Stephens House & Gardens

The house was built in 1859 on land known as Temple Croft Field and bought in 1874 by Henry Charles Stephens of the Stephens' Ink Company, who enlarged the grounds with advice from the landscape gardener Robert Marnock. Stephens left the estate on his death in 1918 to Finchley Urban District Council on condition that it shall be open for the use and enjoyment always of the public. The house and ten acres were leased to the Avenue House Estate Trust for 125 years from 2002 and have carried the name Stephens House and Gardens since January 2014. The house was listed Grade II on 20 July 1999 and the grounds registered Grade II the same day. Both stand in the Finchley Church End conservation area, designated by the London Borough of Barnet in 1979. Finchley Central Underground Station is 598 m away and West Finchley 1,585 m.