Broomfield House is a building of historical interest located in

Broomfield Park Broomfield Park was a association football, football stadium in Airdrie, North Lanarkshire, home of Airdrieonians F.C. (1878), Airdrieonians from 1892 until it was closed after the 1993–94 in Scottish football, 1993–94 football season. Aird ...

Palmers Green Palmers Green is a suburban area and electoral ward in North London, England, within the London Borough of Enfield. It is located within the N13 postcode district, around north of Charing Cross. It is home to the largest population of Greek Cy ...

north North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating Direction (geometry), direction or geography. Etymology T ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. Built during the 16th century, it was damaged by fires in 1984, 1993, 1994 and 2019.

History

Broomfield House was sold to

merchant A merchant is a person who trades in commodities produced by other people, especially one who trades with foreign countries. Historically, a merchant is anyone who is involved in business or trade. Merchants have operated for as long as indust ...

Joseph Jackson in 1624 after several previous occupants. During the 150 years that the Jackson family were in possession of the house, the house was internally remodelled to a considerable extent. The grand staircase was built and

mural A mural is any piece of graphic artwork that is painted or applied directly to a wall, ceiling or other permanent substrate. Mural techniques include fresco, mosaic, graffiti and marouflage. Word mural in art The word ''mural'' is a Spani ...

s were painted by

Gerard Lanscroon Gerard Lanscroon was a Flemish baroque artist who worked in England. His father was the sculptor Valentin Lanscroon, who worked as a carver at Chatsworth House in 1695–96. Gerard completed work at Drayton House in Northamptonshire, and murals at ...

, and the surrounding

was created. During the late 18th century to early 19th century the once U-shaped building was altered into a rectangular shape, enclosing the once east-facing

courtyard A courtyard or court is a circumscribed area, often surrounded by a building or complex, that is open to the sky. Courtyards are common elements in both Western and Eastern building patterns and have been used by both ancient and contemporary ...

. After a period where the house was let to tenants, the house and of land were sold for development to Southgate Urban District Council, who opened the park to the public in 1903. Between 1907 and 1910 the building housed Southgate County School, with

Southgate Southgate or South Gate may refer to: Places Australia *Southgate, Sylvania *Southgate Arts and Leisure Precinct, an area within Southbank, Victoria Canada *Southgate, Ontario, a township in Grey County * Southgate, Middlesex County, Ontario Ed ...

's first maternity centre opening there in 1917. The building was classified as

Grade II* In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

in 1950 because of its history and architectural uniqueness.

Fires

Broomfield House, Broomfield Park - geograph

In 1984 a

fire Fire is the rapid oxidation of a material (the fuel) in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction Product (chemistry), products. At a certain point in the combustion reaction, called the ignition ...

broke out in the building which damaged the roof and the top floor. The cause was deemed to be electrical. A temporary roof was erected to ensure further damage was kept to a minimum, though a permanent roof was not rebuilt as the house was no longer in use. Further fires in 1993-1994 made the building in its current state unusable and unsafe. Though the

council A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or natio ...

wanted to demolish the building, heritage groups persuaded the council to obtain a report looking into the possibility of restoration. The report concluded that restoration should be undertaken, and the building was made safe. On Tuesday 9 April 2019 early morning park visitors called the Fire Brigade to a large fire at the house; further extensive damage was sustained. The building remains enclosed by scaffolding until details of the full restoration and its future use by the community can be agreed upon.

''Restoration''

In 2003 Broomfield House was featured on the

BBC television BBC Television is a service of the BBC. The corporation has operated a public broadcast television service in the United Kingdom, under the terms of a royal charter, since 1927. It produced television programmes from its own studios from 193 ...

series ''

Restoration Restoration is the act of restoring something to its original state and may refer to: * Conservation and restoration of cultural heritage ** Audio restoration ** Film restoration ** Image restoration ** Textile restoration * Restoration ecology ...

'' as a nominee for the south-east segment of the show, alongside

Wilton's Music Hall Wilton's Music Hall is a Grade II* listed building in Shadwell, built as a music hall and now run as a multi-arts performance space in Graces Alley, off Cable Street in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is one of very few surviving music ha ...

and

Darnley Mausoleum The Darnley Mausoleum, or Cobham Mausoleum as it is often now referred to, is a Grade I Listed building, now owned by the National Trust and situated in Cobham Woods, Kent ( OS grid ref: TQ694684). It was designed by James Wyatt for the 4th E ...

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

; Broomfield House lost out to Wilton's Music Hall. On 25 November 2009 the transformation of Broomfield House took another step forward, as the Mayor of London's office confirmed that £500,000 was to be made available for preparatory and public consultation work. The plan was to make the house into sheltered housing accommodation. Concerns were raised by some local people about the proposals which the council were to address as part of its public consultation. An unknown proportion of the £500,000 was used to create extensive evaluations of environmental issues, planning ideas and the way forward. However, further funding was later withdrawn.

References

External links

Broomfield House Community Restoration website
{{coord, 51.6176, -0.1172, region:GB_type:landmark, display=title Grade II* listed houses in London Houses in the London Borough of Enfield Country houses in London Palmers Green Buildings and structures completed in the 16th century 16th-century architecture in England History of Middlesex Middlesex