This bright, two-bedroom apartment occupies the upper floors of a Grade II-listed Georgian terraced house, characteristic of the elegant buildings for which the Canonbury Conservation Area is known. Behind a refined façade of Flemish bond London stock brick and stucco banding, the apartment unfolds across over 900 sq ft and has been recently renovated to a meticulous standard. On the top floor, an eaves room makes for a perfect home office. The apartment is ideally located to make use of Canonbury’s best culinary and cultural delights, as well as local parks, river walks and formal gardens.
Setting the Scene
Predominantly developed in the late 18th and early 19th century, the urban landscape of Canonbury is characterised by a concentration of Georgian townhouses and early Victorian residences that borrow from the classical language.
This terrace, constructed in 1826 and originally known as Portland Place, exemplifies Georgian elegance. It rises with piano nobile proportions, an architectural practice that emerged during the Italian Renaissance to elevate the principal living spaces, affording the best views and light. On the first floor of the terrace, where the drawing room would have originally been found, elongated sash windows stretch from the floor to the high ceiling. Along the façade, these windows are set within recessed, round-arched panels, linked by white stucco springing bands. For more information, please see the History section below.
The Grand Tour
The townhouse’s original panelled front door is set at the top of a short flight of steps under an elliptical arched entrance with a gauged brick head and an intricately patterned fanlight. The door opens to a hallway where stairs ascend to the first floor and to the apartment’s private entrance.
A series of living spaces is arranged on the first floor which, in typical Georgian fashion, are defined by a high ceiling and expansive windows. At the front of the plan is the living room, where panelled walls have been finished in ‘Old White’ by Farrow and Ball to offer a considered contrast with the timber window frames painted in Paint Library’s ‘Heath’. A pair six-over-six sash windows frame a striking vista beyond the leafy avenue to Canonbury Gardens and St Stephen’s Church. The room’s generous proportions make for an impressive setting to host guests for drinks and canapés set against an elegant backdrop.
To the rear of the plan is the kitchen, where a row of bespoke cabinetry painted in ‘Pantalon’ by Farrow and Ball sits below a window overlooking the terrace’s leafy back gardens. The cabinets are topped with a Carrara marble worktop and set with a deep Butler sink, a four-ring gas hob and cooker. A matching cupboard at the opposite side of the room holds the refrigerator, and a little set of shelves make a perfect spot for storing spices and herbs to be used in a meal. In the middle of the room there is plenty of space for a dining table to sit atop the reclaimed, oiled pine floorboards that run seamlessly throughout the first floor.
From the hallway, stairs carpeted in sisal from The Alternative Flooring Company rise to the second floor landing where there are two double bedrooms and a private shower room sitting high above the street. The bright primary bedroom is to the front of the plan; light fills the room as it filters through the leaves of the trees outside. Built-in wardrobes on one side sit neatly behind the timber-panelled wall surface to provide excellent storage. The second bedroom is to the rear, where a sash window frames green views. Between the bedrooms is a shower room with a large rain shower lined in marble tiles. The brass fittings echo the period origins of the building, while wall lights provide the room with a warm glow. Cupboards on the landing hold a laundry machine and space for folded sheets and towels.
On the third floor there is a room tucked in the eaves, which is currently used as an office space. A built-in desk is positioned beneath a double casement window, and as it sits apart from the rest of the living spaces, provides a peaceful spot for home working or for reading.
Out and About
Canonbury Road is only a short walk from the shops and restaurants on Upper Street, which offer a wealth of retail, culinary and design amenities, including Ottolenghi, Gail’s, Le Creuset, Space NK and twentytwentyone, as well as a host of national and independent retailers and restaurants. For local fare The Baring and Trullo are both within walking distance, as are some excellent pubs in the area, notably The Myddleton Arms and The Canonbury Tavern.
Just opposite the apartment is Canonbury Gardens, where a path along the new River, a tranquil man-made waterway with mature trees, begins. Nearby, Highbury Fields has large areas of open green space, as well as tennis courts, a playground and a swimming pool.
There are excellent transport links in the area. Highbury & Islington provides quick access to the West End via the Victoria Line, Essex Road station is two stops from the City at Moorgate, and Canonbury Overground offers direct services to Canada Water and Hackney.
Tenure: Leasehold
Lease Length: 123 years remaining
Service Charge: £1,020 per annum
Ground Rent: £250 per annum
Council Tax Band: E
History
Prior to the Norman Conquest, the parcel of land bound by Upper Street, Essex Road and St Paul’s Road formed an Anglo-Saxon manor. Upon passing into Norman ownership, the manor fell into the vast estate of the de Berners family, and in 1253 it was granted by Ralph de Berners to the Canons of St Bartholomew’s Priory, an Augustinian order, in Smithfield. The area became known as Canons’ Burgh, a name eventually permutating to Canonbury.
When the monasteries were dissolved by Henry VIII, St Bartholomew’s was among the last to be taken. the Priory and its lands were surrendered to the Crown on 25 October 1539, and the King bestowed the manor of Canonbury on his Chief Minister for the Dissolution, Thomas Cromwell, just a year before his execution in 1540.
Canonbury remained predominantly open land until the early 19th century when suburban development began. One of the earliest implementations of this development was Canonbury Square, a formal garden surrounded by rows of Georgian terraces that was set out in 1805 by Henry Leroux of Stoke Newington. Construction of the grand residences was still in its initial phases when the New North Road turnpike bisected the garden square in 1812, separating it into east and west sides. The tolls collected to pay for this road were abolished in 1864, and by 1866 the turnpike was re-named as Canonbury Road.
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