Monkenhurst is a house in the Victorian Gothic style at 15 The Crescent on the north edge of New Barnet in London, England. It overlooks Monken Hadley Common. The house was built in 1880 to a design by Peter Dollar and was once the home of the comedian Spike Milligan.
History Monkenhurst was built in 1880 to a Victorian Gothic design by Peter DollarMonken Hadley: Introduction. British History Online. Retrieved 27 May 2017. and enlarged in 1915. It is of red brick with three storeys and a pyramid-capped tower. Stained glass windows, acquired from Northumberland House (demolished 1874), show the crests of participants in the Wars of the RosesTaylor, Pamela, & Joanna Corden (1994) Barnet, Edgware, Hadley and Totteridge: A Pictorial History. Chichester: Phillimore. Photograph No. 86. in reference to the Battle of Barnet, a key battle in the conflict that took place nearby."Barnet: My part in its rise and downfall", Anne Spackman, The Times, 4 October 2002, p. 8.
In the 1920s the house was the home of the mining engineer and metallurgist Savannah Johnson Speak (1868–1929)Who's Who in Engineering, Volume 1. John W. Leonard Corporation, New York, 1922. p. 1187. and in the 1950s it was the residence of the radiologist Steven Carstairs (1919–1998).
In 1973, the house along with other property totalling about two acres, was acquired by Highshore Properties, who, it was reported in Estates Gazette, intended to sell Monkenhurst and build houses and bungalows on the rest of the site.Estates Gazette, Volume 227 (1973), Part 1, p. 651.
In 1974Me and my dad, Spike. Genevieve Fox, Evening Standard, 1 April 2003. Retrieved 27 May 2017. Monkenhurst was acquired by the comedian Spike Milligan who spent £10,000 restoring it. He also paid to have the pound (an historic livestock enclosure) on Monken Hadley Common repaired.Take a Tour of the Common. Monken Hadley Common. Retrieved 27 May 2017. Visitors to the house during Milligan's ownership included Prince Charles,Lot 59 A dinner menu. Bonhams. Retrieved 2 June 2017. and fellow Goon Show cast-member Peter Sellers, who arrived naked as a practical joke, and was sent away again still naked. The house was later purchased by the property developer Stephen Friel who spent £250,000 refurbishing it after acquiring it in a poor condition. It was offered for sale in 2002 for £1.75 millionSpike's home for sale. Chortle, 9 October 2002. Retrieved 27 May 2017.
Monkenhurst is locally listed by the London Borough of Barnet.Monken Hadley Conservation Area Character Appraisal Statement London Borough of Barnet, Barnet, 2007, p. 38. Gallery
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