HISTORY: Rich history of hospice's grounds revealed
10:31am Friday 8th July 2011 in In Focus By Clare Hardy
The Churchills with Sir Stuart and Lady Mallinson at The White House in 1955 (Photo courtesy of Terence Mallinson)
THE story of a children’s hospice that has a long history as a house and park has been put together for the first time.
Thomas Crusz has written the history of what is now Haven House Children’s Hospice in Woodford Green High Road in his book A Brief History of the White House and Mallinson Family.
The family owned the house until the 1960s, when it was handed over to the borough of Waltham Forest to be used by the community, although it was still the Mallinsons’ home.
Regular guests of the Mallinsons included Winston Churchill while he was MP for Woodford, who took over the house’s chapel to monitor the results of the 1950 general election.
Sir Stuart Mallinson, who lived at The White House with his wife Lady Mallinson until his death in 1981, fought at Ypres during the First World War as a Colonel with the Royal Engineers.
He brought back fallen oak trees from the battle fields, which were used as panelling for the house’s chapel and its fireplace was rescued from a bombed building in Ypres.
During the Second World War, he was in charge of the Home Guard to the east of London, which was based at the house and was inspected there by George VI in July 1940.
The family also put together a collection of trees in the grounds of the house, many of which were planted by visitors, including Colonel Frank Borman, the captain of the Apollo eight, which circled the Moon ten times.
Margaret Thatcher also planted a tree there while she was Minister of Education and Judge Warren Berger, the chief of the US Supreme Court in 1978, planted the last tree in the collection - an oak.
The oldest tree on the estate is thought to be the oak in front of The White House, which is more than 500 years old.
Sir Stuart also opened up the grounds of the house to be used as a Scout base, with 10 acres of land given to the Highams Park Scout Group in the 1930s to use as a camping ground.
The estate was first signed over to the Haven House Foundation to be used as a specialist children’s hospice in 2000. The first four bedrooms were opened in 2003 and all the rooms were completed by the end of 2004.
An exhibition on the history of the hospice will open on September 10 from noon to 2pm. Anyone interested in attending should call 020 8506 3639 or email marketing@havenhouse.org.uk.
A Brief History of The White House and Mallinson Family is available from the Village Bookshop in Woodford Green High Road for £3.50 or by sending a cheque for £4.50 payable to Haven House Foundation to Haven House Children’s Hospice, 249 Chingford Mount Road, London, E4 8LP.
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