Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
'The Chestnuts' c1905
'The Chestnuts' was a mid-Victorian house that used to stand on what is now Chestnuts Park on St Ann's Road, or Hanger Lane as it was then called. The entrances to the old driveway still remain along with the old brick gate posts.
The Friends of Chestnuts Park offer a potted history of the house and park which I've paraphrased below:
"In around 1850 Chestnuts House was built for Mr Haynes, a timber merchant. In March 1898 the house and grounds were purchased by Tottenham Urban District Council. It was laid out as Chestnuts Recreation Ground. It was intended as a commemoration of Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee and opened to the public in November 1900."
What I hadn't realised is that reading rooms were opened in the house in 1900 and it was soon converted into a lending library. Apparently the library moved to the education offices in Philip Lane in 1917 and to Vincent Road from 1931.
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Comment by Andrew Wilson on March 31, 2023 at 1:47
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I remember that building, it was definitely the dentist, I hated going there, I was at woodlands park junior school from 1950 to 1955, our headmaster was Mr.Podd
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Comment by Maureen Bamfield on March 31, 2023 at 10:27
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Hi Andrew are you related to Christopher Wilson who lived in Roseberry Gardens?
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Hi Maureen, yes I am Chris’s younger brother, we lived at 3 Roseberry Gardens, then moved to Grand Parade, Green Lanes, just up from the Salisbury. Long story short, but I followed Chris to Australia 1963 and I am still here. Chris, I am sorry to say passed away 8 years ago whilst living in Capetown with his second wife. We were in touch fairly regularly and we both visited one another a couple of times. The Harringay on Line is great contact for us expats as the memories are great. When my mother was still alive I used to visit often, but haven’t been during the last 15 yrs. So some of the photos are of my time are great. We both went to Stationers, and both started at Woodlands park infants and junior schools. Have extremely fond memories of our time. We were both very strong supporters of Arsenal to this day. Nice to meet with you. Andrew
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Hi Andrew, yes this is a great site and I would love to keep in touch with you to share childhood memories. I remember Chris very well, he had webbed toes and us kids used to tell him he`d be a good swimmer, was he? We all used to play in the streets in those days. I lived on the corner of Roseberry Gardens," Grand Parade" above a drapers shop, can`t remember the name. I lived there with my Mum & Dad, and 2 older brothers, George & Len. I expect your Mum used to get her fruit, veg etc. from Mays, the stall in the alley opposite you, my Dad ran an electric cable from our flat to her stall so that she had lighting, can you imagine that being allowed today?
I went to Woodlands Park school, then onto South Grove as I didn`t pass my 11 plus.
Will leave it there for now but would love to keep in contact with you just to share childhood memories
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