This was opened in January, 1858, a few years after the parish purchased
the ground on the north side, and since then it has been much enlarged in
the other direction. Continuing along Lordship-lane, after passing Bruce
Castle, on the left hand side of the road, there stood two good
residences, in the first of which John Elliott Howard lived, and in the
other Thomas Fox. A short distance further the substantial farmhouse
“Broadwaters” occupied by John Phillips, a prominent member of the
Society of Friends. This farm was part of the Downhills Estate, and was
220 acres in extent. Some distance further up the lane was a small farm,
then an unbroken stretch of fields to the four cross roads. Passing Wood
Green Common, where there were several good houses, one came to Tottenham
Wood, an estate of 379 acres, the property of Thomas Rhodes, a relative
of Cecil Rhodes, of South African fame; when he died it was sold to the
Company who built the Alexandra Palace there. It used to be said that
whenever a fog, or mist, rose out of Tottenham Wood, and hung over it
like smoke, it was a sign of rain and bad weather; the rhyme was:
“When Tottenham Wood is all on fire,
Then Tottenham street is nought but mire.”
Coming back to the High-road, where the offices of the Gas Company now
stand was one of the many ponds for which Tottenham was noted; then a
large house called “The Ferns.” My mother well remembered the mansion
which stood next; for many years her father dined there, every other
Sunday, with his friend William Salte. This was one of the most
conspicuous residences in the parish. In 1730 Philip De La Haize lived
there; he was a wealthy London merchant. At his death he bequeated the
interest of £100 to the poor of the parish. Mr. Salte died in 1816. It
was found impossible to let or sell the place as a whole, so the house
was pulled down, and the materials, with the land, sold by auction, the
materials alone realising £2,500, which shows that the house must have
been very substantial. There was a very handsome clock over the stables;
Mr. Salte had it made by Thwaites, of Clerkenwell; he ordered it to be
“as good as any between London and York,” and it cost him £400. At the
sale it was purchased by Miss Deborah Dermer for £75, who had it fixed on
her residence, Coleraine House, Stamford Hill, which was from that time
known as the Clock House. The beautiful wrought-iron gates were left.
The land stood idle for so many years that many considered it to be in
Chancery, but this was not the case. The reason devolved upon the
question of the heir-at-law. Mr. Thomas Dermer, having a son or
daughter, Mr. Gripper, of the Bell Brewery, very much wished to purchase
it, but the risk was too great. A few years before Mr. Dermer died he
sold it to the Law Reversionary Society for a mere trifle, who a short
time after sold it to Messrs. Harper, who built Criterion-buildings,
Cedar-road (taking its name from the noble cedar tree which stood on the
estate), Ruskin-road, and Pembury-avenue. The land extended to the
grounds of Bruce Castle.
The row of houses called Moselle-terrace, lay back from the road. In the
enclosure a fountain was erected, the ground having been bored to the
depth of one hundred and nineteen feet, the main spring was tapped and a
plentiful supply of water obtained. The fountain was in the form of a
cast-iron ornamental pedestal; the water rose about six feet from the
ground, and was discharged through the mouth of a dolphin about 18 inches
from the ground. The pedestal was removed in 1839, and the water,
instead of being allowed to run waste as formerly, was conducted into a
trough placed by the side of the road for the use of cattle passing to
the London markets.