Part of my Life

Author: Eileen Bostle
Date: 11 Jul 2006

My memories of Broomfield House and Park start in about 1950, and during the years when I was growing up in Southgate the park and house played an important part in my life. Like many families at that time we didn't have a car, so we counted ourselves lucky to have such a beautiful local park to visit at weekends.
My memories of the house centre round the museum, and the exhibits in it I remember particularly are the mammoth tusk, the stuffed fox with its prey in its mouth, the relief model of the local area in its glass case, the photos of local Victorian and Edwardian cricketers and cyclists, and the beehive, placed inside a window so we could watch the bees coming and going along a glass tunnel leading to the outside world. They wouldn't have needed to go further afield than the magnificent flower beds and borders in the park, and the conservatory was beautifully maintained too. For our own refreshment we would go to the cafe at the back of the house with its green metal chairs and tables.
I remember sailing my model yacht on the pond nearest Alderman's Hill, and my father told me he used to swim in the one by the bandstand before the Second World War. The middle pond was home to the swans, who nested on their own little island in the middle. The peace of the Garden of Remembrance contrasted with the activity on the tennis courts, putting green and bowling green, the latter surrounded by such lovely rockeries that I once saw an estate agent's advert describing a house as being "near Broomfield Park with its world-famous rockeries"! Other hives of activity were the children's playground and the sports pitches, and on several occasions my father took me to the annual contest on the athletics track, when local athletics clubs used to compete for the Beverley Baxter Trophy, watched by spectators on the tiered banks of seating.
These have now gone, as has the magnificent avenue of elms leading across the vast expanse of grass to Powys Lane. Gone, too, are the picturesque cottages at the corner of the park where Powys Lane meets Alderman's Hill. However, there is enough that remains unchanged to bring back wonderful memories, and although I know the house can't ever be exactly as it was I look forward eagerly to the day when it will be restored. It will be well worth the journey from my present home in Harrow to see it!

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