Dollis Hill House
Encyclopedia
Dollis Hill House is an early Nineteenth-Century farmhouse located in the North London
suburb of Dollis Hill
, on the northern boundary of Gladstone Park
. Noteworthy guests such as William Ewart Gladstone
and Mark Twain
have been entertained there. Today, the house is a derelict ruin, having been all but destroyed by fire in the 1990s. Dollis Hill House is a Grade II listed building and listed as grade A on the English Heritage
Buildings at Risk Register.
, who subsequently became Lord Tweedmouth.
In 1881 Lord Tweedmouth's daughter and her husband, Lord Aberdeen
, took up residence. They often had Prime Minister
William Ewart Gladstone
to stay as a guest. Other guests at the house included Joseph Chamberlain
, Lord Rosebery, and Lord Randolph Churchill
, father of Winston Churchill
.
In 1897 Lord Aberdeen was appointed Governor-General of Canada and the Aberdeens moved out. When Willesden Urban District Council acquired the house and land in 1899, they named the park Gladstone Park
after the old Prime Minister who had died the previous year.
Newspaper proprietor Hugh Gilzean-Reid
occupied the house after the Aberdeens moved out, and his guests included the American author Mark Twain, who stayed at Dollis Hill house in the summer of 1900. Twain wrote that he had "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." "There is no suggestion of city here; it is country, pure and simple, and as still and reposeful as is the bottom of the sea." He later wrote "Dollis Hill comes nearer to being a paradise than any other home I ever occupied".
The house was opened to the public in 1909, but it was used as a hospital during the First World War. In the Second World War, Winston Churchill's War Cabinet met there during 1941.
From 1974 the house was used for training courses for catering students, until it was closed in 1989. Two major fires in 1995 and 1996 damaged the house badly, and it is now derelict. On February 20, 2011, a third fire broke out in the basement of Dollis Hill house, the gate had been forced open, and the fire is believed to have been caused by intruders.
Various proposals were made for redeveloping the house as a pub, but were rejected by local residents.
In 2006, Ken Livingstone
(then Mayor of London) offered funding to support the renovation costs, but the funding was withdrawn by his successor, Boris Johnson. Dollis Hill House Trust has worked to find a solution in accordance with Brent Council's stipulations, teaming up briefly with social enterprise, [Training for Life]. When funding failed, the Council declared its intention to initiate an application for demolition. Rescue plans are still underway.
In June 2008 the Heritage Lottery Fund
awarded match funding of £1.2 million to enable restoration of the house. All plans for the House must include community use.
In April 2011 Brent Council announced that all attempts to save Dollis Hill House had failed, and that they had been given permission by the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government
to demolish the building. http://www.brent.gov.uk/pressreleases.nsf/News/LBB-1569
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...
suburb of Dollis Hill
Dollis Hill
Dollis Hill is an area of north-west London. It lies close to Willesden, in the London Borough of Brent. As a result, Dollis Hill is sometimes referred as being part of Willesden, especially by the national press...
, on the northern boundary of Gladstone Park
Gladstone Park, London
Gladstone Park is situated in the Dollis Hill area of north-west London. It is about 35 hectares in area Dollis Hill House is an early Nineteenth-Century farmhouse, located within the northern boundary of the park.-Transport:...
. Noteworthy guests such as William Ewart Gladstone
William Ewart Gladstone
William Ewart Gladstone FRS FSS was a British Liberal statesman. In a career lasting over sixty years, he served as Prime Minister four separate times , more than any other person. Gladstone was also Britain's oldest Prime Minister, 84 years old when he resigned for the last time...
and Mark Twain
Mark Twain
Samuel Langhorne Clemens , better known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American author and humorist...
have been entertained there. Today, the house is a derelict ruin, having been all but destroyed by fire in the 1990s. Dollis Hill House is a Grade II listed building and listed as grade A on the English Heritage
English Heritage
English Heritage . is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...
Buildings at Risk Register.
History
Dollis Hill House was built as a farmhouse in 1825 by the Finch family when the Dollis Hill area was still rural. It was later occupied by Sir Dudley Coutts MarjoribanksDudley Marjoribanks, 1st Baron Tweedmouth
Dudley Coutts Marjoribanks, 1st Baron Tweedmouth was a Scottish businessman and a Liberal politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1853 until 1880, when he was elevated to thepeerage as Baron Tweedmouth...
, who subsequently became Lord Tweedmouth.
John Hamilton-Gordon, 1st Marquess of Aberdeen and Temair
John Campbell Hamilton-Gordon, 1st Marquess of Aberdeen and Temair, KT, GCMG, GCVO, PC , known as The Earl of Aberdeen from 1870 to 1916, was a Scottish politician...
, took up residence. They often had Prime Minister
Prime minister
A prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. In many systems, the prime minister selects and may dismiss other members of the cabinet, and allocates posts to members within the government. In most systems, the prime...
William Ewart Gladstone
William Ewart Gladstone
William Ewart Gladstone FRS FSS was a British Liberal statesman. In a career lasting over sixty years, he served as Prime Minister four separate times , more than any other person. Gladstone was also Britain's oldest Prime Minister, 84 years old when he resigned for the last time...
to stay as a guest. Other guests at the house included Joseph Chamberlain
Joseph Chamberlain
Joseph Chamberlain was an influential British politician and statesman. Unlike most major politicians of the time, he was a self-made businessman and had not attended Oxford or Cambridge University....
, Lord Rosebery, and Lord Randolph Churchill
Lord Randolph Churchill
Lord Randolph Henry Spencer-Churchill MP was a British statesman. He was the third son of the 7th Duke of Marlborough and his wife Lady Frances Anne Emily Vane , daughter of the 3rd Marquess of Londonderry...
, father of Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
.
In 1897 Lord Aberdeen was appointed Governor-General of Canada and the Aberdeens moved out. When Willesden Urban District Council acquired the house and land in 1899, they named the park Gladstone Park
Gladstone Park, London
Gladstone Park is situated in the Dollis Hill area of north-west London. It is about 35 hectares in area Dollis Hill House is an early Nineteenth-Century farmhouse, located within the northern boundary of the park.-Transport:...
after the old Prime Minister who had died the previous year.
Hugh Gilzean-Reid
Hugh Gilzean Reid was a Scottish journalist and Liberal politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1885 to 1886....
occupied the house after the Aberdeens moved out, and his guests included the American author Mark Twain, who stayed at Dollis Hill house in the summer of 1900. Twain wrote that he had "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." "There is no suggestion of city here; it is country, pure and simple, and as still and reposeful as is the bottom of the sea." He later wrote "Dollis Hill comes nearer to being a paradise than any other home I ever occupied".
The house was opened to the public in 1909, but it was used as a hospital during the First World War. In the Second World War, Winston Churchill's War Cabinet met there during 1941.
From 1974 the house was used for training courses for catering students, until it was closed in 1989. Two major fires in 1995 and 1996 damaged the house badly, and it is now derelict. On February 20, 2011, a third fire broke out in the basement of Dollis Hill house, the gate had been forced open, and the fire is believed to have been caused by intruders.
Various proposals were made for redeveloping the house as a pub, but were rejected by local residents.
In 2006, Ken Livingstone
Ken Livingstone
Kenneth Robert "Ken" Livingstone is an English politician who is currently a member of the centrist to centre-left Labour Party...
(then Mayor of London) offered funding to support the renovation costs, but the funding was withdrawn by his successor, Boris Johnson. Dollis Hill House Trust has worked to find a solution in accordance with Brent Council's stipulations, teaming up briefly with social enterprise, [Training for Life]. When funding failed, the Council declared its intention to initiate an application for demolition. Rescue plans are still underway.
Future
The Dollis Hill House Trust is a charity which works to restore historic Dollis Hill House in Gladstone Park to create a vibrant community, arts and heritage centre. http://www.dollishillhouse.org.ukIn June 2008 the Heritage Lottery Fund
Heritage Lottery Fund
The Heritage Lottery Fund is a fund established in the United Kingdom under the National Lottery etc. Act 1993. The Fund opened for applications in 1994. It uses money raised through the National Lottery to transform and sustain the UK’s heritage...
awarded match funding of £1.2 million to enable restoration of the house. All plans for the House must include community use.
In April 2011 Brent Council announced that all attempts to save Dollis Hill House had failed, and that they had been given permission by the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government
Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government
The Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, is a Cabinet position heading the UK's Department for Communities and Local Government....
to demolish the building. http://www.brent.gov.uk/pressreleases.nsf/News/LBB-1569
External links
- Dollis Hill House in Gladstone Park on Brent Heritage
- Mark Twain on Brent Heritage
- Dollis Hill House feature on BBC Inside OutInside Out (BBC TV series)Inside Out is the brand name for a number of regional television programmes in England broadcast on BBC One. Each series, made by a BBC region, focuses on stories from the local area...
London, 24 October 2007