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Coordinates: 51°36′13″N 0°06′39″W / 51.6036°N 0.1107°W / 51.6036; -0.1107
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{{Short description|Municipal building in London, England}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Use British English|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox historic site
{{Infobox historic site
| name =George Meehan House
| name =George Meehan House
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| locmapin =United Kingdom London Haringey
| locmapin =United Kingdom London Haringey
| map_caption =Shown in Haringey
| map_caption =Shown in Haringey
| coordinates ={{coord|51.6036|-0.1107|type:landmark_region:GB-CMD|display=inline,title}}
| coordinates ={{coord|51.6036|-0.1107|type:landmark_region:GB|display=inline,title}}
| location =High Road, [[Wood Green]]
| location =High Road, [[Wood Green]]
| area =
| area =
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'''George Meehan House''' is a municipal building in High Road, [[Wood Green]], London. It is a locally listed building.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.haringey.gov.uk/sites/haringeygovuk/files/5._draft_local_heritage_list_publishing_finalised_with_amends.pdf|title=Local Heritage List|publisher=London Borough of Haringey|page=33|accessdate=4 May 2020}}</ref>
'''George Meehan House''' (formerly known as '''Earlham Grove House''', later '''Woodside House''') is a municipal building in High Road, [[Wood Green]], London. It is surrounded by a public park known as [[Woodside Park (Wood Green, London)|Woodside Park]] and is a locally listed building.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.haringey.gov.uk/sites/haringeygovuk/files/5._draft_local_heritage_list_publishing_finalised_with_amends.pdf|title=Local Heritage List|publisher=London Borough of Haringey|page=33|accessdate=4 May 2020}}</ref>


==History==
==History==
The building, which was designed in the [[Italianate architecture|Italianate style]], was built as a private residence known as Earlham Grove House and was completed in 1865.<ref name=history>{{cite web|url=https://www.haringey.gov.uk/libraries-sport-and-leisure/culture-and-entertainment/visiting-haringey/archive-and-local-history/history-woodside-house|title=The History of George Meehan House|publisher=London Borough of Haringey|accessdate=4 May 2020}}</ref> The philanthropist Catherine Smithies (1785-1877), who founded the [[Bands of Mercy|Band of Mercy]] animal welfare group which later merged with the [[Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals|RSPCA]], lived in the house in the mid 19th century.<ref name=history/> Her son, Thomas Bywaters Smithies (1817-1883), who was the publisher of the ''[[The British Workman]]'', also lived in the house at that time.<ref name=history/>
The building, which was designed in the [[Italianate architecture|Italianate style]], was built as a private residence for Thomas William Smith Oakes, an [[East India Company]] merchant; it was initially known as Earlham Grove House and was completed in 1865.<ref name=history>{{cite web|url=https://www.haringey.gov.uk/libraries-sport-and-leisure/culture-and-entertainment/visiting-haringey/archive-and-local-history/history-woodside-house|title=The History of George Meehan House|publisher=London Borough of Haringey|accessdate=4 May 2020}}</ref> The design involved a symmetrical main frontage with three bays facing onto High Road; the central section featured a doorway with [[fanlight]] flanked by paired [[Doric order]] columns on either side on the ground floor; there were single windows on each of the first and second floors above the doorway. The philanthropist [[Catherine Smithies]], who founded the [[Bands of Mercy|Band of Mercy]] animal welfare group which later merged with the [[Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals|RSPCA]], lived in the house in the mid 19th-century.<ref name=history/> Her son, [[Thomas Bywater Smithies]], who was the publisher of ''[[The British Workman]]'', also lived in the house at that time.<ref name=history/>


The house was acquired by the [[local board of health]] for use as a public library in 1893 and it then became the offices of Wood Green Urban District Council in 1913.<ref name=history/> It went on to become the headquarters of the [[Municipal Borough of Wood Green]] when the area secured [[municipal borough]] in 1933.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/unit_page.jsp?u_id=10173140|title=Wood Green|publisher=A Vision of Britain|accessdate=4 May 2020}}</ref> It remained the local town hall until the council moved to [[Haringey Civic Centre|Wood Green Civic Centre]] in March 1958.<ref name=he>{{cite web|url=http://research.historicengland.org.uk/redirect.aspx?id=7096%7CLONDON%27S%20TOWN%20HALLS|title=London's Town Halls|page=97|publisher=Historic England|accessdate=4 May 2020}}</ref> It subsequently remained in use as the local registry office under the name Woodside House, before being renamed George Meehan House after a local councillor in 2018.<ref name=history/>
The house was acquired by the [[local board of health]] for use as a public library in 1893<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.harringayonline.com/photo/wood-green-town-hall-woodside-house-c1910|title=Wood Green Town Hall (Woodside House), c1910|publisher=Harringay Online|accessdate=4 May 2020}}</ref> and it then became the offices of Wood Green Urban District Council in 1913.<ref name=history/> It was expanded with a single storey extension of five extra bays to the south at that time.<ref name=history/> Internally, the principal room in the extension was the council chamber but a mayor's parlour and a court for the local [[petty session]]s were also created in the complex.<ref name=history/>

The building went on to become the headquarters of the [[Municipal Borough of Wood Green]] when the area secured [[municipal borough]] status in 1933.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/unit_page.jsp?u_id=10173140|title=Wood Green|publisher=A Vision of Britain|accessdate=4 May 2020}}</ref> The house remained the local town hall until the council moved to [[Haringey Civic Centre|Wood Green Civic Centre]] in March 1958.<ref name=he>{{cite web|url=http://research.historicengland.org.uk/redirect.aspx?id=7096%7CLONDON%27S%20TOWN%20HALLS|title=London's Town Halls|page=97|publisher=Historic England|accessdate=4 May 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tottenhamcivicsociety.org.uk/CivitasSummer2009.pdf|title=A Walk Across the Old Parish of Tottenham|publisher=Civitas Tottenham|page=8|accessdate= 5 September 2020}}</ref> Its role subsequently changed to that of a local register office for [[Haringey London Borough Council|Haringey Council]] under the name Woodside House.<ref>{{cite web|first1=A P |last1=Baggs|first2=Diane K |last2=Bolton|first3=Eileen P |last3=Scarff |first4=G C|last4= Tyack|title= 'Tottenham: Growth after 1850', in A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 5, Hendon, Kingsbury, Great Stanmore, Little Stanmore, Edmonton Enfield, Monken Hadley, South Mimms, Tottenham, ed. T F T Baker and R B Pugh |location=London|year=1976|pages=317–324|publisher=British History Online|url= http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/middx/vol5/pp317-324 |accessdate= 5 September 2020}}</ref>

The house was extensively refurbished by T&B Contractors at a cost of £4 million between September 2017 and June 2018.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tandbcontractors.com/lb-haringeys-george-meehan-house-refurbishment-complete/|title=George Meehan House Refurbishment Complete|date=20 November 2018 |publisher=T&B Contractors|accessdate=4 May 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.minutes.haringey.gov.uk/documents/s106207/Cabinet%20Report%20-%20Woodside%20House%20budget.pdf|title=Woodside House Refurbishment: Budget and Variation of Contract Award|publisher=Haringey Council|date=22 January 2019
|accessdate=5 September 2020}}</ref> It was renamed George Meehan House, in memory of Councillor George Meehan, a former leader of Haringey Council, in 2018.<ref name=history/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.thetottenhamindependent.co.uk/news/13439957.tributes-paid-to-formidable-long-serving-councillor/|title=Tributes paid to 'formidable' long-serving councillor|date=17 July 2015|publisher=Tottenham and Wood Green Independent|accessdate=4 May 2020}}</ref> The Earlham Suite at George Meehan House remains an approved venue for marriages and civil partnership ceremonies.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.haringey.gov.uk/births-death-and-marriages/marriages-and-civil-partnerships|title=Marriages and Civil Partnerships|publisher=Haringey Council|accessdate=4 May 2020}}</ref>


==References==
==References==

Latest revision as of 04:23, 19 January 2023

George Meehan House
George Meehan House
LocationHigh Road, Wood Green
Coordinates51°36′13″N 0°06′39″W / 51.6036°N 0.1107°W / 51.6036; -0.1107
Built1865
Architectural style(s)Italianate style
George Meehan House is located in London Borough of Haringey
George Meehan House
Shown in Haringey

George Meehan House (formerly known as Earlham Grove House, later Woodside House) is a municipal building in High Road, Wood Green, London. It is surrounded by a public park known as Woodside Park and is a locally listed building.[1]

History

[edit]

The building, which was designed in the Italianate style, was built as a private residence for Thomas William Smith Oakes, an East India Company merchant; it was initially known as Earlham Grove House and was completed in 1865.[2] The design involved a symmetrical main frontage with three bays facing onto High Road; the central section featured a doorway with fanlight flanked by paired Doric order columns on either side on the ground floor; there were single windows on each of the first and second floors above the doorway. The philanthropist Catherine Smithies, who founded the Band of Mercy animal welfare group which later merged with the RSPCA, lived in the house in the mid 19th-century.[2] Her son, Thomas Bywater Smithies, who was the publisher of The British Workman, also lived in the house at that time.[2]

The house was acquired by the local board of health for use as a public library in 1893[3] and it then became the offices of Wood Green Urban District Council in 1913.[2] It was expanded with a single storey extension of five extra bays to the south at that time.[2] Internally, the principal room in the extension was the council chamber but a mayor's parlour and a court for the local petty sessions were also created in the complex.[2]

The building went on to become the headquarters of the Municipal Borough of Wood Green when the area secured municipal borough status in 1933.[4] The house remained the local town hall until the council moved to Wood Green Civic Centre in March 1958.[5][6] Its role subsequently changed to that of a local register office for Haringey Council under the name Woodside House.[7]

The house was extensively refurbished by T&B Contractors at a cost of £4 million between September 2017 and June 2018.[8][9] It was renamed George Meehan House, in memory of Councillor George Meehan, a former leader of Haringey Council, in 2018.[2][10] The Earlham Suite at George Meehan House remains an approved venue for marriages and civil partnership ceremonies.[11]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Local Heritage List" (PDF). London Borough of Haringey. p. 33. Retrieved 4 May 2020.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g "The History of George Meehan House". London Borough of Haringey. Retrieved 4 May 2020.
  3. ^ "Wood Green Town Hall (Woodside House), c1910". Harringay Online. Retrieved 4 May 2020.
  4. ^ "Wood Green". A Vision of Britain. Retrieved 4 May 2020.
  5. ^ "London's Town Halls". Historic England. p. 97. Retrieved 4 May 2020.
  6. ^ "A Walk Across the Old Parish of Tottenham" (PDF). Civitas Tottenham. p. 8. Retrieved 5 September 2020.
  7. ^ Baggs, A P; Bolton, Diane K; Scarff, Eileen P; Tyack, G C (1976). "'Tottenham: Growth after 1850', in A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 5, Hendon, Kingsbury, Great Stanmore, Little Stanmore, Edmonton Enfield, Monken Hadley, South Mimms, Tottenham, ed. T F T Baker and R B Pugh". London: British History Online. pp. 317–324. Retrieved 5 September 2020.
  8. ^ "George Meehan House Refurbishment Complete". T&B Contractors. 20 November 2018. Retrieved 4 May 2020.
  9. ^ "Woodside House Refurbishment: Budget and Variation of Contract Award" (PDF). Haringey Council. 22 January 2019. Retrieved 5 September 2020.
  10. ^ "Tributes paid to 'formidable' long-serving councillor". Tottenham and Wood Green Independent. 17 July 2015. Retrieved 4 May 2020.
  11. ^ "Marriages and Civil Partnerships". Haringey Council. Retrieved 4 May 2020.