Cricklewood mansion where the Beast of Barnet made his lair on the market for £8m

Prominent former residents of a home often attract public interest, and there’s a (furry) story to tell about the one-time occupant of this Cricklewood house’s garden.

“If someone had told us that the ‘Beast of Barnet’ lived and roamed the bushes at the end of our long garden, we would have thought it was all a joke and we would never have believed them,” says Farhana Meerza, 56 years old, who has lived in the 13-bedroom house on Hocroft Road for many years.

“The story of the ‘Beast of Barnet’ spans over a decade and from 1991 onwards there have been various sightings and reports of a mysterious panther-like creature in the gardens of the Hocroft Estate,” she recalls.

“My husband and I never took it seriously and said it was all nonsense, until of course we found out that the back garden was her lair. We understand that one of the residents of the Hocroft Estate had been illegally keeping the river in their house and on occasion it would escape and then wander into and around our and our other neighbours’ garden.

In 1998, north London was gripped with fear as panic over the Beast of Barnet rose to an all-time high. Residents in the suburb of Cricklewood have been warned to secure their homes and watch out for the Beast of Barnet, a large cat that has been seen prowling around a residential area.

The Metropolitan Police scanned the sky with a helicopter equipped with thermal imaging cameras, police marksmen patrolled the streets and several officers with sirens warned Londoners to lock their doors and windows.

Attempts to capture the Beast from Barnet would not succeed for another three years. Then, in 2001, a cleaner called Carol Montague, who was working at Meerza’s house on Hocroft Road, saw a huge cat sitting on the garden fence.

“I thought it was a leopard or something,” Montague said Telegraph.

“It was the size of an Alsatian with mottled beige and gray fur, with what looked like little black feathers on the tips of its ears and very soft looking baby fur on its belly. I immediately called the police. I don’t think they believed me at first because they laughed.”

But when officers peered through the kitchen window and realized the animal’s size, they realized it was no laughing matter. The RSPCA was called, who in turn contacted London Zoo, who sent their lion head to assess the situation.

“We receive numerous calls reporting big cat sightings and so far they have all proven to be incorrect,” said lion keeper Ray Charter. guardian. “So you can imagine my surprise when I bent down to look under the hedge, expecting to see a large tome of ginger, only to be greeted by a far more exotic face.”

After identifying the Beast of Barnet was in fact a rare Eurasian lynx, a zoo vet managed to shoot it with a tranquilizer dart. Startled rather than drowsy, the river jumped the fence and ran across a playing field before being cornered in the stairwell of Avenue Court.

Aiming from behind a trash can, the vet finally managed to sedate her. Rechristened Lara the Lynx, the fluffy troublemaker was taken to London Zoo and housed in their large cat enclosure. Believed to be an illegally escaped exotic pet, her owner was never found.

Lara finally found love after being transferred to the Zoological Park du Bois de Coulange. She got a mate, gave birth to many laughs and lived out her days until her death in 2009.

“(It’s) a very nice ending to the story,” says Meerza.

Meerza plans to downsize now her daughters are grown, and the Horcroft Road home where it all began is on the market for £8m at Beauchamp Estates.

Along with 13 bedrooms (two of which are for staff), the 10,127-square-foot home includes a wealth of amenities that include an indoor pool, sauna, and gym. There is also a large driveway with two garages behind a carriage gate. The large garden – laugh-approved – includes a terrace and a pond.

Agents point out that the entire property is “now totally free of beasts”.