The Abbey Arts Centre

About

The Abbey Arts Centre at 89 Park Road, New Barnet, England, was established in 1946 by William Ohly, an art dealer who ran the Berkeley Galleries in Davies Street, London.

Early history: The area was undeveloped fields until the later part of the nineteenth century when Park Road and other streets were laid out. What is now number 89 was one of the first houses built in Park Road when it was constructed in 1873 and was originally divided into two semi-detached houses. It was known as Hadley Hall and the occupier, according to the Barnet directory for 1890–91, was George William Chambers Kirkham. Census returns show Kirkham to be a Manchester-born businessman in the cotton industry.

Abbey Folk Park: Around 1930, John Sebastian Marlowe Ward became the owner of the site which a 1930 plan indicates was no longer divided into two houses. In that year, he purchased a circa 13th-century tithe barn (grade II listed) and relocated it to the site from Birchington in Kent. He subsequently converted it to a church and founded a religious community. In 1934 he opened the Abbey Folk Park which by 1937 comprised 46 buildings, included historic shop fronts and a 17th-century smithy saved...