Historic Stonebridge Park – “Altamira” and
“Hurworth”, now 1 & 2 Morland Gardens.
Guest
post by Philip Grant, in a personal capacity
A Brent Council news release on 24 January, about
the Cabinet’s decision to go ahead with a redevelopment scheme at Morland
Gardens LINK , said that this would ‘create a landmark building in the
heart of Stonebridge.’ It did not mention that the plans involve the demolition
of a Victorian villa, which has been a landmark building in the heart of this
community since 1876.
A lithograph used to promote the Estate in the 1870’s. [Brent Archives
online image 1776]
The original Stonebridge Park Estate was developed by the architect H.E.
Kendall Jr. between 1872 and 1876, to provide “smart new villas for City men”. One
of the first buildings, in this new suburb of the village of Harlesden, was the
Stonebridge Park Hotel, now a Grade II listed building LINK . At least sixty villa homes were built on a 35 acre site, which
benefitted from a nearby station (Stonebridge Park – not the one on the
Bakerloo Line!) in Craven Park, on the Midland and South-Western Junction
railway, that opened in 1875. The villas were built in the “Italianate” style,
which was very fashionable in the mid-Victorian period, following its use by
Prince Albert when building Osborne House, Queen Victoria’s holiday home on the
Isle of Wight.
Osborne House, the inspiration for the design of the villas at
Stonebridge Park.
The villas in Stonebridge Park had names, not numbers. “Altamira” (now 1
Morland Gardens) was the home of George Hillier, the Secretary to the São Paulo
(Brazilian) Railway Company, and his family, plus a cook, a housemaid and a
coachman, who lived with his family above the stables at the back. Next door,
at “Hurworth” (now called Sankofa House), lived F.A. Wood, who was Chairman of
Willesden Local Board (the then Council) for much of the 1880’s. He did much
for the local area, and later had a road called after him (if you’ve ever
wondered how Fawood Avenue got its name …!). He was also an important local
historian, whose collection is now available to see and use at Brent Archives.
Stonebridge Park in a 1907 postcard. [Brent Archives online image 7914]
After the First World War, many of the villas were
too large to continue as ordinary family homes. By 1926, “Altamira” had become
the Services Rendered Club (sometimes referred to as the Altamira Working Man’s
Club), with ground floor extensions made over the years to enlarge the bar and
provide other facilities. In 1994, the building was converted to become the
Stonebridge Centre for Adult Education, and is now the home of Brent Start.
“Hurworth” became the Willesden West Conservative Club, and continued this use
until around 2000, when, with its Victorian façade retained, it was converted
to provide 18 flats. These two, now numbers 1 & 2 in the section of
Stonebridge Park renamed as Morland Gardens, are the only surviving Victorian
villas from this historic development.
Brent Council’s plan for the site of “Altamira” is:
‘to invest up to £43m to deliver a state of the art adult education centre, 65
new affordable homes, 675 sq metres affordable workspace for start-up
businesses from the local community, and a public facing café.’ No one would
argue that new Council housing is urgently needed in the borough, and having eleven
4 bedroom maisonettes in the mix (the other 1, 2 and 3 bedroom flats would be
in blocks 5 and 9 storeys high) would be a bonus.
But there is an alternative, as the architects were
asked to submit two possible schemes, one of which included retaining the
Victorian villa, which is a locally listed building. That scheme would provide around
30 homes (with the same 32% of 3 and 4 bed units), and virtually the same extra
facilities as the other scheme. In January’s 17-page report to Cabinet by the
Strategic Director of Regeneration it only received one short paragraph:
‘3.34 Development options that retain the locally
listed building have been explored, but to achieve this, it would considerably
reduce the size and viability of the scheme. In summary, retention of the
building would deliver half of the proposed new homes (32 less) and 30% less
education space.’
Brent’s Regeneration Department has “history” in
wanting to demolish heritage buildings! Many of us remember the battles to save
the Victorian section of the Willesden Green Library building in 2012. As well
as the great effort by the local community, one of the factors that helped to
prevent that locally listed building from being knocked down was that it was in
a Conservation Area, so would have needed special consent to allow its
demolition.
1 Morland Gardens is not in a Conservation
Area, and it is more likely that it will be demolished. But that has not
stopped Willesden Local History Society from opposing this further example of
the disregard of Brent’s heritage by the Council. They have set up an online
petition LINK.
‘We,
members of Willesden Local History Society, and the local community, petition
Brent Council to prevent the demolition of the Victorian villa at 1 Morland
Gardens, N.W.10, during the redevelopment of the facilities on the site.
The Victorian
building, presently home to the Stonebridge Centre for Adult Education, is one
of only two villas, that have survived the developments in the Stonebridge Park
Estate, built in 1876, and designed by the important architect H.E.Kendall jr.
The house is in the Italianate style popular in the mid-19th century. We should
not lose this heritage asset, locally listed, and a valuable part of the
Stonebridge scene. This is especially relevant during 2020, when Brent should
be leading the way as "Borough of Culture”.’
The planning application
for the Morland Gardens redevelopment was submitted in early February, with the
reference number 20/0345. It would create a ‘landmark building’, out of scale and
style with its surroundings, and particularly with the last the original 1870’s
villa, “Hurworth” (now the Sankofa House flats) beside it.
The east elevation
drawing for the proposed Morland Gardens development.
[From Brent’s Planning website, ref. 20/0345]
There are already objections to the application LINK . A resident of Fawood Avenue has written:
‘Brent,
the London Borough of Culture for this year, cannot be serious to plan to
demolish such a glorious building of high regard in Stonebridge. We local
residents who live just a couple of [streets] away deserve more than this. The
villa must remain and stay twinned with the other villa. They look superb
TOGETHER.’
The ‘twin’ villas, “Altamira” in the foreground,
with “Hurworth” beyond.
Another local resident has commented, in support of
their objection:
‘Preservation of two
1800s villa is part of the real character in the heart of Stonebridge.
Demolition is not the answer of these unique buildings in Stonebridge Ward. We
may be poor and forgotten by Brent2020 but we are rich in respect of our
neighbours, residents and visitors in Stonebridge.’
Given the demand for
affordable housing, and the fact that the Cabinet has already given the go
ahead for the scheme, it seems unlikely that Planning Committee will not
approve the application (perhaps as early as April). There IS an alternative,
which could see this heritage building retained, while still providing at least
30 new Council homes, but the Cabinet were not offered that as an option.
I will be joining with
those who seek a change of mind, via the petition and an objection comment
against the planning application, to argue that you can have both housing and
heritage at Morland Gardens. At the very least, if it is decided that
“Altamira” will be demolished, I believe that the new development should
include a prominent public record that shares the history of the original
Stonebridge Park, in words and pictures, so that residents and visitors to the
site can still enjoy some of its rich heritage.
Philip Grant
UPDATE
A Brent councillor asked on Facebook for evidence on the alternative scheme that Phillip mentions above. He replied:
The information on the alternative was
provided to Willesden Local History Society by Matthew
Dibben, Brent's Head of Employment, Skills and Enterprise, following a
meeting between them at 1 Morland Gardens on 12 February. Explaining how
the retention of the building was considered, he said that:
'the council asked the architects, Curl La Tourelle
Head, to consider two options, one to retain the Victorian villa and another to
remove it.
Retaining the building meant losing a number of
benefits to the scheme. The proposed retention of the villa in the
above plan wraps around 3 of the 4 sides of the villa in order to
deliver
more floorspace for homes and education use. It would mean
that the view of the villa would only be from Hillside. As highlighted
when we
met, the real challenge with this site is the central location of the
villa so
that it cannot be incorporated into the perimeter of the scheme.'
Setting out what the option to retain the villa
would mean, he said:
'the following can be delivered in this iteration.
- Circa 30
homes (with the same proposed balance of 32% 3 and 4 bedroom accommodation)
- 1800
square metres of adult education space split across 3 floors
- 600
square metres of affordable workspace.'
The
32% of around thirty new homes would mean either nine or ten 3 and 4 bedroom
flats and/or maisonettes. If councillors want to see more detailed documents
and plans about the alternative option for retaining the Victorian villa at 1
Morland Gardens they should ask for these from Amar Dave, Strategic Director,
Regeneration and Environment. Amar.Dave@brent.gov.uk
Cllr. Miller Lead Member for Community Safety and Engagement, responded to my email but he did not say whether he was writing on behalf of the Council Leader and fellow Cabinet members, or just in a personal capacity.
Among the points in his email, I welcome his statement that: