Grass Farm was developed in the late 19th century.
The south-western area of Church End, Finchley was part of the Bibbesworth Manor for many centuries, named after Sir Edmund Bibbesworth whose family held it from about 1418 to 1443. The Manor was part of the Bishop of London’s estate.
Grass or Groates Farm, one of the larger farms in Finchley which stretched from Church End westwards to the Dollis Brook. The farm can be
traced back to the 14th century when the Groate family occupied it from about 1394 to the 1460s.
The farm, which covered 113 acres, was sold by auction on 15th May 1856 and was purchased by John Harris Heal, the grandfather of Ambrose Heal, founder of Heal’s of Tottenham Court Road.
Heal died in 1876 and the estate was purchased from their executors in 1894 by James Christopher Wilkinson of Elm Grange, who subsequently offered the farmland for sale for building purposes in 1906. Most of the farm was demolished in 1911 and is commemorated in Grass Park, close to the original farmhouse location.
58 Hendon Lane was the lodge of Grass Farm. This was a 19th century house by Edward Roberts with red brick and tile-hanging. It was built for John Heal and became the home of his widow after 1876.
Grass Farm is now remembered in the streetname Grass Park off Dollis Avenue, where the old farmhouse (demolished in 1923) stood on its ancient moated site surrounded by its own parkland.
The Underground Map project is creating street histories for the areas of London and surrounding counties lying within the M25.
The aim of the project is to find the location every street in London, whether past or present, and tell its story. This project aims to be a service to historians, genealogists and those with an interest in urban design.
The website features a series of maps from the 1750s until the 1950s. You can see how London grows over the decades. |