Colesgrove Manor
17th century residence
By Iain Bickerton
Colesgrove Manor can be found near the top of Halstead Hill, Goffs Oak.
Built by a Mr Warwick in 1658, it was once known as Warwick House. The building was enlarged around 1830 by the Mayo family, who had inherited Colesgrove in the early 19th century. In the 1950s it became the residence of Lady Fergusson Hannay, better known as the novelist Doris Leslie, who renamed the house Colesgrove Manor.
In the 1960s it became the residence of a Mr Ralph Wellsted, a postal historian who collected early post boxes.
This page was added on 16/07/2013.
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The actress and TV producer Josephine Douglas lived there in the early 1970s. She presented the six five special in the late 50s and then later produced Emergency Ward 10. I went to Turnford College with her son, Christian Doll at that time.
A contributor asked the name of my grandparents who lived at Colesgrove Manor back in the 50’s. They were Mr and Mrs H E Parry-Jones. Grandpa was an optician with consulting rooms in Waltham Cross, Hackney, Ongar, Willesdon and Copthall Court in the City. Grandma was a JP and president of the Waltham Cross Towns Womens Guild and politically a Liberal; I remember various garden parties at Colesgrove.
My grandparents Mr & Mrs H.E. Parry-Jones (Parry-Jones Opticians) lived in Colesgrove Manor up until the mid 1950s. It was Colesgrove Manor when they bought it; so Lady Ferguson-Hannay didn’t name it! The house was aledged to have been occupied by Oliver Cromwell’s neice.