May, May and Deacon , solicitors

In Domesday the manor of Hendon was assessed at 20 hides, 10 of which were in demesne. In 1312 the abbot of Barking took the manor into his own hands, and thereafter Hendon manor was retained by the abbey until the Dissolution, although it was leased in 1422 and 1505. In 1541 the king granted the manor to Thomas Thirlby, bishop of Westminster. With the suppression of the bishopric it reverted to the Crown but was granted in 1550 first to Thomas, Lord Wentworth, and afterwards to Sir William Herbert, created earl of Pembroke in 1551. In 1757 the manor and estate was purchased by James Clutterbuck, who conveyed it in 1765 to his friend David Garrick, the actor. Garrick died in 1779, leaving the manor in trust for his nephew Carrington Garrick, later vicar of Hendon. It was sold in 1825 to Samuel Dendy, who was succeeded in 1845 by his son Arthur Hyde Dendy. In 1889 it was held by Arthur Dendy's widow, Eliza, on whose death it was conveyed to Sir John Carteret Hyde Seale, Mrs. Russell Simpson, and Major H. Dendy, who were joint lords in 1923.

The manor of Little Stanmore was also referred to as the Manor of Canons. In 1709 the manor was purchased by James Brydges, Duke of Chandos, who built a luxurious house filled with exotic collectibles. The Duke's son inherited the estate but had to sell it and much of the collection and even architectural elements of the house. The land passed through various owners until 1860, when it was bought by Dr David Begg. After Dr Begg's death a Morris Jenks bought the entire estate, amounting to some 479 acres, and sold it in 1896 to the Canons Park Estate Company, which in 1898 issued a prospectus of its plans for development. Arthur du Cros, founder of the Dunlop Rubber Co. and later a baronet, bought the mansion but in 1905 sold part of the estate. In 1919 he formed a trust, the Pards Estate, and in 1920 Canons itself was offered for sale, with lands that had been greatly reduced in the north, west, and south-east. Canons Park, formerly Marsh, farm-house and the other houses had been sold and 150 acres remained, almost corresponding to the present open space but still stretching eastward, along the north of the avenue, to reach as far as Edgware Road. In 1926 George Cross bought 85 acres and in 1928 the remainder was bought by Canons Limited and, on the west, by Harrow Urban District Council as a park. The mansion and 10 acres were sold in 1929 to the North London Collegiate school. More land was acquired by the school in 1936 and by the county council for playing fields, which were lent to the school.

From: A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 5: Hendon, Kingsbury, Great Stanmore, Little Stanmore, Edmonton Enfield, Monken Hadley, South Mimms, Tottenham (1976). Available online.