Highgate Spinney VI
Crescent Road, London N8
Architect: Howard & Rotherham
Register for similar homes“Positioned in one of north London's finest modernist creations, this impeccable apartment retains a plethora of original features”
This two-bedroom apartment is located on the Highgate side of Crouch End, within the Conservation Area and a short walk from Crouch End Broadway. It is situated within Highgate Spinney, one of the area’s renowned modernist buildings designed by Howard & Rotherham in the 1960s. The apartment retains a plethora of original features, including the iconic dark wooden stairs that seem to almost float between floors. There are two balconies across the three levels and a wonderful sense of flow throughout. Expansive communal gardens lie below, carefully planted with mature trees, flowers and blooming shrubbery. There is secure off-street parking for one vehicle. For more information on the architects, please see the History section below.
The Building
Highgate Spinney was built between 1964 and 1966 to a design by noted architects John Howard and Bruce Rotherham. It consists of 30 apartments in a secluded position on Crescent Road, surrounded by trees and communal gardens. The building takes the form of a linear block with a south-east street elevation, defined by an uncompromising architectural regularity. Its stark, jutting forms are sensitively softened by the surrounding greenery and the expanse of sky above.
The Tour
The apartment unfolds across the second, third and fourth floors of the building, occupying an enviable corner position that ensures it feels extremely private. Entrance is to a hallway which is home to a large storage cupboard, providing ample space for bicycles, prams and other items. Original Colombian pine stairs ascend to the third floor and the main living spaces therein.
The living room is positioned at the rear of the plan. A bright, open space, it is illuminated by a row of original windows that extend almost the full width of the wall, framing views over the greenery of the communal garden below. Pale tiles extend underfoot and the walls are painted a simple white, allowing the architectural features of the plan to take centre stage. These include three steps that gently lead to the kitchen, their slight shift in level delineating the spaces but ensuring a sense of flow between them.
Open to the living room, the kitchen is perfect for entertaining. It overlooks the living space just below, with a U-shaped layout that ensures conversation can be easily maintained while cooking. The current owners have introduced new cabinetry entirely sympathetic to the building’s mid-century design, with sliding doors and cutout handles. Underfloor heating has been installed below neutral porcelain floor tiles, which lead towards the balcony at the front of the plan. A wall of glazed doors folds open to provide access, simultaneously making the living space dual aspect and therefore exceptionally light.
The dark pine stairs rise to the fourth floor, their ’60s patina creating an atmospheric ascent. A horizontal skylight welcomes light into the space. There are two bedrooms on this floor; the rear bedroom features original built-in cabinetry and has direct access to a balcony. The other has space for a desk; storage takes the form of a full-height built-in wardrobe. There is a separate WC and bathroom, both of which make use of a simple palette in shades of white and blue. These rooms have been updated by the current owners yet are thoroughly sympathetic to the design elsewhere.
Outdoor Space
Glazed doors fold open from the kitchen to the front balcony, which is shielded from the street by mature greenery. Wooden decking extends underfoot and the trees in front of the building cast a beautiful, dappled light over the space.
The second balcony extends directly from the rear bedroom on the fourth floor and has expansive views north towards Alexandra Palace. The apartment’s corner position allows for far-reaching, uninterrupted vistas and the top floor location of this balcony means it is not overlooked, ensuring it receives copious amounts of sunshine.
There is an expansive communal garden, which is solely for the use of residents. It is impeccably maintained and is a tranquil spot that feels utterly secluded.
The Area
Crescent Road is a tranquil tree-lined street within walking distance of the shops and restaurants of Crouch End Broadway. To the west is Highgate Wood and the adjacent Queen’s Wood, with a playground and a large expanse of playing fields. To the north is Alexandra Park and to the south is Finsbury Park, which are connected by Parkland Walk, a former railway line. Highgate Spinney is a short walk from Coolhurst Tennis Club, as well as Coleridge Primary School, which is rated ‘Outstanding’ by Ofsted.
Local transport links include Crouch Hill British Rail station and Highgate Underground station (Northern Line), as well as excellent local buses.
Tenure: Leasehold with Share of Freehold
Underlying Lease Length: approx. 976 years remaining
Service Charge: Approx. £3,000 per annum
Council Tax Band: E
Please note that all areas, measurements and distances given in these particulars are approximate and rounded. The text, photographs and floor plans are for general guidance only. The Modern House has not tested any services, appliances or specific fittings — prospective purchasers are advised to inspect the property themselves. All fixtures, fittings and furniture not specifically itemised within these particulars are deemed removable by the vendor.
History
Highgate Spinney was developed by Beale Construction Ltd. on a 1.3-acre suburban site that had previously accommodated four 19th-century houses. The first unit was opened as a show home in April 1965. Hornsey Borough Council stipulated that the historic trees at the front should be retained, that 75% of the accommodation should be earmarked for families, and that the height of the building should not exceed that of neighbouring houses.
The architects for the scheme, John Howard and Bruce Rotherham, managed to fit five storeys into the structure, while not exceeding the height of neighbouring houses, by excavating to what was effectively the basement and creating downward sloping access to the lowest level. The five-storey bulk is articulated by a cantilevered gallery at mid-level and, above it, balconies that are cantilevered even further out, stretching beyond the gallery balustrade. The building’s two short end walls are notable for their complete lack of openings. Here, projecting ramps and stairs provide access to the mid-level. In plan, the block comprises a middle tier of six studio apartments, sandwiched between two rows of 12 maisonettes, a reflection of the fact that the bulk of the building was intended for families.
John Howard and Bruce Rotherham brought earlier experiences to bear on the design of Highgate Spinney. For Rotherham, a New Zealander, this included his formative years with Group Architects in Auckland, which produced innovative small houses, particularly in timber. The group greatly admired the work of Le Corbusier, Frank Lloyd Wright and Alvar Aalto.
Rotherham moved to London in 1955, earning his Diploma from the Architectural Association and spending the bulk of his career in Britain. At the AA he was taught by both Peter Smithson and James Gowan, who had recently completed his seminal Langham House Close flats at Ham Common, which can be seen as something of a precursor to Highgate Spinney.
After graduation, Rotherham worked for Llewelyn-Davies & Weeks, which undertook housing, hotels, offices and urban planning projects, most notably the master planning of the new town of Milton Keynes. Concurrent with his time at the practice, he undertook several house additions and alterations under his own name, and he also had a brief partnership, between 1964 and 1966, with John Howard. Highgate Spinney is the partnership’s only known building.
Howard had attended the AA a few years earlier, and worked for a range of practices, including Ahrends, Burton & Koralek, the three partners of which had been among his AA classmates. Both architects had much in common, from their AA diplomas to their mutual passions for art, music and building. Both built houses for themselves: Rotherham in the Auckland suburb of Stanley Bay and Howard in Camden, north London (which was sold previously by The Modern House. Camden Mews).
