Prickett & Ellis - A History Through Four Centuries

18th Century - the founding fathers (& sons)

• 1767 John Prickett, a carpenter of Highgate, holds a property auction in Highgate Village.
• 1789 On his death his son, also named John, continues the business of auctioneer and surveyor.
• 1795 He produces the first clear map of Highgate as part of a commission by the Vestry of St.Pancras to map the whole of the parish.
• 1796 George Prickett is born.
  The family carpentry business evidently continued, English Heritage recently finding an invoice from Mary Prickett of Highgate for work carried out at Kenwood House in the early 19th century.  A firm called Pricketts Wood Products survived in Archway into the 21st century

 

19th Century - a 2nd office for an Ellis

• 1803 John Prickett becomes an officer in the newly formed Loyal Highgate Volunteers to safeguard Highgate from an invasion by Napoleon. Disbanded in 1813.
• 1806 Original “Particulars” show that John Prickett auctioned at
  “Garraway’s coffee house in Cornhill, 18 acres and three roods of desirable freehold estates, together described as Wood Green near Hornsey in the county of Middlesex and being “most delightfully situated for building upon”
  - is this the earliest recorded example of Estate Agent understatement?

• 1812 The Archway tunnel collapses while under construction leading to the first Archway Bridge of 1813. Built by the Highgate Archway Co. of which Mr. Prickett is a shareholder
• 1821 Frederick Prickett, one of triplets, is born – grandchildren to John.
• 1831 the firm becomes John Prickett & Son, the son being George (born 1796) who was to have seven children.
• 1842 One of these, Frederick, becomes the first Highgate Historian, at 21, with the publication of his book;
  “The History and Antiquities of Highgate”.

• 1844 A deputation, including George Prickett, to St.Pancras Vestry requests that something be done about the condition of the Ponds in Pond Square. As a result they are drained.
• 1847 Hornsey Vestry appoints George Prickett to estimate the compensation claim against The Great Northern Railway for land acquired for the London to York railway.
• 1867 The Great Northern Railway opens Highgate station for services between Finsbury Park (with connections to the City) and East Finchley. 
• 1880 With the subsequent influx of City workers, the house building boom and an apparent lack of interest from the remaining Pricketts, an additional partner is sought. Frederick Venables joins to form a short lived Prickett & Venables.
• 1884 Concerned at the loss of business to the Village following the success of the Archway Road ‘bypass’ a cable tramway is provided up Highgate Hill but closes in 1892 for five years as a result of accidents and maintenance problems
• 1885 The name becomes the familiar one of Prickett & Ellis, with the formation of a more successful partnership with, Henry Ellis -a resident of Highgate West Hill latterly renowned for the quality of his local photographs – many still being reproduced today.
  Mr Prickett continues in the Village at 32 Highgate High Street.

• 1886 Mr Ellis takes advantage of the burgeoning Muswell Hill and Crouch End markets by building himself an office at the entrance to Highgate Station - close to the Muswell Hill Road/Archway Road junction.
• The building was subsequently listed, then mistakenly demolished in the 1980’s by the Department of the Environment (who had acquired the building for a road scheme) and recently rebuilt after action by English Heritage.
• 1892 From hereon there is no record of any Prickett partners and the business continues with Henry as a sole trader.

20th Century - a 3rd office in the City

• 1910 – 1920 Henry Ellis’s sons Alfred and Henry join the now ‘all Ellis’ Prickett & Ellis.
• 1920 – 1930 The business expands to three offices - Mr Prickett’s original Village office at No. 32 (moving in the 30’s to No. 4 Highgate High Street), the Henry Ellis’s Archway Road office and a new commercial department under Henry Ellis the younger in Chancery Lane WC.
• 1925 The partnership turns over £250,000 of property
• 1933 Alfred’s son William, known as Tony, joins the firm as a trainee surveyor. The family home is in Holly Lodge Gardens. 
• 1939 - 1945 Chancery Lane premises blitzed during the War and with the death of Henry soon after, never reopens. Tony serves on the continent in the Army as wireless technician and driver.
• 1945- 1950 Alfred continues the Highgate side of the business from No.4 Highgate High Street and moves house to Bisham Gardens. His son Tony works from the Archway Rd office, and lives with his family above No.4.
• 1953 W.H. ‘Tony’ Ellis becomes a partner.
• 1954 Alfred, the last son of Henry, the first Ellis, dies.
• 1960’s With the redevelopment of No.4 Tony moves the Highgate office to No.27 where it remains to this day.
• 1967 An additional office, a part of 185 Priory Road N8 is acquired and run by local resident Mrs. McDougal.
• 1970’s two sons, Anthony and Nigel Ellis, join the business continuing to this day (64 years in the business between them); the fourth generation of Ellis’s succeeding the four generations of Pricketts.
• 1978 The Hornsey office moves across the road to larger premises at 205 Park Road N8, originally built by the local Collins family of builders and architects as a dairy. Run by Nigel it was ideally located to serve both Muswell Hill and Crouch End. On refurbishment the walls are found to be covered in the original dairy’s decorative Art Nouveau tiles, so has since been furnished in Arts & Crafts style.
• 1984 Seeing the coming communications revolution Prickett & Ellis become one of the earliest members of Team - now a nationwide computerised association of independent agents, set up to provide their clients with speedy access to a wider market of buyers and sellers.
• 1985 W H ‘Tony’ Ellis retires after more than 50 years service and dies at 88 years old in 2003. Anthony, now also known as Tony runs the Village office.
• 1990, when all around were selling out, Prickett & Ellis expanded into the Alexandra Park area by taking over the lease of a 1930’s bank in Muswell Hill’s Alexandra Park Road and fittingly furnished it in the ‘Art Deco’ style.
• 1995 Prickett & Ellis Surveyors Ltd is established as a separate specialist service under Christopher Stone (a Hornsey resident, the son of a house builder, and a Surveyor with over 30 years of local experience).
• 1998 Darren Johnston ANAEA, (together with his family a Muswell Hill resident), after some eight years with Prickett & Ellis, becomes a Director of Prickett & Ellis Residential Limited, which includes the popular “Arts & Crafts” Park Road office  - one of the areas most successful estate agent offices.

21st Century - and 6 offices

• 2000 The new millennium brings expansion into East Finchley with the acquisition of Bernard Tomkins & Co on the retirement of Bernard Tomkins himself - another long established name (from 1873) in the area. His long serving partner Peter Byrne, (36 years in East Finchley) remains a Consultant, whilst also serving as IT director to the Team Association. In recognition of the good name the office trades as Prickett & Ellis Tomkins.
• 2000 & onwards. Prickett & Ellis was pleased to further welcome Christopher Underhill to take over the Highgate Village office. A born and bred Muswell Hill resident, formerly with Keith Cardale Groves, Christopher incorporates yet another well known local property name by trading as Prickett & Ellis Underhill.
• 2003 The latest addition to this, the most experienced team of property experts currently available locally, is Cheryl Cheasley (also a local resident), the Managing Director of Prickett & Ellis Lettings Limited.  Cheryl has many years specialist experience with some well known companies in North London, and for the first time provides the Prickett & Ellis group with a separate specialist and dedicated department (so essential to provide the professional advice in today’s regulated environment).
• 2005 The 205 Park Road office expands into number 207 which is shared by a new sixth office in the network at 209 Park Road - the lettings office.
  Many of the current sales team live locally, providing local buyers with unrivalled understanding and knowledge of our particularly green and pleasant land.
  The business remains to this day true to its long established and professional reputation gained through 240 years of local service, now enhanced by the most sophisticated property marketing technology, linking offices and families, as no other agent can.