BRUCE CASTLE

Tottenham, Middlesex

Historically speaking this land belonged to Robert the Bruce, King of Scotland. Quite how he came to own land in Tottenham is unclear. It is thought that a genuine castle may have once stood here, possibly built by Robert himself, but there is nothing remaining of that structure and little or no history to support its existence although the estate is referred to as Bruce Castle Estate as far back as the 13th Century.

However, the building that exists today was built by Sir William Compton in 1514. There is a detached round tower, the purpose of which was not fully known, though believed to be a dovecote. By 1568 it had fallen into a bad state of repair.

The estate was granted to Henry, second Lord Coleraine in 1680, who rebuilt the castle between then and 1708. His first wife, Constantia, may have commited suicide as a result of his affair with Sarah, Duchess of Somerset, and who later became his second wife. It is believed that the unfortunate Constantia haunts the castle today.

Henry was the first person to name the building Bruce Castle, it being called Lordship House beforehand (Lordship Lane still leads to it). It may be that Henry was just being fanciful or he may have been reviving an ancient tradition.

Between 1827 and 1835 the castle was occupied by Sir Rowland Hill, architect of the modern day postal service. He turned it into a school which remained as such until 1891, when it was purchased by Tottenham Council, and opened as the Middlesex museum in 1906, and it still a museum today, 2006 having marked the castle’s centenary in this function.

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2018