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Monday 29 March 2021

HOUSE HISTORY ..........


All I've ever known about our house is what were in the deeds and what our local historian could tell me which was quite sketchy. Most of the deeds had got lost during the 100 odd years of buying and selling of the house. I knew it was built by Walter Waller and his profession.



I did Google him but there wasn't any information about him until I found the above advert. When I re read the advert a couple of weeks ago, I noticed it said that his wigs, costumes etc could be hired by Bro. Waller, Stanhope Lodge which meant he was a mason. { I knew that as my Dad was a mason } I looked up Stanhope Lodge and they had a page of their history and, to my delight ..........


..... there was a photograph of him when he was Worshipful Brother in 1889. It's a bit blurry but it's lovely to see the person who built our house.







Stanhope Lodge used to meet in The Thicket Hotel, Anerley in the London Borough of Bromley. This is where Walter would have gone to his Masonic meetings in the 1880's.


 
Walter lived with his wife, Elizabeth Rendell Quick who was originally from Somerset, in Paradise House { above } I don't know if they had any children but could find out more by looking at the 1911 census. I always find it difficult to navigate the census sight and then they ask me for money to see anything ! I think that Walter had done very well in life to have built and lived in such a house ..... it must be worth around £4,000,000 today if not more.



This is the back of Paradise House ..... it's in the woods about a mile from our house.




Now, on a slightly more modest scale 😂🤣😂, this is our house { in the snow ..... the only one I can find at the moment } but, you can see some similarities ..... I think he built ours and two others either side of ours at the same time that he built his. The brick work is very similar and the ridge tiles. He probably got a good deal on a job lot of bricks & tiles etc !!! There are some photographs of the inside of Paradise House and, I have to say, I prefer much that he did in our house.
I did have a page of the 1911 census which showed who was living in our house but I can't put my hands on it at the moment ..... I remember that the man of the house was a tennis player !   
Well, there we are ..... that's all I know about the history of my house. I would love to find out more but I often come to a dead end but it was lovely to find a photograph of Walter.
Oh, I did email the secretary of Stanhope Lodge about three weeks ago to see if they had any more information on Walter but they haven't replied  ..... they probably think my email is a scam 🤣.

XXXX









all photographs via Google apart from the last one of my house

Jackie

30 comments:

  1. What a gorgeous house you have Jackie. I like it much better than Paradise House! How interesting to find out about its history too. Ours was much easier to investigate as it was only built in the 1920s!

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    1. Thanks JayCee ..... We love our house even though bits are falling apart !!!!! That is the price you pay for living in an old house. It’s funny that, I always think of houses built in the 1920’s as being so much younger but , they are now 100 years old ..... we are all getting older !!! XXXX

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  2. The history of houses is intriguing. The one I was brought up in was built in 1907 by an Irish Sweepstake winner who shot his gardener for (allegedly) having an affair with his wife. He built an extension to it so that they could live apart. My father's lodge was Muswell Hill. You live in a nice place.

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    1. Oh, I LOVE the history of your childhood home ... so interesting. I love a bit of history ! My dad often went to Muswell Hill Lodge ..... his lodge was Bush Hill Park. I know people always say this but I bet they knew of each other. XXXX

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    2. I hope they did, but we will probably never know.

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    3. We won’t ever know but I like to think that they did. XXXX

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  3. Interesting that he must have made a lot of money from the supply of theatre costumes and props. Your house looks very nice. x

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    1. He must have, mustn’t he Rachel unless his wife had a large dowry or he had some inheritance. I love my house as you love yours. I do love a house with history although I do like many modern houses. XXXX

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  4. Your house has some interesting history. I am afraid my condo will take another two-hundred years before it becomes interesting. Then I will be the mysterious original owner.

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    1. Haha ! Modern homes are just as lovely and always have so much light. Our house is so dark at the back. They all have their merits. XXXX

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  5. Jackie your home is just so attractive - I love the symmetrical proportions and the beautiful entry. The wall in front is also very nice. Our house is still young - built 1987 and we are the original owners so not much history here. Things still go wrong and need repairs too - guess nothing lasts forever!
    Glad you dug up more historic facts - my brother lived in Muswell Hill many years prior to his move to France. I visited often and loved the tiny cheese shop there, and a cafe I think was called the Crocodile.

    Have a fine week dear - hope you are well. Looks like we can't travel to the UK as planned in May - hopefully later in the year though!
    Mary X

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    1. Hi Mary ..... such a shame that you can’t travel but, it’s best isn’t it ? Europe is in the grip of a third wave and still people from the U.K. want to go there ..... I don’t understand people sometimes !!!!! Our daughter used to live in Crouch End which is next to Muswell Hill so we went there often. Lovely individual shops and great pubs with delicious food. A lovely place to live but SO expensive all around that area . That’s why people often move out to the suburbs or the country line our son and daughter did especially when they have children. A very modest house is over £2,000,000 if not more ! Enjoy being in your gorgeous home and garden this year Mary and plan for 2022 .... sending lots of love. XXXX

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  6. Jackie, you have a very lovely home. The glass window enclosure across the front and the detail of the exterior brick work is beautiful. Waller had an affinity for building stately and now historic homes. My father was a Mason as was his father.

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    1. I think Walter Waller was very artistic which is backed up by the job that he did. He put some lovely touches in this house. It’s not all wonderful though ... it’s quite dark at the back as many Victorian/Edwardian houses are &, because it’s an old house it needs a lot of maintenance. Many of my friends dads were masons and now you and Tom have said yours were. XXXX

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  7. Your house is gorgeous! The snow really sets it off beautifully. I'm rather intrigued to know that by 1911 tennis playing could be a recognised occupation. I did think it was all rather amateur until more recent times. Would there have been sufficient money in it to buy a lovely home? Probably not and I hazard a guess he was more a gentleman of leisure with some family income. Well done on your sleuthing and perhaps you can give the masons a prod by saying you're a famous media personality (aren't all bloggers?? hahah) writing a piece on Waller. xx

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    1. Yes Pip, tennis was for amateurs in 1911 wasn’t it ? Maybe he was a coach ! He might have rented I suppose or could have had inherited money. I was thinking of emailing the Lodge again just to say I was genuine . XXXX

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  8. LOVELY AND GOOD SUPER SLEUTHING!I KNOW THOSE SITES ALWAYS ASK FOR MONEY TO GO AHEAD AFTER THEY GET YOUR INTEREST PEAKED!I have yet to say YES!
    YOU HAVE A BEAUTIFUL HOME JACQUELINE!IF YOU WANT A SNAEKY PEEK INSIDE INE THIS WEEK I AM ON NORTHERN CALIFORNIA STYLE BLOG...........XXX

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    1. I guess I’ll have to pay if I want to find out more !!!!!
      I definitely want a sneaky peak so I will check it out. XXXX

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  9. The pale bricks look like 'London Stock', from which most of London was built. I love the façade of your house; it looks so welcoming.

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    1. Yes Cro .... they are stocks .... we are having a path laid in stocks in the back garden .... they are very expensive !!! I always think that the Victorians/Edwardians tried to make everything aesthetically beautiful . XXXX

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  10. What a beautiful story about this house....do you know it is still snowing on your blog ? Hahaha...spring arrived...I enjoy sitting outside with Leaf...the weather is beautiful today here in holland.....stay safe love Ria and Leaf 🍀💕🐾🍀

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    1. Oh Ria ..... I know .... I must remove the snow 😂🤣😂 We have similar weather ..... so warm abd blue skies ...... so lovely. Look after yourself Ria ❄️☃️🌨 ... haha ! XXXX

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  12. Dear Jackie, that is a very interesting history of your house - and a bit of detective work by your side!
    I met quite a lot of Freemasons in England - when I was in the Freemasons' Hall in London I met by chance Edward, 2.Duke of Kent (I have to look at my notes to find out). XXXXX

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    1. Hi Britta and thank you so much for commenting .... I know you are busy at the moment ! How lovely to have met Edward abd the Duke of Kent. Prince Michael is a Mason as well .. my Dad met him a few times. Enjoy your views. XXXX

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