Almost all the building that took place in West Hampstead between the two World Wars was carried out in the north of the area. One major part of this work was the creation of Cholmley Gardens. Cholmley Lodge, which had stood on the grounds for more than a century, was demolished in 1921.
On its grounds was then built seventeen blocks of flats fronting the four boundary roads: Mill Lane, Aldred Road, Hillfield Road, and Fortune Green Road. These blocks were put up between 1922 and 1927 and constituted Cholmley Gardens. Parts of the original lodge are still to be found in the extensive gardens of Cholmley Gardens. In particular, the main entrance steps and patio can still be found leading to the tennis court at the northern end of the gardens. Many of the retaining walls within the grounds were built using materials from the original house. Within the walls of the estate, one can find interesting pieces of the old building, including bricks with unusual markings, parts of the old coping stones and pieces of what were once pillars.
It is not currently known who owned and occupied the flats from the 1920s to 1933. But on 3rd October 1933 a lease for the estate was made out to Associated Westminster Flats for 99 years from 25th March 1933, at a rent of £4,000 (£24 per flat). Leases for individual flats, however, were made out for only fifty years.
It is known that forty-six leases expired in 1971, which implies they were set up in 1921, when the first flats started to be built.
The aerial photo shows the West End Lane/Frognal Lane crossroads on Finchley Road taken in 1920. The wide road at bottom left is Crediton Hill.
During the course of the 1970s, the financial crisis that engulfied Britain brought the collapse of the Stern Property Group, which owned Cholmley Gardens. The relationship between Stern and Freshwater is not clear, except that William Stern married into the Freshwater family group.
With the landlords in liquidation, the tenants association fought and won a battle to purchase Cholmley Gardens on a co-ownership basis. Mr Nicholas Holcombe was chair at the time. On 27th January 1977, the property was purchased by the Association for £825,000. Cholmley Gardens Ltd was formed later that year.
Cholmley Gardens Ltd (CGL) is the present owner of the estate. All leaseholders are shareholders of this limited company. There is no other landlord. A board of ten directors is elected from among the leaseholders. There is an Annual General Meeting, which is usually held in the autumn.
Cholmley Lodge [the predecessor to the Cholmley Gardens estate) stood across Fortune Green Lane from the village farm and Woodbine Cottage. It was one of West End’s youngest mansions, dating from 1813. Henry Smith Bigg bought the house in the 1830s. He was responsible for enlarging and improving the Lodge at a cost of £1,000, and added the portico over the main entrance, probably to Charles Miles’ plans. Bigg sold the house to his tenant Herbert Norman Evans, who kept it for upwards of 23 years.
The next long term occupant was Captain Henry Wilkes Notman, under whose hand the estate assumed its final form, taking in all the land currently covered by Cholmley Mansions [Gardens]. Notman was Managing Director of the South Indian Railway and Secretary of the Salisbury and Yeovil Railway Company. Born in Aberdeen, he was a great supporter of Scottish charities and institutions, and was nicknamed the `father’ of the Caledonian Society. In common with so many of the other gentry, Notman also helped out local causes, with the largest single contribution – £100 – to the fighting fund to preserve West End Green and £350 towards building the new Emmanuel Church.
From Kilburn & West Hampstead Past by Dick Weindling & Marianne Colloms, Historical Publications © 1999