Ossulston House is a
Grade II listed building opposite
Joslin's Pond in Hadley Green Road,
Hadley, to the north of
Chipping Barnet. It is one of what was an almost complete line of houses between Chipping Barnet and
Monken Hadley along the east side of
Hadley Green
Hadley Green is a Site of Metropolitan Importance for Nature Conservation in Hadley in the London Borough of Barnet. The reserve straddles the Great North Road between Hadley Green Road and Fold Lane.
Environment
It is an area of acid grassland ...
which were built in the 18th and 19th centuries as wealthy merchants from London populated the area.
History
The house was built soon after 1764 by sugar refiner
John Horton on the site of the Rose and Crown inn and acquired in 1786 by William Makepeace Thackeray, grandfather of the
novelist of the same name,
[Monken Hadley: Introduction.]
British History Online. Retrieved 9 February 2020. who is buried in nearby
St Mary the Virgin church.
It was once owned by the
Earl of Tankerville who used it when he was visiting from his country home of
Chillingham Castle in Northumberland. The Earls also held the title of Baron Ossulston, after the
Hundred of Ossulston.
The certificate issued in 1858 as a result of the case of
Monro v. Proctor, in respect of monies paid when a railway was driven through
Monken Hadley Common
Monken Hadley Common lies within the Monken Hadley Conservation Area, and is listed as a “ Site of Borough Importance for Nature Conservation, Grade I,” by the London Borough of Barnet. It is registered common land, and it is owned by the Tr ...
, shows the owners of Ossulston House (1) to have been the Trustees of Conference Hall, Mildmay Park, and of Ossulston House (2) to have been
W. Joslin. Both in the occupation of the Earl of Tankerville.
The house may have been used as a nursing home. Around 1965 it was occupied by Mr and Mrs Keith Chapman.
[Gelder, W. H. (1991) ''Georgian Hadley''. 5th edition. Barnet: Barnet Press. pp. 3-4.]
Architecture
The house is of red brick with
stringcourses at storey height, three bays, and a rusticated
Gibbs surround
A Gibbs surround or Gibbs Surround is a type of architectural frame surrounding a door, window or niche in the tradition of classical architecture otherwise known as a rusticated doorway or window. The formula is not fixed, but several of the ...
to the semicircular-headed doorway.
Iron railings at the front are broken by a four-step stairway to the front door, on each side of which are small leaded stained glass windows with avian designs. It is Grade II listed with Historic England.
File:Ossulston House, Hadley Green Road, Barnet.JPG, Ossulston House entrance
File:Ossulston House detail (2).jpg, Stained glass window adjacent to the entrance
File:Ossulston House 06.JPG, The Grange (right) with Ossulston House to the left
Immediately adjacent to Ossulston House at right angles is the Grade II listed
The Grange with three "blind" windows facing the street.
[Gelder, pp. 5-6.]
References
External links
{{coord, 51.6586, -0.2001, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title
Grade II listed buildings in the London Borough of Barnet
Houses in the London Borough of Barnet
Chipping Barnet
Thackeray family
Buildings and structures completed in 1764