BAILEY’S LANE.
There were a few old cottages beyond Mr. Sievieking’s garden, and on the opposite side of the road Sumpter’s livery stables; then fields on both sides down to the River Lea, where there were coke ovens always brightly burning. There were several large houses lying back from the High-road, Stamford Hill, with front gardens on the waste land; of these only two remain.
There was a mansion standing next, where Mr. Fowler Newsam resided for many years. There was a very pretty walk round the shrubbery and garden, the estate containing altogether about eight acres of land; the grounds were enclosed in cleft oak park palings, with lodge at entrance. There was a mounting stone on the gravel path outside, and it is not many years ago that it was taken away.
Mr. and Mrs. Newsam were most kind and generous, and their great delight in life was in doing good and giving pleasure to others. I always remember their enjoyable hay-making parties; one can now hardly understand the quiet spot it was then. Their death was a very great loss to the parish.
When the turnpike was removed from the top of the Hill, a toll bar was placed across the road at the corner of this estate, but was not there long; it was taken away when all turnpikes were done away with.
Stamford Hill was crossed by a bridge called “Stone Bridge,” which was about 26 feet high from the crown of the road to the top of the parapet. Now the South Tottenham railway crosses the road there.
The next estate was called “Mark Field,” and was fifty-four acres in extent; there was a large house lying some distance back, in its own grounds, belonging to and in the occupation of Mr. William Robson.
The other large house at the corner of Page Green belonged to and was in the occupation of the Rev. George Hodgson Thompson, the first minister at Trinity Church, Tottenham Green, and had over twelve acres of land adjoining the last-mentioned.
The estates were bordered by a broad piece of waste land, a ditch, and low quick set hedge; and there were large heaps of flint stones at the roadside for repair of the roads. At that time the path on Stamford Hill was a gravel one, and had not even a curb stone.
When Mr. Munt lived at the corner house he kindly lent his grounds to the Rev. George Brewster Twining, who was the Vicar of Holy Trinity Church, for the Sunday School treat to be held there. Several caravans of Bohemian gipsies passing along the High-road; the men, seeing the children playing games, stopped their horses, and threw their children over the low quick set hedge; they were very clean and prettily dressed in red, white, and blue, and were highly delighted to mix with our Sunday School children. We gave them some cake, and persuaded them to return to their friends, which they did, although unwillingly. They were a very superior kind of gipsy, and evidently the precursors of the German gipsies, who have since been such an annoyance to the country.
PAGE GREEN—BRAMBLE LANE
(Now BROAD LANE).
There was a side road leading to the Rev. G. H. Thompson’s house, with post and chain fence down the left-hand side a considerable distance, and fir and other trees; this road also led to the house belonging to and occupied by Mr. James Rowe, which had upwards of thirty-one acres of land attached to it. A large pond, called Page Green Pond, was on the green opposite the house.
At the end of the green, and facing the High-road, a large house stood, occupied by Mr. Spartelle, whose grounds extended some distance down the lane. The Earlsmead Board School is now built on this site.
At the top of Page Green, on the east side of the High-road, there stood a remarkably handsome clump of seven trees, planted in a circular form, and called the Seven Sisters. In the middle there stood a walnut tree, which it is said never increased in size, though it continued annually to bear leaves. The prevailing opinion in Bedwell’s time (the Rev. William Bedwell was Vicar of Tottenham from 1607 to 1632) was that someone had suffered martyrdom on this spot, but of this there is no authentic account, nor is there anything satisfactory as to the original planting of these trees to be met with, but it appears they were at their full growth in Bedwell’s time, and may be considered to be in 1818 upwards of 300 years old. The walnut tree was not cut down for a good many years after the others. I remember my father having it done, and then the seven daughters of Mr. MacRae planted seven other trees in the middle of the green; they are now living, one is a sapling. A few years ago Mr. Hibbert’s seven daughters planted seven other trees at the end by the High-road.
On the north side of Page Green there was a white house, with verandah and creepers all over, in the occupation of Mr. Rowcroft; it had a very large hall. At that time many of the good old houses had large halls, almost like rooms. The grounds were very pretty, extending at the back of Grove Place-gardens as far as the Bull Inn. About the centre of the beautiful garden there was a high mound, and grotto, overlooking a lovely lake. Many were the invitations I received to play in that garden when I was a little child, but my mother never allowed me to go; she had an idea I should run up the mound and fall into the lake. I was very pleased when she at last consented. There was a shady walk, planted with trees, all round the meadow; it was about here that years ago there was a hermit’s cell and the Chapel of St. Anne.
Next to this house there were two semi-detached white-fronted houses (one of which was occupied by Miss Coare, one of the Society of Friends), then a stretch of fields on both sides to the end of the lane.
Returning to the High-road; at the corner stood a large, white house, and garden, adjoining the row of houses called Grove-place, which were built at the beginning of last century. Next to the Bull Inn, which is one of the old inns of Tottenham, were the cottages called Bull Row, one of which was a toy shop, kept by Mrs. Travell, and another a cake and sweet shop, kept by Mrs. Oakman; there were so few shops then that these two small places were well patronised.