Looking across open fields to St Mary's Church Hornsey, c1870

Comment by Les Humphreys on October 10, 2025 at 18:25

Before Mildura Court was built, a house was demolished to make way. That house had been occupied by Sir Arthur Watson, who was St Mary's Parish Treasurer, and my father's employer at the Parish Hall. I don't know what became of Sir Arthur after he was replaced by Stewart Hamilton as Treasurer.

Comment by Hugh on October 11, 2025 at 6:54

Thanks, Les. My first thought was that the old house you refer to will have been the Listers' Ladywell that I mentioned in my image description. The last of the Hornsey Listers was William. He lived until 1940, staying at Ladywell until shortly before his death. After his death the house was sold to Hornsey Borough. I  believe that the old house became part of the Ladywell Day Nursery: another building was erected right next to it for this purpose, wrapping around its southern and eastern facades. I've seen the new facilities also being described as both a maternity centre and a child welfare centre/children's clinic.

The rest of the Ladywell plot was was used by the borough for Mildura Court, built in 1950. The development was given its name as a vote of thanks to the people of Mildura in Australia. During and after the war the people of Mildura sent food parcels to Hornsey Borough. Naming the  new block of council fiats was the borough's way of saying thank you to the town. A  Mr. J. Scouler, from Mildura, then at the Ministry of Food, on loan from the Australian Dried Fruits Commission attended the opening ceremony in March 1951. (Incidentally, "Mildura" had also been the first name given to the newly built no. 38 Haringey Park in the 1890s). 

The child welfare centre/nursery carried on until Turnpike Lane was widened in c1970, when the house and the new building were demolished and the plot partly incorporated into the A504, Hornsey High Street / Turnpike Lane and partly into the grounds of Mildura. Most of the site is now the car park at the north east corner of the Mildura plot.

It seems unlikely that Watson would have resided at Ladywell when it was being used as a Children's Centre. Perhaps I'm wrong: perhaps the house was never incorporated into the centre but rented out by the borough. Even it that was the case, it doesn't seem that it would have been a likely home for Sir Arthur Watson. Could he have had an office there rather than living there?  Directly to the south of Ladywell were two more large houses, the first called Brooklands then came Atherton. They both survived until Mildura Court was built. He  could possibly have lived in one of those, but I have not been able to find any record for Sir Arthur Watson (nor any Watson) in any of the three houses in the 1930s or 40s. Might I be missing something obvious?

Below is an aerial photo from 1947 - High Street at the top, Gisburn Road at the bottom. You can see the children's centre (looking very white) and the three houses.

Comment by Lydia Walter on October 12, 2025 at 9:40

I seem to remember the children’s welfare centre. It was an NHS Clinic and I remember attending there for many weeks to have treatment on verruca on my feet - as was common practice in the 1960s. Unless my memory of the location has misted over time. Anyone else remember attending there?

Comment by Hugh on Monday

My apologies, I got my knickers in a twist on this one. I was just looking at another photo taken to the west of the church with a shadow cast by the church tower and I suddenly realised that I'd got myself turned around on this one. This photo was not taken from the east of the church as originally stated. It was from Glebe land to the south of the church. 

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