File:Priscilla Wakefield House.jpg

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15 August 2007. Priscilla Wakefield House under construction. It's a large private Care Home bounded by Harold Road, Rangemoor Road and Herbert Road, in Tottenham, London N15.

The photo shows the western end of the building in Rangemoor Road, looking south. It extends onto a small parcel of land which used to be a pocket-park, owned by Haringey Council. (The area hatched blue on the map inset. To match the photo, I've put south at the top.)

The pocket-park was quite small - about 0.06 hectares. It had grassed mounds, a few trees, shrubs, a short walkway and some benches. It suddenly vanished after the land was sold by the Council to the developers Precious Homes on 22 September 2004. To the dismay of many local residents and Governors of the nearby Earlsmead Primary School. (At the time, including me).

I asked how this stupid error had been made. Haringey’s Property Services team emailed me explaining that: “The site has never been known or referred to as a park of any type."

They wrote that Housing - the “Holding Service” – had declared the land surplus to requirements”, saying that: “the site continually suffered from frequent illegal fly-tipping and was a burden on their budget in respect of regular clean-up costs”

“A disposal of the strip of land was consequently regarded as a proactive and practical contribution to the Council's Better Haringey campaign; through the elimination of a problem site via development, this would ultimately contribute to the improvement of the fabric of the Borough.” 

I'd walked past this piece of land many times, and while it wasn't a park in a formal sense, it was very plainly and obviously a small area of green which was maintained as such. Anyone who had taken the trouble to walk down Rangemoor Road would have realised this in about two seconds.

Puzzled, I asked Haringey Parks Service. They sent me the maintenance schedule they used to look after what their staff clearly did not regard as a piece of waste ground.

Sure, the site may have suffered from dumping and was therefore a "burden" on the budget. But if local councils sold off every piece of land that got dumped on, there would be no parks, greens, pavements, alleyways, or even streets left.

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About Priscilla Wakefield

§ From Precious Homes website "Priscilla Wakefield House is a purpose built residential home specifically designed to meet the needs of the elderly and also offers care for other specialisms such as Parkinson's or Huntington's disease, and for young physically disabled people."

As you may have spotted from the map there's a Wakefield Road nearby. So what has this care home got to do with Priscilla Wakefield [1750-1832] who was born in Tottenham and whose home was some 500 metres (a-third-of-a-mile) from Rangemoor Road?

The answer? Nothing whatever.

Her name has simply been used. Perhaps the aim is to add a historical gloss to a new business in a new building. Or perhaps it's an attempt at virtue-by-association?

Because Priscilla Wakefield was a remarkable person. She belonged to Tottenham's Quaker (Friends) community. In between caring for her family - bearing and sometimes burying her own children; and writing books for children and young people, she was involved in a range of social reforms and causes. These included anti-slavery; girls' education; and setting up a local savings bank in Tottenham. ___________________________________________

Links

§ There's some brief information about Priscilla Wakefield on the Museum of Docklands website noting her support for the anti-slavery campaign and for boycotting slave-produced sugar, cotton and tobacco. It says her family home was on the site of the present High Cross Church. (On the corner of the High Road and Colsterworth Road.) § Bruce Castle Museum had an exhibition about the early history of the Quaker (Friends) community in Tottenham. § David Roodman's blog includes excerpts from Priscilla Wakefield's diary in 1798 - transcribed by Janine McVeagh. § Christine Protz, one of Tottenham’s local historians, has written briefly about Priscilla Wakefield in her book Tottenham a History (Phillimore 2009). § Photo of Chris Protz signing copies of her book at the launch.

§ Several of the buildings associated with Priscilla Wakefield still stand. This includes the original Blue Coat School - later known as the Blue School - on Scotland Green. (It's possibly the “Scotland” Priscilla Wakefield referred to on 30 July 1798.) The present Tottenham Quaker Meeting House and burial ground is nearby.