Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
Lalla Rookh, Hornsey / Muswell Hill, 1900
Lalla Rookh Stood on the lower slopes of Muswell Hill, just to the west of the junction with Park Road and Priory Road.
For six months in 1817, Lalla Rookh was home to the poet Thomas Moore. Wikipedia shares the followig:
The name Lalla Rookh or Lala-Rukh (Persian), means "tulip-cheeked" and is an endearment frequently used in Persian poetry.....(Moore's poem, Lalla Rookh) was completed in 1817 while Moore was living in a house in the countryside of Hornsey, Middlesex, and the house was renamed, possibly by Moore himself, after the poem.
For a photo of the pond in the grounds of the house see this photo.
For more on the eminent local photographer, George Scammel, see this post.
Both photos are copyright the V&A Museum and published here under a non-commercial use. Thanks to Ken Stevens for pointing me in their direction.
-
Comment by Sean Boyle on February 26, 2023 at 15:19
-
Interesting former residents of Lalla Rookh. Many of my old Penguin and Pelican books from the 60s and 70s were "Printed by Richard Clay (The Chaucer Press) Bungay, Suffolk", presumably the same one? Was 'Mr. Gamage' the Albert Walter Gamage who founded famous Holborn department store? And "latterly it has been in the possession of Mr. W. J. Collins". Collins was the developer of the Fortismere estate and later the Rookfield estate, and lived in Rookfield, the large house next to Lalla Rookh, until 1911 when he left to develop his Southampton estate. But why would he offer for sale Rookfield when he (and his sons) were already in the process of developing the estate?
-
Comment by Ken Stevens on February 26, 2023 at 16:53
-
Sean Boyles's mention of Gamages (the Lalla Rookh resident having indeed been the founder) induces childhood nostalgia.
It was Dad's go-to place for all sorts of things during the year and my idea of heaven for its Christmas offerings. There it stood near the Prudential HQ (meaningful as the employer of our door-to-door insurance collector) and wallking along from/to Holborn Tube included the wondrous sight of the Bassett-Lowke shop window display, with steam locos somewhat larger than '0' gauge. Banal memories but significant to this kid at the time and it ain't my fault that the mention of Mr Gamage should have recollected them ;-)
Add a Comment
- ‹ Previous
- 1
- 2
- Next ›
© 2024 Created by Hugh.
Powered by
You need to be a member of Harringay online to add comments!
Join Harringay online