Bruce Castle
Encyclopedia
Manor house
A manor house is a country house that historically formed the administrative centre of a manor, the lowest unit of territorial organisation in the feudal system in Europe. The term is applied to country houses that belonged to the gentry and other grand stately homes...
in Lordship Lane
Lordship Lane (Haringey)
Lordship Lane connects Wood Green with Tottenham High Road . It lies in the London Borough of Haringey and forms part of the A109 road.-History:...
, Tottenham
Tottenham
Tottenham is an area of the London Borough of Haringey, England, situated north north east of Charing Cross.-Toponymy:Tottenham is believed to have been named after Tota, a farmer, whose hamlet was mentioned in the Domesday Book; hence Tota's hamlet became Tottenham...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. It is named after the House of Bruce who formerly owned the land on which it is built. Believed to stand on the site of an earlier building, about which little is known, the current house is one of the oldest surviving English brick
Brick
A brick is a block of ceramic material used in masonry construction, usually laid using various kinds of mortar. It has been regarded as one of the longest lasting and strongest building materials used throughout history.-History:...
houses. It was remodelled in the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries.
The house has been home to Sir William Compton
William Compton (courtier)
Sir William Compton was one of the most prominent courtiers during the reign of Henry VIII of England. Born around 1482, Compton was about nine years older than his king, but the two became close friends. Compton was the eldest son of Edmund Compton of Warwickshire and became an attendant on young...
, the Barons Coleraine and Sir Rowland Hill
Rowland Hill (postal reformer)
Sir Rowland Hill KCB, FRS was an English teacher, inventor and social reformer. He campaigned for a comprehensive reform of the postal system, based on the concept of penny postage and his solution of prepayment, facilitating the safe, speedy and cheap transfer of letters...
, among others. After serving as a school during the 19th century, when a large extension was built to the west, it was converted into a museum exploring the history of the areas which constitute the present London Borough of Haringey
London Borough of Haringey
The London Borough of Haringey is a London borough, in North London, classified by some definitions as part of Inner London, and by others as part of Outer London. It was created in 1965 by the amalgamation of three former boroughs. It shares borders with six other London boroughs...
and, on the strength of its connection with Sir Rowland Hill, the history of the Royal Mail
Royal Mail
Royal Mail is the government-owned postal service in the United Kingdom. Royal Mail Holdings plc owns Royal Mail Group Limited, which in turn operates the brands Royal Mail and Parcelforce Worldwide...
. The building also houses the archives of the London Borough of Haringey. Since 1892 the grounds have been a public park, Tottenham's oldest.
Origins of the name
Manorialism
Manorialism, an essential element of feudal society, was the organizing principle of rural economy that originated in the villa system of the Late Roman Empire, was widely practiced in medieval western and parts of central Europe, and was slowly replaced by the advent of a money-based market...
of Tottenham. However, there was no castle in the area, and it is unlikely that the family lived nearby. Upon his accession to the Scottish throne in 1306, Robert I of Scotland
Robert I of Scotland
Robert I , popularly known as Robert the Bruce , was King of Scots from March 25, 1306, until his death in 1329.His paternal ancestors were of Scoto-Norman heritage , and...
forfeited his lands in England, including the Bruce holdings in Tottenham, ending the connection between the Bruce family and the area. The former Bruce land in Tottenham was granted to Richard Spigurnell and Thomas Hethe.
The three parts of the manor of Tottenham were united in the early 15th century under the Gedeney family and have remained united since. In all early records, the building is referred to as the Lordship House. The name Bruce Castle first appears to have been adopted by Henry Hare, 2nd Baron Coleraine (1635–1708), although Daniel Lysons speculates in The Environs of London (1795) that the usage of the name dates to the late 13th century.
Architecture
Tudor style architecture
The Tudor architectural style is the final development of medieval architecture during the Tudor period and even beyond, for conservative college patrons...
tower stands immediately to the southeast of the house, and is generally considered to be the earliest part of the building; however, Lysons believes it to have been a later addition. The tower is built of local red brick, and is 21 feet (6.4 m) tall, with walls 3 foot (0.9144 m) thick. In 2006, excavations revealed that it continues for some distance below the current ground level. It was described in 1829 as being over a deep well, and being used as a dairy.
Sources disagree on the house's initial construction date, and no records survive of its construction. There is some archaeological evidence dating parts of the building to the 15th century; William Robinson's History and Antiquities of the Parish of Tottenham (1840) suggests a date of about 1514, although the Royal Commission on Historic Monuments attributes it to the late 16th century. Nikolaus Pevsner
Nikolaus Pevsner
Sir Nikolaus Bernhard Leon Pevsner, CBE, FBA was a German-born British scholar of history of art and, especially, of history of architecture...
speculates that the front may have formed part of a courtyard house
Courtyard house
A courtyard house is a type of house — often a large house — where the main part of the building is disposed around a central courtyard. Many houses that have courtyards are not courtyard houses of the type covered by this article. For example, large houses often have small courtyards surrounded by...
of which the remainder has disappeared.
The principal facade of the Grade I mansion has been substantially remodelled over time. The house is constructed of red brick with ashlar
Ashlar
Ashlar is prepared stone work of any type of stone. Masonry using such stones laid in parallel courses is known as ashlar masonry, whereas masonry using irregularly shaped stones is known as rubble masonry. Ashlar blocks are rectangular cuboid blocks that are masonry sculpted to have square edges...
quoin
Quoin (architecture)
Quoins are the cornerstones of brick or stone walls. Quoins may be either structural or decorative. Architects and builders use quoins to give the impression of strength and firmness to the outline of a building...
ing and the principal facade, terminated by symmetrical matching bays, has tall paned windows. The house and detached tower are among the earliest uses of brick as the principal building material for an English house.
Henry Hare, 2nd Baron Coleraine (1635–1708) oversaw a substantial remodelling of the house in 1684, and much of the existing south facade dates from that time. The end bays were heightened, and the central porch was rebuilt with stone quoins and pilasters, a balustraded
Baluster
A baluster is a moulded shaft, square or of lathe-turned form, one of various forms of spindle in woodwork, made of stone or wood and sometimes of metal, standing on a unifying footing, and supporting the coping of a parapet or the handrail of a staircase. Multiplied in this way, they form a...
top and a small tower and cupola
Cupola
In architecture, a cupola is a small, most-often dome-like, structure on top of a building. Often used to provide a lookout or to admit light and air, it usually crowns a larger roof or dome....
. A plan from 1684 shows the hall in the centre of the house, with service rooms to the west and the main parlour to the east. On the first floor, the dining room was over the hall, the main bedchamber over the kitchen, and a lady's chamber over the porch.
In the early 18th century Henry Hare, 3rd Baron Coleraine (1694–1749) oversaw a remodelling of the north of the house, in which an extra range of rooms was added to the north and the Coleraine coat of arms added to the pediment of the north facade. In the late 18th century, under the ownership of James Townsend
James Townsend
James Townsend was an English amateur cricketer who played first-class cricket from 1821 to 1831. He was mainly associated with Marylebone Cricket Club , of which he was a member...
, the narrow east facade of the house was remodelled into an entrance front, and given the appearance of a typical Georgian
Georgian architecture
Georgian architecture is the name given in most English-speaking countries to the set of architectural styles current between 1720 and 1840. It is eponymous for the first four British monarchs of the House of Hanover—George I of Great Britain, George II of Great Britain, George III of the United...
house. At the same time, the gabled attics on the south front were removed, giving the southern elevation of the house its current appearance. An inventory of the house made in 1789 in preparation for its sale listed a hall, saloon, drawing room, dining room and breakfast parlour on the ground floor, with a library and billiard room on the first floor.
In the early 19th century the west wing of the house was demolished, leaving it with the asymmetrical appearance that it retains today. The house was converted into a school, and in 1870 a three-story extension was built in the Gothic Revival
Gothic Revival architecture
The Gothic Revival is an architectural movement that began in the 1740s in England...
style to the northwest of the house.
The 2006 excavations by the Museum of London
Museum of London
The Museum of London documents the history of London from the Prehistoric to the present day. The museum is located close to the Barbican Centre, as part of the striking Barbican complex of buildings created in the 1960s and 70s as an innovative approach to re-development within a bomb damaged...
uncovered the chalk foundations of an earlier building on the site, of which nothing is currently known. Court rolls of 1742 refer to the repair of a drawbridge
Drawbridge
A drawbridge is a type of movable bridge typically associated with the entrance of a castle surrounded by a moat. The term is often used to describe all different types of movable bridges, like bascule bridges and lift bridges.-Castle drawbridges:...
, implying that the building then had a moat
Moat
A moat is a deep, broad ditch, either dry or filled with water, that surrounds a castle, other building or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. In some places moats evolved into more extensive water defences, including natural or artificial lakes, dams and sluices...
. A 1911 archaeological journal made passing reference to "the recent levelling of the moat".
Early residents
William Compton (courtier)
Sir William Compton was one of the most prominent courtiers during the reign of Henry VIII of England. Born around 1482, Compton was about nine years older than his king, but the two became close friends. Compton was the eldest son of Edmund Compton of Warwickshire and became an attendant on young...
, Groom of the Stool
Groom of the Stool
The Groom of the Stool was the most intimate of a monarch's courtiers, whose physical intimacy naturally led to him becoming a man in whom much confidence was placed by his royal master, and with whom many royal secrets were shared as a matter of course...
to Henry VIII
Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...
and one of the most prominent courtiers of the period, who acquired the manor of Tottenham in 1514. However, there is no recorded evidence of Compton's living in the house, and there is some evidence that the current building dates to a later period.
The earliest known reference to the building dates from 1516, when Henry VIII met his sister Margaret, Queen of Scots
Margaret Tudor
Margaret Tudor was the elder of the two surviving daughters of Henry VII of England and Elizabeth of York, and the elder sister of Henry VIII. In 1503, she married James IV, King of Scots. James died in 1513, and their son became King James V. She married secondly Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of...
, at "Maister Compton's House beside Tottenham". The Comptons owned the building throughout the 16th century, but few records of the family or the building survive from the period.
In the early 17th century the house was owned by Richard Sackville, 3rd Earl of Dorset
Richard Sackville, 3rd Earl of Dorset
Richard Sackville, 3rd Earl of Dorset was the son of Robert Sackville, 2nd Earl of Dorset....
and Lady Anne Clifford
Lady Anne Clifford
Lady Anne Clifford, 14th Baroness de Clifford was the only surviving child of George Clifford, 3rd Earl of Cumberland by his wife Lady Margaret Russell, daughter of Francis Russell, 2nd Earl of Bedford...
. Sackville ran up high debts through gambling and extravagant spending; the house (then still called "The Lordship House") was leased to Thomas Peniston. Peniston's wife, Martha, daughter of Sir Thomas Temple
Sir Thomas Temple, 1st Baronet, of Stowe
Sir Thomas Temple, 1st Baronet , was an English landowner and Member of Parliament.-Early life:Temple was born at Burton Dassett in Warwickshire, the eldest son of John Temple and Susan . As a child he moved with his father to Stowe House in Buckinghamshire...
was said to be the Earl of Dorset's mistress. The house was later sold to wealthy Norfolk
Norfolk
Norfolk is a low-lying county in the East of England. It has borders with Lincolnshire to the west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North Sea coast and to the north-west the county is bordered by The Wash. The county...
landowner Hugh Hare.
Hugh Hare, 1st Baron Coleraine
Hugh Hare (1606–1667) had inherited a large amount of money from his great-uncle Sir Nicholas HareNicholas Hare
Sir Nicholas Hare of Bruisyard, Suffolk was Speaker of the House of Commons of England between 1539-1540.He was born the eldest son of John Hare of Homersfield, Suffolk, educated at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge and admitted to the Inner Temple in 1515...
, Master of the Rolls
Master of the Rolls
The Keeper or Master of the Rolls and Records of the Chancery of England, known as the Master of the Rolls, is the second most senior judge in England and Wales, after the Lord Chief Justice. The Master of the Rolls is the presiding officer of the Civil Division of the Court of Appeal...
. On the death of his father, his mother had remarried Henry Montagu, 1st Earl of Manchester
Henry Montagu, 1st Earl of Manchester
Sir Henry Montagu, 1st Earl of Manchester was an English judge, politician and peer.-Life:He was the grandson of Sir Edward Montagu, Lord Chief Justice of the King's Bench from 1539 to 1545, who was named by King Henry VIII one of the executors of his will, and governor to his son, Edward VI.Born...
, allowing the young Hugh Hare to rise rapidly in Court
Noble court
The court of a monarch, or at some periods an important nobleman, is a term for the extended household and all those who regularly attended on the ruler or central figure...
and social circles. He married Montagu's daughter by his first marriage and purchased the manor of Tottenham, including the Lordship House, in 1625, and was ennobled as Baron Coleraine
Baron Coleraine
Baron Coleraine is a title that has been created three times, twice in the Peerage of Ireland and once in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. The first creation came in the Peerage of Ireland in 1625 for Hugh Hare...
shortly thereafter.
As he was closely associated with the court of Charles I
Charles I of England
Charles I was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. Charles engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England, attempting to obtain royal revenue whilst Parliament sought to curb his Royal prerogative which Charles...
, Hare's fortunes went into decline during the English Civil War
English Civil War
The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
. His castle at Longford
Longford Castle
Longford Castle is located on the banks of the River Avon south of Salisbury, Wiltshire, England.In 1573 Thomas Gorges, of Langford acquired the manor , which was originally owned by the Cervingtons. Prior to this the existing mansion house had been damaged by fire...
and his house in Totteridge
Totteridge
Totteridge is an area of the London Borough of Barnet in north London, England. It is a mixture of suburban development and open land situated 8.20 miles north north-west of Charing Cross....
were seized by Parliamentary forces, and returned upon the Restoration
English Restoration
The Restoration of the English monarchy began in 1660 when the English, Scottish and Irish monarchies were all restored under Charles II after the Interregnum that followed the Wars of the Three Kingdoms...
in a severe state of disrepair. Records of Tottenham from the period are now lost, and the ownership and condition of the Lordship House during the Commonwealth of England
Commonwealth of England
The Commonwealth of England was the republic which ruled first England, and then Ireland and Scotland from 1649 to 1660. Between 1653–1659 it was known as the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland...
are unknown. Hugh Hare died at his home in Totteridge in 1667, having choked to death on a bone eating turkey whilst laughing and drinking, and was succeeded by his son Henry Hare, 2nd Baron Coleraine.
Henry Hare, 2nd Baron Coleraine
Henry Hare (1635–1708) settled at the Lordship House, renaming it Bruce Castle in honour of the area's historic connection with the House of Bruce. Hare was a noted historian and author of the first history of Tottenham. He grew up at the Hare family house at Totteridge, and it is not known when he moved to Tottenham. At the time of the birth of his first child, Hugh, in 1668, the family were still living in Totteridge, while by the time of the death of his first wife Constantia, in 1680, the family were living in Bruce Castle. According to Hare, Constantia was buried in All Hallows ChurchAll Hallows, Tottenham
All Hallows is an Anglican church in Tottenham, North London. It is one of the oldest buildings in the London Borough of Haringey, being built as All Saints Church in the 12th century. It was re-dedicated as All Hallows in the 15th century, standing adjacent to Bruce Castle and Tottenham Cemetery...
in Tottenham. However, the parish register
Parish register
A parish register is a handwritten volume, normally kept in a parish church or deposited within a county record office or alternative archive repository, in which details of baptisms, marriages and burials are recorded.-History:...
for the period is complete and makes no mention of her death or burial.
John Seymour, 4th Duke of Somerset
John Seymour, 4th Duke of Somerset was an English peer and MP.He was the only surviving son of William Seymour, 2nd Duke of Somerset and Lady Frances Devereux and entered Grays Inn in 1666. He succeeded his nephew as the 4th Duke of Somerset in 1671. He married in 1656 Sarah, daughter and...
. There is evidence that during Sarah's marriage to Seymour and Hare's marriage to Constantia, a close relationship was sustained between them.
The house was substantially remodelled in 1684, following Henry Hare's marriage to the dowager Duchess of Somerset, and much of the existing south facade dates from this time. The facade's dominating feature is a central tower with a belvedere
Belvedere (structure)
Belvedere is an architectural term adopted from Italian , which refers to any architectural structure sited to take advantage of such a view. A belvedere may be built in the upper part of a building so as to command a fine view...
, a motif of the English Renaissance
Renaissance
The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...
of the late 16th/early 17th centuries (the Compton family's Warwickshire
Warwickshire
Warwickshire is a landlocked non-metropolitan county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, although the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare...
home Castle Ashby
Castle Ashby
Castle Ashby is the name of a civil parish, an estate village and an English country house in rural Northamptonshire. Historically the village was set up to service the needs of Castle Ashby Manor, the seat of the Marquess of Northampton. The village has one small pub-hotel, The Falcon. At the time...
was also given Renaissance features during the 17th century). Hatfield House
Hatfield House
Hatfield House is a country house set in a large park, the Great Park, on the eastern side of the town of Hatfield, Hertfordshire, England. The present Jacobean house was built in 1611 by Robert Cecil, First Earl of Salisbury and Chief Minister to King James I and has been the home of the Cecil...
, also close to London, had a similar central tower constructed in 1611, as does Blickling Hall
Blickling Hall
Blickling Hall is a stately home in the village of Blickling north of Aylsham in Norfolk, England, that has been in the care of the National Trust since 1940.-History:...
in Norfolk, built circa 1616. However, in resemblance the house appears to favour the style of Burton Agnes Hall
Burton Agnes Hall
Burton Agnes Hall is an Elizabethan manor house in the village of Burton Agnes, near Driffield in Yorkshire. It was built by Sir Henry Griffith in 1601–10 to designs attributed to Robert Smythson...
constructed between 1601 and 1610.
The Ghostly Lady of Bruce Castle
Although sources such as Pegram speculate that Constantia committed suicide in the face of a continued relationship between Hare and the Duchess of Somerset, little is known about her life and the circumstances of her early death, and her ghostGhost
In traditional belief and fiction, a ghost is the soul or spirit of a deceased person or animal that can appear, in visible form or other manifestation, to the living. Descriptions of the apparition of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes, to...
reputedly haunts the castle.
The legend has now been largely forgotten, and there have been no reported sightings of the ghost in recent times.
Residents in the 18th century
Westminster Abbey
The Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster, popularly known as Westminster Abbey, is a large, mainly Gothic church, in the City of Westminster, London, United Kingdom, located just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is the traditional place of coronation and burial site for English,...
, and Hare in 1708, to be succeeded by his grandson Henry Hare, 3rd Baron Coleraine. Henry Hare was a leading antiquary, residing only briefly at Bruce Castle between lengthy tours of Europe.
The house was remodelled again under the 3rd Baron Coleraine's ownership. An extra range of rooms was added to the north, and the pediment of the north front ornamented with a large coat of the Coleraine arms.
Hare's marriage was not consummated, and following an affair with a French woman, Rosa du Plessis, du Plessis bore him his only child, a daughter named Henrietta Rosa Peregrina, born in France in 1745. Hare died in 1749 leaving his estates to the four-year-old Henrietta, but her claim was rejected owing to her French nationality. After many years of legal challenges, the estates, including Bruce Castle, were granted to her husband James Townsend
James Townsend
James Townsend was an English amateur cricketer who played first-class cricket from 1821 to 1831. He was mainly associated with Marylebone Cricket Club , of which he was a member...
, whom she had married at age 18.
Magistrate
A magistrate is an officer of the state; in modern usage the term usually refers to a judge or prosecutor. This was not always the case; in ancient Rome, a magistratus was one of the highest government officers and possessed both judicial and executive powers. Today, in common law systems, a...
, was Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
for West Looe
West Looe (UK Parliament constituency)
West Looe was a rotten borough represented in the House of Commons of England from 1535 to 1707, in the House of Commons of Great Britain from 1797 to 1800, and in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1832. It elected two Members of Parliament by the bloc vote system of election...
, and in 1772 became Lord Mayor of London, whilst Henrietta was a prominent artist, many of whose engraving
Engraving
Engraving is the practice of incising a design on to a hard, usually flat surface, by cutting grooves into it. The result may be a decorated object in itself, as when silver, gold, steel, or glass are engraved, or may provide an intaglio printing plate, of copper or another metal, for printing...
s of 18th-century Tottenham survive in the Bruce Castle Museum.
After 1764, under the ownership of James Townsend, the house was remodelled again. The narrow east front was remodelled into an entrance front, and given the appearance of a typical Georgian
Georgian architecture
Georgian architecture is the name given in most English-speaking countries to the set of architectural styles current between 1720 and 1840. It is eponymous for the first four British monarchs of the House of Hanover—George I of Great Britain, George II of Great Britain, George III of the United...
house, while the gabled attics on the south front were removed, giving the south facade the appearance it has today.
James and Henrietta Townsend's son, Henry Hare Townsend, showed little interest in the area or in the traditional role of the Lord of the Manor
Lord of the Manor
The Lordship of a Manor is recognised today in England and Wales as a form of property and one of three elements of a manor that may exist separately or be combined and may be held in moieties...
. After leasing the house to a succession of tenants, the house and grounds were sold in 1792 to Thomas Smith of Gray's Inn
Gray's Inn
The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court in London. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and Wales, an individual must belong to one of these Inns...
as a country residence.
John Eardley Wilmot
John Eardley Wilmot (c. 1749 – 23 June 1815) was Member of Parliament for TivertonTiverton (UK Parliament constituency)
Tiverton was a constituency located in east Devon, formerly represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Enfranchised as a parliamentary borough in 1615 and first represented in 1621, it elected two Members of Parliament by the first past the post system of election...
(1776–1784) and Coventry
Coventry (UK Parliament constituency)
Coventry was a borough constituency which was represented in the House of Commons of England and its successors, the House of Commons of Great Britain and the House of Commons of the United Kingdom....
(1784–1796), and in 1783 led the Parliamentary Commission investigating the events that had led to the American Revolution
American Revolution
The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...
. He also led the processing of compensation claims, and the supply of basic housing and provisions, for the 60,000 Loyalist
Loyalist (American Revolution)
Loyalists were American colonists who remained loyal to the Kingdom of Great Britain during the American Revolutionary War. At the time they were often called Tories, Royalists, or King's Men. They were opposed by the Patriots, those who supported the revolution...
refugees who arrived in England in the aftermath of the independence of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
Following the beginning of the French Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
in 1789, a second wave of refugees arrived in England. Although the British government on this occasion did not offer organised relief to refugees, Wilmot, in association with William Wilberforce
William Wilberforce
William Wilberforce was a British politician, a philanthropist and a leader of the movement to abolish the slave trade. A native of Kingston upon Hull, Yorkshire, he began his political career in 1780, eventually becoming the independent Member of Parliament for Yorkshire...
, Edmund Burke
Edmund Burke
Edmund Burke PC was an Irish statesman, author, orator, political theorist and philosopher who, after moving to England, served for many years in the House of Commons of Great Britain as a member of the Whig party....
and George Nugent-Temple-Grenville, 1st Marquess of Buckingham
George Nugent-Temple-Grenville, 1st Marquess of Buckingham
George Nugent-Temple-Grenville, 1st Marquess of Buckingham, KG, PC was a British statesman. He was the second son of George Grenville and a brother of the 1st Baron Grenville.-Career:...
, founded "Wilmot's Committee", which raised funds to provide accommodation and food, and found employment for refugees from France, large numbers of whom settled in the Tottenham area.
In 1804, Wilmot retired from public life and moved to Bruce Castle to write his memoirs of the American Revolution, and his role in the investigations of its causes and consequences. They were published shortly before his death in 1815.
After Wilmot's death London merchant John Ede purchased the house and its grounds, and demolished the building's west wing. It was never rebuilt, resulting in the current skewed shape of the building. In 1827, Ede sold the house and grounds to Worcestershire
Worcestershire
Worcestershire is a non-metropolitan county, established in antiquity, located in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes it is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three counties that comprise the "Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire" NUTS 2 region...
educationalist Rowland Hill
Rowland Hill (postal reformer)
Sir Rowland Hill KCB, FRS was an English teacher, inventor and social reformer. He campaigned for a comprehensive reform of the postal system, based on the concept of penny postage and his solution of prepayment, facilitating the safe, speedy and cheap transfer of letters...
, for use as a school.
The Hill School
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
in 1819, which opened a branch at Bruce Castle in 1827, with Rowland Hill as Headmaster. The school was run along radical
Radicalism (historical)
The term Radical was used during the late 18th century for proponents of the Radical Movement. It later became a general pejorative term for those favoring or seeking political reforms which include dramatic changes to the social order...
lines inspired by Hill's friends Thomas Paine
Thomas Paine
Thomas "Tom" Paine was an English author, pamphleteer, radical, inventor, intellectual, revolutionary, and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States...
, Richard Price
Richard Price
Richard Price was a British moral philosopher and preacher in the tradition of English Dissenters, and a political pamphleteer, active in radical, republican, and liberal causes such as the American Revolution. He fostered connections between a large number of people, including writers of the...
and Joseph Priestley
Joseph Priestley
Joseph Priestley, FRS was an 18th-century English theologian, Dissenting clergyman, natural philosopher, chemist, educator, and political theorist who published over 150 works...
; all teaching was on the principle that the role of the teacher is to instill the desire to learn, not to impart facts, corporal punishment was abolished and alleged transgressions were tried by a court of pupils, while the school taught a radical (for the time) curriculum including foreign languages, science and engineering. Amongst other pupils, the school taught the sons of many London-based diplomats, particularly from the newly independent nations of South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
, and the sons of computing pioneer Charles Babbage
Charles Babbage
Charles Babbage, FRS was an English mathematician, philosopher, inventor and mechanical engineer who originated the concept of a programmable computer...
.
In 1839 Rowland Hill, who had written an influential proposal on postal reform, was appointed as head of the General Post Office
General Post Office
General Post Office is the name of the British postal system from 1660 until 1969.General Post Office may also refer to:* General Post Office, Perth* General Post Office, Sydney* General Post Office, Melbourne* General Post Office, Brisbane...
(where he introduced the world's first postage stamp
Postage stamp
A postage stamp is a small piece of paper that is purchased and displayed on an item of mail as evidence of payment of postage. Typically, stamps are made from special paper, with a national designation and denomination on the face, and a gum adhesive on the reverse side...
s), leaving the school in the hands of his younger brother Arthur Hill. Arthur retired in 1868, leaving the school in the hands of his son Birkbeck Hill
George Birkbeck Norman Hill
George Birkbeck Norman Hill , English editor and author, son of Arthur Hill, headmaster of Bruce Castle School, was born at Bruce Castle, Tottenham, Middlesex. He dropped his third name, Norman, publishing as just George Birkbeck Hill; to family and friends he was known as Birkbeck, not as George...
.
Ermine Street
Ermine Street is the name of a major Roman road in England that ran from London to Lincoln and York . The Old English name was 'Earninga Straete' , named after a tribe called the Earningas, who inhabited a district later known as Armingford Hundred, around Arrington, Cambridgeshire and Royston,...
(later the A10 road), surrounded by marshland and farmland. The construction of the Northern and Eastern Railway
Northern and Eastern Railway
The Northern & Eastern Railway operated one of the two main lines which eventually became the Great Eastern Railway: the other being the Eastern Counties Railway....
in 1840, with stations at Tottenham Hale
Tottenham Hale station
Tottenham Hale, is a National Rail and London Underground Victoria Line station in Tottenham, north London. It is on Hale Road near the Tottenham Hale one-way gyratory system...
and Marsh Lane
Northumberland Park railway station
Northumberland Park railway station is located in Northumberland Park, London, United Kingdom. The stations and all trains servicing it are operated by National Express East Anglia.-Overview:...
(later Northumberland Park), made commuting from Tottenham to central London feasible for the first time (albeit by a circuitous eight-mile route via Stratford
Stratford, London
Stratford is a place in the London Borough of Newham, England. It is located east northeast of Charing Cross and is one of the major centres identified in the London Plan. It was historically an agrarian settlement in the ancient parish of West Ham, which transformed into an industrial suburb...
, more than double the distance of the direct road route), as well as providing direct connections to the Port of London
Port of London
The Port of London lies along the banks of the River Thames from London, England to the North Sea. Once the largest port in the world, it is currently the United Kingdom's second largest port, after Grimsby & Immingham...
. In 1872 the Great Eastern Railway
Great Eastern Railway
The Great Eastern Railway was a pre-grouping British railway company, whose main line linked London Liverpool Street to Norwich and which had other lines through East Anglia...
opened a direct line from Enfield
Enfield Town railway station
Enfield Town railway station is the most central of several stations in Enfield . It is the terminus of the line served by National Express East Anglia from Liverpool Street, one of the Lea Valley Lines. The station, and all trains serving it, is operated by National Express East Anglia...
to Liverpool Street station
Liverpool Street station
Liverpool Street railway station, also known as London Liverpool Street or simply Liverpool Street, is both a central London railway terminus and a connected London Underground station in the north-eastern corner of the City of London, England...
, including a station at Bruce Grove
Bruce Grove railway station
Bruce Grove railway station in the centre of Tottenham was originally a station on the Stoke Newington & Edmonton Railway which opened on 22 July 1872. It is part of the Seven Sisters branch of the Lea Valley Lines. The station is not far from Bruce Castle, and takes its name from Bruce Grove, a...
, close to Bruce Castle; the railway provided subsidised workmen's fares to allow poor commuters to live in Tottenham and commute to work in central London. As a major rail hub, Tottenham grew into a significant residential and industrial area; by the end of the 19th century, the only remaining undeveloped areas were the grounds of Bruce Castle itself, and the waterlogged floodplains of the River Lea at Tottenham Marshes
Tottenham Marshes
The Tottenham Marshes are located at Tottenham in the London Borough of Haringey. The marshes cover over and became part of the Lee Valley Park in 1972. The marsh is made up of three main areas; Clendish Marsh, Wild Marsh West and Wild Marsh East...
and of the River Moselle
River Moselle (London)
The River Moselle, also referred to as Moselle Brook, is in North London and flows through Tottenham towards the Lea Valley. The river was originally a tributary of the River Lea, but it now flows into Pymmes Brook, another Lea tributary....
at Broadwater Farm
Broadwater Farm
Broadwater Farm, often referred to simply as "The Farm", is an area in Tottenham, North London, straddling the River Moselle. The eastern half of the area is dominated by the Broadwater Farm Estate , an experiment in high-density social housing built in the late 1960s...
.
Municipal Borough of Tottenham
Tottenham was a local government district in north east Middlesex from 1850 to 1965. It was part of the London postal district and Metropolitan Police District....
purchased the house and grounds. The grounds of the house were opened to the public as Bruce Castle Park in June 1892, the first public park in Tottenham. The house opened to the public as Bruce Castle Museum in 1906.
Heraud's Tottenham
Bruce Castle was among the buildings mentioned in John Abraham HeraudJohn Abraham Heraud
John Abraham Heraud was an English poet.Of Huguenot descent, he contributed to various periodicals, and published two poems, which attracted some attention, The Descent into Hell , and The Judgment of the Flood . He also produced a few plays, miscellaneous poems, books of travel, etc...
's 1820 Spenserian epic
Spenserian stanza
The Spenserian stanza is a fixed verse form invented by Edmund Spenser for his epic poem The Faerie Queene. Each stanza contains nine lines in total: eight lines in iambic pentameter followed by a single 'Alexandrine' line in iambic hexameter. The rhyme scheme of these lines is...
, Tottenham, a romantic
Romantic poetry
Romanticism, a philosophical, literary, artistic and cultural era which began in the mid/late-1700s as a reaction against the prevailing Enlightenment ideals of the day , also influenced poetry...
depiction of the life of Robert the Bruce:
Present day
London Borough of Haringey
The London Borough of Haringey is a London borough, in North London, classified by some definitions as part of Inner London, and by others as part of Outer London. It was created in 1965 by the amalgamation of three former boroughs. It shares borders with six other London boroughs...
, and housing a permanent exhibition on the past, present and future of Haringey and its predecessor boroughs, and temporary displays on the history of the area. Other exhibits include an exhibition on Rowland Hill and postal history, a significant collection of early photography, a collection of historic manorial documents and court rolls related to the area, and one of the few copies available for public reading of the Spurs Opus, the complete history of Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham Hotspur F.C.
Tottenham Hotspur Football Club , commonly referred to as Spurs, is an English Premier League football club based in Tottenham, north London. The club's home stadium is White Hart Lane....
. In 1949, the building was Grade I listed; the round tower was separately Grade I listed at the same time, and the 17th-century southern and western boundary walls of the park were Grade II listed in 1974. In 1969 the castle became home to the regimental museum of the Middlesex Regiment
Middlesex Regiment
The Middlesex Regiment was a regiment of the British Army. It was formed in 1881 as part of the Childers Reforms when the 57th and 77th Regiments of Foot were amalgamated with the county's militia and rifle volunteer units.On 31 December 1966 The Middlesex Regiment was amalgamated with three...
whose collection was subsequently transferred to the National Army Museum
National Army Museum
The National Army Museum is the British Army's central museum. It is located in the Chelsea district of central London, England adjacent to the Royal Hospital Chelsea, the home of the "Chelsea Pensioners". The National Army Museum is open to the public every day of the year from 10.00am to 5.30pm,...
.
In July 2006 a major community archaeological dig was organised in the grounds by the Museum of London
Museum of London
The Museum of London documents the history of London from the Prehistoric to the present day. The museum is located close to the Barbican Centre, as part of the striking Barbican complex of buildings created in the 1960s and 70s as an innovative approach to re-development within a bomb damaged...
Archaeological Archive and Research Centre, as part of the centenary celebrations of the opening of Bruce Castle Museum, in which large numbers of local youths took part. As well as large quantities of discarded everyday objects, the chalk foundations of what appears to be an earlier house on the site were discovered.