Stoneleigh Terrace III
Whittington Estate, London N19
Architect: Peter Tabori
Register for similar homes"Characterised by a stepped profile that provides each property with excellent levels of natural light."
This wonderfully bright four-bedroom maisonette, with two large south-facing balconies, occupies a favourable position on Stoneleigh Terrace in the south-east corner of the Whittington Estate. With internal accommodation of approximately 1,300 sq ft, the property represents an excellent and rare opportunity for refurbishment.
The estate was designed in the 1970s by the architect Peter Tabori during Camden Council’s ‘golden age’ of progressive social-housing development. Many of the flats are now in private hands, and are ever-popular with fans of modernist architecture. The development is characterised by its stepped profile that provides each property with excellent levels of natural light, and every flat has its own front door from the pedestrianised street.
The property is arranged over three storeys, and has the feel of a house. Entry is on the first floor to a hallway with store room, bedroom and shower room. At the rear is a large open-plan kitchen and dining area with two sets of timber-framed French doors opening onto a terrace balcony. The ground floor contains three bedrooms and a bathroom. The upper level consists of one expansive double-aspect space with sliding glazed door to the second terrace.
The Whittington Estate is favourably positioned between the desirable areas of Highgate Village and Dartmouth Park, with the open spaces of Waterlow Park and Hampstead Heath within easy reach. There are two excellent cafés nearby, Cricks Corner and The House, a former pub converted into a creative hub with exhibition space, good food and craft beers. There are also several popular gastro pubs in the area, including St John’s Tavern, the Bull & Last, the Flask, the Lord Palmerston and the Southampton Arms. Archway Underground station (Northern Line) is a short walk away.
Tenure: Leasehold
Lease: approx. 96 years
Service charge: approx. £2,300 per annum, including heating and hot water
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
The Metropolitan Boroughs of St. Pancras, Holborn and Hampstead merged to become Camden in 1965. Under the stewardship of Sydney Cook, the new borough quickly became renowned for its radical housing. Cook appointed a “dream team” of architects working out of Holborn Town Hall, led by Neave Brown. These included Peter Tabori, who was born in Hungary in 1942 and studied at the Regent Street Polytechnic. When he was a student, he asked the local authority for a diploma project and was given the brief for Highgate New Town (Whittington Estate). After working for Ernö Goldfinger and Denys Lasdun, Tabori joined Camden Architects Department – Sydney Cook had been so impressed by Tabori’s student work that he was employed to develop it into the final scheme.
The estate was built between 1973 and 1978 overlooking the cemetery. It comprises six terraces with strong horizontal lines of balconies and cornices and vertical cross walls. Between each terrace is a pedestrian walkway, with trees and shrubs to soften the architecture.
Under the guiding hand of Sydney Cook, certain qualities emerged among the council architects of the period that came to be defined as the “Camden style”. This includes the stepped section that is evident at the Whittington Estate, which allows for large, private, external terraces to be open to the sun. This was employed to equally dramatic effect by Neave Brown at the Alexandra Road Estate and by Patrick Hodgkinson at the Brunswick Centre, and was likely influenced by the Siedlung Halen housing by Atelier 5 in Switzerland.
