Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
Finsbury Park Landscape Watercolour, John Ladds, 1905
This picture came with the title Finsbury Park, Landscape Scene With a Red Brick Brick Church (by John Ladds, dated 1905).
When I first posted the picture I was feebly unable to identify the church. Of course, it's the original St. Paul's on Wightman.
John Ladds (1835-1926) was first and foremost an architect. Here's a potted bio I found for him:
John Ladds was born in Ellington, Cambridgeshire, England on 22 April 1835. By 1861 he was practising as an architect in Ellington, however, it is not known where and with whom he trained. He was elected an Associate of the Royal Institute of British Architects (ARIBA) in 1869.
By 1867 he had moved to 4 Chapel Street, Bedford Row, London. By 1881 he was living in the parish of St. George Martyr, London. In the 1891 England and Wales Census his address was given as 7 Doughty Street, St. Pancras, London, where he remained until at least 1901. In 1911 his address was given as 93 Pemberton Road, Harringay, Middlesex [now London] and it was in Harringay that he practised as an architect for the remainder of his career as an architect.
Ladds died on 15 October 1926. At the time of his death his address was given as 93 Pemberton Road, Harringay, Middlesex. His son, Sidney Inskip Ladds (1867-1980) was also an architect
Source: (Biographical Dictionary of British and Irish Architects 1800-1950)
The same source informs us that he was also responsible for the Harringay war memorial, that was installed inside St. Paul's Church, Harringay in 1922 and moved to Hornsey Town Hall after the 1984 fire that burned down the church.
I found some of his and his son's work held in the Norris Library and Museum in St Ives, Cambridgeshire.
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Comment by Gordon T on November 25, 2019 at 13:26
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Old Holy Trinity had a fleche but right above the west door, not part way along as in the watercolour.
I agree with your first thought, that it's a view from the park,and I'll add that I estimate the viewpoint is where where the running track now is, looking approximately north-west towards St Paul's, which had a fleche at that point along the roof (though the artist has enhanced it a little).
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Comment by Hugh on November 25, 2019 at 14:12
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Silly me; I didn’t even consider St Paul’s! This image shows what you mean. Were you able to make out any of the other buildings? If it is St Paul’s, I can make out a row of houses that could be Endymion Road. But I can’t place the house in the lower right of the picture (just to the left of the tall tree). I wonder where that could be.
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I've mulling this over all afternoon.
assuming the church is St. Paul's the viewpoint would have to be between the running track and green lanes or the Manor House entrance to Finsbury Park. With Wightman rd running on the left hand side of the church building.
So the gable ends are on Endymion rd and the sort of domey thing above the building on the lower right could be the beaconsfield ??? Allowing for artistic license . I think, ish, maybe.
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And wouldn't that make the black dome in the middle the crown on the Salisbury ??????
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So what is the building on the far left poking out from behind the tree??? It's so high it would have be somewhere close to the Lawsons site.
Any old pics of that stretch of Wightman Hugh ????
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What a beautiful painting - who is the artist?
And all those fields beyond!!
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Could the building on the far left have been a station house?
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Sorry just seen details of the artist.
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Michele & Andy - about the building on the far left, more likely it was the signal box which once was right by the bridge over the railway. Image here with footbridge in view to the right.
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I still can't quite reconcile it.
- I can accept the large church as St Paul's - in fact it's a pretty good fit
- As I said before, I can reconcile Endymion
- I could be persuaded to accept that the second building with a fleche, just to the right of the supposed St Paul's one is St Augustine's on Mattison (with badly executed perspective)
BUT there are too many buildings that I can't reconcile.
- There are two rimmed domes, neither of which matches the Salisbury - and the Beaconsfield doesn't have one.
- If you take the tall tree in the forground on the right, just further into the picture, there's a line of poplars: I could accept that as the New River leading to Endymion. But the red house just beyond them doesn't match an Endymion house. Behind it there are a couple of quite imposing houses that aren't like those on Lothair.
- On the extreme left of the picture, there's what looks like a large first floor bay that looks like it's glazed on all sides. I can't reconcile that with anything.
- So the list goes on.
So, for me there are too many discrepancies to be able to conclude that this is a view from Finsbury Park across South Harringay. But I'd love to be convinced!
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