Holly Village and Holly Lodge

A few days ago I thought I would vary my daily walk by going down the east side of the heath coming back up Swains Lane to the village. (If you were looking at a map Swains Lane runs more or less parallel to Highgate West Hill, north to south on the east side of the heath, bounded on the west by Highgate cemetery and on the east by more cemetery and by Waterlow Park.) I have always loved Swains Lane as, at one point at least, it narrows into the nearest thing you will find to a country lane in central London. However, there are so many fascinating buildings that line it that, what was intended to be a single blog has now turned into three. Apologies to those of you who would rather be wandering through the trees on the heath….

So first to Holly Village, to be found on the corner where Swains Lane turns left and heads up the hill.

Holly Village is a riot of Victorian High Gothic designed, and completed in 1865, by Henry Darbyshire for Angela Baroness Burdett Coutts. Baroness Burdett-Coutts was one of the wealthiest women of her day, heir to the Coutts bank fortune and a great philanthropist. According to an article in the Ham & High in 2008 ‘her generosity led to schemes for improvement in sanitation in London slums, ragged schools (those for poor and neglected children), homes for prostitutes and homeless women, and she gave vast sums to the building of new churches. She was also responsible for the establishment of the NSPCC, the RSPCA, and schemes in Ireland and Scotland including the token statue of Greyfriars Bobby in Edinburgh.’

Holly Village is a private estate so mere passers by can get no further than the gated entrance from which you can get a sneaky peek into the green – around which are placed four detached houses and four pairs of cottages.

It seems unclear whether the village was was purely an investment on the Baroness’ part or whether it had some charitable purpose – but it would have been visible from the her mansion, Holly Lodge further up the hill and she certainly took a great interest in its construction. More details – and more images – to be found on the Victorian Web site.

The baroness’ grand house up the hill is now no more, although a few vestiges remain of her garden which must have been very splendid in its time. For lots of details about the garden, and indeed the whole Holly Lodge estate see ‘Fuller information’ on the London Gardens Trust Inventory site.

But, to give you a thumbnail sketch. The baroness’ villa and grounds were sold on her death and after various ups and downs, were acquired in 1923 by London Garden Suburbs Ltd. The initial plan was to cover the whole site with new houses.

But, as often happens, sales were slow so the eastern side of the estate was sold to the Lady Workers Homes Ltd to build blocks of rooms for single women moving to London to work as secretaries and clerks.

According to Wikipedia:
The mansion blocks on Makepeace Avenue and Oakeshott Avenue were designed as bed-sitting rooms, sometimes with bedroom or kitchen alcoves, and offered an acceptable way for single women to live near to London on their own.
As the bedsitting rooms were built without kitchens a block was built at 30 Makepeace Avenue to serve as a centre for the community and included a restaurant, reading and meeting rooms and a small theatre. Behind it were three lawn tennis courts where annual tennis tournaments were held.
Only three flats in the whole of Makepeace Mansions and Holly Lodge Mansions had their own bathroom. The remainder all had shared bathroom and toilet facilities, which is still the case for seven of the blocks even today.

The blocks changed hands a number of times over the 20th century and finally in the 1960s, ended up with Camden Council. Sadly the communal block was demolished in the late 1950s and was never replaced. For many years Camden continued to reserve the estate exclusively for women but that policy has now lapsed. The only other estate known to have been build exclusively for women was in Wandsworth but that has now been demolished.

Tomorrow – Highgate cemeteries…..

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