Grim's Dyke

Richard Norman Shaw built the house from 1870 to 1872 for the painter Frederick Goodall, and it takes its name from the earthwork Grim's Ditch, which is a separate scheduled monument, NHLE 1002044 and two further sections. It was the home of the dramatist W. S. Gilbert, of Gilbert and Sullivan, for the last two decades of his life, and he died there attempting to save a girl from drowning in his lake. Caius Gabriel Cibber's statue of Charles II, carved in 1681 and now in Soho Square, was given to Goodall in 1875 and stood on an island in the lake here until 1938 — sixty-three years. The Grade II* listing was made on 5 September 1969 as list entry 1079676; the South Lodge is separately listed Grade II, NHLE 1193943, and the grounds were registered Grade II as NHLE 1001254. The house was converted into a hotel in 1970, and the hotel leases 30 of the 110 acres Gilbert bought with it. Gilbert's grave is listed Grade II, NHLE 1193140, in the churchyard of St John the Evangelist, Great Stanmore, about 2.5 km east. Hatch End station, on the Lioness line, is 1,940 m away.