History
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The Brokemans[edit]
The Brokemans, known as "Manor of Mimmshall" owned by John Brokeman (died 1415), is where the name Brookmans Park originated.
The Gaussen family arrived in 1786, when Peter Gaussen bought the Brookmans estate for his son Samuel. In 1838 the Gaussens demolished the Gubbins manor house (he owned both houses and was jealous that Gobbins was better than his other, Brookmans).
In 1891, while the family were away on a holiday cruise, Brookmans Manor burned down, caused by a "painter using a blow lamp for exterior redecoration". Robert George Gaussen then had the stable block of the estate, now the Brookmans Park Golf Club House, converted to become his home.
In 1662 Peter Sambrooke purchased Nashes, alias Moffits, Farm. After the Great Plague Peter demolished the old farmhouse replacing it with Moffats House.
Gobions Estate[edit]
Gubbins
Gobions estate was transferred to John More in 1397: the house renamed More Hall. Sir John More became the owner.
Edward VI gave this estate to the future Queen Elizabeth 1 in 1550 by and it was returned to the More family by Mary Tudor in 1553.
Gubbins mansion stood north of Gobions Pond where the back gardens of The Grove meet the wood.
More Hall later became known under many names such as Gobions. Its name has varied over the centuries and through many ownerships.
It had reverted to Gubbens in the 17th century followed by Gubbins in the 18th. Originally the name came from Sir Richard Gobion in the twelfth century.
The Gobions mansion was of such a fine quality with pleasure grounds designed by Charles Bridgeman, that it was visited by royalty. Now, virtually none of it remains, just a few scattered ruins.
Gobions Open Space[edit]
The Gobions Estate was an ancient private estate that flourished on merchant wealth near the village of Brookmans Park from the 14th to 18th centuries. The estate's lands now serve the community as a nature reserve and open space. It was owned by the now-defunct Gobions Woodland Trust. The nature reserve is now managed by the Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust as Gobions Wood, and another part as Gobions Open Space. It lies close to the Great North Road, adjacent to the village.
In 1956 North Mymms Parish Council acquired the land and the lake now known as Gobions Open Space, rescuing it from potential development. Twenty-nine years later in 1985, householders in the parish subscribed to a fund that helped the Gobions Woodland Trust buy the large remainder of the estate.
Folly Arch[edit]
The Folly Arch
Folly Arch, a local landmark visible from Brookmans Park, north of Hawkshead Road between Brookmans Park and Potters Bar, was erected as one of the entrances to the Gobions estate as part of Charles Bridgeman's garden design for Sir Jeremy Sambrooke c. 1740 It is a Grade II* listed building.
The remains of a track can still be seen in the fields between Folly Arch and Gobions Wood, where there had previously been an avenue of lime trees leading from the arch to Gobions wood. These were destroyed during WWII by the farmer who owned the fields. The track then passes through the woods, crossing Ray Brook by means of a brick bridge which is now ruined but was usable as recently as the 1960s.
Birth of a village[edit]
In 1923 land from the Gobions Estate was bought by the White/Calder building syndicate who formed Brookmans Park (Hatfield) Ltd, to construct a commuter village. The London & North Eastern Railway built Brookmans Park Railway Station in 1926. Around the same time an 18-hole golf course was built on the land and the house, converted from stables, became the golf club. The BBC set up its transmitter station on the border of Brookmans Park and Bell Bar in 1929. In the late 1930s there was a building spree: 55 in 1936, 60 in 1937 - in Uplands Drive, The Grove, Kentish Lane and Westland Drive. 106 in 1938 and 52 in 1939. Bungalettes in Georges Wood Road Householders protested against the building of bungalows, in Georges Wood Road and Pine Grove, as they would depreciate the value of their properties. The compromise was the 'Bungalette' with a veranda style front porch supported by Tuscan columns, which can be seen in Georges Wood Road today. In 1946 150 houses and 50 smaller dwellings (bungalows) were approved for Westlands Drive and Peplins Way. This continued with another 100 between 1947 and 1950 in Peplins Way, Westland Drive, Oaklands Avenue and the Bluebridge area, to make the residential village we know today.
Brookmans Park Primary School was built as the village grew opening in 1951 for the first 110 pupils.
Second World War[edit]
The London Blitz resulted in children being evacuated to Brookmans Park.
In 1940 the first 1000lb bomb was dropped on Queenswood’s hockey field in Shepherd’s Way.
Brookmans Park was on the Outer London Defence Ring. These defences included spigot mortar emplacements near the Brookmans Park transmitting station and one together with tank traps protecting the Station Road railway bridge.
British Foreign Secretary, Anthony Eden, on 21 May 1942 stood on Brookmans Park Station Platform to welcome his Russian counterpart the Russian Peoples' Commissar for Foreign Affairs Vyacheslav Molotov and Russian delegation. They were whisked off to Chequers leading to the signing of the Anglo-Soviet Treaty of 1942.
Miss Muffet[edit]
Local legend has it that "Little Miss Muffet" of the nursery rhyme was Patience Moffat, daughter of entomologist Dr. Thomas Moffat (possibly Moffett or Moufet), who lived in the area from 1553 to 1604 on a farm. He had invited a poet over for Christmas. During his stay he overheard Miss Moffat tell her father of how she was eating her curds and whey when a spider came down from the ceiling and frightened her. The poet made an alteration to the name Miss Moffat and wrote the rhyme. However, the traceable origins of the rhyme are murky, as it did not appear in a printed version until 1805. The local connection is celebrated by the inclusion of a spider's web in the badge of Brookmans Park School.
