The Mallinson White House
According to the Walthamstow Rate Books (Vestry House Museum), The White House was built in 1906. Its first occupant was Lady Henry Somerset, who wanted to move out of what is now Woodford County Girls School.
The distinguished Architect C F A Vorsey (1857 - 1941) drew up plans for the House. His distinctive style of architecture was of long, low houses with plain rough cast walls. The roofs were of steep pitch and the windows small and leaded. Though the building was not faithful to his design it nevertheless exudes the character of the Edwardian Arts and Crafts Movement.
It was purchased in 1925 by Sir Stuart Mallinson, a timber trader who established the Arboretum of exotic trees planted by famous people, and was his home until his death in 1981. In the 1930s Sir Stuart extended the house and built Cedar Lodge and South Lodge 2.
Sir Stuart persuaded many famous and eminent people to plant young trees near the House. Ever since his service with the Honourable Artillery Company and Royal Engineers in World War I, he was connected with the Army and especially with the local area Home Guard in World War II. He also had a distinguished career in public affairs and was Deputy Lieutenant of Essex from 1937 to 1966.
Amongst the many famous people who visited the White House and planted trees were:-
|
Name and Title |
Tree |
Date of Planting |
|
Sir Winston S Churchill |
Red Oak |
31.05.1953 |
|
Lady Churchill |
Dawn Redwood |
31.10.1950 |
|
Field Marshall Viscount Montgomery of El Alamein |
Chestnut |
16.05.1953 |
|
Admiral of the Fleet
Earl Mountbatten of Burma
Viceroy of India 1947 |
Cryptonenia Japonica |
04.06.1969 |
|
The Rt.Hon.Earl Atlee
Prime Minister UK 1945/51 |
Weeping Willow |
02.06.1964 |
|
Baroness Thatcher of Kesteven
Prime Minister UK 1979/90 |
Sequoia Sempervirens |
08.01.1971 |
06.02.05 -
Laurel coppiced by the Lea Bridge
Conservation Volunteers at Mallinson Park
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Oak tree over 500 years old on
the southwest side
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The house and its 25 acres of grounds were sold to Waltham Forest Council in 1964. The aims of the Council were to restore the grounds to their original form by getting rid of the laurel which had spread amongst the trees.
Following Sir Stuart’s death, a fire damaged the House and it was further altered in making it a home for the frail elderly. In 1999 the Council decided that it was too expensive an establishment for providing care for the elderly and infirm. They have now leased it to the children’s care organisation, The Haven House Trust.
The garden on the southwest side of the House has at its centre, an oak tree over 500 years old.
The Lea Bridge Conservation Volunteers are actively involved in keeping the grounds tidy by coppicing laurel trees and clearing the pathway.
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