Child’s Hill

Suburb, existing until now.

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Suburb · * · NW11 ·
December
2
2017
Childs Hill, now a select area, was formerly reknowned for bricks and laundering.

A district on both sides of the Hendon-Hampstead border, Childs Hill took its name from Richard le Child, who in 1312 had a house and 30 acres here. The settlement at Childs Hill is certainly medieval, possibly the 10th century settlement Codenhleawe (which has come down to us as 'Cowhouse'), and was owned by Westminster Abbey.

A similar estate was held at the same time by Richard Blakett, who gave his name to Blacketts well, which in 1632 was one of the boundary markers in the area.

Although a 'John Knot de Childes Hill' is associated with the Peasants’ Revolt, the earliest known use of the place name Child’s Hill is 1593. It has been suggested that the Castle Inn was a small Civil War (1642-49) gun emplacement guarding the Edgware Road. The first record of the Castle Inn however is 1751.

By the mid 18th century the Hampstead part of Childs Hill was divided in two by the road later called Platt’s Lane, which ran from West End and Fortune Green to the heath, Hampstead town, and Hendon. It was entirely occupied by two estates, both of which may have originated as land of the Templars. A farmhouse on the edge of the heath in the north part of the larger estate had apparently become detached from the farmland before 1811, when it was enlarged by Thomas Platt as a ’pleasing and unostentatious’ brick house set in well wooded grounds.

Child’s Hill became a centre for brick and tile making during the second half of the 18th century, supplying material for building Hampstead (nearby to the east), and run by a Samuel Morris.

An Act of Parliament in 1826 allowed for the construction of the Finchley Road (completed by 1829) with a tollgate at the Castle Inn. The arrival of the Finchley Road lessened the area’s isolation.

A house called Temple Park was built on the smaller Temples estate probably in the 1830s by Henry Weech Burgess, a prosperous Lancastrian. About the same time farm buildings were erected on Platt’s estate fronting Platt’s Lane. In 1843, on the western portion of Childs Hill estate, T. Howard built Kidderpore Hall, a stuccoed Greek revival house for John Teil, an East India merchant with tanneries in the district of Calcutta from which the house took its name. The grounds became a private park and two lodges were added, one on the Finchley Road in 1849, the other on Platt’s Lane in the late 1860s. Some nine and a half acres of Henry Weech Burgess’s estate had become a brickfield by 1864 and Temple Park had become the Anglo-French College by 1873.

On a field of Platt’s estate which jutted westward south of Teil’s estate, four houses fronting Finchley Road were built in the 1840s in a district called New West End.

By 1870 the farm buildings at Platt’s Lane had been replaced by a house. Two cottages were built in Platt’s Lane by P. Bell of West End in 1875 and 13 houses, mostly by George Pritchard, between 1884 and 1886.

Being more than 259 ft above sea level (at the Castle Inn), Child’s Hill is visible for miles around. From 1808 to 1847 there was an optical telegraph station, one in a line from the Admiralty to Great Yarmouth. Only the name, Telegraph Hill, remains.

In the early 1850s a Colonel Evans built houses in a field called The Mead (later renamed Granville Road). By the 1870s a number of laundries, servicing much of Victorian era West London, were established in The Mead. Clothes washed in London were thought to be susceptible to water borne disease, such cholera and typhoid, and Child’s Hill, then still in the countryside was supplied by a series of small streams coming off Hampstead Heath.

The population in the area was growing quickly. In 1856 a new church, All Saints’, was built (the third church in the parish of Hendon).

A few houses had been built in what became Burgess Hill by 1878 and in 1880 Weech Road was constructed between Fortune Green Road and Finchley Road on the portion of Teil’s estate purchased by the Burgesses in 1855. Four houses were built there in 1880 and another 12 in 1887 by A. R. Amer and Becket. In 1886 there was building at the Anglo-French college.

The opening of Child’s Hill Railway Station (now Cricklewood Station) in 1868 led to an increase in population, and the subsequent overcrowding reduced some of Child’s Hill into poverty, with cock-fighting, drunkenness and vice. Housing in 1903 in Granville Road was described as a disgrace to civilisation.

In 1884 the Pyramid Light Works, a candle manufactory, was established, the first factory in the Hendon area.

In 1890 Kidderpore Hall was acquired by Westfield College, which made considerable additions to it in 1904-5, and the rest of the estate given over to the builders. Building, mostly of detached or semi-detached houses fronting Platt’s Lane, Finchley Road, Kidderpore Avenue, and Cecilia Road (later Kidderpore Gardens), was complete by 1913.

In 1886 Joseph Hoare, son of Samuel and brother of John Gurney Hoare, died after living for some 40 years at Childs Hill House. Although not pulled down until c. 1904, Childs Hill House was empty by c. 1897 when building began on the estate. Between 1897 and 1913 Ferncroft Avenue, Hollycroft Avenue and Rosecroft Avenue were laid out and mostly semi-detached houses were built by George Hart.

At much the same time building was proceeding on the Burgess Park (Temples) estate: the same builder, George Hart, was responsible for Briardale Road and Clorane Gardens, where the houses were built between 1900 and 1910. By 1913 building was complete in Burgess Hill, Ardwick Road, and Weech Road and two houses had been built in Ranulf Road. In 1901 a small piece on the western side of the Burgess Park estate was added to the cemetery. All Souls Unitarian church was built to the south at the junction with Weech Road in 1903 and Burgess Park Mansions to the north about the same time.

The cemetery did not blight development to the north and east as it had to the south and west, possibly because building north and east was necessarily later. Whereas in the 19th century proximity to cemeteries was disliked, by the 20th the open space in a built-up district was regarded as an asset. The whole of the Childs Hill area was classed in 1930 as middle-class and wealthy. There was building on all sites by the opening of the First World War and the only development between the wars was in Ranulf Road, where 13 houses were built by 1920 and the rest by 1930, at Westfield College to which additions were made in 1920-3, and at the corner of Fortune Green Road and Weech Road, where a block of flats, Weech Hall, replaced the Unitarian chapel in 1937.

In 1901 the land between Child’s Hill and Golders Green to the north was still farmland, but with the motorbuses (1906), the tube at Golders Green (1907), the trams (1909), and finally Hendon Way in 1927, farmland succumbed to suburbia, and the distinction between Golders Green and Child’s Hill was blurred.

In 1914 Hendon Urban District Council built its first council estate with 50 houses.

For entertainment Child’s Hill had The Regal in the Finchley Road (1929), which was first a skating rink then a cinema then a bowling alley.

During the Second World War bombing destroyed several houses on the Burgess Park estate. In the early 1960s many of the small Victorian houses in the Mead and around the Castle Inn were demolished.

A new block was added to Westfield College in 1962 but from 1945 until the 1980s Childs Hill remained essentially unchanged. Inhabitants have included Thomas Masaryk, later first president of Czechoslovakia, at 21 Platt’s Lane during the First World War, Leslie Brooke (d. 1940), the illustrator and father of Hampstead’s M.P. Henry, at 28 Hollycroft Avenue, and Jonas Wolfe, cinema pioneer, at no. 4 Kidderpore Avenue during the 1940s. The musical Craxton family owned 14 Kidderpore Avenue from 1945 and during the 1960s James Gunn (d. 1965), the portrait painter, lived at 7 Kidderpore Avenue.


Main source: A History of the County of Middlesex | British History Online
Further citations and sources


CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE LOCALITY

None so far :(
LATEST LONDON-WIDE CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE PROJECT


Steve   
Added: 19 Mar 2024 08:42 GMT   

Road construction and houses completed
New Charleville Circus road layout shown on Stanford’s Library Map Of London And Its Suburbs 1879 with access via West Hill only.

Plans showing street numbering were recorded in 1888 so we can concluded the houses in Charleville Circus were built by this date.

Source: Charleville Circus, Sydenham, London

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Steve   
Added: 19 Mar 2024 08:04 GMT   

Charleville Circus, Sydenham: One Place Study (OPS)
One Place Study’s (OPS) are a recent innovation to research and record historical facts/events/people focused on a single place �’ building, street, town etc.

I have created an open access OPS of Charleville Circus on WikiTree that has over a million members across the globe working on a single family tree for everyone to enjoy, for free, forever.

Source: Charleville Circus, Sydenham, London

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Charles   
Added: 8 Mar 2024 20:45 GMT   

My House
I want to know who lived in my house in the 1860’s.

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NH   
Added: 7 Mar 2024 11:41 GMT   

Telephone House
Donald Hunter House, formerly Telephone House, was the BT Offices closed in 2000

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Paul Cox   
Added: 5 Mar 2024 22:18 GMT   

War damage reinstatement plans of No’s 11 & 13 Aldine Street
Whilst clearing my elderly Mothers house of general detritus, I’ve come across original plans (one on acetate) of No’s 11 & 13 Aldine Street. Might they be of interest or should I just dispose of them? There are 4 copies seemingly from the one single acetate example. Seems a shame to just junk them as the level of detail is exquisite. No worries if of no interest, but thought I’d put it out there.

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Diana   
Added: 28 Feb 2024 13:52 GMT   

New Inn Yard, E1
My great grandparents x 6 lived in New Inn Yard. On this date, their son was baptised in nearby St Leonard’s Church, Shoreditch

Source: BDM London, Cripplegate and Shoreditch registers written by church clerk.

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Vic Stanley   
Added: 24 Feb 2024 17:38 GMT   

Postcose
The postcode is SE15, NOT SE1

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Gillian   
Added: 17 Feb 2024 00:08 GMT   

No 36 Upper East Smithfield
My great great grandfather was born at No 36 Upper East Smithfield and spent his early years staring out at a "dead wall" of St Katharine’s Docks. His father was an outfitter and sold clothing for sailors. He describes the place as being backed by tenements in terrible condition and most of the people living there were Irish.

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NEARBY LOCATIONS OF NOTE
Child’s Hill Childs Hill, now a select area, was formerly reknowned for bricks and laundering.

NEARBY STREETS
Athena Court, NW2 Athena Court is a block on Granville Road (Child’s Hill)
Beaumont Gardens, NW3 Beaumont Gardens is a road in the NW3 postcode area (Child’s Hill)
Beechworth Close, NW3 Beechworth Close is a road in the NW3 postcode area (Child’s Hill)
Bentley Drive, NW2 Bentley Drive is a road in the NW2 postcode area (Child’s Hill)
Briardale Gardens, NW3 Briardale Gardens is a street in Hampstead (Child’s Hill)
Carlton Close, NW3 Carlton Close is a road in the NW3 postcode area (Child’s Hill)
Cenacle Close, NW3 Cenacle Close is a road in the NW3 postcode area (Child’s Hill)
Childs Hill Walk, NW2 Childs Hill Walk is a road in the NW2 postcode area (Child’s Hill)
Church Walk, NW2 Church Walk is a street in Cricklewood (Child’s Hill)
Cloister Road, NW2 Cloister Road is a street in Cricklewood (Child’s Hill)
Crewys Road, NW2 Crewys Road is a street in Cricklewood (Child’s Hill)
Croft House, NW3 Croft House is a block on Rosecroft Avenue (Hampstead)
Devonshire Place, NW2 Devonshire Place is a street in Cricklewood (Child’s Hill)
Eden Close, NW3 Eden Close is a road in the NW3 postcode area (Child’s Hill)
Eden House, NW3 Eden House is a building on West Heath Road (Child’s Hill)
Elm Terrace, NW2 Elm Terrace is a road in the NW2 postcode area (Child’s Hill)
Elm Walk, NW3 Elm Walk is a road in the NW3 postcode area (Child’s Hill)
Etrona Buildings, NW2 Etrona Buildings is a street in Cricklewood (Child’s Hill)
Fairmont Mews, NW2 Fairmont Mews is a location in London (Golders Green)
Farm Avenue, NW2 Farm Avenue is a street in Cricklewood (Cricklewood)
Finchley Road, NW2 Finchley Road runs briefly through the NW2 postcode as it passes through Childs Hill (Child’s Hill)
Gabriel Mews, NW2 Gabriel Mews is a location in London (Child’s Hill)
Garth Road, NW2 Garth Road is a street in Cricklewood (Child’s Hill)
Glass House, NW3 Glass House can be found on West Heath Road (Child’s Hill)
Goldfinch Court 713a, NW11 Goldfinch Court is in Childs Hill (Child’s Hill)
Granville Road, NW2 Granville Road is a street in Cricklewood (Child’s Hill)
Hawthorn Business Park, NW2 Hawthorn Business Park is a location in London (Child’s Hill)
Heathway Court, NW11 Heathway Court is a block on Finchley Road (Child’s Hill)
Heathway Court, NW3 Heathway Court is a street in Hampstead (Child’s Hill)
Hendon Way, NW11 Hendon Way is a street in Cricklewood (Child’s Hill)
Hermitage Lane, NW2 Hermitage Lane is a street in Cricklewood (Child’s Hill)
Hill House, NW3 Hill House is a building on Redington Road (Hampstead)
Hocroft Avenue, NW2 Hocroft Avenue is a road in the NW2 postcode area (Cricklewood)
Hocroft Walk, NW2 Hocroft Walk is a road in the NW2 postcode area (Child’s Hill)
Hollycroft Avenue, NW3 Hollycroft Avenue is a street in Hampstead (Hampstead)
Horizons Court, NW3 Horizons Court is a block on West Heath Road (Child’s Hill)
Llanelly Road, NW2 Llanelly Road is a street in Cricklewood (Child’s Hill)
Llanvanor Road, NW2 Llanvanor Road is a street in Cricklewood (Child’s Hill)
Lyndale Avenue, NW2 Lyndale Avenue lies north of Hendon Way (Child’s Hill)
Madoc Close, NW11 Madoc Close is a road in the NW2 postcode area (Child’s Hill)
Magnolia House, NW3 Magnolia House is a block on Elm Walk (Child’s Hill)
Moreland Court, NW2 Moreland Court dates from 1927 (Child’s Hill)
Morris House, NW3 Morris House is a block on Elm Walk (Child’s Hill)
Nant Court, NW2 Nant Court is a block on Granville Road (Child’s Hill)
Nant Road, NW2 Nant Road is a street in Cricklewood (Child’s Hill)
Oracle Apartments, NW3 Oracle Apartments is a block on West Heath Road (Child’s Hill)
Orchard Mead House, NW11 Orchard Mead House is a block on Finchley Road (Child’s Hill)
Pattison Road, NW2 Pattison Road is a street in Cricklewood (Child’s Hill)
Platt’s Lane, NW3 A farmhouse on the edge of the heath was enlarged by Thomas Platt before 1811 and who gave his name to the lane. (Child’s Hill)
Prospect Place, NW2 Prospect Place is a road in the NW2 postcode area (Child’s Hill)
Prospect Road, NW2 Prospect Road is a street in Cricklewood (Child’s Hill)
Ridge Road, NW2 Ridge Road is a road in the NW2 postcode area (Child’s Hill)
Rosecroft Avenue, NW3 Rosecroft Avenue is a street in Hampstead (Hampstead)
Sunnyside, NW2 Sunnyside is a street in Cricklewood (Child’s Hill)
Telegraph Hill, NW3 Telegraph Hill is a road in the NW3 postcode area (Hampstead)
Templewood Point, NW2 Templewood Point is a location in London (Child’s Hill)
The Garden House, NW3 The Garden House is a block on Rosecroft Avenue (Hampstead)
Vernon Court, NW2 Vernon Court is a block on Hendon Way (Temple Park)
Wendover Court, NW3 Wendover Court in a mock-Tudor style was erected after the opening of Hendon Way in 1927 (Temple Park)
West Heath Avenue, NW3 West Heath Avenue is a road in the NW3 postcode area (Child’s Hill)
West Heath Close, NW3 West Heath Close is a road in the NW3 postcode area (Child’s Hill)
West Heath Gardens, NW2 West Heath Gardens is a road in the NW2 postcode area (Child’s Hill)
West Heath Road, NW3 West Heath Road is a street in Hampstead (Child’s Hill)
Westover Hill, NW3 Westover Hill is a road in the NW3 postcode area (Child’s Hill)


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