Inventory Site Record

Highgate Enclosures consists of three landscaped areas on the south-west side of Highgate Road that formed part of the old village green of Kentish Town, a once extensive area of commonland that was gradually enclosed. This district was marked as 'Green Street' in John Rocque's map of 1746. By the C19th they existed as green enclosures separating the villas of The Grove from Highgate Road, by 1906 overlooked by the Edwardian Lissenden Gardens Estate. In 1940 an air raid shelter was built in the most northerly enclosure for use by tenants of the estate. The railed gardens have grass, shrubs and some flower beds, with paths and seating.

Previous / Other name:

Kentish Town Green

Site location:

Highgate Road/Lissenden Gardens

Postcode:

NW5 1NB

What 3 Words:

crab.toys.quit

Type of site:

Public Gardens

Borough:

Camden

Open to public?

Yes

Opening times:

unrestricted

Special conditions:

Facilities:

Events:

Public transport:

London Overground: Gospel Oak. Tube: Kentish Town, Tufnell Park, Highgate, Archway (Northern) then bus. Bus: 143, 210, 271, 214, C2, C11

Citymapper    
Google Map    
streetmap.co.uk

Research updated:

01/08/2002

Last minor changes:

19/07/2023

Please check with the site owner or manager for latest news. www.camden.gov.uk

Highgate Enclosures consists of three landscaped areas along Highgate Road, opposite which is Grove Terrace Squares (q.v.). They once formed part of a more extensive village green of Kentish Town, an area of commonland that was gradually enclosed; this district was marked as 'Green Street' in Rocque's map of 1746. By the C19th remnants of the green existed as garden enclosures separating the C19th villas of The Grove from Highgate Road. When the Lissenden Gardens Estate (q.v.) was built between 1898-1906 by Arthur William Armstrong over the former site of Clevedon House in The Grove and land to the rear, he constructed the public roadway leading from Highgate Road to Gordon House Road and also landscaped and planted the area that forms the most northerly area of Highgate Enclosures. He had at an early stage offered to enter a covenant not to build on the enclosures in his attempt to get his scheme approved by the LCC in 1897. In WWII an air raid shelter was built in the most northerly enclosure by May 1940 to serve tenants of the Lissenden Gardens Estate, consisting of a trench covered with a roof; during bombing an average of 80 people found shelter there.

These gardens today have grass, shrubs and some flower beds, with paths and seating, and are railed from the road.

Sources consulted:

LB Camden, Dartmouth Park Conservation Area Character Appraisal and Management Statement, 2009; Rosalind Bayley, 'To Paradise by Way of Gospel Oak. A mansion flat estate and the forces that shaped it', Camden History Society, 2009

Grid ref:

TQ285859 (528430,185843)

Size in hectares:

0.3893

Site ownership:

LB Camden

Site management:

Parks & Open Spaces

Date(s):

Designer(s):

Listed structures:

LBII: K2 Telephone Kiosk in Lissenden Gardens.

On National Heritage List for England (NHLE), Parks & Gardens:

No

Registered common or village green on Commons Registration Act 1965:

No

Protected under London Squares Preservation Act 1931:

Yes

Local Authority Data

The information below is taken from the relevant Local Authority's planning legislation, which was correct at the time of research but may have been amended in the interim. Please check with the Local Authority for latest planning information.

On Local List:

No

In Conservation Area:

Yes

Conservation Area name:

Dartmouth Park

Tree Preservation Order:

No

Nature Conservation Area:

No

Green Belt:

No

Metropolitan Open Land:

No

Special Policy Area:

No

Other LA designation:

Public Open Space (Small Local). Strategic View Corridor

Highgate Enclosures, August 2002. Photo: S Williams

Click a photo to enlarge.