|
|
 |
| |
Lissenden Gardens shortly after they were completed in 1906 |
They just don’t build them like they used to
Lissenden Garden flats are 100 years old and a model in how to design homes and create community,
writes Dan Carrier
A PHOTO exhibition charting the life and times of a housing estate on Highgate Road opened this week at Holborn library.
Lissenden Gardens is celebrating it’s centenary and residents have unearthed a wealth of information about the 260-flat Edwardian mansion blocks that over look Parliament Hill Fields.
The exhibition includes pictures taken by young people living on the estate today and photos throughout the life of the flats.
Historical buildings expert and architect Tony Edwards, who has lived in the blocks since 1987, said Lissenden Gardens are classic examples of turn of the century urban planning.
“The population of London was growing at one million people a decade,” he says.
“There was a lot of new rich people who wanted to live close to the city centre, but space was at a premium. They did not want to live in the suburbs – the answer was to build upwards. Number 7 Parliament Hill offered great transport links – there was a horse drawn tram, and Highgate RoaThey just don't build them like they used to Lissenden Garden flats are 100 years old and a model in how to design homes and create community, writes Dan Carrier A photo exhibition charting the life and times of a housing estate on Highgate Road opened this week at Holborn library. Lissenden Gardens is celebrating it's centenary and residents have unearthed a wealth of information about the 260-flat Edwardian mansion blocks that over look Parliament Hill Fields. The exhibition includes pictures taken by young people living on the estate today and photos throughout the life of the flats. Historical buildings expert and architect Tony Edwards, who has lived in the blocks since 1987, said Lissenden Gardens are classic examples of turn of the century urban planning. "The population of London was growing at one million people a decade," he says. "There was a lot of new rich people who wanted to live close to the city centre, but space was at a premium. They did not want to live in the suburbs - the answer was to build upwards. Number 7 Parliament Hill offered great transport links - there was a horse drawn tram, and Highgate Road train station, as well as a Hansom cab rank." It was these people the builders were aiming the new flats at - the first residents were from the upper middle classes. Mr Edwards's research has discovered that early tenants included a Lieutenant-Colonel Waddell, Barrister Graham Mould and a Dr Thompson of Harley Street. Architects Boehmer and Gibbs used revolutionary designs. Drawing heavily on the superior workmanship promoted by the William Morris school of arts and crafts, it boasted red brick with hand carved designs above windows, stained glass and hand-made tiles in the stairwells, decorative wrought iron railings and a clever design where sky lights brought in fresh air to counter smells from down pipes. It was praised by one of it's first occupants, the suffragette Alice Zimmern - who promoted women's education at Camden School for Girls and South Hampstead private school - for lightening the load of the average housewife. A hand-pulled lift attached to a balcony by the scullery saved the need to trudge up and down with buckets of coal and a tube that residents on the upper floors could use to attract passing tradesmen by blowing through it with a whistle. A communal rubbish chute also saved labour while a caretaker was given responsibility for scrubbing stairs and doorsteps. Mr Edwards said: "The architects were very experienced, and they had done other similar building projects, and what strikes you 100 years later is how well designed they are and they are still good for living."But the homes have had to fight off a number of threats: the Armstrong family, who built the blocks, had to battle with St Pancras council over the plans. The council was keen to ensure there was a route through to Gordon House Road which delayed work. The Armstrongs earned a reputation for being fair landlords. The grandfather put up the money to build the estate, the father project managing its construction and then his two sons Peter and Raymond living in the Gardens and working on their upkeep. The Armstrong brothers were remembered for their personal touch: they would find flats for children who had outgrown their parents' homes to ensure there was still a strong sense of community in the estate. And when part of Parliament Hill Mansions was hit during the Blitz, they rebuilt it - and added a lift so elderly tenants would not have to walk up stairs. The Armstrong's ownership of Lissenden Gardens came to an end in the 1970s: the third generation of the family decided to sell up. Developers hovered, hoping to snap up the flats and turn them into an exclusive enclave. The threat was fought off by the Lissenden Gardens Tenants' Association, who successfully lobbied the council to make a compulsory purchase order on the flats and today the homes are a mix of 50 per cent leasehold and 50 per cent council tenants. n The exhibition is at Holborn Library, in Theobald's Road until April 5. Lissenden Gardens shortly after they were completed in 1906d train station, as well as a Hansom cab rank.”
It was these people the builders were aiming the new flats at – the first residents were from the upper middle classes.
Mr Edwards’s research has discovered that early tenants included a Lieutenant-Colonel Waddell, Barrister Graham Mould and a Dr Thompson of Harley Street.
Architects Boehmer and Gibbs used revolutionary designs. Drawing heavily on the superior workmanship promoted by the William Morris school of arts and crafts, it boasted red brick with hand carved designs above windows, stained glass and hand-made tiles in the stairwells, decorative wrought iron railings and a clever design where sky lights brought in fresh air to counter smells from down pipes.
It was praised by one of it’s first occupants, the suffragette Alice Zimmern – who promoted women’s education at Camden School for Girls and South Hampstead private school – for lightening the load of the average housewife.
A hand-pulled lift attached to a balcony by the scullery saved the need to trudge up and down with buckets of coal and a tube that residents on the upper floors could use to attract passing tradesmen by blowing through it with a whistle.
A communal rubbish chute also saved labour while a caretaker was given responsibility for scrubbing stairs and doorsteps.
Mr Edwards said: “The architects were very experienced, and they had done other similar building projects, and what strikes you 100 years later is how well designed they are and they are still good for living.”But the homes have had to fight off a number of threats: the Armstrong family, who built the blocks, had to battle with St Pancras council over the plans. The council was keen to ensure there was a route through to Gordon House Road which delayed work.
The Armstrongs earned a reputation for being fair landlords. The grandfather put up the money to build the estate, the father project managing its construction and then his two sons Peter and Raymond living in the Gardens and working on their upkeep.
The Armstrong brothers were remembered for their personal touch: they would find flats for children who had outgrown their parents’ homes to ensure there was still a strong sense of community in the estate.
And when part of Parliament Hill Mansions was hit during the Blitz, they rebuilt it – and added a lift so elderly tenants would not have to walk up stairs.
The Armstrong’s ownership of Lissenden Gardens came to an end in the 1970s: the third generation of the family decided to sell up. Developers hovered, hoping to snap up the flats and turn them into an exclusive enclave.
The threat was fought off by the Lissenden Gardens Tenants’ Association, who successfully lobbied the council to make a compulsory purchase order on the flats and today the homes are a mix of 50 per cent leasehold and 50 per cent council tenants.
• The exhibition is at Holborn Library, in Theobald’s Road until April 5.
|
 |
|
|
|
