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A VERY LIBERAL HOUSE
Dollis
Hill House during restoration |
On Dollis Hill, just below the crest
of Neasden stands a now dilapidated mansion overlooking
the magnificent sweep of Gladstone Park. It has been
there for almost two hundred years and for much of that
time it has been in and out of the news - more recently
for rather sad reasons. This is Dollis Hill House, built
for the Finch family in 1825. If it is more interesting
for its history than for its architectural style, it
is still one of the few grand buildings left in Brent
- or would be if it were restored to its past glory,
following two disastrous arson attacks in the late 1990s.
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In a magazine article of 1822, the writer
described his walk through Willesden: "On Dollar's (sic) Hill,
is Mr Finch's Farm, which as an object from the valley below
has a pleasing effect, with a view from the top as far as
Leith Hill in Surrey". Within a few years, this view was seen
from the windows of Mr Finch's new house. Soon after, as these
things went, it passed to Lord Tweedmouth, who as a senior
member of the Liberal Party, began the political connection
that lasted until the end of the nineteenth century.
A little later - Victoria was now on the
throne - it was bought by Lord Aberdeen and it was his son
who took over the house, in 1882, with his wife Lady Ishbel.
They made it the place for Liberal politicians, especially
Gladstone, to stay and rest from the endeavours of Parliamentary
life down at Westminster. The great Liberal leader was by
this time in his seventies, but a marvel of physical and mental
vigour, as a supporter described him. He was able to use Dollis
Hill House as a quiet retreat, near to Downing Street, thanks
to the Aberdeens. His bedroom was on the first floor at the
east end of the house, looking towards Hampstead and he worked,
for the most part, on his Government papers in the library
which was immediately below. In the clement weather, much
of his time was spent outdoors, with meals taken on the verandah
(later obscured by an unsightly addition to the house). Often,
there would be a gathering of politicians under the trees,
some of which still frame the patio area.
The
statue in the pond at Gladstone Park |
The
Pond at Gladstone Park |
| Trees were one of Gladstone's obsessions.
Legend has it that he cut them down, in the fashion of
George Washington, but the truth is that he planted many
- some at Dollis Hill, including a pine tree and a fir
- though I cannot vouch for them still being there. In
1887, the Golden Jubilee of Queen Victoria was celebrated
throughout the country and across the then British Empire,
but the leaders of the Colonies came to London to join
in the festivities. Gladstone invited them up the house
at Neasden and there is a picture of him, resplendent
in a Derby bowler hat, with four of his colleagues, on
the lawn. |
Gladstone
Park |
Gladstone
Park |
Others who received the invitation to call included
Joseph Chamberlain, Lord Rosebery, Lord Randolph Churchill
(father of Winston), the then Archbishop of Canterbury
and many other men of eminence (the only woman who seems
to be involved was none other than the Premier's wife
- such was the political correctness of the time).
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Lord Aberdeen was appointed Lord Lieutenant
for Ireland for a short period in the 1880s - and this brought
him into even closer contact with Gladstone whose most difficult
task was trying to bring about Home Rule for Ireland. When
he was made Governor General of Canada in 1897, he gave up
Dollis Hill House and it was leased to Sir Hugh Gilzean Reid.
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In 1900, Reid invited the famous humorist,
Mark Twain, to stay with him. The writer, who was famous
for his perceptive comments on the places he visited
(read his Innocents Abroad, for instance), spoke of
the delight he had in living there. "He had," he said,
"never seen any place that was so satisfactorily situated,
with its noble trees and stretch of country, and everything
that went to make life delightful, and all within a
biscuit's throw of the metropolis of the world".
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View
at Gladstone Parkl |
Maybe these comments inspired Willesden council
to persist in their plan to buy the House and, especially,
its grounds as a public park. In any event, in February 1900,
the transaction was completed - at a cost of over £51,000
and, in honour of the recently deceased statesman, it was
named Gladstone Park.
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After that, in public ownership, the house became a
tea-room and during the first World War was a hospital
for wounded soldiers and after the war remained in use
as a convalescent home. The Council then tried to realise
its potential and it became "The Country House Restaurant".
Once Brent took over it was also used as a training
centre for catering students from Kilburn Polytechnic;
the local Rotary Club met there regularly. And it obtained
Grade II listed status, in 1974. The stables became
the Stables Art Gallery, a succesful venture by devoted
local painters and craftsmen and women.
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The Stables Art Gallery |
In the 1990s it started to go downhill. Brent
Council could not make up its mind what to do with it. Arsonists
tried to help by burning it - twice! It now stands, a miserable
wreck of its former self awaiting a decision: to restore it
as a commercial restaurant - or pull it down and replace it
with a park cafeteria. Local residents, up in arms, are trying
a third option: to raise funds to restore it and then turn
it into a community centre. It would be a shame if a building
- albeit damaged - with such historical connections were to
disappear. But is there a Fairy Godmother out there who could
help with the money?
Len Snow
Len Snow's books, Brent - A Pictorial History
and Willesden Past
are available from The Willesden
Local History Society
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