley in the west and Cockfosters in the east in what is now north London. It was centered on Ludgrove Farm near to Cockfosters.
Sir Roger Wilbraham was a prominent English lawyer who served as Solicitor-General for Ireland under Elizabeth I and held a number of positions at court under James I, including Master of Requests and surveyor of the Court of Wards and Liveries. He bought an estate at Dorfold in the parish of Acton, near his birthplace of Nantwich in Cheshire, and he was active in charitable works locally, including founding two sets of almshouses for impoverished men. He also founded almshouses in Monken Hadley, Middlesex, where he is buried.
Ossulston House is a Grade II listed building opposite Joslin's Pond in Hadley Green Road, Hadley, to the north of Chipping Barnet. It is one of what was an almost complete line of houses between Chipping Barnet and Monken Hadley along the east side of Hadley Green which were built in the 18th and 19th centuries as wealthy merchants from London populated the area.
Francis (Frank) Augustus Bevan was a British heir and banker. He served as the chairman of Barclays Bank, a British multi-national financial institution, serving from 1896 to 1916.
Games Road is a road in Cockfosters, London, that runs from Chalk Road in the east into Monken Hadley Common in the west. The road falls into the Monken Hadley Conservation Area.
William Franks was a landowner in East Barnet, Hadley Wood and Cheshunt, and the owner of a large estate in the former Enfield Chace.
Frederick Charles Cass (1824-1896) was the rector of the parish of Monken Hadley in north London. His father, also Frederick Cass, owned the relevant advowson giving the right to make such appointments. He was the author of works of local history relating to South Mimms, Monken Hadley and East Barnet.
Belmont, originally known as Mount Pleasant, was a house in East Barnet, London, near Cockfosters, that dated back to the sixteenth century. By the end of the nineteenth century it had become Heddon Court and was the home of a preparatory school for boys. The school closed in 1933 and the house was demolished. The site is now occupied by suburban housing.
Folly Farm, originally Folly House, on the southern edge of Monken Hadley Common, was a farm that dated from 1686 and became a popular recreation site in the early 20th century. The site is now occupied by the Jewish Community Secondary School.
Hadley is a district of the London Borough of Barnet between Chipping Barnet in the south and Monken Hadley in the north. It was formerly a civil parish of Barnet Urban District.