Stanmore Country Park

Warren House originated as a Georgian house, but was later extended, the old shell remaining within the newer structure. Flanked by fine woodland, the house commanded a good position on the top of the hill with views over London. During the C19th it was for many years the home of the Keyser family, among whom Charles Keyser was Chairman of the Colne Valley Water Company, established in 1873 to serve the district. His sister Miss Agnes Keyser was a friend of Queen Alexandra and other members of the royal family. In 1890 Warren House became the country residence of banker and philanthropist Henry Bischoffsheim and his wife Clarissa, one of the daughters of the Court Jeweller of Vienna. Mrs Bischoffsheim was known to Queen Victoria and held a prominent position in social circles, entertaining in their London house and at Stanmore, where King Edward was among their visitors. When Henry Bischoffsheim died in 1908 the estate had a gross value of over £1.6 million. Mrs Bischoffsheim continued to live at Warren House until her death in 1922. She had been keenly interested in the garden, cultivating orchids, carnations, shrubs and other plants. She was advised by Michael Gleeson, a horticulturalist and also an agriculturist, and the estate farm had a fine herd of Jersey cattle.

On Mrs Bischoffsheim's death the house was inherited by her grandson, Sir John Fitzgerald, son of her daughter Amelia and Captain Sir Maurice Fitzgerald. Sir John was himself interested in agriculture, although the Jersey herd was disposed of and he developed a herd of Kerry Cattle, a breed of which he was a judge. He was also member of the Middlesex Agriculture Council and of the Agricultural Education Committee, as well as prominent in local affairs.

In 1937 c.110 acres of the estate land was purchased by Harrow Council and Middlesex County Council as public open space. In 1951 Warren House, together with 11 acres of land, was sold by Sir John to the National Corporation for the Care of Old People and, renamed Springbok House, it was later transferred to the Hendon group of hospitals in 1964. It is now an Islamic Centre.

Stanmore Country Park is open countryside and woodland, with numerous footpaths, stiles and trail posts. Until the mid-C20th part of the area was grazed open fields, of which Six Acre Field, Spring Field, John Hall's Field and Forty Acre Field remain as grassland, with the remainder largely secondary woodland. The presence of wild service trees, mature hornbeam and other trees in certain areas indicate that this was ancient woodland. The area was used for gravel digging in the C18th and C19th and fish ponds were constructed along the eastern border. The parkland of the Warren House estate was gradually overtaken by secondary woodland by the end of the C19th but at one time formed part of the vista for the Duke of Chandos from Canons (q.v). Forty Acres Pit in the north-east corner of the country park is an old pond or reservoir that may have formed part of the system supplying water to Canons. Pear Wood, which was also within the former estate but is not accessible to the public, contains part of Grim's Dyke (q.v.).