Place name
Henry Archibald Tufnell (May 15, 1854 – 1898) was one of the last descendants of William Tufnell and to hold the manor of Barnsbury, which had been granted to him by his father-in-law Sir William Halton in 1753. Tufnell petitioned Parliament for the right to develop his estate but the building leases he was granted were left unused. When he died the manor was passed to his brother George Foster Tufnell, MP for Beverley (died 1798). From there it went to George’s son William Tufnell, MP for Colchester, who died in 1809 leaving an infant son Henry Tufnell, who went on to become MP for Ipswich and Devonport, Liberal chief whip whose three marriages included two daughters of earls. What remained of the freehold passed to Henry Archibald Tufnell, when his father died in 1854. The area was used for dairy farming, supplying fresh milk to the capital. Major development building began in the mid-19thCentury around Carleton Road with a scheme sponsored by Henry Tufnell, designed by John Shaw Jr and developed by George Truefitt who built imposing local villas in roads such as Anson and Carleton for wealthy retired merchants, along with St George’s Church. However, a second, denser wave of building around Celia Road, Hugo Road, Corinne Road, Huddleston Road as well as Archibald Road was received with trepidation by locals at the time, who felt the area was becoming too Metropolitan. Henry Archibald left no children so it was passed to Lt Col Edward Tufnell who whose widow Ellen Bertha retained a life tenancy in part of the manor and whose trustees were the lords in 1925, when the court books ended.
