Surely a ruin teaches us more important lessons about conservation of old buildings than a modern day reconstruction? We asked John what he thought. Old Church Lane, located adjacent, is our next port of call. Don't be fooled though: John helpfully points out to us that the name doesn't actually refer to either of these churches.
Instead, it refers to an even older church that once stood at the bottom of the hill, though nothing of it remains but a tomb in someone's back garden. It might look unassuming, but this building was once Stanmore's railway station. Before the Metropolitan line arrived, Stanmore wasn't very well connected by rail, and hotelier Frederick Gordon needed a way to lure punters to his recently purchased hotel, Bentley Priory. The station building was built to resemble a country chapel, deliberately in keeping with its residential surroundings.
Sadly, the railway did not prove popular enough, and the line stopped carrying passengers in Goods services continued to run until , when the line finally got the chop as part of the Beeching cuts. As for the station building? Needless to say, it's been stripped of all character and is now a private residence.
A small plaque by the door is the only evidence of its former life, although you see what it used to look like here. Our last stop is Bentley Priory nature reserve, a short walk back up the road.
The site is huge, originally comprising the grounds to the stately mansion, Bentley Priory. Built in by Sir John Soane, the building has seen various uses over the years — not just as the hotel which necessitated the construction of the Stanmore branch line. In fact, it played a much greater role in history than that: the RAF used it as an operations centre during the Battle of Britain.
These days, the house and part of the immediate grounds have been converted into luxury housing, though a small museum does occupy part of the building.
We don't have time to pay a visit today but you can read a Londonist writeup here. The now separate portion of land south of the house now forms the Bentley Priory nature reserve, open to the general public. There are nearly 70 hectares to explore — more ground to cover than we could possibly squeeze into one article. If we were to pick just one highlight, it would be the picturesque Summerhouse Lake, formed from the damming of a small stream that ran through the grounds.
A summerhouse once stood on its banks, and Queen Adelaide, widow of King William IV, is said to have spent the last years of her life here in the s. We're just casual observers, though. The more adventurous will find even more to geek over: the site is home to many rare birds, wild flowers and ancient woodlands.
Heriot's Wood, for instance, is known to have been a wood since , and the site is even home to a year old oak tree — the oldest in Middlesex — with a trunk 9m in circumference. There are plenty of cows, too, and a small herd of fallow deer. There seems no better place to end our whistle-stop tour of Stanmore than with a view can you see Wembley poking its head through the trees?
Hopefully we've convinced you that there's enough here to make it worth the trip If there is a reason to visit Stanmore though, it's the fantastic green spaces — both the highlight for us, and most people we met. We didn't even get a chance to visit Stanmore Common, the 50 hectare site with an even greater 'sense of wildness'. This north London outpost might lie right at the very end of the Jubilee line, but that doesn't mean it's not worth your time.
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Stanmore is 9 miles east of Chorleywood. Stanmore is 11 miles east of Gerrards Cross. Stanmore is 11 miles south of Hatfield. Stanmore is 12 miles south-east of Hemel Hempstead. Stanmore is 9 miles south of St Albans. Stanmore is 11 miles north-west of London.
Stanmore is 11 miles north-west of City of Westminster. Stanmore is 12 miles north-west of City of London. Stanmore is 35 miles west of Chelmsford.
Stanmore is 42 miles east of Oxford. Stanmore is 45 miles south-west of Cambridge.
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