OTHER ESTATES.
In 1468 John Careley
granted to John Roberts and others a house and
land in Neasden which he had acquired in 1454
and 1465. In 1480 Roberts and the others, at
Careley's request, enfeoffed William Page of
Harlesden, who in 1495 conveyed that and other
property to trustees for Margaret, countess of
Richmond; in 1506 she was licensed to alienate it
to WESTMINSTER ABBEY. (fn. 80) In 1651 the
parliamentary commissioners sold the property
to Sir William Roberts but Westminster recovered it after the Restoration and retained it
until 8 a. were sold in 1853 (fn. 81) and the remaining
16 a. in 1864. (fn. 82)
Westminster abbey leased its estate to Thomas
Roberts (c. 1516-1539), (fn. 83) John Roberts (c.
1553-1556), (fn. 84) Edmund Roberts (1566-9), (fn. 85) Sir
William Roberts (temp. Chas. I, 1660-4), (fn. 86) and
his son Sir William Roberts, who renewed the
lease in 1676 and mortgaged it with other lands to
William Hellier and Ann Carpenter, to whom a
lease was made in 1685. His son repaid the
mortgage and the lease assigned to him expired in
1706. It was purchased and renewed by William
Hawkins, clerk. (fn. 87) Hawkins renewed the lease in
1721, 1728, and 1735, and in 1742 his brother and
trustee George renewed the lease for William's
son, a minor. The younger William renewed the
lease in 1749 and 1762. (fn. 88) His widow and executrix
Lydia renewed it in 1769 and 1776 and her
executrix and devisee, Lydia Dawson (by 1784
wife of Thomas Moore) renewed it in 1778, 1784,
and 1791. (fn. 89) In 1811 the estate was leased to James
Hall and in 1818 it was divided, 8 a. south of the
Grove being leased to Hall (fn. 90) (d. 1838) whose son
Henry bought the freehold in 1853, (fn. 91) and 16 a.
west of Neasden village to John Nicoll (d. 1819);
Joseph Nicoll (d. 1853) devised the property to
John William Prout, who bought the freehold in
1864. (fn. 92) The house conveyed in 1454 is to be
identified with the one marked east of the junction
of Dog Lane and Neasden Lane in 1599. (fn. 93) It was
probably that with one hearth occupied in 1664
by Widow Moulder. (fn. 94) A second house had been
built on the estate by 1566. (fn. 95) It was assessed for
four hearths in 1670 and stood west of Neasden
green. (fn. 96)
St. Bartholomew's Hospital
owned a house at Church End which in 1547 was
granted to the City of London; (fn. 97) the City administered the estate on behalf of the hospital,
which was still in possession in 1823. The house
was still there in 1599 but had gone by 1816. (fn. 98)
By will dated 1692 Francis Millington of
London devised £500 to buy land out of which
CHRIST'S HOSPITAL was to pay pensions to
disabled watermen of Wandsworth parish; 64 a.
in north Neasden, bordering the Brent, were
bought from the coheirs of the Roberts estate in
1704. In 1835 and 1838 parts were sold for the
Brent reservoir. W. Prout of Neasden purchased
the remaining 47 a. in 1873. (fn. 99)
The large estate built up by the ROBERTS
family (fn. 1) included land held at Sherrick and
Sheeproad by William Roberts or Roberd
(fl. 1295-1306) and in Neasden open fields by
Thomas Roberts between c. 1307 and 1327. (fn. 2)
Ralph Roberts (fl. 1365-94) held Taylors cottage
in Neasden, was granted pavage on Edgware
Road in 1389, and had a son Thomas (fl. 1406),
whose son John alienated the Sherrick lands in
1449. (fn. 3) John was probably the same as the John
Robert of Neasden who purchased John atte
Wood's estate in 1403 and consolidated his lands
at Sheeproad by exchange with Robert Curson in
the 1420s. (fn. 4) It was presumably another John
Roberts who had died by 1480 (fn. 5) and whose son
Thomas in 1510 held five houses in Neasden
village and numerous crofts and open-field land
from Neasden prebend.
Thomas Roberts, clerk of the peace and coroner
of Middlesex, added to the estate, acquiring other
property held from Neasden and Chambers
prebends and holding leases of various estates. (fn. 6)
He was succeeded in 1543 by his son Michael,
who died young in 1544 leaving Fosters in Acton
and some tenements in Harlesden to his brother
John and the rest of his estate for life to his widow
Ursula. She later married Benjamin Gonson. (fn. 7)
Michael's brother Edmund Roberts (d. 1585)
seems to have acquired all Michael's lands. In
1563 he greatly increased the Neasden estate by
purchasing Middletons manor. (fn. 8) He held the
lease of Harlesden prebend in 1576 and may have
acquired other lands in Harlesden. (fn. 9) His son and
heir Francis bought Oxgate manor in 1587 and
the few remaining tenements in Neasden, (fn. 10)
and held leases of the Westminster abbey estate
and the prebends of Harlesden (1594), Oxgate
(1608), Neasden (1624), and Chambers (1627). (fn. 11)
When he died in 1632 he was said to be seised of
34 messuages and 1,654 a. in Willesden, a manor
and land in Acton, a small estate in Kingsbury,
and other estates in Lincolnshire. (fn. 12)
Francis was succeeded by his grandson William
Roberts (d. 1662), knighted in 1624, who took the
parliamentary side in the Civil War, in 1646
became one of the contractors to sell church
lands, and in 1651 bought the prebends of
Neasden, Oxgate, Harlesden, and Chambers and
the estate of Westminster abbey. He was M.P. for
Middlesex and a member of the committee to try
Charles I although he did not sign the death
warrant. He lost nothing at the Restoration,
taking leases of the prebends when they reverted
to the prebendaries. (fn. 13) He had also increased the
estate by his marriage with Eleanor, daughter
and heir of Robert Atye, with land in Hampstead
and Kilburn. (fn. 14)
The Roberts estate began to contract after his
death. (fn. 15) Eleanor sold c. 120 a. in Willesden and
Hendon to Edward Nelthorpe in 1662. (fn. 16) Her
right was apparently successfully challenged in
the same year by her eldest son Sir William
Roberts, Bt. (d. 1688) (fn. 17) who in 1664 was treating
as his own land in Willesden, Kilburn, and
Hampstead which Eleanor claimed should have
gone to a younger son, Edward. (fn. 18) Sir William,
described as a 'very careless man', inherited
property already encumbered with mortgages
and legacies, and fell deeper and deeper into
debt. (fn. 19) He sold the Kilburn estate in 1664, (fn. 20) two
estates in Harlesden, amounting to 248 a., in
1665-6 and 1671, (fn. 21) and smaller estates in the
north in 1675 (fn. 22) and in Kilburn in 1679. (fn. 23) His
complicated mortgage transactions resulted in
award in 1682 to the current mortgagee, Prisca
Colborne, of temporary possession of Neasden
manor and other property to the value of £627
a year. (fn. 24) Sir William was preparing to pay his
debts by selling Oxgate when he died in 1688. (fn. 25)
His son Sir William died in 1698 and the estate
passed to his cousin William Roberts (d. 1700). (fn. 26)
William paid off remaining mortgages in 1698
and 1699, and in 1700 sold over 100 a. at Oxgate,
Neasden, and Church End. (fn. 27) His widow Elizabeth, whose second husband was William
Hutchenson, continued to live at Neasden and
still had interests in the estate in 1725. (fn. 28) His
brother and heir Thomas died in 1702, and in
1704 further sales were made. (fn. 29) Thomas was
succeeded by his five sisters, Eleanor wife of
Thomas Knight, Elizabeth or Edith wife of
Thomas Launder, Margaret wife of Richard
Lawton, Mary wife of William Hawkins, and
Sarah wife of Hollis and later of George Paterson.
Sarah (d. 1708) was abroad in 1702 and her share
was divided among her sisters. (fn. 30) John Wilson
bought Eleanor's share in 1710, Edith's in 1717,
and part of Mary's in 1720, and conveyed them in
1733 to John Nicoll (d. 1747). (fn. 31) Eleanor Knight's
children inherited part of Margaret Lawton's
share, including her portion of Sarah's share
in Neasden. They sold it in 1739 to Thomas
Nicoll. (fn. 32) In 1752 Thomas Nicoll bought the rest
of Margaret Lawton's share, sold in 1705 to
Thomas Smartfoot, left in 1707 to his 10 grandchildren, and sold in 1728 and 1730 to Edward
Sibley (d. 1730) and his daughter Elizabeth. (fn. 33)
John Nicoll (d. 1747) was said to be in possession of the whole of Neasden House and farm and
three fifths of Oxgate and Dollis Hill. (fn. 34) He also
brought a small estate at Church End in 1738 and
a moiety of Fishes, 100 a. at Willesden Green and
Sherrick green and in the open fields, from the
Paynter family. (fn. 35) In 1753 his daughter and heir
Margaret (d. 1768) married James Brydges, who
later succeeded as duke of Chandos. (fn. 36) The
Brydges estate was enlarged by the purchase of
Margaret Lawton's share in 1754 (fn. 37) and of part of
Mary Hawkins's, from Lydia Hawkins, in 1771. (fn. 38)
In 1787 the duke, who did not live in Willesden,
had an estate there of c. 700 a. (fn. 39) On his death in
1789 it passed to his only child Anna Eliza, who
in 1796 married Richard Temple-NugentBrydges-Chandos-Grenville (d. 1839), created
duke of Buckingham and Chandos in 1822. Their
son Richard Plantagenet (d. 1861) was succeeded
by his son Richard Plantagenet Campbell
(d. 1889) and by his nephew William Stephen
Gore-Langton, Earl Temple (d. 1902) and his
son Algernon W. S. Temple-Gore-Langton,
Earl Temple (d. 1940). (fn. 40)
Parts of the estate were sold in 1803 to John
Read, William M. Sellon, and Lady (Sarah)
Salusbury, (fn. 41) and by 1816 the estate had shrunk to
550 a. In 1817 Buckingham sold the remaining
one fifth of Dollis Hill to the tenant, Joseph
Finch, who had bought the other four fifths from
the Nicolls in 1784 and 1795, and in 1818 he sold
his shares of Neasden House and two farms to
John Nicoll, the tenant who owned the rest of
them. (fn. 42) In 1823 Buckingham's lands amounted
to c. 450 a. (fn. 43) The estate was offered for sale in lots
in 1837, (fn. 44) and between 1838 and 1844 Edmund
Tattersall bought 96 a. of Upper Oxgate, including the farmhouse, S. H. Bigg 39 a. at Sherrick
green, and Joseph Nicoll the 153 a. of Neasden
farm. (fn. 45) Lower Oxgate and the remaining eastern
part of Upper Oxgate were put up for sale in lots
in 1847 but not sold, and the duke of Buckingham
still had 136 a. in 1887. (fn. 46) Building began on the
estate in the late 1890s and was completed in the
1930s. (fn. 47)
The Nicoll family, lessees of Neasden lands
from c. 1720, (fn. 48) owned the remaining fractions
and after 1818 wholly owned Neasden House and
the heart of the Roberts estates. John Nicoll
(d. 1819), the owner in 1787 and 1816, was
succeeded by his brother Joseph (d. 1823) and
nephew Joseph (d. 1853) who devised the
property to trustees for his cousin Catherine
Nicoll Lewis Prout. (fn. 49) In 1873 Catherine married
William Edward Nicol, a Scot not related to the
Nicolls of Neasden. (fn. 50) Their descendants retained
some of the estate in 1980. (fn. 51)
The Nicolls' estate, 149 a. in 1823, was increased by the purchases of Neasden farm from
the duke of Buckingham, the Grove estate in
1856 from the Hall brothers, part of the Westminster abbey estate in 1864, and the Christ's
Hospital estate (47 a.) in 1873, (fn. 52) to comprise
c. 500 a. (fn. 53) In the late 1870s land at Willesden
Green was sold for building and a large portion of
the Neasden lands to the Metropolitan Railway
Co. (fn. 54) By 1887 the estate had shrunk to 191 a. (fn. 55) All
that land, including Neasden House, was used
for building, mostly in the 1930s, although the
Grange (part of the Grove estate) was not sold
until 1962.
Thomas Roberts (d. 1543), whose predecessors had lived in a house on the east side of
Neasden Lane, called Little's or Barnhaw, rebuilt
or much enlarged another house, also on the east
side of the lane, previously called Catewood's and
afterwards Neasden House. (fn. 56) His son Michael
(d. 1544) continued the building, (fn. 57) and Francis
Roberts (d. 1632) and his grandson Sir William
(d. 1662) added to the house and transformed its
surroundings. (fn. 58) By 1664 Neasden House was
assessed on 21 hearths, the largest house in
Willesden. (fn. 59) It was depicted in 1749 as a large
L-shaped building with a three-gabled front and
a three-bay side wing. (fn. 60) It was occupied from
1735 by Thomas Nicoll, who rebuilt it c. 1755. (fn. 61)
By the 19th century it was a three-storeyed
stuccoed building with two large rounded bays. (fn. 62)
After a period during the early 20th century as a
golf clubhouse, it was demolished to make way
for building in the early 1930s. (fn. 63)
The land at Kilburn which Sir William Roberts
sold in 1664 was bought by William Morgan,
who also seems to have acquired part of Roberts's
land in Harlesden. Richard Morgan (fl. 1723) left
his estate to Morgan Graves, whose son Walwyn
sold the Kilburn estate in 1807 to Daniel Stuart
and the Harlesden estate to James Denew. (fn. 64)
Stuart sold Kilburn House, called the Great
House in 1728, with 17 a. to Sir Samuel Auchmuty
in 1815, and the Revd. Edward Stuart sold nearly
100 a. between 1850 and 1857. (fn. 65) Denew sold the
Harlesden land between 1827 and 1843, including
3 a. in 1834 to the architect Charles Ayers who
built Roundwood House there and sold it in 1838
to John Horsley-Beresford, Baron Decies. (fn. 66)
Another estate sold by Sir William Roberts
was 128 a. mostly in Harlesden, which Richard
Taylor bought in 1665 and 1671. (fn. 67) Until 1835 it
descended with the leasehold of Harlesden prebend, (fn. 68) being owned in 1823 by Richard Taylor (fn. 69)
whose daughter Emily sold part in 1878 and 1879
and retained 76 a. in 1887. (fn. 70) The last part of the
estate was sold in 1925 by Capt. Frederick
Gibbons, apparently a maternal relation of
Emily. (fn. 71)
A third estate sold by Sir William Roberts was
c. 120 a., which Richard Wingfield bought in
1666. In 1727 Wingfield sold 69 a. mostly in
Harlesden to Robert Glynn, and in 1730 Thomas
Wingfield sold 53 a. in Stonebridge to Edward
Sibley. (fn. 72)
At UPPER OXGATE Sir William Roberts
sold 53 a. in 1675 to Ezechiel Tanner, from whom
it passed to John Tanner (d. 1744), John's wife
Anne (d. 1748), and Anne's niece Sarah, wife of
Thomas Howard. It was sold in 1759 to John
Haley, who sold it in 1785 to Thomas Byron;
Edmund Byron was in possession in 1887. (fn. 73) The
house, called Old Oxgate or Oxgate Farm, was
presumably one of the three recorded in 1587 and
was assessed on five hearths in 1670. (fn. 74) It survived
in 1980 as the oldest secular building in Willesden, timber-framed, of the 16th and 17th centuries. The northern range was thought to be part
of a larger 16th-century building, a fact which,
together with the moat still visible in 1823,
suggests that it was the principal house of Oxgate,
possibly on the site of that owned by Bartholomew
Willesden in 1472. (fn. 75)
A second holding at UPPER OXGATE was
c. 100 a. sold from the Roberts estate in 1700 to
Richard Hawe. Hawe's nieces sold it in 1734
to Jenkin Thomas Phillips, whose heir John
Williams sold it in 1768 to John Saxon. (fn. 76) Saxon
apparently divided the estate into moieties, of
which one passed through the Heming family to
Henry Richard Phillips, who owned 164 a. in
1887. (fn. 77) The third and largest holding at Oxgate,
leased by the Robertses and their successors to
the Franklins from 1669 to 1819, included the 96
a. of Upper Oxgate sold by the duke of Buckingham to Edmund Tattersall in 1838. Tattersall's
devisees sold that land to H. R. and J. R. Phillips
in 1852. (fn. 78) Tattersall carried out extensive building, converting both the house with four hearths
occupied in 1670 by John Franklin and that
with two hearths occupied in 1670 by Thomas
Etheridge (fn. 79) into the model stud-farm known as
Willesden Paddocks. (fn. 80)
The land of the Roberts family at DOLLIS
HILL, previously leased as two farms, was leased
as one holding in 1773 to Joseph Finch, who
between 1784 and 1818 acquired the fragmented
freehold. (fn. 81) The Finches sold the land south of
Dollis Hill Lane for a public park in 1901,
retaining the northern farm until 1939. (fn. 82) The
principal house, perhaps that occupied by
Richard Franklin (d. 1615) (fn. 83) and assessed on
seven hearths in 1664, (fn. 84) lay north of the lane and
was called Dollis Hill House in 1734 and Dollis
Hill Farmhouse in 1787. (fn. 85) It was rebuilt in brick
c. 1800 as a small farmhouse with a front of three
bays and featured in Harrison Ainsworth's Jack
Sheppard. (fn. 86) It became a veterinary hospital in the
early 20th century and was demolished in the
1940s. A smaller house south of the lane was
replaced in 1825 by the Finches, who lived
at Dollis Hill until 1861. (fn. 87) The new house
was afterwards occupied by Dudley Coutts
Marjoribanks, later Lord Tweedmouth, until
1881, by his daughter and her husband, the earl
of Aberdeen, until 1897, and by the newspaper
proprietor Hugh Gilzean Reed until 1906, being
used thereafter as a restaurant for Gladstone Park
and later by Kilburn Polytechnic for students on
catering courses. (fn. 88) George Eliot is said to have
placed a scene in Daniel Deronda (1876) in the
drawing room, Lord Aberdeen received visits
from Rosebery, Balfour, and especially Gladstone, whose name was used for the park, (fn. 89) Mark
Twain lived there briefly in 1900, calling it
'divinely beautiful and peaceful'. (fn. 90) It was
adapted for use as an emergency hospital in 1915
and the cabinet met in the 'Dollis Hill war room'
in 1941. (fn. 91) The house is square, of two storeys, in
yellow stock brick with a stuccoed porch and
formerly had a verandah on the south side. (fn. 92)