Inventory Site Record

Hadley Wood Golf Club was once part of the C18th landscape park of Beech Hill Park, prior to which it was within the royal hunting ground of Enfield Chase until its enclosure in 1777. Francis Russell, the surveyor acting for the Chase owners, the Duchy of Lancaster, was granted 152 acres of land and built his mansion, Beech Hill Park. In the early 1880s the then owner, Charles Jack, proposed to develop much of Hadley Wood for housing, which only partially took place. In 1922, after an abortive attempt to break up the estate for building, it was leased by Hadley Park Golf Club and converted into a golf course, the mansion becoming the Golf Club House. Fishponds of the former estate remain within the grounds.

Previous / Other name:

Beech Hill Park

Site location:

Beech Hill, Hadley Wood

Postcode:

EN4 0JJ

What 3 Words:

daring.tens.soon

Type of site:

Private Open Land

Borough:

Enfield

Open to public?

No

Opening times:

private, members only

Special conditions:

Facilities:

Events:

Public transport:

Tube: Cockfosters (Piccadilly) then bus; Rail: Hadley Wood then bus. Bus: 298, 399 [399]

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Google Map    
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Research updated:

01/04/2011

Last minor changes:

19/07/2023

Please check with the site owner or manager for latest news. www.hadleywoodgc.com

Hadley Wood Golf Club is situated on the former landscape park previously known as Beech Hill Park, which was itself built on land once in the ownership of the Duchy of Lancaster and part of the royal hunting ground of Enfield Chase. When Enfield Chase was enclosed in an Act of 1777, a 152-acre parcel of the land was given by the Crown to Francis Russell, the surveyor who acted for the Duchy during the assignment of allotments of land to the various neighbouring parishes and the leasing of the central 3000-acre area in 24 lots for agricultural development. In 1781 Russell built Beech Hill Park, a 7-bay brick fronted mansion with central Doric columns, to which one-storey pavilion wings were added in the C19th, with good views down Beech Hill. In 1790 the estate was sold to William Franks of Mount Pleasant, Cockfosters. An article in the 'European Magazine' of May 1796 described the landscaped grounds as 'truly picturesque'. In 1800 it was purchased by Archibald Paris who held leases on other lands belonging to the Duchy of Lancaster, totalling some 1338 acres by 1829 and which included Greenwood to the west and Monkey Mead to the north.

The spread of London's suburbia was slow to reach Hadley Wood and even now much of the area retains a rural air. Although the Great Northern Railway had opened its main line in 1850, it did not provide a station at Hadley Wood until 1885. By c.1858 the Beech Hill Park Estate was owned by Charles Jack, who in the early 1880s signed a building lease with the Duchy of Lancaster to develop much of Hadley Wood for housing, which only partially took place.

After his death in 1896, his sons offered the Beech Hill Park estate for sale and it was purchased in 1920 by the Economic Insurance Company. In 1922, after an abortive attempt to break up the estate for building, much of the land was leased to Hadley Park Golf Club and converted into a golf course, largely due to the efforts of Sir Frederick Lewis, later Lord Essendon, and Walter Warwick, both of whom are memorialised within the Club. The golf course was designed by Dr Alister MacKenzie, who was responsible for other well-known courses, among them Augusta, the home of the US Masters, Cypress Point and Royal Melbourne. In 1976 the freehold of the land was purchased by the Members of the Club and it remains a private Members' Club. Fishponds of the former estate remain within the grounds. In addition to the C18th mansion that now serves as the Golf Club House, the C19th Stable Range remains to the north of the mansion, a U-shaped 2-storey building.

Sources consulted:

Revd George Hodson (Church History) and Edward Ford (General History), 'A History of Enfield in the County of Middlesex including its Royal and Ancient Manors, the Chase and the Duchy of Lancaster, with Notices of its Worthies, and its Natural History, Etc. Also an account of The Church and the Charities, and a History of the New River' (Enfield Press, printed by J H Meyers, 1873); 'Enfield: Other Estates' in 'A History of the County of Middlesex: volume 5: Hendon, Kingsbury, Great Stanmore, Little Stanmore, Edmonton, Enfield, Monken Hadley, South Mimms, Tottenham', 1976; Ben Weinreb & Christopher Hibbert, 'The London Encyclopaedia' (Macmillan, revised ed. 1993); Bridget Cherry & Nikolaus Pevsner, The Buildings of England: London 4: North (Penguin, 1998); LB Enfield local history leaflet; history on Hadley Wood Golf Club website

Grid ref:

TQ270979 (527147,197442)

Size in hectares:

Site ownership:

Hadley Wood Golf Club

Site management:

Hadley Wood Golf Club

Date(s):

C18th, 1922

Designer(s):

Golf Course: Dr Alister MacKenzie

Listed structures:

LBII: Hadley Wood Golf Club House (Beech Hill) and Stable Range

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 Data

The information below is taken from the relevant Local Authority's planning legislation, which was correct at the time of research but may have been amended in the interim. Please check with the Local Authority for latest planning information.

On Local List:

No

In Conservation Area:

No

Tree Preservation Order:

Not known

Nature Conservation Area:

Yes - Borough Importance

Green Belt:

Yes

Metropolitan Open Land:

No

Special Policy Area:

Yes - Enfield Chase Heritage Area AOSC (Area of Special Character)

Other LA designation:

Included in Local Register of Historic Parks and Gardens