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December 2005 |
Memories of Friars Lawn
In 1935, Friars Lawn, a handsome four-story brick house overlooking
Norwood Green in Southall, Middlesex County, England, was purchased
for his family by H. Gordon Selfridge, Jr. He was a senior manager
reporting to his father, H. Gordon Selfridge, Sr., the American
of Scottish ancestry who founded and headed Selfridges, the
department store on Oxford Street, London, England. |
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According
to the history compiled for John and Jane Boyer (the owners
of the house starting in 1980) by Peter Bushell, the name of
John Parkes appears on the record. Since H. Gordon Selfridge
Jr. had a close, life-long friend with that name, it seems likely
that Mr. Parkes served as a surrogate in the purchase.
| The family, with four young children, Oliver Gordon, age 9,
Ralph Gordon, 8, Jennifer Ann (author of this paper), nearly
5, and Martin Gordon, 3, moved into Friars Lawn in the autumn
of 1935. They lived there until the spring of 1940, shortly
after which the family moved permanently to Mr. Selfridge’s
native land, the United States. The children’s mother
was born Charlotte Dennis, the daughter of a London solicitor
whose father and grandfather had been vice admirals in the Royal
Navy. |
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When the family was at Friars Lawn, Norwood Green was beautiful
- grass-covered and bordered by rows of magnificent elm trees.
The little post office with its red postbox stood just down
the road.
In front of the house were handsome iron railings, with a brass
sign identifying the house as Friars Lawn. Gates opened to the
short driveway to the attached garage to the right of the house,
and to a flagstone walk to the house’s front steps. There
was a small lawn on each side of the walk. The children recall
that there had originally been a small fish pond in the lawn,
which was filled in for safety reasons when they moved in. Flowers
and shrubs filled the beds on each side of the front garden,
and a large stand of fragrant lavender was next to the front
steps.
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