Barnet (Parliament Politics Magazine) – A devastating fire has destroyed a £4.5 million mansion in Barnet, London. Emergency services responded swiftly, but the luxury home was reduced to ruins.
According to the London Fire Brigade (LFB), some 70 firemen were dispatched to the scene of the fire at Hollybush House in Barnet.
Around one in the morning on Monday, the fire broke out at the nine-bedroom house, which was purchased for £4.5 million in 2020.
The first and ground levels, which were being renovated, were on fire, as was the whole roof. The LFB reported that the structure partially collapsed.
The fire is believed to be under control, and no injuries have been reported.
As smoke continued to rise from the building, firefighters continued to use water to put out the fire, and at least ten fire engines were spotted at the scene late on Monday morning.
According to Jane and Guy Wheatcroft, who have been residents of Barnet for 27 years, the neighborhood is “a green lung of north London,” and because of its ancient properties, the road is among the most costly in the area.
Mr Wheatcroft said of the area:
“Everyone’s very friendly and it’s a good community. Everybody will be very concerned because it’s a beautiful house. It was one of these streetscapes, an integral part of the conservation area and the green.
The people who live here say it’s one of the most expensive streets in the area – it’s a historical street. They’d just bought it and then were renovating a local family.”
The house has been undergoing renovations for approximately a year and a half, according to neighbor Steve Clarke.
The 60-year-old said:
“It was a complete house – it must have come close to being ready. When I heard about it this morning, I didn’t think it would look like that. You can see it’s got no roof or windows.
It had been hard to see it for a while because of the fence on the outside, but I think a lot of the work they had been doing was on the inside.”
Michael Birt, 76, a fellow resident, said:
“We heard it at about 2am, there were fire engines out the front where we were. And then we came out and assumed it was something further up the main road.
There were no ambulances or police or anything. I think they established very quickly that nobody was in residence.”
Jacqui Beaumont, a teacher in her 60s who lives nearby, said that it’s supposedly the wealthiest street in Barnet. It would have been an utterly magnificent house with a view across this beautiful green space that they are very lucky to enjoy here in Barnet. It looked pristine, but now it’s been ruined.
Another neighbour, who asked not to be named, said the refurbishment had been going on for around 18 months.
He said that planning was probably a year as well. They’d put a new roof on and the new windows had just gone in, so he thought they were hoping to get in by Christmas.
They [the owners] never moved in – they bought it from the previous owner who died. Whoever inherited it didn’t move in.
The family, according to the neighbor, were “normal, nice people who were trying to restore it.”
Hollybush House was constructed in the 1700s and occupies 9,300 square feet, including an adjacent cottage, on more than two acres of land, according to planning documents.
There are six bedrooms, a drawing room, a library, a kitchen, a dining room, a sitting room, and an art room in the main structure. The house faces a village green that has benches and a duck pond.
Both of its neighboring homes have blue plaques honoring English Heritage. Fanny Trollope, an English novelist, owned one house, while David Livingstone, a Scottish doctor and Christian missionary, owned another.
What are the plans for rebuilding or restoring Hollybush House?
The main house and its former outbuildings should be renovated and rearranged while preserving the building’s unique Georgian plan form and historic fabric, which may include relics from the Queen Anne era.
Address contemporary 19th and 20th century additions, like flat roofs and 1970s design elements, to restore the building’s original character and bring it more in line with the Monken Hadley Conservation Area’s Georgian architectural style.
Preserve the mansion’s connection to the surrounding historic landscape. Hadley Green Road is home to a unique and remarkably intact collection of 18th-century homes.
In order to maintain important architectural elements and the building’s aesthetic and historic significance, make sure that any reconstruction or modifications adhere to conservation area criteria and listed building permit requirements.