This article by Stephen Gilburt was first published by The Enfield Society in newsletter 226, Summer 2022.
Located at 68 Silver Street, the Grade II listed timber framed 17th century White Lodge has 18th century weatherboarding. The main block on the left is two storeys high with three dormer windows in the tiled roof. Under the eaves (the overhanging edge of the roof) the cornice has decorative ornamental moulding. The late 19th century casement windows have moulded frames. The older part of the house to the right has a 19th century sash window on the ground floor. In the back garden is an ice house.
In the centre of the façade is a weatherboarded polygonal bay decorated with classical friezes and dentilated eaves. [Photo credit: Andrew Lack/Enfield Society]
The doorcase has a round-arched fanlight with an open pediment above. [Photo credit: Stephen Gilburt]
Despite extensive alterations to the interior, some of the earlier features, such as the corridor walls inside the entrance, can still be seen.
In the early 19th century White Lodge was occupied by the parish surgeon for Enfield, Dr Jacob Vale Asbury, who was a friend of the essayist Charles Lamb. Between 1862 and 1895 Joseph Whitaker lived there. He was the founder of Whitaker’s Almanack which was a register of days, weeks and months of the year with astronomical information. There is a blue plaque on the front of the house to commemorate this.
More recently it was occupied by the White Lodge Medical Practice. The Enfield Society’s late President, Dr Chris Jephcott worked there and for a while he and his wife Ursula lived in the house. In 2022 White Lodge was subject to a planning application to return it to residential use.