Avenue House
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Avenue House is a large Victorian house (Grade II listed) situated on East End Road in Finchley in the London Borough of Barnet. It is held in trust for the people of Finchley and has been run by the Avenue House Estate Management since 2002. It is also home to the Finchley Society and their archive.
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[edit] Stephens Collection
Avenue House is home to the Stephens Collection, a small display and archive of material relating to the Stephens Ink Ltd and Stephens family. It is open 2 p.m. - 4.30 p.m. on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday only, and admission is free. Its first curator was the late Norman Burges.
[edit] The Bothy
The Bothy was built as a large walled garden in the shape of a castle sometime in the late 1870s. It is one of, if not the earliest, non Roman concrete structures in England. It is now run by the Finchley Art Centre Trust as a location for local theatre and art exhibitions, who have converted to its new use with a Heritage Lottery Fund of £418,000.
[edit] The park
The grounds of the estate, variously called Avenue House Estate, Avenue House Park or Avenue House Grounds, have been developed as a public park during the 20th century. They include a collection of unusual trees and shrubs.
[edit] History of the House
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 the grounds were laid out, some believe to designs by Robert Marnock. The house and grounds were left to the people of Finchley by Stephens in his will in 1918. It was used for a short time by the RAF as a hospital before it became a public park on the 3rd of May 1928. In 1989 the house was almost gutted by fire, but has largely been restored to its former condition.
Hertford Lodge, also a grad II listed building and adjacent to Avenue House, was built in the 1860s. It was a girl's 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 and is currently (2006) being re-developed as private flats (apartments).
