Historic Hoddesdon - the South Walk

We begin in the garden to the right hand side behind Lowewood House.

A house was built here in the mid-17th century. In about 1750 part of it was demolished and the present house was built. From the rear the difference in ceiling heights of the phases of building can be appreciated. From 1836 until 1936 Lowewood was owned by members of the Warner family. Lowewood was given to the town in 1936 by Douglas Day Taylor in memory of his wife, to be used as a library and Museum. The library relocated to the centre of Hoddesdon in 1977. Lowewood is now the Borough of Broxbourne Museum, and houses a wealth of information, images and objects telling the story of the borough. The Samaritan Woman statue stands in Lowewood garden just to the north of the building. This statue was originally erected in the centre of Hoddesdon and delivered a supply of drinking water for the town’s inhabitants.

Walk through the garden and turn left past concrete blocks into Woodlands Close.

John Warner’s home, Woodlands, was on the corner where the Police Station stands now. Although it probably remained a second home while he was active in business, in later life he spent much of his time in Hoddesdon. He was a member of the Society of Friends (the Quakers) and was interested in social welfare and education. In 1841 he built the first charity boys’ school in Hoddesdon, the Non-Conformist Boys’ British School in Esdaile Lane. The school lasted only a few years, but in 1968 with the advent of comprehensive education, Hoddesdon Secondary School was re-named the John Warner School. The grounds of Woodlands lay to the south of the house, down the hill as far as Spital Brook and over to the west. John Warner delighted in making his gardens as varied as possible, with formal flower beds, lawns, trees, conservatories and hothouses for exotic plants such as orchids, water features, statues, and even a mock-Gothic ruin. On the more practical side there was an orchard and a kitchen garden.

To the south on the other side of the High Street beyond Jubilee Gardens is a cream and white building. This house was built in 1870 by Septimus Warner, one of John Warner’s sons. It was then known as the Italian Cottage because of its style.

In the early 20th century the building became a road-house popular with cyclists and by the 1930s was called the Spinning Wheel, a name it retained for about 80 years, despite changes in use. Hoddesdon’s open-air swimming pool at the Spinning Wheel, situated just beyond the house, was demolished in 2011, and the area was grassed over to become part of the Jubilee Gardens. The name of the building changed a few years later to Elsie House.

Directly opposite the corner of Woodlands Drive and the High Street stands Harteshorne, a 16th century building, which was an inn in the 17th century.

Turn left, passing the Georgian frontage of Lowewood Museum. Note the red brick buildings, North House and South House, on the opposite side of the street. Continue to the pedestrian crossing. Cross and turn left to Cedar Green.

Yew House, a large house built in the first half of the 17th century, and altered and extended through the years, stood where Cedar Green is today. North House and South House, which stand just to the south, were originally built as stables for Yew House in the 19th century. Two of the owners of Yew House were retired admirals. Admiral William Peere Williams had seen action in the Seven Years War and the War of American Independence in the 18th century; and Admiral Donat Henchy O’Brien fought in the Napoleonic Wars in the early 19th century. Yew House was demolished in 1962. Cedar Green was named for the large cedar tree which had stood in the grounds of Yew House.

Continue along the High Street, past Priory Close, until you reach Rawdon House.

Rawdon House was built in the 17th century by Marmaduke (later Sir Marmaduke) Rawdon. He was a successful merchant who married a Hoddesdon heiress, Elizabeth Thorowgood, in 1611. The Rawdon coat of arms is over the door and above that at roof level is a plaque with the date 1622 which was added during 19th century restoration work, based on evidence of old rainwater heads. However, there is some evidence that the house may have been built at a slightly later date. Rawdon House had its own water supply, piped from a spring over half a mile away. Finding the quantity of water more than adequate for the house, Marmaduke Rawdon had a pipe laid to the town centre. The Samaritan Woman statue which now stands beside Lowewood was erected so that the water flowed from her urn into a pond.

Marmaduke Rawdon was a Royalist who fought for Charles I in the Civil War and was knighted by the king. He became ill while on campaign and died in 1646. The Rawdons lost much of their earlier prosperity because of their allegiance to the Crown. The last of the Rawdons to live at Rawdon House was Hester, Sir Marmaduke’s great, great grand-daughter. Various tenants then occupied the house, one of whom from 1778-9 was John Dymoke, Hereditary Champion of England. From 1845 to 1865 Sarah Stickney Ellis, a well-known author of the time, ran a controversial girl’s school at Rawdon House. The north wing was built in 1880, its styling in keeping with the original house. In 1898, the Nuns of the Order of St Augustine took over Rawdon House and it was known as St Monica’s Priory until they left in 1969. The house is now used as offices and its land was sold for housing.

Turn around and retrace your steps towards the roundabout at Cock Lane. Just before the roundabout, on the opposite side of the road, behind a wall, is a large red brick building with a slate roof, The Grange.

Cross the road, via the central refuge to black gate set in the wall of The Grange. Turn right to walk beside the wall.

The Grange was built in 1657 by Marmaduke Rawdon, second son of Sir Marmaduke Rawdon of Rawdon House. The site had previously been occupied by an inn called The Cock, built before 1500. The Grange received water from the supply initially laid on to Rawdon House, and a plaque in the boundary wall commemorates that it continued to flow until disconnected in 1970. By 1725 The Grange was owned by Arabella Oxenden who made many alterations including adding an extension to the south and putting on the slate roof.

From the 1850s until 1905 The Grange was used as a boys’ preparatory school. One of its pupils was A J Balfour, who became Prime Minister in 1902. From 1905 The Grange was in private ownership until 1968. The grounds were sold for housing and retirement flats, and the house itself is now home to a children’s nursery.

Turn left into the footpath just beyond the end of The Grange boundary wall. The footpath leads into Taylors Avenue, where another part of The Grange boundary wall can be seen on the left. Turn left into Oxenden Drive and follow it to reach the large gates.

The wrought-iron gates marked the western end of The Grange grounds. They were erected by Arabella Oxenden and carry her monogram. The monogram was originally topped with a griffin’s head, her family crest. The soft brick gate piers have been popular since they were built in the 18th century with those wishing to leave their mark, and initials and dates are scratched into the bricks. Many of the inscriptions were made by pupils when The Grange was a preparatory school in the second half of the 19th century.

Go through the arch beside the gates and cross Park View to Barclay Park.

The central part of Belvedere Court was built as Hoddesdon Urban District Council Offices in 1936. These Council Offices were used until the merger of Hoddesdon and Cheshunt Urban Districts in 1974 to form the Borough of Broxbourne. North and south extensions were added in 1988-9 and the building was converted to retirement accommodation.

Continue along the High Street to return to Lowewood.

Barclay Park was once part of the High Leigh estate owned by Robert Barclay in the late 19th and early 20th century. The magnificent gift of the park was given by the Barclay family to the people of Hoddesdon in the 1930s.

Turn left, following the park railings, and right into Cock Lane. After about 50 yards where Cock Lane starts to bear left, cross it and turn left up the sloping footway.