Bush Hill Park
| Bush Hill Park | |
| Middlesex | |
|---|---|
 Abbey Road | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | TQ333955 |
| Location: | 51°38’34"N, 0°4’25"W |
| Data | |
| Post town: | Enfield |
| Postcode: | EN1 |
| Dialling code: | 020 |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | Enfield |
| Parliamentary constituency: |
Edmonton and Winchmore Hill |
Bush Hill Park is a suburban village in the north-east of Middlesex, found to the south-east of Enfield, close to the edge of the conurbation.
Much of the district is a planned suburban housing estate, developed mainly in the late-19th and early-20th centuries, and designated a conservation area in 1986.[1]
History
Bush Hill Park was farmland that was part of an estate centred on Bush Hill Park House, a country house. The estate changed hands several times in the 18th century before coming under the ownership of William Mellish, a merchant and Member of Parliament for Middlesex. By this time the estate covered 438 acres – one of the largest in the parish. The estate was broken up in 1875 with the North London Estates Company NLEC, a speculative development company buying 373 acres. Bush Hill Park House was sold separately and demolished in 1929.[1]
Initially, the estate was slow to develop. However, with the building of Bush Hill Park station in 1880 the first phase of houses were built between 1880 and 1886. The houses were divided into a prestige development in Village Road and other substantial homes were completed in Wellington Road, Queen Anne's Place and Dryden Road. Most of these earlier houses were designed by architect, R Tayler Smith for the NLEC. By 1887, following a housing boom a ten-year decline began with NLEC going bankrupt in 1887. Demand for housing picked up due to the expansion of the Royal Small Arms Factory during the Boer War and the present form of the estate was completed by 1914. Between 1914 and 1960 development was restricted to infilling existing plots. After 1960 larger properties were demolished and replaced by blocks of flats. In 1987, much of the estate was designated as a conservation area and halted such redevelopment.[1]
About the village
Bush Hill Park Library (later renamed John Jackson Library) has a notable copper-clad roof. It underwent redevelopment in 2019.
The United Reformed Church on Main Avenue was built in 1910. It has a Lombard Romanesque front, round headed windows and a gabled clerestory. The adjacent hall, added in 1932, has an Arts and Crafts feel.[2]
A former bank is adjacent to the southern exit of Bush Hill Park station which has since been repurposed as a nursery, retaining the characteristic dome and pillared entrance of the building.
The aforementioned bank is adjacent to The Old Coach House, a redeveloped coach house with Gothic architecture, such as gargoyles, atop its roofs.
Saddlers Mill Stream flows mostly underground before merging with Salmons Brook. However, the stream is visible at Village Road and Wellington Road.[3]
The locality has several large areas of open space, including The Bush Hill Park Recreation Ground.
Sport
- Golf: Bush Hill Park Golf Club was established in 1895 on the fringe of Bush Hill Park and extends into Enfield.[4]
- Cricket: Enfield Cricket Club, founded in 1856
- Others: Bush Hill Park Tennis, Bowls and Social Club
- Croquet, Enfield Croquet Club, founded in 1993.[5]
Outside links
- Bush Hill Park Residents Association
- St Marks Church
- Bush Hill Park primary school
- Bush Hill Park Hotel
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Bush Hill Park conservation area Template:Webarchive Retrieved 18 August 2010
- ↑ Bridget Cherry; Nikolaus Pevsner (March 1998). London: North. Yale University Press. pp. 425. ISBN 978-0-300-09653-8.
- ↑ Saddlers Mill Stream Retrieved 8 September 2010
- ↑ Bush Hill Park Golf Club Retrieved 31 August 2010
- ↑ "Enfield Croquet Club - Home". http://www.enfieldcroquet.org.