Avenue House Grounds, Finchley, England

The following is from the English Heritage Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest:  

HISTORIC DEVELOPMENT

Avenue House, a villa built in 1859, was bought by Henry Stephens, son of the inventor of blue-black ink, in 1874. Subsequently, Stephens started with the enlargement and improvements of both house and grounds. In 1878, he asked the editor of The Garden, William Robinson, for advice on how to create a suitable garden for his new villa. Robinson recommended his friend, the landscape gardener Robert Marnock (1800-1889).

Stephens, in his commissioning letter to Marnock, described the three disused gravel pits in the grounds of Avenue House as 'an opportunity for picturesque treatment'. The garden may be seen as an expression of Marnock's later style, as described in 'Marnock's maxims' by Mungo Temple, published in the Gardeners' Chronicle in 1890. It included lawns, ponds, mounds and rockwork, a network of informal paths and steps, a paddock and a kitchen garden (called The Bothy) (Chris Blandford Assocs 1998). Various fine and exotic tree species were also planted, and in order to complete the layout of the small estate, Stephens introduced a water tower with adjacent laundry, a lodge, a coach house and a stable block.

After Stephens left Avenue House in 1900 he bequeathed the House and 10 acres (about 4 hectares) of the grounds to the people of Finchley on the condition that it should be 'open for the use and enjoyment always of the public under reasonable regulations'. Subsequently, the grounds were opened to the public on Thursday afternoons. In 1918, after Stephens' death, the House was requisitioned as a hospital by the Air Ministry. In 1922 Finchley Urban District Council sought to take possession of the property with a view to selling it for development. The Air Ministry however did not vacate the building until 1925. A lengthy legal battle then took place between Finchley Urban District Council (UDC), Stephens' executors and local people which resulted in the villa garden being re-opened to the public by Finchley UDC as Avenue House Grounds on 3 May 1928. At that time, advice on the maintenance of the grounds was given by W J Bean, the curator of Kew Gardens, who praised the gardens and its collection of trees. In 1929 the paddock to the east of the site was developed as the Sports Ground. By 1936 (Ordnance Survey), the land north of the Avenue and on the eastern part of the Sports Ground had been developed for housing.

From 1933 Avenue House was used as a public library and in 1939 it became the local Air Raid Precautions Head Quarters. After the Second World War, Finchley's municipal offices were moved to Avenue House following wartime damage to the town hall. Subsequently it has been in use as a museum and Avenue House Grounds are managed by the London Borough of Barnet as a public park. The concern over the fulfilment of the terms of Henry Stephens' will has remained an issue to the present day (1999). The Sports Ground (outside the registered area) is held separately on a long lease. Recently (1999), following a successful bid to the Sports Lottery Fund, it has been improved and a new clubhouse with parking area has been built.