Hampstead Garden Suburb | |
---|---|
Litchfield Way | |
Location within Greater London | |
OS grid reference | TQ265885 |
London borough | |
Ceremonial county | Greater London |
Region | |
Country | England |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Post town | LONDON |
Postcode district | N2 |
Postcode district | NW11 |
Dialling code | 020 |
Police | Metropolitan |
Fire | London |
Ambulance | London |
UK Parliament | |
London Assembly | |
Hampstead Garden Suburb is an elevated suburb of London, north of Hampstead, west of Highgate and east of Golders Green. It is known for its intellectual, liberal, artistic, musical and literary associations. It is an example of early twentieth-century domestic architecture and town planning in the London Borough of Barnet, northwest London.
The master plan was prepared by Barry Parker and Sir Raymond Unwin. Comprising just over 5,000 properties, and home to around 16,000 people, undivided houses with individual gardens are a key feature. The area enjoys landscaped garden squares, several communal parks and Hampstead Heath Extension.
Despite it's name being Hampstead Garden Suburb, it is not an actual suburb of Hampstead, nor are they in the same London borough, as Hampstead is in the London Borough of Camden, [1] and Hampstead Garden Suburb in the London Borough of Barnet. [2]
Hampstead Garden Suburb was founded by Henrietta Barnett, who, with her husband Samuel, had started the Whitechapel Art Gallery and Toynbee Hall. In 1906, Barnett set up the Hampstead Garden Suburb Trust Ltd, which purchased 243 acres of land from Eton College for the scheme and appointed Raymond Unwin as its architect. [3]
Among the scheme's aims were the following:
This required a private bill before Parliament, as it was counter to local bylaws. The provisions of the new act, Hampstead Garden Suburb Act 1906, allowed less land to be taken up by roads and more by gardens and open spaces. [3]
The ideas for the "Garden Suburb" were clearly based on the ideas and experience of Parker and Unwin in the planning and development of Letchworth Garden City, the first development of its kind, inspired by the work of Ebenezer Howard. Other consultant architects involved with the Hampstead development include George Lister Sutcliffe and John Soutar.
However, with no industry, no public houses and few shops or services, the suburb, unlike the garden cities, made no attempt to be self-contained. [3] In the 1930s the "Suburb" (as it is known by locals) expanded to the north of the A1. While more characterful than most other suburban housing, some of the housing to the north is considered, overall, of less architectural value.[ citation needed ]
On Central Square, laid out by Sir Edwin Lutyens, there are two large churches, St. Jude's Church and The Free Church, as well as a Quaker Meeting House. There are two mixed state primary schools in the Suburb, Garden Suburb and Brookland. There is also a state girls' grammar school, Henrietta Barnett School. The school used to house The Institute, an adult education centre, but The Institute moved first to East Finchley, then to Kingsbury and is currently in the process of closing down altogether.
Shops and other services are provided in the shopping parade of Market Place. Shopping areas adjacent to the suburb include Temple Fortune, Golders Green and East Finchley.
Little Wood contains an open-air arena, which is used for summer theatrical performances by a local amateur theatre society.
Freehold houses, flats and commercial premises within the Suburb are subject to a scheme of management approved pursuant to the Leasehold Reform Act 1967 by an Order of the Chancery Division of the High Court, dated 17 January 1974, as amended by a further Order dated 17 February 1983.
The HGS Trust maintains the character and amenity of the Suburb [4] and is responsible for implementing the management scheme. It has offices in Finchley Road. Freeholders are required to get the prior approval of the trust before altering the external appearance of their properties. Consent is also required for significant changes to gardens, erection of garden sheds and felling or pruning of trees. [5] The trust is also the freeholder of the majority of the remaining leasehold properties in the Suburb which are mostly held on very long leases.
Hampstead Garden Suburb Act 1906 | |
---|---|
Act of Parliament | |
Citation | 6 Edw. 7. c. cxcii |
Dates | |
Royal assent | 4 August 1906 |
Urban town planning had been restricted by the byelaws established after the Public Health Act 1875, which had de facto called for a grid iron street layout, and a minimum housing density. This had prevented Cadbury building workers houses within a city, and caused Rowntree to build his housing in rural parishes. For Unwin to design a street structure that followed the contours, and built houses in cul-de-sacs an act of Parliament was needed. The Hampstead Garden Suburb Trust sponsored a private bill, which was passed as the Hampstead Garden Suburb Act 1906 (6 Edw. 7. c. cxcii)
The three relevant sections of the act were
There shall not be built in the Garden Suburb on the average throughout a greater proportion of houses to the acre than eight.
On every road in the Garden Suburb (whatever the width of the said road) there shall be between any two houses standing on opposite sides of the road a space not less than fifty feet free of any buildings except walls, fences or gates.
With respect to any gardens, recreation grounds or open spaces provided by the Company for the common use of the inhabitants of any dwellings in the Garden Suburb the Company may make bye-laws for the regulation thereof ...
Any road not exceeding 500 feet in length constructed primarily for the purpose of giving access to a group of houses in the Garden Suburb and not designed for the purposes of through traffic (known as an accommodation road), may with the consent of the local authority be exempted from any operation of any bye-laws of the local authority relating to the width of new streets and footways.
Section 2, defined a low building density, and wide streets with gardens or verges where trees could be planted. Section 5 distinguished between through-roads and accommodation roads, residential cul-de-sacs under 500 feet (150 m). It recognised the difference between cul-de-sac roads of limited length and other roads, and allowed the suspension of the operation of certain local planning bye-laws [6]
The Suburb has large areas of open space, including Central Square; Hampstead Heath Extension; Northway Gardens; Lyttelton Playing Fields; and Big Wood and Little Wood. The southern end is close to Golders Hill Park.
Hampstead Garden Suburb is represented by two Councillors on Barnet Council.
Hampstead Garden Suburb is in the parliamentary constituency of Finchley and Golders Green. As of 2024, it is represented by Sarah Sackman of the Labour Party.
Golders Green is an area in the London Borough of Barnet in England. It began as a medieval small suburban linear settlement near a farm and public grazing area green, and dates to the early 19th century. Its bulk forms a late 19th century and early 20th century suburb with a commercial crossroads. The rest is of later build. It is centred approximately 6 miles (9 km) north west of Charing Cross on the intersection of Golders Green Road and Finchley Road.
Hampstead is an area in London, England, which lies 4 miles (6 km) northwest of Charing Cross, forming the northwest part of the London Borough of Camden, a borough in Inner London. It borders Highgate and Golders Green to the north, Belsize Park to the south and is surrounded from the northeast by Hampstead Heath, a large, hilly expanse of parkland.
Muswell Hill is a suburban district of the London Borough of Haringey, north London. The hill, which reaches over 100 m (330 ft) above sea level, is situated 5+1⁄2 miles north of Charing Cross.
The London Borough of Barnet is a local authority area on the northern outskirts of London. The borough was formed in 1965 from parts of the ceremonial counties of Middlesex and Hertfordshire. It is the second largest London borough by population with 389,344 inhabitants as of 2021, also making it the 17th largest district in England. The borough covers an area of 86.74 square kilometres (33 sq mi), the fourth highest of the 32 London boroughs, and has a population density of 45.8 people per hectare, which ranks it 25th.
Whetstone is a suburb of north London, in the London Borough of Barnet, bearing the postcode N20. It is served by an Underground station called Totteridge and Whetstone. Whetstone is around 7.8 miles North of Charing Cross and is a settlement in the London Borough of Barnet, previously part of the Borough of Finchley prior to the 1960s. The combined areas of Totteridge and Whetstone was, at the outset of the 21st century, found to be the 63rd-richest of the more than 9,000 wards of the United Kingdom.
Hampstead Heath is an ancient heath in London, spanning 320 hectares. This grassy public space sits astride a sandy ridge, one of the highest points in London, running from Hampstead to Highgate, which rests on a band of London Clay. The heath is rambling and hilly, embracing ponds, recent and ancient woodlands, a lido, playgrounds, and a training track, and it adjoins the former stately home of Kenwood House and its estate. The south-east part of the heath is Parliament Hill, from which the view over London is protected by law.
East Finchley is an area in North London, immediately north of Hampstead Heath. Like neighbouring Muswell Hill, it straddles the London Boroughs of Barnet and Haringey, with most of East Finchley falling into the London Borough of Barnet. It has the greenest high road in London.
Swiss Cottage is an area of Hampstead in the London Borough of Camden, England. It is centred on the junction of Avenue Road and Finchley Road and includes Swiss Cottage tube station. Swiss Cottage lies 3.25 miles (5.23 km) north-northwest of Charing Cross. The area was named after a public house in the centre of it, known as "Ye Olde Swiss Cottage".
Childs Hill is one of two areas at the south end of the London Borough of Barnet along with Cricklewood which straddles three boroughs. It took its name from Richard le Child, who in 1312 held a customary house and "30 acres" of its area. It is a mainly late-19th-century suburban large neighbourhood centred 5 miles (8 km) northwest of Charing Cross bordered by the arterial road Hendon Way in the west and south-west, Dunstan Road in the north, West Heath and Golders Hill Park which form an arm of Hampstead Heath to the east and the borough boundary as to the short south-east border.
Temple Fortune is a place in the London Borough of Barnet to the north of Golders Green. It is principally a shopping district used by residents of the Hampstead Garden Suburb. Between here and Golders Green, at Hoop Lane are two cemeteries – Golders Green Jewish Cemetery and Golders Green Crematorium. Religious buildings include the Catholic Church of St Edward the Confessor, St. Mary & Archangel Michael Coptic Orthodox Church, and North Western Reform Synagogue.
Finchley and Golders Green is a constituency created in 1997. It is represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament by Sarah Sackman of the Labour Party.
Woodside Park is a suburban residential area in the London Borough of Barnet, in the North Finchley postal district of N12.
Friern Barnet is a suburban area within the London Borough of Barnet, 7.4 miles (11.9 km) north of Charing Cross. Its centre is formed by the busy intersection of Colney Hatch Lane, Woodhouse Road and Friern Barnet Road.
The Edgware, Highgate and London Railway was a railway in North London, England. The railway was a precursor of parts of London Underground's Northern line and was, in the 1930s, the core of an ambitious expansion plan for that line which was thwarted by the Second World War. Parts of the line were closed in the 1950s and have since been removed.
The London Borough of Barnet, located on the northern periphery of London and having much of the area within its boundaries in the Metropolitan Green Belt, has many parks and open spaces. In addition there are large areas taken over by cemeteries and golf courses, and part of Hampstead Heath.
The A1 in London is the southern part of the A1 road. It starts at Aldersgate in the City of London, passing through the capital to Borehamwood on the northern fringe of Greater London, before continuing to Edinburgh. The road travels through the City and three London boroughs: Islington, Haringey and Barnet, which include the districts of Islington, Holloway, Highgate, Hendon and Mill Hill, and travels along Upper Street and Holloway Road, crossing the North Circular Road in Hendon, a district in the London Borough of Barnet.
The Dollis Valley Greenwalk is a footpath route in the London Borough of Barnet in London, England, between Moat Mount Nature Reserve in Mill Hill and Hampstead Heath. The route is designed to act as a link between the Capital Ring and the London Loop, and between the many green spaces and wildlife corridors along the way. It is approximately 10 miles (16 km) long. It mainly follows the Dollis Brook and is one of the many parks and open spaces in Barnet.
The London Borough of Camden is a borough in Inner London, England. Camden Town Hall, on Euston Road, lies 1.4 mi (2.3 km) north of Charing Cross. The borough was established on 1 April 1965 from the former metropolitan boroughs of Holborn, St Pancras and Hampstead.
Big Wood and Little Wood are two patches of woodland in Hampstead Garden Suburb in the London Borough of Barnet. They are a Site of Borough Importance for Nature Conservation, Grade 1, and a Local Nature Reserve. Big Wood is 7.3 hectares and Little Wood is 1.2 hectares.
Spaniards Road is a street in Hampstead in the London Borough of Camden. It runs northwards from the junction of Heath Street and North End Way, close to the Hampstead War Memorial and Jack Straw's Castle, cutting through Hampstead Heath before becoming Hampstead Lane which then turns eastwards towards Highgate. It is designated part of the B519 Road.
What brought you to Hampstead Garden Suburb?
My wife and I were looking for a comfortable house with a garden in a leafy suburb for ourselves and our children. We fairly quickly focussed on the area around Hampstead Heath Extension.
Margaret Bondfield lived in Denman Drive in the 1930s.
Lived at: Linnell Close, Hampstead Garden Suburb
Myra Hess was resident at 48 Wildwood Road until her death.
Jean Henderson was resident in the suburb for many years.
Robert Donat lived at 8 Meadway in the 1930s.
Peter often referred to her as 'The Duchess', a term of affection suited to the privet hedge society of HGS
Donald Sinden died in September last year at his home in Kent, having moved from the Suburb in 1997 after 53 years
Harold Wilson moved from Southway to Downing Street.