Site History
Hillfield Court sits on what was once a large country estate known as the Belsize Estate. The first recorded building on the site of what today is Hillfield Court was built in around 1646. It was known as the Blue House and was one of many rural abodes in the area belonging to wealthy merchants, who wanted a country residence within easy reach of London. The Blue House was accessed directly from Haverstock Hill. Little is known about the residents of the Blue House but evidence suggests that in 1650 it was occupied by one John Mascall and in 1679 by Thomas Butler. Between 1761 and 1773, the house was rebuilt and extended by merchant William Horsley.
In 1808, the Belsize Estate was split into 9 leasehold estates. The Hillfield leasehold, as well as the adjoining Belsize House leasehold (around 19 acres (77,000 m2) in total) were bought by James Abel.
In 1841 Basil Woodd, a Bond Street brandy merchant bought the lease from Abel, a 19-acre (77,000 m2) estate set within the boundaries of Belsize Avenue, Belsize Park Gardens and Belsize Grove. By this time, the area to the west of Haverstock Hill was dotted with many country abodes. The former Blue House had by this stage been renovated, modernised and renamed Heathfield House, a stuccoed 6-bedroom house with a library. Woodd acquired the freehold of the land in 1857 and renamed the house Hillfield. Sometime between 1864 and 1867 he built another house on the south end of the estate for his son Robert Ballard Woodd - This house was called Woodlands. Whilst Woodlands was demolished in 1901 to make way for higher density housing, Hillfield remained until 1928 when it was demolished. The land was bought by Hillfield Estates Ltd, a company formed in 1933 by FL, WJ and AG Griggs (Frank, William and Alfred).
Griggs & Son Ltd of Victoria St, London were contractors who developed land in Pinner, built some theatres for the Astoria group in London and in Brighton (1933) and built at least two other theatres in the West End. Griggs & Son developed the Hillfield site to cater for the high demand for mansion blocks. The destruction of the old house and the development of the estate was met with some local opposition, however.
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