Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
Gardeners to the King - Based in Wood Green
Beyond what we see in the picture, I've no idea what a 'resianette' was, and neither does Google. However, I thought it was an interesting piece of local social history and I have been able to find the following on the Wood Green based firm who made this Edwardian equivalent of decking.
Text from Parks and Gardens UK.The firm William Wood and Son can be traced back to 1850, when William Wood (1818-1869) founded a coal merchants business in north London at the North British Wharf in Wood Green. This was located adjacent to Wood Green Railway Station. William Wood was later joined by his son James London Wood, who took over the running of the firm after his father's death in 1869. It was not until the early-1890s, under James L Wood, that the company started to sell `horticultural sundries' as well as coal and lime.
By 1914, however, the firm was operating on a far grander scale as horticulturalists. They are described as `horticultural specialists, estate and garden contractors, specialists in rock and water gardens, stone temples, sellers of mowing machines and horticultural implements'. By this time, the firm was becoming quite large and employed 30 men.
In 1924, the Great Northern railway line was extended and William Wood & Son had to move. An advertisement in the Gardener's Chronicle of 1924 announced that `William Wood & Son are leaving their premises at North British Wharf, Wood Green, London to the Beechwood Works in Taplow, Buckinghamshire.' A Kelly's Directory for 1924 describes the firm as `Royal Horticulturists and Garden Designers and contractors, Beechwood Works, Telephone 79, Burnham; Telegrams `Gardening Taplow'.
Woods remained a family firm until the 1960s. In 1929, Denis Wood (the grandson of James London Wood) left Magdalen College, Oxford, where he had been studying, to join the family firm. He had been a pupil of the author and lecturer C S Lewis (of `Chronicles of Narnia' fame), who had taught at the College from 1925-1954.
By 1935, William Wood and Son are described as `garden contractors and horticultural builders to HM King George VI. They were famous for their landscape designs and were often referred to as `the Harrods of landscape designers', a reputation which was to last until the 1990s.
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Comment by John D on August 9, 2017 at 20:32
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My dictionary gives " resian " as an archaic alternative to residence. I think it probably means a small residence - ie summer house.
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Comment by Lesley Ramm on August 9, 2017 at 20:40
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I found a couple of refs to resia nette - 2 separate words - but all in French so no idea.
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Comment by JoeW on August 23, 2017 at 22:26
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"An Improved Summer-House
The summer-house shown in the accompanying illustration was made and designed by Messrs. W. Wood and Son, Limited, Wood Green, N. It is quite a new design and a most effective one. In addition to the summer-house, there is a terrace attached, a delightful adjunct, where tea might be served or chairs placed for sitting or reading out doors; in fact, this new summer-house has many advantages over the ordinary one. The structure shown in the illustration was exhibited by Messrs Wood and Son, Limited, Wood Green, N., at the recent Chelsea show of the Royal Horticultural Society. This design lends itself excellently to effective decoration with plants and flowers. Full particulars may be had from Messrs. Wood and Son."From the 68th volume of The Garden, Dec 30 1905 (an "Illustrated Weekly Journal of Horticulture in all its Branches".)
I was going to suggest a reference to Resia, an Italian village and tourist venue, an Alpine location so balconies and decking would be popular constructions. But I think I prefer John's " resian " as an archaic alternative to residence.
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Comment by Richard Woods on August 25, 2017 at 15:26
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resian is alleged to be a dialect of Javanese so that's less of a help! So I'd go with some usage around residence - and ette as in small. Or a misprint of course....
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No - silly people we bare - it's just an early decking idea that took decades to finally catch on.
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Comment by Hugh on January 12, 2022 at 19:53
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Attaching a better version of the Garden article that Joe found, including the whole page. Joe's Dec 30 date was the publication date of the entire volume. The initial publication date was Jul 29th.
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Comment by Richard Matz on January 12, 2022 at 20:53
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The move in 1924 coincides with the final opening of the Hertford Loop extension from Enfield to Hertford North to passengers. That's the only clue I can offer.
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Thank you, Richard. That may help us track down the location of the North British Wharf. (NB I’ve picked this up again having been approached by someone researching the company on behalf of a garden charity).
Below is the best location data I have. I've beeb unable to pinpoint the exact location of North British Wharf (which this researcher is trying to do). Any ideas?
From Kelly's Directory, 1902-03
From Kelly's Directory, 1908-09
Looking at the changes between 1914 and 1937 (dates of OS maps), they seem to be focussed on the area immediately to the south of the station, opposite Park Road. So, I suggest that William Wood & Co were based there.
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Comment by Ken Stevens on January 14, 2022 at 8:28
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My brain latched onto the seeming oddity of a wharf that is nowhere near water -unless you count the New River! However, Wikipedia set me right ,,,,,,
Certain early railways in England referred to goods loading points as "wharves". The term was carried over from marine usage. The person who was resident in charge of the wharf was referred to as a "wharfinger".
The word wharf comes from the Old English hwearf, cognate to the Old Dutch word werf, ... an outdoor place where work is done, like a shipyard (Dutch: scheepswerf) or a lumberyard (Dutch: houtwerf).
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Thanks for that, Ken. The same dissonance struck me. But I didn’t seek to resolve it.
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