de beauvoir conservation area appraisal

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Conservation Area Appraisal
De Beauvoir
May 2008
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DE BEAUVOIR
CONSERVATION AREA
APPRAISAL
Urban Design, Sustainability and Conservation
Neighbourhoods and Regeneration
London Borough of Hackney
263 Mare Street
Hackney
London
E8 3HT
May 2008
De Beauvoir Conservation Area Appraisal
May 2008
3
CONTENTS
1
Introduction
1.1
What is a Conservation Area?
1.2
Location and Context of the Conservation Area
1.3
The format of the Conservation Area Appraisal
1.4
Acknowledgments
2
Planning Context
2.1
National Policy
2.2
Local Policies
3
Historic Development of the Area
3.1
Archaeological Significance
3.2
Origins and Historic Development
3.3
Geology and Topography
4
The Conservation Area and its Surroundings
4.1
The Surroundings and Setting of the Conservation Area
4.2
General Description of the Conservation Area
4.3
The Buildings and Streets of the Conservation Area
4.4
Plan Form and Streetscape
4.5
Views, Focal Points and Focal Buildings
4.6
Landscape and Trees
4.7
Activities and Uses
5
The Buildings of the Conservation Area
5.1
Introduction
5.2
Listed Buildings
5.3
Buildings of Local Significance
5.4
Buildings of Townscape Merit
6
SWOT Analysis
6.1
Strengths
6.2
Weaknesses
6.3
Opportunities
6.4
Threats
7
Conclusion
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APPENDICES
Appendix A Historic Maps of De Beauvoir Conservation Area
Appendix B Schedule of Listed and Locally Listed Buildings and Buildings of
Townscape Merit
Appendix C Bibliography
Appendix D List of illustrations
Appendix E Further information
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1 INTRODUCTION
De Beauvoir Conservation Area was first designated in 1971. It was extended in
1977 and the boundaries altered again in 1998, when it was extended northwards as
far as the south side of Balls Pond Road. At the same time, parts of the original
designation were transferred to the Kingsland Conservation Area (created in 1998)
and the Lockner Estate added to De Beauvoir Conservation Area. During the
summer of 2007, a review of the De Beauvoir Conservation Areas was undertaken.
Research and assessment of the area’s special interest has enabled careful
consideration of the boundary of the Conservation Area and a re-appraisal of De
Beauvoir undertaken. This appraisal replaces all previous documents.
De Beauvoir covers the area formerly occupied by the Hackney estate of the
Beauvoir family, lords of Balmes or Baumes, which extended south into Shoreditch
and ran northwards towards Balls Pond Road. The De Beauvoir Conservation Area
lies within a regular shaped boundary and the outer boundaries are defined by the
existing road layout within which the De Beauvoir Town estate was planned in the
1820s. It is located just to the west of Kingsland Road and to the east of Southgate
Road (the eastern side of which is within the Conservation Area). It is bounded on the
south by the north side of Downham Road and to the north by the south side of Balls
Pond Road. At the centre of the Conservation Area are the exceptionally fine streets
and houses (many of which are listed) around St Peter’s Church, including the only
square in the area – De Beauvoir Square, which forms the centrepiece of this unique
‘new town’ development from the early 19th century.
Development of De Beauvoir began around 1821, soon after the opening of the
Regent’s Canal which was cut through the southern part of the Balmes Estate.
William Rhodes, whose family had farmed the 150 acres of the Balmes Estate since
1757, was granted a 99-year building lease in 1821 at a cost of just £1,300 per
annum from the Revd. Peter Beauvoir, the estate’s elderly and absentee landowner.
In 1821 James Burton, at the time the most successful and prolific speculative builder
in London and a great friend of John Nash, drew up a plan for the proposed estate
for Rhodes, which if it had been completed would have been the largest example of
town planning ever contemplated in England to that date and the largest
development proposed by any speculative builder in London (see Figure 1).
On Beauvoir’s death, his heir and distant relative Richard Benyon challenged the
legality of the lease that Rhodes had obtained, and pursued a long and difficult legal
battle to get it nullified. Benyon eventually won his case in 1835 and the land reverted
to the family, by which time some parts of the estate (especially south of Downham
Road near the Kingsland Basin and off Kingsland Road) had already been developed
by Rhodes and his sub-lessees. From 1834, the leases granted by Richard Benyon
de Beauvoir were aimed at a more spacious layout, with terraces in short blocks and
many semi-detached villas. The planned squares and octagon of the original scheme
were abandoned apart from De Beauvoir Square, where interesting Tudor-Jacobean
houses were erected in the late 1830s probably to the designs of W.C. Lockner, the
architect of the nearby St Peter’s Church.
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Figure 1: Original plan of the proposed Beauvoir Estate c.1821
When De Beauvoir Town was originally built in the early to mid-19th century it formed
a pleasant and fashionable residential area which was attractive to city merchants
and middle-class families. For over eighty years the area remained well-to-do, the
wide well-planned streets with most of the houses in pairs or short terraces of fours,
rather than in the more common long terraces that were built in adjacent parts of
Islington and Hackney from the 1850s onwards. However from the 1920s, lack of
adequate maintenance, multiple occupation of the houses and especially from the
1930s the infill of long rear gardens for industrial premises meant that the social
status of De Beauvoir declined. The 1950s saw the area threatened from wholesale
redevelopment. Indeed just over a quarter of the southern part of the estate,
including Balmes and Benyon Roads and the canal side De Beauvoir Crescent were
demolished in the late 1950s. Municipal tower blocks of 19 storeys and slab blocks of
maisonettes which formed the LB Hackney’s De Beauvoir New Town Estate were
erected on the southern part of the original estate in the 1960s.
De Beauvoir Conservation Area is notable for the excellent survival of high quality
short terraces and houses dating from c.1830-50. The spacious tree-lined roads
within the Conservation Area display different styles of domestic architecture and
perhaps one of the most important elements of the De Beauvoir Conservation Area is
the unique character of the individual streets. Despite many years of neglect during
the early to mid-20th century, the handsome houses in the De Beauvoir Conservation
Area are now sought after and generally well-maintained; a tribute in part to the De
Beauvoir Association (formed by local residents in 1966) who pressed for the official
designation of the area as one of the first Conservation Areas to be created in
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Hackney and prevented the demolition of the whole of De Beauvoir Town in the
1960s. Today the houses in De Beauvoir command high prices with their N1
postcodes and close proximity to Islington and the City.
1.1 What is a conservation area?
The establishment of Conservation Areas was made possible by the Civic Amenities
Act 1967. A Conservation Area is defined as an area of special architectural or
historic interest, the character or appearance of which it is desirable to preserve or
enhance. Conservation Areas are very much part of the familiar and cherished local
scene. It is the area as a whole rather than the specific buildings that is of special
interest. Listed Buildings within Conservation Areas are also covered by the Listed
Building Consent process.
The special character of these areas does not come from the quality of their buildings
alone. The historic layout of roads, paths and boundaries; characteristic building and
paving materials; a particular 'mix' of building uses; public and private spaces, such
as gardens, parks and greens; and trees and street furniture, which contribute to
particular views - all these and more make up the familiar local scene. Conservation
Areas give broader protection than listing individual buildings: all the features listed or
otherwise, within the area, are recognized as part of its character.
Conservation Areas enjoy special protection under the law. Below are some of the
key requirements for works in conservation areas:
•
•
•
•
•
Conservation Area Consent is required to demolish a building in a conservation
area. LB Hackney will seek to keep all buildings that make a positive contribution
to the character and appearance of a conservation area.
Six weeks notice, in writing, must be given before any work is carried out to lop,
top or fell a tree in a conservation area. You can contact the Council’s Tree
Officer for advice and help. For further details see our page on trees.
Any development proposal must preserve or enhance the character or
appearance of a Conservation Area. Hackney has greater control over building
work in Conservation Areas, including materials and detailed design.
Planning permission may be required for alterations or extensions that would not
normally need planning permission, such as minor roof alterations, dormer
windows or a satellite dish. If you are in any doubt about whether you need
planning permission, you can contact the duty planner.
Hackney also has greater control over the erection of advertisements and signs.
For instance, Hackney has the power to control shop signs, posters or estate
agents boards that would not normally need permission.
The purpose of designation of a Conservation Area is not to prevent change and
evolution, but to control it in such a way as to maintain and enhance the character
and local distinctiveness of an area.
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1.2 Location and Context of the Conservation Area
The De Beauvoir Conservation Area lies with a regular boundary – the west, south
and north boundaries are straight, while the boundary to the east is irregular due to
the existence of the adjoining Kingsland Road Conservation Area. Today many of the
streets of De Beauvoir Conservation Area are very quietly situated due to road
closures and blocking of streets (initiated in the 1970s) that have prevented throughtraffic dominating the area, as it did in the past. It is surrounded by some of the
busiest main roads of Hackney including Kingsland Road to the east, Balls Pond
Road to the north, Southgate Road to the west and to the south the somewhat
quieter Downham Road. It comprises the main east-west routes of Downham Road,
Englefield Road and Balls Pond Road. The historic layout can still be seen in part
today, for example in the street patterns of Culford Road, Ardleigh Road, Tottenham
Road and Buckingham Road. There are a number of streets radiating outwards
across the grid pattern, which has resulted in the creation of triangular plots with
semi-detached houses. In the eastern central part is a large square, De Beauvoir
Square (one of four originally planned for the development). Nearby is the church of
St Peter’s with its large green plot and adjacent former vicarage and grounds. The
only other small green public space is Ufton Gardens on the corner of Downham
Road and Ufton Road. A map showing the full extent of De Beauvoir Conservation
Area is included at Appendix D.
Several other Conservation Areas lie adjacent to De Beauvoir Conservation Area.
Immediately to the east lies Kingsland Conservation Area (designated in 1998); to
the south is the Regent’s Canal Conservation Area (designated 2007) and just to the
north-east is Dalston Lane (West) Conservation Area (designated 2005). On the
western boundary of the De Beauvoir Conservation Area within the LB Islington is the
East Canonbury Conservation Area.
1.3 The format of the Conservation Area Appraisal
This document is an “appraisal” document as defined by English Heritage in their
guidance document “Conservation Area Appraisals”.
The purpose of the document is, to quote from the English Heritage document, to
ensure that “the special interest justifying designation is clearly defined and analysed
in a written appraisal of its character and appearance”. This provides “a sound basis,
defensible on appeal, for development plan policies and development control
decisions” and also forms the basis for further work on design guidance and
enhancement proposals.
The Appraisal also draws on advice given in Understanding Place: Guidance on
Conservation Area Appraisals (August 2005), and Guidance on conservation area
appraisals (February 2006), both by English Heritage. It also notes comments in the
recently published Suburbs and the Historic Environment (March 2007) also by
English Heritage.
This appraisal describes and analyses the particular character of De Beauvoir
Conservation Area. This includes more obvious aspects such as its open spaces,
buildings, and architectural details, as well as an attempt to portray the unique
qualities which make the area “special”. These include less tangible characteristics
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such as the tranquillity of De Beauvoir Square and the surrounding central streets,
and local features which are unique to the area, such as the Tudor-Jacobean houses
in De Beauvoir Square and the high quality Italianate style stucco villas in
Northchurch Terrace.
Figure 2: Semi-detached villas in Northchurch Terrace
The document is structured as follows. This introduction is followed by an outline of
the legislative and policy context (both national and local) for De Beauvoir
Conservation Area. Then there is a detailed description of the geographical context
and historical development of the Conservation Area and a similarly detailed
description of the buildings within it. This is followed by a “SWOT” analysis to clarify
and summarise the key issues affecting the area. Appendix A contains historic maps
of De Beauvoir Conservation Area. Further appendices contain supplementary
information, schedules of listed and locally listed buildings. Appendix C provides a
bibliography. A map of the Conservation Area is Appendix D. A list of illustrations is
included at Appendix E. Appendix F notes sources of further information.
1.4 Acknowledgements
Material within this Conservation Area Appraisal has been gathered from Hackney
Archives Department, LB Hackney’s Planning Department, LSE Booth Archive,
English Heritage archives, the Kingsland CAAC website and the website of the De
Beauvoir Association.
For details of how to become involved with your local Conservation Area Advisory
Committee please contact the Hackney Society, contact details of which are given in
Appendix F.
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Figure 3: St Peter’s Church and former vicarage with No. 19 De Beauvoir Square c. 1841
2 PLANNING CONTEXT
2.1 National Policies
Individual buildings “of special architectural or historic interest” have enjoyed a
means of statutory protection since the 1950s, but the concept of protecting areas of
special merit, rather than buildings, was first brought under legislative control with the
passing of the Civic Amenities Act in 1967. A crucial difference between the two is
that listed buildings are assessed against national criteria, with lists being drawn up
by the government with advice from English Heritage. Conservation Areas, by
contrast, are designated by local authorities on more local criteria, and they are
therefore very varied - small rural hamlets, mining villages, or an industrial city centre.
However, general guidance on the designation of Conservation Areas is included in
Planning Policy Guidance Note 15 (PPG15), which sets out the government’s policies
on the historic built environment in general. By August 2007, the London Borough of
Hackney had designated 25 Conservation Areas.
2.2 Local Policies
Legislation and guidance has emphasised the importance of including firm
Conservation Area policies in the Unitary Development Plan (UDP), which must in
turn be based on a clear definition of what constitutes that “special architectural or
historic interest” which warranted designation in the first place.
The Environmental Quality chapter of Hackney’s Unitary Development Plan of 1995
contains Policies EQ12 to 15, concerning the designation and control of
Conservation Areas. The justification to Policy EQ15 explains that the existing
historic areas within the Borough fall roughly in four groups, and as staff resources
permit, the Council will consider the designation of further Conservation Areas, and
the amendment of boundaries to existing Conservation Areas. These groups are:
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•
•
•
•
Town centres and village cores: with buildings of varying age and type that will
also include Georgian and Victorian ribbon development; for example, Dalston
Lane and Broadway Market.
Residential areas: especially areas characterised by villas – a particularly well
developed Hackney building type.
Open spaces and their settings: for example, London Fields and Stoke Newington
Common.
Industrial Heritage: for example, the Regent’s Canal and Waterworks Lane, Lea
Bridge.
The De Beauvoir Conservation Area falls into the second category, being a planned
early to mid-nineteenth century speculative development, lying on land owned by the
Beauvoir family. Apart from De Beauvoir Square and the grounds surrounding St
Peter’s Church and the park and adjacent football pitch on the corner of Downham
and Ufton Roads there is little recreational or public space within the Conservation
Area. It is however a green and leafy environment due to the wide streets, numerous
street trees and large gardens that can be seen between the houses. There are also
many well maintained front gardens which add interest to the street scene.
Figure 4: Houses on north side of De Beauvoir Square
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3 HISTORIC DEVELOPMENT OF THE AREA
3.1 Archaeological Significance
Although there is little remaining evidence of pre-Roman occupation in the borough,
a number of important archaeological finds have been made, such as the Palaeolithic
stone axes found at Stoke Newington. Hackney was outside the walls of the Roman
city of Londinium. It was during the Roman period that the first recognisable element
of Hackney’s urban form was built. This was the Roman road, Ermine Street, which
remains today as Kingsland Road. Few artefacts of the Roman period have been
discovered – the only notable find in the Borough is a stone sarcophagus, discovered
in Lower Clapton. De Beauvoir is firmly associated with the manor of Balmes or
Baumes and the 16th century manor house, Balmes House.
There are no Scheduled Ancient Monuments in or near De Beauvoir Conservation
Area.
3.2 Origins and Historic Development
De Beauvoir Town stands just to the west side of what was the old Roman Road
(Ermine Street) out of London. Kingsland Road is thought to follow the line of that
ancient road. It was an important highway leading from the city northwards through
the centuries and by 1745 it formed part of the ‘Great North Road’ leading to Ware. In
the late Saxon period Hackney formed part of the manor of Stepney, which had been
held by the Bishops of London since the early seventh century, when King Athelbert
gave lands and their incomes to support St Paul’s Cathedral. Hackney has no
separate entry in the Domesday Survey of 1086, but the name is recorded in 1198 as
“Hacas ey“, a Saxon word meaning “a raised place in the marsh”. During the
medieval period archaeological evidence suggests that there were numerous small
settlements or villages amongst the fields of Hackney. Those near to De Beauvoir
Conservation Area included the settlements at Dalston to the north (first recorded in
the 13th century); Kingsland (close to Dalston Junction) first recorded as
‘Kyngeslonde’ in 1395, and the medieval village of Shoreditch to the south.
Until the early nineteenth century De Beauvoir Town comprised the fields, orchards
and pleasure grounds of the manor of Balmes or Baumes. As early as 1305 there
was a house and mill on the estate - the name Balmes either comes from Adam
Bamme (d.1397), mayor of London who held the property during the 14th century or
from the later manor house built in the 1540s by two Spanish merchant brothers
named Baulm. During the 17th century the house was occupied by Sir George
Whitmore, Lord Major of London and was visited by Samuel Pepys in 1667 where he
recorded in his diary ‘and thence to Sir George Whitmore’s house, where we light
and walked over fields to Kingsland and back again, a walk I think I have taken these
twenty years but puts me in mind of my boy’s time, when I boarded at Kingsland and
used to shoot with my bow and arrow in these fields. A very pretty place it is.’ Balmes
House stood just to the west of Kingsland Road, between the canal bridge and
Downham Road and stood in formal gardens, with a gatehouse immediately to the
south and farm buildings in the south-east corner. Lines of trees stretched beyond
and formed an avenue (see Figure 5).
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Figure 5: Balmes House and grounds in 1707
In 1680 Balmes House and the estate of c.150 acres was sold to Richard Beauvoir
who died in the parish in 1708. During his lifetime the estate became famed for the
wonderful pleasure grounds and gardens that surrounded the house. His family
retained ownership throughout the eighteenth century but weren’t resident in the
parish, preferring to live in the country estate at Downham in Essex. In 1773 the
farmhouse (but not Balmes House) and the land was leased to the Rhodes family,
graziers of Hackney. Both Samuel Rhodes (d. 1794) and his son, Samuel Rhodes
jun., esq. (d.1822) where described as eminent cow-keepers by The Gentleman’s
Magazine, but from at least the first decade of the 19th century the entire estate had
been dug for brick earth and Samuel Rhodes, jun. and especially his son William
Rhodes, had very extensive and profitable brick works in the area. In 1802, a 25 year
lease between Revd. Peter Beauvoir and William Rhodes specified the right ‘to build
or to burn bricks’ paying £545 per annum for Balmes Farm and 150 acres. William
Rhodes and his brother Thomas were the largest brick manufacturers in London,
supplying the Regent’s Canal Company from 1814 and holding two patents in brick
making. From the 1820s onwards they began to build speculatively on both sides of
Kingsland Road.
The manor house of Balmes was from the mid-18th century leased to Dr Meyer
Schomberg for use as a private asylum (one of many in Hackney and neighbouring
Islington) occupied by ‘gentile’ lunatics. It was known during the first half of the 18th
century as Warburton’s Mad House (or Warburton’s house for rich patients) and is
clearly depicted surrounded by a wall on the Beauvoir Town estate plan of 1821 (see
Figure 6). It appears to have had a decent reputation, at least in the early years –
Warburton providing attendants for the Royal Household during King George III’s
madness crisis. By 1812 there were 98 occupants. It closed in 1852 and the 17th
century mansion house of Balmes was demolished soon after.
By 1818, the Regent’s Canal was in progress and about to pass through the estate
and thus the adjacent land greatly increased in value for agriculture and building
purposes. The Regent’s Canal Company purchased just over 3 acres of the Balmes
Estate and in 1820 the canal was cut through the southern portion of the estate.
Rhodes provided many of the bricks used to build the canal and bridges. In 1818
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William Rhodes requested to purchase all the estate from Revd. Peter Beauvoir,
presumably as he recognised the development potential of the property. Beauvoir
refused to sell. Rhodes pressed for a building lease as the construction of the canal
would stimulate building on the estate.
In 1821 William Rhodes (after many years of petitioning) received a 99-year building
lease from Peter Beauvoir (the ancient and last surviving member of the family) at an
undervalued price of just £1300 per annum, despite Beauvoir being advised four
years previously by his surveyor William Ashpitel that the property was worth over
£4000 per annum if it was to be let on a building lease. The lease was extraordinary
as it had no restrictions on the number or size of the buildings and covered all of the
150 acres of the estate and immediately became notorious as the largest speculative
building ‘take’ in London. Rhodes began to build on the estate; firstly on the
Kingsland Road frontage near to the canal and in the building of wharfs on the
Kingsland Basin which he initiated. He then turned his attention to an elaborate plan
for his projected residential estate. In 1821 James Burton, the largest speculative
builder in London who already knew the Balmes Estate (presumably through his
friend John Nash’s involvement with the Regent’s Canal and possibly as a purchaser
of Rhodes’s bricks on his own developments) was ‘employed by Mr Rhodes to survey
the estate, and assist in laying it out for building’ (see Figure 6).
At that time although there was ribbon development along parts of Kingsland Road
and a couple of groups of houses, including Brunswick Terrace of 1812 in Balls Pond
Road, the surrounding area was used as industrial and agricultural land. The Balmes
Estate was utilised for brick-making and agriculture (cow-keeping) and there were
extensive white lead mills adjacent to the western side of the estate near to the newly
opened canal. Burton surmised that the due to the ‘nature of surrounding property,
the neighbourhood wasn’t the most eligible for building’ and the new estate was
‘adapted for the lower classes, and for the third and fourth class of buildings’. Indeed
local people thought the houses ‘small and mean’. Rhodes however retorted that ‘the
houses built are of good quality and supervised by Mr Burton’. Burton stated that the
speculation was potentially very hazardous, with a great financial risk to Rhodes.
Surprisingly, given the nature of the mediocre houses initially planned, the proposed
layout of the estate was ambitious - four tree-lined squares linked by diagonal streets
to a central large octagon and if it had been completed, would have been the largest
‘planned’ estate completed in England at that date (see Figure 6).
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Figure 6: James Burton’s and William Rhodes’s plan of 1821
Before Rhodes erected many houses, the Revd. Peter De Beauvoir died. Soon after
his distant heir Richard Benyon (after inheriting the estate he changed his name to
Benyon de Beauvoir) challenged the lease and attempted to nullify it, stating that
Beauvoir had been cheated in his dotage by William Rhodes. The case was a long
one but eventually was settled in Benyon de Beauvoir’s favour in 1835 (although
aspects of the case dragged on later). But he was ordered to retain what had been
built by Rhodes, including the east side of De Beauvoir Square (now demolished)
and terraces on the north side of Tottenham Road.
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Rhodes had advanced money and bricks to various local builders, timber merchants
and other building tradesmen between 1821-3 presumably to help them build rapidly.
William Rhodes built little himself after 1823 (perhaps sensing that his plans might be
defeated in court). He did however complete the Kingsland Basin despite Benyon de
Beauvoir obtaining a temporary injunction to stop the project. Rhodes was granted
permission to complete the basin and wharfs after complaining to the court that
stopping had ‘turned the basin into a ditch, destroyed the unfinished buildings and
turned hundreds out of employ…and would leave the property one wide waste, a
refuge for beggars and thieves, the buildings dismantled and the lead stripped away’.
Rhodes did however make subleases for houses in Kingsland Road in 1824, Enfield
Road in 1826 and in Tottenham Road in 1825 and 1828. He also formed ‘a new
square, iron railing round the same’ (see Greenwood’s Map of 1826; Figure 7).
When he won the case Benyon de Beauvoir started afresh on the De Beauvoir
development drawing up new plans and abandoning the extensive layout proposed
by Rhodes. De Beauvoir Square (originally called Park Place) was retained (as it was
already grassed, gravelled and railed) and remnants of the road layout can be seen
today in the diagonal streets that were to lead to the central octagon (Ardleigh,
Stamford and Enfield Roads). Benyon altered the layout to make it simpler and built
more spacious houses than had originally been envisaged, including shorter terraces
(often of four or six houses) and semi-detached villas. He abandoned the plans for
rows of meagre terraces as Rhodes had built on the east side of De Beauvoir Square
and altogether improved the style and quality of the houses built in De Beauvoir. St
Peter’s Church was consecrated in 1841 and the whole development completed by
c.1850s. It was the first large scale housing development built in Hackney and the
largely formal layout contrasts with the irregular pattern of most Hackney streets.
De Beauvoir Square is the most interesting amalgam of both phases of development.
It has remnants of Rhodes’s plan and the first villas of Benyon de Beauvoir’s
development. Along the east side was a long terrace (three-storey with basement)
known as Nos. 1-16 Park Place, built for Rhodes by John Sanders c.1822, and
erected virtually back-to-back with another terrace (three-storey) in Derby (from 1909
Lockner) Road. These buildings were demolished during the 1970s for the Lockner
Estate. On the other three sides of the square the builder, Thomas Smith erected
from 1838 semi-detached ‘Dutch’ gabled villas of very unusual Tudor-Jacobean
design for Benyon de Beauvoir. It is probable that they are to the design of W.C
Lockner who designed St Peter’s Church (1841) and the adjacent vicarage, which is
very similar in style to the villas in De Beauvoir Square (see Figure 3).
The three classical villas - Benyon Cottages, with a date stone of 1839, followed in
Hertford Road and the rest of the road was built soon after. Next to be constructed
was Northchurch Road with the handsome Italianate stuccoed semi-detached villas
built during the early 1840s and gradually the whole estate was completed by about
the late 1850s. Benyon de Beauvoir made subleases to many individuals to complete
the estate rapidly and many of these builders followed their own individual designs as
seen by the wide variety of house styles on the estate. The old manor house of
Baumes was closed as an asylum in 1851 and demolished soon afterwards.
The initial plans were never completed and many houses never built, but even today
in the street layout of the Conservation Area, Rhodes’s original aims can be seen.
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Figure 7: Detail of De Beauvoir in Greenwood’s map of 1826 showing Rhodes farm,
Park Place and ‘Mad House’ formerly Balmes House.
The estate was always intended to be residential apart from around the Kingsland
Basin and the canal to the south. Public Houses were permitted in De Beauvoir and
included the Sussex Hotel (now Scolt Head), which in c.1897 was described as ‘a
large old-fashioned public house’ which had a dancing license and assembly rooms
and was described ‘as more characteristic of what the neighbourhood was than what
it is’. It was said to be more like a county town hotel than a London public house’.
Small plots were taken for a Roman Catholic Church and school of 1855 in
Tottenham Road and a larger area for Tottenham Road Board School (1874), the
Metropolitan Hospital (1886), Enfield Road board school (1894), and Kingsland fire
station (1895).
In the late 1890s when Charles Booth’s researchers visited De Beauvoir Town the
area was populated by the semi-professional and upper artisan classes. Those who
could kept carriages, especially those occupying the large houses on the south side
of Balls Pond Road where the mews still survives in altered form and on Southgate
Road where tiled in and out drives stood in front of the houses. Less wealthy
residents could travel to the city by horse-drawn bus that ran along Kingsland Road
from the 1840s and by trams that went along Southgate and Kingsland Roads from
the 1870s. The coming of the railway to Dalston Junction in 1865, made the transport
links even better for City clerks and West-End workers. The resulting classification of
the area on the Maps Descriptive of London Poverty 1898-99 was that the area was
pink in nature indicating families that were fairly comfortable on good ordinary
earnings. Some of the streets such as Englefield Road, Balls Pond Road and
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Southgate Road were shaded red indicating an even higher class resident (see
Figure 8).
Figure 8: De Beauvoir depicted on the Booth Poverty Map of the mid-1890s
It was reported that the semi-detached houses 3½ storeys in height in Englefield
Road were sometimes occupied by one family and that some residents were City
solicitors. Much comment was made of the ‘fine trees’, ‘good gardens and trees’,
‘good large gardens’ with ‘sunflowers, holly hocks, chrysanthemums, golden-rod,
tobacco plants in flower’ and ‘trees chiefly limes and elders’ in De Beauvoir Town.
The report ends with the comment ‘De Beauvoir has seen better days. Small houses
and large gardens are its features. It is a residential neighbourhood, though here and
there factories have been built into the back gardens. A great number of small
jobbing builders also live there. Generally speaking, its inhabitants tend to get poorer
as they approach the Balls Pond Road on the north and the canal to the south’.
Unlike other areas of Hackney, De Beauvoir was said to be ‘singularly free of Jews’.
De Beauvoir Square was surrounded by ‘old-fashioned looking houses with oddshaped window panes’ and was said to be ‘a resort of prostitutes’.
It was noted in the Booth notebooks that two factories were built in the large back
gardens of Mortimer Road. One was owned by a straw hat manufacturer, employing
about 25 women and another was an artificial flower maker who employed up to 60
girls. This growth in light industry and manufacturing was something that expanded
throughout the early 20th century on the De Beauvoir Estate. Over the years,
especially between the wars, many small industries were set up on the estate, often
behind houses in former mews; on vacant pieces of ground and at the rear of large
gardens. By the 1890s workshops, many of which were processing wood products,
existed at the edge of the estate especially in Derby Road, De Beauvoir Crescent
and south of Downham Road towards the canal. At the centre of De Beauvoir were a
small group of factories that filled the east side of De Beauvoir Road between
Northchurch Road as far as Englefield Road. These industrial buildings had their
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origins in the manufactories that occupied the long back gardens of Mortimer Road
mentioned in the Booth enquiry. By 1902 the site was occupied by a builder’s
merchant, a picture-framer and a wheelwright. Today some of these industrial
premises have been converted into residential accommodation, including live/work
units. However the east side of De Beauvoir Road still has an industrial character
now occupied by purpose built factories (sign makers and clothing manufacturers)
dating from the 1950s.
De Beauvoir Conservation Area escaped the worst of bomb damage during World
War II although the west side of De Beauvoir Square, areas near to the canal and
other small pockets of houses did receive hits from flying bombs. During the
immediate post-war era the dominant planning policy towards areas of decaying
Victorian housing in large cities was one of clearance and redevelopment, often as
council estates. This was the policy adopted by the Borough of Hackney in De
Beauvoir Town. From 1959 the southern part of De Beauvoir adjoining the canal and
south of Downham Road was compulsorily purchased and cleared. It was
redeveloped in three phases (De Beauvoir 1, 2 and 3) as a mixed development of
low, medium and high rise housing with a small group of shops in Downham Road.
By the early 1970s the De Beauvoir New Town Estate was complete. During the
1960s and ‘70s more middle class people moved to the area attracted by the large
houses with spacious gardens, available at lower prices than in neighbouring
Islington, but the area was blighted by the potential large scale redevelopment
proposals. In 1968 continued uncertainty of what was to become of the remaining De
Beauvoir area meant they formed with long-term residents of all social groups, the
De Beauvoir Association to fight the potential demolition of central and northern De
Beauvoir. Despite many years of neglect during the early to mid-20th century, the
handsome houses in the De Beauvoir Conservation Area are now sought after and
generally well-maintained; a tribute in part to the De Beauvoir Association which
pressed for the official designation of the area as one of the first Conservation Areas
to be created in Hackney and prevented the demolition of the whole De Beauvoir
Estate in the 1960s. The first aim of the Association was to retain the historic
residential character of De Beauvoir Town, while actively campaigning to improve the
standards of housing in the area. The Association’s view prevailed and demolition
stopped at Downham Road and the conservation of what remained of the area was
assured.
Over the last 40 years the houses in De Beauvoir Conservation Area have been
recognised as fine family homes by those who live there and following traffic calming
measures undertaken in the 1970s, a relatively quiet and leafy green place to live.
Many have been refurbished to a very high standard and today De Beauvoir Square,
Northchurch Road and Ufton Grove are very desirable Hackney addresses. Many
who live in De Beauvoir Town comment on the ‘village’ atmosphere and there is an
active community spirit, expressed through the activities of organisations such as the
De Beauvoir Association, St Peter’s Church and the active Kingsland Conservation
Area Advisory Committee which oversees planning issues within De Beauvoir.
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Figure 9: Planting in Ufton Grove
3.3
Geology and Topography
The London Borough of Hackney is located on a mixture of gravel, clay, brick-earth
and alluvial deposits. Alluvium lies along the Lea and under Hackney Marsh. Brickearth can be found below Stamford Hill and Clapton Common, bounded on either
side by tongues of London clay, which extend a little to the south of Hackney Downs.
Towards the centre and the west are beds of Taplow gravel, covering much of the
remainder of the remainder of the parish, except the area round Well Street Common
and Victoria Park, which are on flood plain gravel. The highest point in the area is at
Stamford Hill, the most northerly part of the Borough, which reaches 25 metres
above sea level. From here, the land falls southwards to the valley of the Hackney
Brook, which now lies in a culvert below the northern boundary of Abney Park
Cemetery, and to the east, the River Lea.
Much of De Beauvoir Conservation Area lies over London Clay, overlain with brick
earth with some gravel. During the early 19th century brick earth and gravel was dug
on the Balmes Estate by the Rhodes family, one of the largest brick manufacturers in
early 18th century London. Indeed by 1821 it was stated that William Rhodes had
extracted all the earth that he was entitled to under his lease and that the whole of
the farm had been dug for brick earth.
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4
THE CONSERVATION AREA AND ITS SURROUNDINGS
4.1
The Surrounding Area and Setting of the Conservation Area
De Beauvoir Conservation Area lies within the London Borough of Hackney which
itself is some 2.5 miles to the north of the River Thames. The eastern boundary of
the Borough is formed by the River Lea, which meanders in a south-easterly direction
from Tottenham down to the Thames at Canning Town. To the west lies Finsbury
Park and Highbury, and to the south, the City of London. The principal settlements
are Stoke Newington, Clapton, Hackney and Shoreditch.
De Beauvoir Conservation Area lies in the south-west of the borough adjacent on the
western boundary to the LB Islington. The Conservation Area lies to the west of
Kingsland Road and to the east of Southgate Road. It is bounded on the south by
Downham Road, with the high-rise 1960s De Beauvoir New Town Estate to the
south. The northern boundary of the Conservation Area is Balls Pond Road.
4.2
General Description of the Buildings in the Conservation Area
Although initially planned by William Rhodes and his developer James Burton during
1821, very little housing development occurred at De Beauvoir Town until the 1830s
when Richard Benyon De Beauvoir regained control of the estate. .De Beauvoir
Conservation Area consists mostly of houses dating from a relatively short time in the
early Victorian period, from the 1830s to the 1850s. The area as a whole forms a
fairly homogenous unit. It is an identifiable and coherent locality. There is uniformity
of proportion, scale and style of built fabric. Although the mass of housing is urban in
character, the width of the roads, the large front gardens and many mature trees give
the area a rus in urbe quality.
The style of most of the houses is Italianate. The buildings were not usually designed
by specific architects, but by a variety of speculative builders using published plans
from pattern books. Some houses such as those in Northchurch Terrace were of
higher quality than others. The exception to the rule in this Conservation Area were
the houses in De Beauvoir Square where the unusual striking design in a gabled
Tudor–Jacobean idiom points to an architects hand, probably by TC Lockner the
architect of St Peter’s church.
The height of the houses ranges from two to four storeys, some with a basement.
Many have wide moulded stucco cornices on the front elevation, concealing the roof
shape beyond. Some have moulded stucco window and door surrounds and brackets
to the window architraves. The dominant building material is yellow London stock
brick. Many houses have stucco fronts to the ground and basements, with imitation
ashlar. This was to make the houses look more grand and expensive, imitating stone.
These were houses with social pretensions that would appeal to a middle-class
population. Most houses have original decorative features such as console brackets,
moulded architraves around doors and windows. Many houses still retain the original
glazing bar pattern in windows, although some replacement windows have been
inserted. Most roofs are pitched and covered in Welsh slate. Generally the older the
building or terrace the shallower the pitch often with the parapet hiding the roof
behind. Some houses have dormers but they tend to be of a later date. Houses, such
as those on Downham Road, have front steps and grand porches with free-standing
columns (see Figure 10).
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Figure 10: No. 62 Downham Road
Contributing to the interest of the street layout are a number of apex sites on
triangular plots at the junction of a number of roads (see Figures 11 and 12). These
sites contain some substantial detached and semi-detached properties such as the
Scolt Head Public House; those at the junction of Mortimer and Stamford Roads; the
junction of Mortimer and De Beauvoir Road; the junction of Ardleigh and Buckingham
Road and those at the junction of Buckingham and Stamford Road. Such buildings
are important landmarks and it is unfortunate that one group (No. 121 Mortimer Road
and No. 4 Stamford Road) is now defined as a dangerous structure, due to the
tunnelling activities of a long-time resident.
In architectural terms there are two important layout designs within the De Beauvoir
Conservation Area. Many of the buildings are Italianate villas, some semi-detached,
with entrances set back to the side and designed to look like separate blocks at the
side of the building.
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Figures 11 & 12: Fine buildings on apex sites (Nos. 176 & 178 Southgate Road and Scolt Head
(corner of Ardleigh and Culford Roads)
These occur in De Beauvoir Road, Buckingham Road and Northchurch Terrace (see
Figures 11 & 13). The other important design are short rows of terraces with four or
six houses with projecting bays at the end known as ‘bookends’ because of their
appearance. These are found in many roads including Southgate Grove, Northchurch
Road, Lawford Road, Culford Road and Ufton Road (see Figures 14 & 15).
De Beauvoir Conservation Area is a cohesive late Georgian planned, but earlyVictorian built speculative estate of exceptional quality. It was planned by the
leaseholder in 1821 but constructed and completed in a different way by the ground
landlord, William Benyon De Beauvoir between 1835 and the 1850s. The land on
which St Peter’s Church was built was donated by the family and the streets that
were laid out around the church were amongst the most architecturally interesting
and important on the estate. Many of the large houses and villas are of architectural
merit, both in their overall design and in their architectural detailing. The estate as
built was aiming for a middle class professional resident who had the foresight to see
Hackney was about to become a desirable and convenient residential location for the
City.
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Figure 13: Northchurch Road
Figure 14 & 15: ‘Bookend Terraces’ of 4 and 6 houses in De Beauvoir Town
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4.3
The Buildings and Streets of the Conservation Area
Balls Pond Road
Balls Pond Road is the principal east-west route at the north of the De Beauvoir
Conservation Area. The south side of Balls Pond Road between Southgate Road and
Dalston Junction lies within the Conservation Area. The north side of Balls Pond
Road with its handsome almshouses and modern Catholic Church lie within the LB
Islington.
Balls Pond Road takes its name from a disreputable pub in the hamlet of Balls Pond
which lay just to the west of the Conservation Area. During the 18th century, the
owner John Ball provided his clientele with such activities as bull-baiting and duckshooting on his pond. In the late 19th century Balls Pond Road was described as ‘a
shopping but not a market road’ with ‘many private houses on the south side’. The
same could be said in the early 21st century. In both character and appearance, Balls
Pond Road is different to the other streets within the De Beauvoir Conservation Area.
This is for a number of reasons – firstly it was a main road from at least the 18th
century and has buildings that are of an earlier date than the rest of the De Beauvoir
Conservation Area. In addition, as an arterial route which carries buses and many
heavy goods vehicles, it tends to be much busier, noiser and more polluted than the
streets that lie to the south. However it is a road of high architectural quality as there
are many fine historical buildings along Balls Pond Road and a large number are
listed or locally listed (a full list is given in Appendix B).
The eastern end near Dalston Junction is less distinguished than the residential
terraces near to Southgate Road. Here are rows of shops of three storeys that are in
poor repair, some with UPVC replacement windows, hardwood doors and a general
air of neglect (No. 13. is currently being refurbished and No. 11, although in a very
bad state of repair, retains an old shop front). In style and appearance they relate
more closely to Kingsland Road than to the rest of De Beauvoir Conservation Area.
These properties (dating from the last quarter of the 19th century) replaced St
Bartholomew’s Hospital (closed c.1770) and Chapel (demolished 1848). Adjacent at
Nos. 9-19 Balls Pond Road and forming the corner with Bentley Road, is a mid 20th
century development with wide glass windows. Formerly occupied by ‘Paul
Separates’, it is now a branch of Leyland Specialist Decorators Merchants.
Running westwards from Bentley Road are a series of interesting historic buildings.
The first group comprise Nos. 31-37 Balls Pond Road, which are three storey above
a basement and flat-fronted. No. 31 has a fine cast iron lattice front porch screen, a
rare survival (see Figure 16).
In the summer of 2007, Nos. 33 and 35 are semi-derelict and boarded. Nos. 39-41,
now the Polsmak supermarket, occupies the former Anchor PH, the name ‘Anchor’
still visible in the parapet.
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Figures 16 & 17: Cast iron porch at No. 31 Balls Pond Road and Nos. 57-63
Nearby at No. 47A is the former Maberley Independent Chapel (Listed Grade II) built
c.1820-5 in a restrained classical style in yellow brick with stucco. There is a
pediment on the front elevation, with a symmetrical arrangement with two flights of
steps to two entrances. To the rear stands a school from 1844. The building which
was for many years on the Buildings at Risk Register was converted c.2002 into an
artists studio (see Figure 18).
Figure 18: Former Maberley Chapel
Nos. 57-63 are three storeys and plain but some have attractive balconies and
French windows to the first floor and have recently been renovated (see Figure 17).
Immediately adjacent at Nos. 65-79, is an attractive early to mid-19th century cream
stucco terrace, almost symmetrical with a central pediment. Listed Grade II, the
houses are two storeys and they have segmental arched window heads and semicircular fanlights (see Figure 19). No. 77 incorporates a later projecting bay.
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The next significant group of houses are Nos. 93-113 which form a single terrace.
Dating from early to mid 19th century, each house is two storeys with a basement with
steps up to the front doors. Some have a stuccoed ground floor and basement and
some retain intricate patterned fanlights. The terrace has cast iron area railings (see
Figure 20). Terminating the terrace and forming the corner return to Culford Road is
the well-restored Wellington formerly The Duke of Wellington Public House which has
granite pilasters and some original features. In 1967 Jerry O’Neill became the
landlord of the Duke of Wellington where he established the Sugawn Theatre and
Sugawn Kitchen, a well-known venue for plays including his own God Is Dead on the
Ball's Pond Road. The theatre closed c.1980.
Figure 19: Nos. 65-79 Balls Pond Road
Hiding behind verdant front gardens with tall leafy trees and almost invisible from the
road is Brunswick Place at Nos. 121-157. This is a very fine terrace dating from 1812.
The date and name are in the pediment. It is symmetrical composition of three storey
houses with basements which unfortunately has now lost the west end house. Many
houses have ornamental cast iron balconies to the first floor windows and the
windows to the ground floor are round arched. Some wrought iron railings survive.
Nos. 143-5 have Tuscan columns, but at No. 145 a picture window has been inserted
on the ground floor and the house has metal windows.
Beyond this terrace are a variety of lesser buildings which complete the south side of
Balls Pond Road within the De Beauvoir Conservation Area including Montgomery
House, a four storey warehouse used as a costume studio, Nos. 163-5 a pair of
houses with poor replacement windows and at the corner with Southgate Road a
recent four storey housing development built c. 2000, in a rather bland style.
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Figure 20: Nos. 93-113 Balls Pond Road
Culford Mews and Bentley Road
Culford Mews is sited to the south of Balls Pond Road and originally had stables for
carriages and horses. Most of the buildings surviving date from the end of the 19th
century. Nos. 9 has a date plaque ‘erected 1881 by T. Flowers’ Today it is quiet and
narrow with original granite sets or cobbles. There are a variety of two storey
warehouses, artist studios, garages used for a variety of industrial purposes and
some residential units. In recent years there have been a number of interesting
conversions of properties by architects using interesting modern materials.
Behind Balls Pond Road and Kingsland Road are two narrow and short streets which
form part of the historic street pattern, possibly from the days when St Bartholomew’s
Chapel stood near by. The roads retain their granite cobbles. A very large empty site
(used as a car park) is an obvious site for redevelopment.
Tottenham Road
Houses at the western end of Tottenham Road were amongst the first to be
developed by William Rhodes, as early maps show (see Figure 8). He continued to
make subleases here in 1825 and 1828, during the court case between him and
Richard Benyon de Beauvoir. It formed one of the horizontal elements of the original
estate plan along with Buckingham, Englefield, Northchurch and Downham Roads. It
is a very mixed road in terms of types of building and architecture with the eastern
section nearest to Kingsland Road being the least architecturally distinguished. Here
a number of buildings have a negative impact on the Conservation Area, including J.
Smith and Son’s two storey modern warehouse at Nos. 42-56 and the dull red brick
Job Centre further east. At Nos. 2-4, Enver House, a four storey factory building with
metal windows is almost derelict.
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Of interest on the south side of Tottenham Road is the Kingsgate Estate ddesigned
by the architect Fredrick Gibberd with GL Downing, Hackney Borough Engineer
between 1958 and 1961 (see Figure 21). Three terraces of maisonettes with gables
and a block of flats are arranged around a central courtyard square. Architectural
interest lies in the fact that the terraces of maisonettes have pitched roofs running
front to back, creating a pediment on the main elevation. Compared to other modern
estates within Hackney the Kingsgate Estate is well maintained and well designed
and importantly maintains the street line and preserves the character of the street.
Figure 21: Maisonettes on the Kingsgate Estate
De Beauvoir Primary School built by the London School Board in 1874 forms a major
complex on the north side of Tottenham Road (see Figure 22). This red and yellow
brick building rises to seven storeys in part and one block has crow-stepped gables
and dormer windows. With its tall roofs covered in red tile and chimney stacks it
contrasts with the low yellow brick houses and maisonettes built adjacent and into
Culford Road. It forms a major landmark in the De Beauvoir Conservation Area. Part
of the school (No. 76) has been successfully converted into flats and is now known
as The Frederick Building.
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Figure 22: De Beauvoir Primary school, Tottenham Road
From Culford Road westwards are two storey cottages with a few shops. The
cottages are mainly pairs of two storey pedimented cottages with single or two storey
side entrances (see Figure 23). Many have beautiful front gardens (notably Nos. 134
and 136) and the whole street has a leafy appearance with trees in the front gardens
and street trees. At the end of the street on the corner of Southgate Road is The
Perseverance public house of two storeys and a large rear extension.
Figure 23: South side of Tottenham Road
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On the south side of Tottenham Road on the corner of Southgate Road is a former
dairy which retains tiled plaques advertising the goods sold in the shop (see Figure
24 & 25). At present the building is unoccupied.
Figures 24 & 25: Old tiled adverts
There are a variety of houses on the south side of Tottenham Road, some being built
in short terraces of four (Nos 127-33 and 119-125). These are three storeys and
basement with steps up to the front doors. Others are built in pairs, as at Nos. 107-9.
Between Culford Road and De Beauvoir Road is a large site occupied by Our Lady
and St Joseph Primary school and caretaker’s house. Formerly the site of a Roman
Catholic Church and school dating from 1855 the current building was erected in the
1960s. It is low rising no more than one storey and has an extensive playground and
garden area. The school is built in yellow brick with a clock tower and weather vane
on top. In scale it contrasts dramatically with the former Board School opposite.
Buckingham Road
This road follows the horizontal grid. On the north side the Kingsgate tower block
rises to 11 storeys and has little positive impact on the Conservation Area. Other
parts of the Kingsgate development front onto the north side of Buckingham Road.
Opposite are small terraces of three storey houses with basements some well
renovated. Further east are semi-detached houses three storey in height. No. 7 is an
Edwardian rebuilding, a huge three-storey double fronted house with canted bays.
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Figures 26 : Houses on south side of Buckingham Road
Figure 28: Nos. 104 to 94 Buckingham Road
On the north side of Buckingham Road near to the corner with Ardleigh Road are
some very distinguished houses (see Figure 28). Built in pairs they rise two storeys
above a basement, with dormers inserted into the pitched roofs. Iron balconettes
survive to the ground floor windows on some of the houses. Their most interesting
architectural detailing is the intricate wooden cornice to the roof. Although No. 100
has been painted blood red and No. 104 has a satellite dish to the front elevation
they are a distinguished group. Many of the houses in Buckingham Road have
attractive gardens and there are many street trees.
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Ardleigh Road
Ardleigh Road is one of the radiating roads which cut across the grid pattern of
streets. At the corner of Southgate Road are a few shops occupying the ground floor
of a three storey group. A variety of house types are to be found in Ardleigh Road
including a very tall terrace rising three storey plus basement (Nos. 37-43); doublefronted semi-detached (Nos. 2-4), short terraces of two storey above a basement
(Nos. 6-12), plus new build maisonettes and a converted industrial building housing
the offices of London Calling. Some of the houses have elaborate eaves brackets
and are very solid appearance, some with bay windows.
Figure 29: Ardleigh Road c. 1910
At the southern end of Ardleigh Road is The Scolt Head (formerly the Sussex PH)
with a prominent nodal location and has an attractive outdoor space with cast iron
railings. It is a typical stucco painted Victorian public house. During the 1890s the
Sussex Hotel as it was then known was well known for its dances held in the
assembly rooms to the rear and was depicted in the Booth notebooks (see Figures
30 & 31). It had at that time a flower garden to the front and a greenhouse to the rear
and was considered old fashioned and more like a hotel in a country town than a
London pub.
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Figures 30 & 31: The Sussex Hotel c. 1997 (from Booth notebooks) & The Scolt Head today
Culford Road
Parts of Culford Road were built in 1849 by the builder George Hearn. Culford Road
is predominantly two storeys with basement, rising to three storeys nearer to Balls
Pond Road. Many of the groups of houses are arranged in terraces of four, with
‘bookends’ slight projections at the ends of the terraces defining their ends and
making for an attractive design (see Figure 32). On the east side, north of Englefield
Road, there are six individual groups (Nos. 116-162).
Figure 32: House in Culford Road
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Some houses have porches with columns and windows with brackets or consoles
and moulded architraves to the windows and doors. To the south of Englefield Road,
Culford Road is a no through road and it is a leafy pleasant enclave. Here are similar
terraces of four well restored with good front gardens. Of particular interest is No. 114
with a rare survival of a two storey former stable/carriage house with hay loft above.
During the 1950s and ‘60s light industry occupied the building, but today it has been
successfully utilised as a garage.
Figures 33 & 34: No. 114 Culford Road in 1960s and today
Culford Grove
Culford Grove is pleasant short street of three storey houses, most having moulded
architraves. On the west side Nos. 8 & 9 are a semi-detached pair and on the east
side two pairs and one group of three. An unsightly satellite dish is attached to the
front of Nos. 7 which detracts from the overall harmony of the terrace. There are fine
trees in this street.
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Southgate Road
The busy Southgate Road forms the western boundary of the De Beauvoir
Conservation Area as well as the borough boundary with Islington. In the 1890s
Southgate Road was one of the most prosperous areas of De Beauvoir Town on the
Booth Map being coloured red (see Figure 8). There are a number of attractive
houses of two and three storeys, of different styles and dates indicating development
of the street was piecemeal and spread over a longer period than some of the more
cohesive streets of the Conservation Area. A number of terraces dating from the
early to mid-19th century (Nos. 110-116 and Nos. 126-130) are Grade II listed (see
Figure 35). They have Ionic porches and are three storeys built in stock brick with a
stuccoed ground floor.
Figure 35: No. 110 Southgate Road
At the Downham Road end of Southgate Road there are a number of scruffy car
works and offices, a plant nursery and a builders’ merchant. Some of the houses
here have insensitive alterations and some are much neglected. Many of the front
gardens in this part of Southgate Road have paved front gardens for off street
parking (see Figure 36). In the past some of the houses in Southgate Road reputedly
had black and white tiled carriage drives. None survive today. All along Southgate
Road many of the spacious front gardens have been paved to provide car parking
which is evidently a problem due to the use of Southgate Road by buses and the fact
that there is little resident parking provision on the street. Further north there are
some good examples of sensitive off street parking, for example at No. 146. In recent
years the houses in Southgate Road especially towards the Balls Pond Road end
have been refurbished and today there are few neglected properties above
Southgate Grove.
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Figure 36: Off street parking in Southgate Road
In Southgate Road a number of sites have been redeveloped during the later 20th
century. South of Ufton Grove is the three storey block of flats, Dover Court dating
from the 1970s and further south at Nos. 84 to 90 another group of three storey flats
with Deacon Mews (a group of ten two storey cottages) to the rear which date from
the1980s.
Englefield Road
Englefield Road is the main east - west street that runs through the centre of De
Beauvoir Conservation Area. In Rhodes’s original plan for the estate of 1821, it was
to be the site of the central octagon (Benyon Octagon) where the radiating streets of
the estate were to meet. It is a busy bus route and the street does not have such a
coherent quality as some of the other roads of the Conservation Area have. However
there are some attractive terraces of houses that are well restored, including Nos. 3541 (see Figure 37), of typical ‘bookend’ design.
Figure 37: Nos. 35-41 Englefield Road
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Elsewhere in Englefield Road there is a modern block (at the corner of Ardleigh
Road) of little quality which potentially is a redevelopment site. Further to the east on
the southern side are parts of the Lockner Estate (Blandford Court) and on the north
side An Viet House a sensitive conversion of old public slipper baths into a
Vietnamese restaurant and community centre. Also to the south side stand the Talbot
PH recently refurbished and a small car repair workshop. The North One Garden
Centre with its vibrant displays of plants and flowers on the pavement adds a
colourful element to Englefield Road.
Of particular note in Englefield Road are the large numbers of front gardens that
have been reduced in size or completely paved over for off street parking, to the
detriment of the streetscape as a whole (see Figure 38). A few have been done
sensitively, but many are just concrete paving that cover the whole of the former front
gardens causing ‘run-off’ into the street during heavy rainfall. As Englefield Road is a
bus route and a busy through route there is little resident parking bay provision on
the road itself. This has exacerbated the need for people to convert front gardens into
parking. The problem is worse in Englefield Road than anywhere else in the De
Beauvoir Conservation Area (although Southgate Road also has a problem) and
looks more unsightly because the front gardens in Englefield Road are generally
small.
Figure 38: Removal of front gardens on the north side of Englefield Road
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