Bruce Castle

En un regard

Le château en bref

In the heart of a public park in Tottenham, north London, Bruce Castle is one of the oldest brick houses in the capital. Its name recalls the Brus (Bruce) family, medieval lords of part of the manor of Tottenham, but the present building is no fortress: it is a Tudor and later Stuart manor house, listed Grade I by Historic England since 1949. The building reads as a layering of periods. The red-brick H-plan core, built in the 16th century for Sir William Compton, a favourite of Henry VIII, received in 1684 a central projecting bay topped by a clock tower with an octagonal lantern and cupola. The 18th century added an elegant north front with an armorial pediment and an east wing in plum brick, while a school wing completed the ensemble in the late 19th century. A detached circular brick tower to the south-west is separately protected. After housing the progressive school founded by the family of Rowland Hill, future inventor of the adhesive postage stamp, the house was bought by the local council in the late 19th century. Today it is home to the museum and local archives of the London Borough of Haringey, renowned for their postal history collection, with free admission.