Description
Southwood Hall was built in 1845, a new-Gothic house with fine grounds. The mansion flats of Southwood Hall Estate were built over the site in 1931 and little remains of the original gardens apart from a classical statue, perhaps once one of a pair, a C19th summerhouse, and a number of fine mature trees dating from early - mid C19th.
Practical Information
| Site location | Muswell Hill Road/Wood Lane, Highgate |
|---|---|
| Postcode | N6 5UE |
| What3Words | ///digit.gift.parks |
| Type of Site | Private Garden |
| Borough | Haringey |
| Open to Public | No |
| Opening Times | private, communal gardens for residents only |
| Public Transport | Tube: Highgate (Northern). Bus: 43, 134. |
| Research Updated | 1 October 2011 |
| Last Updated | 18 October 2026 |
Full description
Southwood Lane was an old route leading uphill to Highgate, and until the mid C20th housing here consisted of large mansions in their own grounds. The mansion flats and surrounding garden of Southwood Hall Estate were built in 1931 on the site of the former Southwood Hall and its grounds, situated at the junction of Muswell Hill Road and Wood Lane. A neo-Gothic, castellated house, Southwood Hall was built in 1845 for H V Tubbs. Photographs of the C19th and early C20th show the garden front and stone balustraded terrace, with urns and a pair of classical statues, possibly depicting Venus and Apollo. Little remains of the original gardens although one white marble statue survives dating from the C18th or earlier, much eroded as a result of a destructive cleaning process that stripped away its covering layers of paint. It appears to be a version of the Uffizi Apollino, displayed in the Tribuna and much copied in the C18th. The copies were frequently paired with a Marine Venus, as was perhaps the case here. Also in the gardens is a small C19th summerhouse, open on one side, which is constructed of brick, with rusticated quoins of vitrified brick and a pitched slate roof. It incorporates older material including a pair of baseless three-quarter Ionic columns flanking the entrance, possibly salvaged from the earlier house on the site. The gardens have a number of fine mature trees, probably planted in the early to mid C19th.
Further Information
| Grid Reference | TQ285883 |
|---|---|
| Site Ownership | Residents |
| Site Management | Managing agents and board of residents |
| Dates | C19th; C20th |
| Designers | Not known |
| On National Heritage List for England (NHLE), Parks & Gardens | No |
| Registered common or village green on Commons Registration Act 1965 | No |
| Protected under London Squares Preservation Act 1931 | No |
| Local Authority | Haringey |
| In Conservation Area | Yes |
| Conservation Area Name | Highgate |
| Tree Preservation Order | Yes - 1 sycamore, 1 holm oak, 3 horse chestnut, 2 sweet chestnut, 1 oak, 1 beech (Wood Lane) & 1 horse chestnut (South Close) |
| Nature Conservation Area | No |
| Green Belt | No |
| Metropolitan Open Land | No |
| Special Policy Area | No |
Please note the Inventory and its content are provided for your general information only and are subject to change. It is your responsibility to check the accuracy.
Nearby parks and gardens
The Southwood House Estate was built in 1958-62 on a triangular site formerly occupied by the C18th Southwood House and its grounds. The development of 2- and 3-storey housing was arranged in terraces on the three sides, overlooking a central communal garden where many of the existing mature trees and shrubs were retained. A number of exotic trees, many from North America and planted c.1900, remain in the communal garden and in private gardens of the development.
The Parkland Walk is the disused track of the former Finsbury Park to Alexandra Palace Railway. The first section of the line was in use by 1867, with the final section completed by 1873. Use of the line diminished by the 1920s and the last passenger train ran in 1954, with the tracks finally lifted in 1971. In 1990 it was declared a Local Nature Reserve and laid out as a public walk, with former railway structures still visible.
All Saints Highgate is a picturesque stone church built in 1864 to serve one of the additional eccliastical parish created in Highgate at that time. It was designed by A W Blomfield, who was responsible for a number of churches in the area. The south aisle was added in 1874 and the north aisle in 1912. It is surrounded by a garden, bounded to the road by wooden fencing and holly hedge with a row of pleached lime trees. A crucifix stands in the garden at the junction of the roads.