Mansion houses of Walthamstow once home to London's merchants and gentry

Several impressively grand houses were located along Hoe Street, where much land there south of Marsh Street (now High Street) was owned by the Conyers family. Grosvenor House, built c.1600 by Tristram Conyers, was rebuilt by the Grosvenor family who acquired it in the later 18th century.

On nearby Shernhall Street several 18th century mansions included Shern Lodge whose estate boundary ran the length of what is now Vallentin Road, the impressive Walthamstow House, later a school and orphanage, and Brookfield, home of royal mint monyers.

Walthamstow House. Engraving of 1803 by J. Hassell

Areas close to the forest were popular and include Hale End’s Belle Vue House, an elegant Regency villa of c.1803 designed by architect and artist Edward Gyfford for book seller Charles Cooke.

Belle Vue House in 1809. Engraved by Ambrose Warren after a drawing by Edward Gyfford

Many smaller but no less grand mansions were located at Marsh Street and to the north several mansions were built at and around Clay Street (now Forest Road), the best known being the Water House of 1762, also formerly known as Winns. It was famously once the childhood home of William Morris and was later owned by newspaper publisher Edward Lloyd; it is now the William Morris Gallery.

The Winns (now William Morris Gallery), in the early 20th century

These grand mansions of Walthamstow have largely long-since been demolished, often to make way for new 19th century and early 20th century housing developments as urbanisation spread.

Tragically, several survivors of this later 19th century development fell foul of 1960s and 1970s redevelopment schemes, including Clevelands on High Street, broadly where The Scene (Empire cinema and restaurants chains) is now.

Cleveland House, High Street, in 1950. Ten years before demolition. Credit: Vestry House Museum

Happily there are several survivors amidst their now urban settings; some are still residences, albeit flat conversions, whilst others have been reutilised in different ways. These include Chestnuts in Bishops Close, a grand early 19th century house now divided into flats and surrounded by 1930s maisonettes built in its garden. Its namesake, the Grade II* listed Chestnuts House at Hoe Street remains perhaps the finest and least altered of Walthamstow's earlier 18th century grand houses, retaining several original features, although it is currently on Historic England's Buildings At Risk Register.

Chestnuts, Bishop's Close

Of the Shernhall Street mansions, the 18th century Thorpe Combe is a rare survivor, used as a hospital since the 1930s. The 19th century Orford House on Orford Road is now a social club, and its contemporary The Clock House, survives on Pretoria Avenue, supposedly on the site of the earlier Black House, which gave its name to Blackhouse (later Blackhorse) Lane. Its namesake on Wood Street, one-time home of a South Sea Company director, is an impressive albeit much altered survival from 1703 and is now divided into flats.

It is forever regrettable that so many of Walthamstow’s fine mansions are now lost, but there are a fair few historic houses of Walthamstow still standing - maybe you live or work in one?

Karen Averby is a seaside-loving historian and research consultant specialising in researching histories and stories of buildings, people and places. She researches house histories for private clients and collaborates in community heritage projects (karenaverby.co.uk). She is also director of Archangel Heritage Ltd, an historical research consultancy providing research services for the commercial heritage sector (archangelheritage.co.uk). Also found on Twitter @karenaverby and @archaheritage