The East London house once home to Barclay's banking family

The house was set in carefully kept grounds and gardens of just over an acre, including an avenue of lime trees and a vinery with an additional two acres or so of adjoining meadow. There was also stabling for several horses, a cowhouse and various outbuildings to the west of the main house.

The Limes was described in the 1930s as one of the most attractive of the area’s 18th century houses, which makes the fact that it was demolished within a decade of this statement even more galling.

The Limes and surrounding area as shown in Chapman and Andre's 1777 map of Essex

The Limes was home to various residents of interest over the years. In the 19th century members of the wealthy Barclay family were resident for several decades from at least the 1840s. Banker Joseph Gurney Barclay (of Barclay & Co Ltd banking fame) and his family were resident until 1853 when they moved to nearby Knotts Green House. Both he and his second wife Margaret were known for making significant donations to local charities, including schools in Marsh Street (now High Street) but Joseph’s most recognisable legacy today is Barclay Road to the north of where The Limes stood.

The house was modernised in this period, with new drainage and ventilation (anyone interested in plans of the property from this date held in the collections of the Royal Institute of British Architects can view them online via shorturl.at/kpBDZ and shorturl.at/gsM26).

An Ordnance Survey map published in 1897

Joseph’s cousin Henry Ford Barclay and family were the next residents of The Limes, and had moved from Leyton’s Grove House. An influential man, Henry was a JP and High Sheriff of Essex as well as a Commissioner of Epping Forest, and not surprisingly, the family opened their grounds for various social events. In 1862 the first exhibition of the Leyton and Walthamstow Horticultural Society was held there, with flowers plants and fruits on display to the sounds of an assortment of brass band performances.

When the family left for Woodford the Carter family, formerly of Stoney Down at Blackhorse Road, moved in. They were very active in local affairs: Charlotte Carter was responsible for the building of a church mission that stood on Church Hill Road for many years, and her husband, ship broker Henry, was a JP and churchwarden of St Stephens Church. One of their daughters, Mabel, was elected as a member of the school board in 1894 with an impressive number of votes.

One of Henry’s more unusual activities was keeping hens, which he was evidently rather proud of, as indicated by a snippet that appeared in several newspapers in 1886 about an egg within an egg laid by one of his hens; "I think some of your scientific readers may be interested to know of an extraordinary egg laid by one of my pullets….measuring 9 ½ inches round its length and weighing six ounces.’’ The Carters left the Limes in the 1890s for Redhill, where Mabel lived out her years as a very wealthy woman. When she died in 1933 she left effects valued at an impressive £35,126.

The Limes was sold by auction in 1894, and its grounds were described as being ‘ripe for building operations without affecting the residential features of the property,’ very much a sign of the times as the grand houses and grounds were being sold off for housing redevelopment throughout the area.

A 1946 Ordnance Survey map

The last resident family at the Limes were the Mallinsons, who lived there from the 1890s until the 1930s, following the death of Sir William Mallinson at the house in 1936.

As the Barclays before him, timber merchant William was also a renowned benefactor, and was a pioneer of child welfare in the area, purchasing Brookscroft on Forest Road for the Child Welfare Society, as well as establishing a scholarship trust for university students from Walthamstow.

His generosity apparently followed an incident as a young man when he was so gravely ill that he almost died, and he then vowed that if he survived he would ‘devote his life to the service of others’.

An ardent Methodist, he built Shern Hall Methodist Church, where his funeral service was held. It was so well attended that there was an overspill in the adjoining hall.

This advert from Flight Magazine in 1965 for the Mallinson manufactured flooring in the VC10 aircraft

Mallinson was a hugely successful businessman and aged 23 he founded what became William Mallinson & Sons Ltd, a family firm that grew to be a hugely successful hardwood timber and veneer firm with a worldwide reputation, especially in aviation manufacture. William was created 1st Baronet Mallinson of Walthamstow a year before his death.

The site of The Limes today

The site of The Limes and its grounds is now occupied by the homes of the Butterfields development; those in the northern section of the street appear to be roughly where the house itself once stood.

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