ROBERT WILLIAMS BUCHANAN (1841 - 1901)

25 Maresfield Gardens

I had been intending to visit 25, Maresfield Gardens, for some years, but there was never any time during our odd day-trips to London to fit it in. Then, in January, 2024, my youngest son, who lives in London, asked us to come down for a few days to look after his cat, Boots, while he was on holiday. Now, having some free time, I could indulge my whim and go to Hampstead and find the house which Robert Buchanan had lived in during the period of his greatest success as a playwright. Unfortunately I did not liaise with Hampstead Council and they had chosen the same day to dig up the pavement in front of 25, Maresfield Gardens, so, as so often in the story of my dealings with Robert Buchanan all one can say is, bugger. But, photos were taken as workmen wondered what we were up to, and here they are. First, a little background.

Item in The Echo of 21st November, 1889:

     “Mr. Robert Buchanan has just bought a house in Mansfield-gardens, South Hampstead, a delightful road of artistically-built villas, running parallel with Fitzjohn’s-avenue. Mr. Buchanan’s house is close to that which Mr. Wilson Barrett recently purchased.”

According to the later bankruptcy statements, Buchanan did not buy the house, but rented it at £200 a year.

Item in The Yorkshire Evening Post of 20th December, 1890.

     “Mr. Robert Buchanan, whose Modern Review is due in a day or two, now lives at South Hampstead. His house in Maresfield Gardens is semi-detached and red-bricked, picturesquely designed, but ill-provided in the matter of garden ground. The dramatist’s workroom is at the top of the house, and is so spacious that big bookcases and a extensive desk leave him plenty of room to peregrinate, pen in hand, when some passage needs pondering over. Although so busy a man, Mr. Buchanan is not an early riser, and the morning is often well advanced before he has breakfasted.

5th April, 1891:
The date of the 1891 census. Buchanan is living at 25, Maresfield Gardens, South Hampstead, London and the household now consists of Robert Buchanan (widower, 49, author), Margaret Buchanan (mother, widow, 74, ‘living on her own means’) and Harriett Jay (sister-in-law, single, 36, authoress and actress). Also listed is Louise Dear (niece, single, 25 - presumably the daughter of Harriett Jay’s sister, Eliza) and three servants: a housemaid, a cook and a coachman. The annual rent is £195.

Buchanan’s next-door neighbour, at No. 27, was Herbert Asquith, the Liberal M.P. for East Fife and the future Prime Minister.

‘My First Book’ article printed in The Idler of May 1893. Reprinted in My First Book (London: Chatto & Windus, 1894). The article included the following photographs of 25, Maresfield Gardens. In the first photo, Robert Buchanan is flanked (I am assuming) by his mother (on his right) and Harriett Jay (seated on his left).

Before visiting 25, Maresfield Gardens, I did a little checking to make sure it was still standing, and also looked on google maps to see if the little van had been up there again and got a better view of the house - the one that’s always been on this site was a bit useless due to the tree - presumably the same tree which appears in its younger sapling days in the first photograph above.

Well, the google van had been up the road again and the view of the house was a bit better. I think the technology may have improved.

What my ‘research’ did throw up, though, was that the ground floor of the house was now a flat and was currently for sale. For £1,899,000. And that’s leasehold. Here’s the full description from The Move Market site. Seems they had the same problem with the tree.

25 Maresfield Gardens
Ground floor flat for sale

Property Summary

Ground Floor Flat, 25 Maresfield Gardens, London, Camden, Greater London, NW3 5SD

     Ground Floor Flat, 25 Maresfield Gardens is a 4 bedroom leasehold flat - it is ranked as the 6th most expensive property* in NW3 5SD, with a valuation of £1,899,000.
     Since it last sold in November 2011 for £1,415,000, its value has increased by £484,000.

Essential buying details

     The property turned out to be a amazing investment for the previous owner - returning on average 12.0% per annum.

The local market

     The average property price for this postcode is £1,588,000 - prices here range from £702,000 to £2,805,000.
     The latest sale in NW3 5SD went for £1.29M on 02 Jun 2023.
     11 properties have sold in NW3 5SD over the last 5 years.

Valuation details

     The most likely sale price is £1,899,000 but at the lower end we think it should fetch a minimum of £1,833,000.
     If the property was previously purchased in a bad state of repair, making home improvements throughout could increase its sale price to £2,184,000.
     If the property has been refurbished or extended since it was last purchased, update the property details to get a revised valuation.
     Note: If the lease has less than 82 years remaining, the property valuation will start to drop rapidly (due to the cost of the lease renewal increasing significantly at this point).

Sale history

The most paid for a property in Maresfield Gardens, NW3 5SD was £2,780,000 in 2020.

     Date            Price          Change

Today's value* £1,899,000 34.2%

21 Nov 2011    £1,415,000  124.6%

08 Oct 2004      £630,000

Property details

     Most likely sale price: £1,883,000
     Offers likely to be accepted between £1,817,000 and £1,949,000.
     4 bedroom leasehold flat

My plan was to disguise myself as a Russian oligarch and snoop around the house and garden taking photos - not really - but I did think I wouldn’t look that dodgy if the place was for sale and I thought I could pass for a man with 2 million quid in his pocket (I left me flat cap and whippet at wom). So, on to our (accompanied by the good lady wife, Gill) adventure in Hampstead on 24th January, 2024.

The first odd thing was the fact that Maresfield Gardens is on the top of a hill, accessed from Finchley Road by this:

At the top of the hill we found Maresfield Gardens waiting for us, and then the second surprise, up the street the first ominous sign that there may be workmen afoot.

Bugger!

Neighbours.

As mentioned above, Buchanan’s next door neighbour, at No. 27, was Herbert Henry Asquith, M.P. and future Prime Minister (from 1908 to 1916). So, the man who took Britain into the First World War is naturally honoured with a blue plaque.

Across the road, at No. 20, there’s the Freud Museum. I should point out that Sigmund Freud didn’t move in till 1938, so Robert Buchanan was long gone (in both senses).

More blue plaques.

Mission accomplished!

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