The London/Hertfordshire border - Theobalds
TQ 35 01
Post to the west Theobalds Manor 34 01
Post to the east Waltham Cross 36 01
Post to the north Bury Green
Post to the south Bulls Cross
The London/ Enfield/Hertfordshire boundary goes along the M25
A tributary stream to Theobalds Brook flows east and meets another tributary stream from the south
Sites on the Hertfordshire side of the border
Bull’s Cross Road
Continuation of Green Lanes, Drove road into London from Islington is interrupted by the park, which it used to go north through between Bull’s Cross Road and Bury Green Road
Bulls Cross Farm
Western Cemetery JewishLittlefield. Offices
Moated site west of the A10
The Manor of Cullings. Cullings is the name of the original manor here which derives from Walter Cullings who was here in 1303 and in 1387 it passed to the Abbot of Waltham Holy Cross which they held until the dissolution. By 1552, in the reign of Edward VI, Cullings was held by Henry and Alice Beecher, and in 1573 by Sir William Cecil, Lord Burghley and it became part of his Theobalds estate and by that time he had built the palace at Theobalds. The moated site is mentioned as a ruin from 1650
Theobald’s Park Park
Theobalds Park was created by James I as a hunting park, the largest known in England. It enclosed a large part of southern Hertfordshire within a park pale or wall. By 1650 a process of enlargement had led to a park of 2,508 acres, enclosed by a 9-foot high wall. In that year 15,608 trees were allocated for naval uses showing its use for timber production, as well as fishing and hawking. In the Second World War this was used as a Royal Artillery barracks
Theobalds House. The estate was bought by George Prescott, an MP since 1762. The redbrick mansion stands on rising ground in a park of 200 acres, and was built between 1765 and 1770 by Sir George William Prescott, Bart. The house originally had a central five-bay block with wings and colonnades linking single-storey blocks. This has in red brick with white stone dressings and green slate roofs. Inside is an entrance hall with arches, Etruscan ceilings and a curved staircase with iron railings. There is also Jacobean woodwork panels and painted plaster ceilings. The Meux brewing family leased it in 1820 and later bought the freehold. They added a tower and domestic quarters in the 1880's - architect G.Ponting - and a ballroom wing was built in 1912. The last private owner was Admiral of the Fleet Sir Hedworth Meux, G.C.B., K.C.V.O. Who died in 1929. The mansion became the Theobalds Park Hotel, with a swimming pool, a golf course, and tennis-courts. It was later bought by Middlesex County Council in 1938 and occupied by the Royal Artillery during the Second World War, Later is was used and, briefly, by the Metropolitan Police Riding School and became a secondary school between 1951 and 1969. The London Borough of Enfield used it as a college from 1973 to 1989. In the early 1990's it was restored and sold to Style Conferences Ltd in 1995.
Maze Gardens acted both as a food supply for the Burghleys and had a symbolic significance in their layout. In the Civil war turned into farms. Restocked in the Restoration. The formal gardens of the house were modelled after the Château de Fontainebleau English botanist John Gerard acting as their superintendent.
New River. The king allowed the New River to go through for free and it is where James I fell into the New River in the ice. There is a footpath along the New River through the Park with an iron footbridge. The fence to the right is the old course of the New River following the 100 ft. Contour. The return loop went under the motorway. The stretch between Theobalds and the M25 can be seen now as a dewatered ditch
Temple Bar (now back at St.Paul's). Meux brought it to Theobald's.
Temple House. A restored 18th manor house.
Tennis Court
Sports Ground. This is Tesco's staff playing field
Riding SchoolCamp Site – caravan club site in woodland
Drive to the house is the line of Ermine Street
M25
New River Aqueduct over the M25. Post tensioned made in situ concrete in two rectangular boxes. 1985 built without interrupting the New River contractor Sir Robert McAlpine but there was a temporary diversion. Access road for Thames Water on top of the slab. Epoxy lining to prevent contamination.
Sources
Osborne, Defending London
Post to the west Theobalds Manor 34 01
Post to the east Waltham Cross 36 01
Post to the north Bury Green
Post to the south Bulls Cross
The London/ Enfield/Hertfordshire boundary goes along the M25
A tributary stream to Theobalds Brook flows east and meets another tributary stream from the south
Sites on the Hertfordshire side of the border
Bull’s Cross Road
Continuation of Green Lanes, Drove road into London from Islington is interrupted by the park, which it used to go north through between Bull’s Cross Road and Bury Green Road
Bulls Cross Farm
Western Cemetery JewishLittlefield. Offices
Moated site west of the A10
The Manor of Cullings. Cullings is the name of the original manor here which derives from Walter Cullings who was here in 1303 and in 1387 it passed to the Abbot of Waltham Holy Cross which they held until the dissolution. By 1552, in the reign of Edward VI, Cullings was held by Henry and Alice Beecher, and in 1573 by Sir William Cecil, Lord Burghley and it became part of his Theobalds estate and by that time he had built the palace at Theobalds. The moated site is mentioned as a ruin from 1650
Theobald’s Park Park
Theobalds Park was created by James I as a hunting park, the largest known in England. It enclosed a large part of southern Hertfordshire within a park pale or wall. By 1650 a process of enlargement had led to a park of 2,508 acres, enclosed by a 9-foot high wall. In that year 15,608 trees were allocated for naval uses showing its use for timber production, as well as fishing and hawking. In the Second World War this was used as a Royal Artillery barracks
Theobalds House. The estate was bought by George Prescott, an MP since 1762. The redbrick mansion stands on rising ground in a park of 200 acres, and was built between 1765 and 1770 by Sir George William Prescott, Bart. The house originally had a central five-bay block with wings and colonnades linking single-storey blocks. This has in red brick with white stone dressings and green slate roofs. Inside is an entrance hall with arches, Etruscan ceilings and a curved staircase with iron railings. There is also Jacobean woodwork panels and painted plaster ceilings. The Meux brewing family leased it in 1820 and later bought the freehold. They added a tower and domestic quarters in the 1880's - architect G.Ponting - and a ballroom wing was built in 1912. The last private owner was Admiral of the Fleet Sir Hedworth Meux, G.C.B., K.C.V.O. Who died in 1929. The mansion became the Theobalds Park Hotel, with a swimming pool, a golf course, and tennis-courts. It was later bought by Middlesex County Council in 1938 and occupied by the Royal Artillery during the Second World War, Later is was used and, briefly, by the Metropolitan Police Riding School and became a secondary school between 1951 and 1969. The London Borough of Enfield used it as a college from 1973 to 1989. In the early 1990's it was restored and sold to Style Conferences Ltd in 1995.
Maze Gardens acted both as a food supply for the Burghleys and had a symbolic significance in their layout. In the Civil war turned into farms. Restocked in the Restoration. The formal gardens of the house were modelled after the Château de Fontainebleau English botanist John Gerard acting as their superintendent.
New River. The king allowed the New River to go through for free and it is where James I fell into the New River in the ice. There is a footpath along the New River through the Park with an iron footbridge. The fence to the right is the old course of the New River following the 100 ft. Contour. The return loop went under the motorway. The stretch between Theobalds and the M25 can be seen now as a dewatered ditch
Temple Bar (now back at St.Paul's). Meux brought it to Theobald's.
Temple House. A restored 18th manor house.
Tennis Court
Sports Ground. This is Tesco's staff playing field
Riding SchoolCamp Site – caravan club site in woodland
Drive to the house is the line of Ermine Street
M25
New River Aqueduct over the M25. Post tensioned made in situ concrete in two rectangular boxes. 1985 built without interrupting the New River contractor Sir Robert McAlpine but there was a temporary diversion. Access road for Thames Water on top of the slab. Epoxy lining to prevent contamination.
Sources
Osborne, Defending London
Comments