MANOR HOUSE Piccadilly Line
A wacky waterworks and a pleasant park

Manor House Tube station is unusual in having no real road frontage. There is a rather feeble entrance next to Finsbury Park, but otherwise it is accessed via a series of subways. Even the tavern that gave the station its name has gone. As if to make up for this lack of identity there are delightful ventilation grills on the platforms depicting birds and trees in nearby Finsbury Park.










However, our Manor House trail leads to Clissold Park in the opposite direction, so take Exit No. 3. On emerging from the subway walk to your right (Green Lanes). This is a rather dispiriting walk of about seven minutes – but then you will be rewarded by the sight of one of the wackiest buildings in the whole of London – a Victorian water-pumping station built (1854) to resemble a Scottish baronial castle. This once served the adjacent reservoirs (now used for water sports, having become redundant in the 1980’s) and has been adapted to create a climbing centre. You may be entertained (or terrified, depending on your attitude to heights) by teams of people abseiling down the walls of this extraordinary edifice. Those interested in old machinery will enjoy visiting the West Reservoir cafe situated behind the ‘castle’, as it was the Primary Filter House (1936) and some of the original equipment is still on view. The reservoir itself, where cormorants hunt and sailing boats glide, can be seen from the big windows at the back of the large hall. After climbing, sailing – or having a cup of tea - return to Green Lanes.




Clissold Park is only another five minutes walk. This is a delightful place with two lakes, the remnants of Hackney Brook. These lakes are called Beckmere and Runtzmere after the leaders of the campaign in the 1880’s to buy Clissold Park and open it to the public. The water in front of Clissold House was originally part of the New River, an artificial water course created in 1613 to bring fresh water to Islington from the River Lee in Hertfordshire.





Clissold House itself was built in the 1790’s and is a delightful neo-classical building with a colonnade of Doric columns. The entrance hall is now the park cafe. The house has a romantic history. In 1811 it had become the property of a rich iron magnate, one William Crawshay whose daughter fell in love with the local vicar, Augustus Clissold. This liaison was so strongly opposed by her father that he threatened to shoot the friend who delivered the couple’s love letters. He was also rumoured to have raised the height of the garden wall so they could not even catch a glimpse of each other. The story had a happy ending, however, as when the father died they married and moved into the family home, renaming it Clissold House as a final gesture of defiance. The estate became a public park in 1889 and is a pleasant place to spend an afternoon. There is even a section devoted to animals such as deer, a butterfly tunnel and an aviary.

Please note that there is going to be a major revamp of Clissold Park, starting in 2009, so do check on the restoration project website before making a special journey.





The large church tower that dominates the scene at the end of the park is that of the new St. Mary’s. It was constructed immediately opposite the old church, also St. Mary’s, which looks somewhat intimidated by its large neighbour. The smaller church (unusually it was rebuilt in Tudor times, the date 1563 is carved over the door) has a delicate oak shingle spire (added in 1829) and miscellaneous other additions and alterations. Wandering round the quiet and shady churchyard it is easy to imagine the time when Stoke Newington was just a village. The site of the later church, designed by Sir George Gilbert Scott, reflects the fact that in the 1850’s when it was built Stoke Newington was already becoming a suburb.






Going into Stoke Newington Church Street, turn left and opposite the library you will see an pretty run of buildings, including a red brick terrace on which there is a plaque: ‘On this site stood a medieval mansion . . . . demolished c 1710. Sisters’ Place built in 1714.’ The name was first used in Victorian times, probably because the house belonged to four sisters. The adjoining dwelling has the delightful name of ’Sweetapple House’, possibly after a local schoolmistress, Sarah Sweetapple - what a splendid name for a teacher! There is an large curved building immediately behind old St. Mary’s on the corner of Queen Elizabeth Walk. This is the old Metropolitan Borough Town Hall, erected in the 1930’s. Like the new St. Mary’s, it is out of scale with the old architecture nearby.

Before returning to the Tube station, you might like to conclude your visit by popping into the animal enclosure which is by the small stretch of the New River near the Bridge Gate entrance in Stoke Newington Church Street.
MAP

Manor House is just one walk from the many to be found at London Tube Rambles. There are architectural gems, beautiful country views, historic places and whacky buildings to be found, even in the most unpromising areas covered by the Greater London Underground stations. Usually the places listed are within a mile of the Tube - often only five minutes walk away. If you reached this as an individual page via a search engine, you might like to go to www.londontuberambles.co.uk to see the other destinations explored . You'll be amazed at what's out there!


© DR2008