This article by Stephen Gilburt was first published by The Enfield Society in newsletter 177, Spring 2010. Arnos Grove is a Grade II* listed building and is occasionally open by prior arrangement.
Illustration 1. Arnos Grove (left), previously Arno’s Grove, was built between 1719 and 1723 for James Colebrooke, a London banker and mercer, possibly to a design by William Talman. The present portico is 20th century.
Illustration 2. In 1723 scenes of The Genius and Triumph of Julius Caesar were painted on the entrance hall walls by the Flemish artist, Gerard Lanscroon. He was also responsible for the murals at nearby Broomfield House, which was badly damaged by fire in 1984.
Illustration 3. Julius Caesar is sitting on a cloud holding a lyre and surrounded by the nine muses.
Illustration 4. The Apotheosis of Julius Caesar with Jupiter and Juno is illustrated on the ceiling.
Illustration 5. In the 1780s Sir Robert Taylor was employed to extend the house with new wings and porticoes. [Picture courtesy of Enfield Local Studies & Archive.]
Illustration 6. The drawing room was decorated by Sir Robert Taylor in the style of Robert Adam.
Illustration 7. Arnos Grove in 1784. It was owned by members of the Walker family of Quaker brewers from 1777 to 1918. Isaac Walker made the nearby Walker Cricket Ground one of the principal cricket grounds in the country in the mid 19th century. [Picture courtesy of Enfield Local Studies & Archive.]
Illustration 8. The entrance hall during the ownership, between 1918 and 1928, of Lord Inverforth, a wealthy shipowner. [Picture courtesy of Enfield Local Studies & Archive.]
Illustration 9. Lord Inverforth’s drawing room. [Picture courtesy of Enfield Local Studies & Archive.]
Illustration 10. Lamps on the entrance driveway came from the 1924 British Empire Exhibition at Wembley.
In 1928, as Northmet House, Arnos Grove became the headquarters of the North Metropolitan Electric Power Supply Company and later, as Southgate House, offices for the Legal and General Insurance Company. It is now the Southgate Beaumont, a residential care centre run by Barchester Health Care. Extensions and alternations have been made by the various twentieth century owners.
